The Titans are growing concerned about Slade's reappearance, and his new interest in Raven. While Raven struggles to keep a dark secret she's been hiding for some time, Slade promises to reveal it. When the Titans come upon a strange temple under an abandoned library, and an even stranger prophecy, Raven becomes terrified and flees for unexplained reasons. The farther they travel into the temple, the more they realize that many of the statues resemble Raven in some way. Meanwhile, Raven goes to Azarath, seeking advice for how to prevent her destiny from happening, unfortunately they can't help her. She returns to earth, and saves the other titans from Slade, while revealing the demonic birthmarks she hid earlier...
Tropes:
- Because Destiny Says So: Raven is spending her time researching ways to avert this, but by the end of the episode, she's decided that there's nothing she can do.
- Birthmark of Destiny: Makes a reappearance in this episode, but this time they don't burn her clothes off.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Raven to Slade at the end of this episode. After all she's been through, it's very satisfying to watch.Slade: This won't hurt a bit...
Raven: Wanna bet? - Dark and Troubled Past: This episode begins to really highlight Raven's.
- Dark Secret: Raven's destiny is to destroy the world because Trigon is her father, and she's the portal that will bring him to earth, causing the End of the World as We Know It.
- Doomed Hometown: When Raven runs back to Azarath to try and escape the prophecy, she discovers that its already been razed by Trigon.
- Human-Demon Hybrid: At the end of the episode, Raven reveals that her father is the demon known as Trigon.
- Internal Reveal: At the end of the episode, the Titans figure out that “The Gem” is Raven, and she explains the whole prophecy to them.
- Little "No": Not as famous as the one in Birthmark, but she does utter one when her vision of Azarath crumples away.Arella: It was too late for Earth, just as it was too late for Azarath...
- Locked Out of the Loop: Most of the Titans have been investigating where Slade's powers came from and why/how he came back. Raven knows the answers to all of these, but is withholding the information because she doesn't want her friends to realize what her role in everything is supposed to be. Slade feeds Robin some information and then baits the Titans to the location where Trigon's eventual arrival will happen, counting on them doing enough investigating to figure out what's going on themselves.
- Mind Rape: More from Slade and Trigon, who are sending Raven visions that stop her from meditating, which rather negatively affects her mental health.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: ...and yet somehow, despite all Slade's put her through, despite how awesome it is to see her unleash her powers on him like that, it still manages to be genuinely unsettling to watch.
- Oh, Crap!: Slade gets a glorious one after he tries fleeing by fading into the ground, only for a supremely pissed off Raven to reach in and drag him right back out so she can keep beating the snot out of him.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: The Titans surmise that Slade is working for a greater villain but are under the impression he is named "Skath" based on the name of the mark on his forehead. It's only later that they learn his boss is Trigon the Terrible.
- Self-Defeating Prophecy: The episode ends with Raven basically resigning herself to the fact that there is nothing she can do to stop Trigon from destroying the Earth.
- She Who Fights Monsters: When Raven uses the power boost from her Birthmark of Destiny to torture Slade, he throws this trope in her face. It was a distraction, for his escape, but it was still heart-wrenching.Raven: I'm Not Afraid of You Anymore!!!Slade: You might not fear me, but look who's afraid of you.-Sees the stunned look on the Titans' faces.-Beast Boy: Raven?
- The Prophecy: Kind of obvious, considering the title of this episode:The Gem was born of evil's fire, the Gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Starfire is noticeably protective of Robin in this episode, never straying too far from his side and repeatedly attacking Slade when he gets too close to Robin.
