Okay, so “Can I Keep Him?” fails to deliver on the same level that “The Beast Within” managed to pull off, but was it enjoyable? Sort of.

This episode was the closest to pure lunacy that any Titans episode has ever come in the past, and that’s a bold statement when you factor in the two Mad Mod episodes alone. Now, there is nothing wrong with madness for comic sake, mind you, but it is so unevenly deployed here that by the close of “Can I Keep Him?,” it's hard to determine whether or not one should feel horrified or exuberant.

It would be counterproductive to gripe about the lack of plot development here, because let's face it, it just wasn’t going to happen in this episode. Despite crossing fingers and toes, there is just nothing that could change that in retrospect. So let’s take a closer look at what this “so-so” effort was comprised of.

First of all, “Can I Keep Him?” marks the return of Johnny Rancid, who is once again voiced by Henry Rollins. His return caused something to stir inside me. Maybe it was the realization that this episode was not going to hold up to last week's, or maybe it was just that burrito I had for dinner. Who knows?

Rancid has constructed a mechanical pet dog named Rex out of an old engine block and some superchargers. The Titans oblige him in completely demolishing his destructive new companion. Rancid escapes while the teens dispatch of his robo-rover, and the team returns to the tower to find it in a shambles.

Before we move on, has anyone else noticed this series' proclivity towards canine conundrums when the need for filler arises? Maybe it just felt like there were more “doggy” occurrences, because a quick look back reveals only “Every Dog Has Its Day” as the other major plot surrounding a pooch.

And it’s a stretch here, too, because Rancid’s dog only appears in the opening sequence before it is destroyed. Oh well.

Moving on, the teens need to handle two different problems at once: figure out who ransacked the Tower and pursue Rancid. Robin leaves the Tower task to the rest of the group and goes after Rancid alone.

As the team scours their home for clues, Beast Boy confides in Starfire. He tells her that he kept a worm-like pet, unbeknownst to the rest of the team, and he fears that it may be the culprit. After pleading with her to help him hide the creature Starfire finally agrees and subsequently falls in love with her new friend, whom she names Silkie.

“And where, exactly, did Beast Boy get Silkie?” Drum roll, please...

That’s right, Killer Moth.

Apparently, way back in Episode 19, “Date with Destiny,” after defeating the Moth in his own lair, Beast Boy snagged one of the moths in its larval stage and kept it as a pet. Now it’s hungry and is gnawing on anything in sight.

This intrigues me. Why? Well, “Date of Destiny” was the first episode officially reviewed in this space, and upon viewing it I really contemplated writing something about Killer Moth’s lair and what happened after the teens thwarted him on his home turf.

At the time, it felt as if something more needed to be said about this scenario, but the focus was on Robin and his date, which of course involved the jealousy of Starfire and another villain to fend against.

It slipped in under the radar, and here it was rearing its head seventeen episodes later. Supporting the practice of pulling loose plot threads together from prior episodes, this really scored points for “Can I Keep Him” even if the plot thread was about as significant as the toppings on Beast Boy’s next pizza.

So naturally, Starfire manages to bond with the little silkworm, and as a result of feeding Silkie Tamaranian fruit he grows to be at least six times his size. Try as she might, Star cannot convince the rest of the team to let her keep the worm, and so she must abandon him on an island, in the rain no less.

It’s meant to pull at our heartstrings, but it’s just too cheesy to succeed. Meanwhile, Rancid is still on the loose and the Titans square off with his latest invention, which is basically another mechanical monster named Rex-zilla or something equally lame. No offense to Rollins, but Rancid is just an ill-conceived villain.

Killer Moth shows up with the newly metamorphosized Silkie, now a menacing gigantic moth. Silkie quickly swallows Rex-zilla and Rancid in one gulp, which not only shocks but suggests hope that this may be the last that we see of Rancid.

What ensues is hilarious, and it’s easy to see how this episode could have been birthed based on this situation alone. The Killer Moth has apparently been working on repairing his image amongst the Rogues Gallery because gone is the wimpy pushover from “Date with Destiny.”

Instead, Moth is mean and puts up a fight. Sure, he does so while riding a giant moth. Go figure. The Titans manage to separate Silkie from Killer Moth, and Silkie must choose between Starfire and Killer Moth in a “come to the one you love most” type scenario.

The resolution is not only unpredictable, but downright stunning and disgusting. Add to that the closing scene, and you have what could be the most disgusting Titans episode in history.

So in the end, where does it fall in rank? Well, this was no stroke of genius, that’s for sure. It wasn’t dreadful either. “Can I Keep Him?” walks a fine line and it somehow comes out as acceptable filler.

Next Week: With only one episode left before the two part season finale, hopes are somewhat diminished going in. It involves the return of Mad Cap, and it’s entitled “Bunny Raven” so it doesn’t look favorable for the Titan faithful. One thing is for certain, if “Titans East” pays off the way the previous season finales have, the bulk of Season Three will be a distant memory.

Mario Anima