Okay, we know Raven has to keep an even keel to hold off the paternal dark forces inside, so given that "Spellbound" is an all-new “Raven-centric” episode we all know what to expect, right?

Raven has already dealt with anger management in "Nevermore," she wreaked havoc on the teens’ Tower after watching a scary movie in "Fear Itself," so what could be on the plate this time? That’s right: loneliness.

Raven is so cool in her black cloak and her goth outfits. She keeps to herself because it's what one would expect from a true goth, right? Wrong. At her core, Raven has always been standoffish, but its not because she is following the rules of a trend.

She genuinely feels out of place among the high-five slapping Cyborg and Beast Boy, and although she has grown closer to Starfire, it’s doubtful she could ever fully feel understood by everyone’s favorite Tamaranian princess. The closest Raven has to a kindred spirit is Robin, but even he is a bit too focused on leading the group for her attention. In fact, Raven’s own isolation is partly due to her tendency to hold the rest of the team at a distance. Perhaps this is her form of self-defense.

"Spellbound" begins well enough. We open with a fight between a wizard named Malchior and a fierce dragon named Rorek. The type of voice you would expect to accompany a fight between a wizard and a dragon narrates the skirmish, and we learn that the fight is nothing more than fiction when it is humorously interrupted as Raven is forced to put down the book she is reading and answer the call of Titan duty.

This time out that duty comes in the form of Cardiac, the latest villain created to fill in the gaps in the animated series. Get this, Cardiac is…wait for it…a gigantic pulsating heart. He has large tubes that he uses to suck up small children on a local playground.

Now, this might sound like the stuff of nightmares anyway, but it actually comes across far more disturbing than it was likely intended. Cardiac is actually a pretty weak foe, yet the Titans seem to have trouble quelling his attack on the jungle gym.

Don’t you just hate it when a giant heart shows up, interrupts a good book you’re in the middle of, and won’t go off quietly in the night? Raven does, and in one fell swoop she dismantles Cardiac to the tune of “Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos” and eagerly races back to the T-Car, which looks more like a T-SUV this time around.

Oddly enough, Cardiac is entirely mechanical; at first sight it appeared he might be a flesh and blood heart, with motorized pumps. As soon as the team arrives at the Tower, Raven is nose deep in the battle of Malchior and Rorek, fettered only by the persistent interruptions by her teammates.

Beast Boy and Cyborg manage to hurt Raven’s feelings when they insist she referee their latest game, Stankball. Raven refuses, and Beast Boy retorts “why does she have to be so creepy?”

It’s the “creepy” barb that hurts the most, and Raven retreats deeper into the safe haven that is her room, questioning why it is that she always feels so misunderstood. This is interesting, even depressing to an extent, until the book she is so enthralled with begins talking to her.

It turns out that Malchior has actually been cursed to remain trapped inside the book that tells his tale forever, unless the curse be broken, hint-hint. Of course, Malchior is less blunt than this, he instead chooses to woo (yes, woo) young Raven into believing that he understands her. Over the next few weeks, Raven spends her time in her room with Malchior, and he decides to teach her new magic in the hopes that she will be able to free him of his curse.

Do you see where this is going yet? Well actually, anyone that has ever seen The Care Bears Movie will know exactly what will transpire throughout the rest of this episode.

It’s all there, the enchanted book, the plot to teach a young magician magic in exchange for helping a spirit trapped within the enchanted tome, and the twist reveal that the spirit is in fact a villain waiting to gain freedom to spread evil once more. I had pretty much blocked out this film from my memory until my wife noticed the similarities in this week’s episode (thanks, honey).

So there you have it. Is this mere coincidence? Or are we stooping to a low one would never expect to find in the Titans' animated series? Honestly? I doubt this is a matter of theft. It’s more likely a homage, like the countless others we’ve been privy to throughout the series, but its just funny to think that the Titans could be ripping off the bears that care.

Alright, the plot was a bit paper thin, even without the Care Bear insight, so was there anything worthwhile here? Yes, and yes. First of all, as Raven learns new spells under Malchior’s tutelage, we see her cloak change from purple, to light blue, and eventually to white. This was a very nice touch.

In addition, it was also great to hear variances in her spell casting. Her usual cry of “Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos” is a familiar favorite, but it felt so refreshing to hear her cry out other spells in battle.

I’m dying to see more advances in Raven’s powers and her history. Her Raven-self has become more prevalent as the series has ensued, so hopefully we are working our way up to bigger and better drama for her.

Bottom line is, this episode is not the greatest, but it has its moments. The growth of in Raven’s character fell a bit short of what I was hoping to see, but hopefully this means we are getting closer to a big payoff. Despite this, at times "Spellbound" felt like filler, once again, between two excellent episodes. I suppose we’ll see if I’m right this weekend.

Next Week: Mod don’t fail me now…Admittedly, Mad Mod’s last appearance was a fun diversion, but can Mod do it again? Keep the T-Suv in the garage and we might be ok. Malcolm McDowell returns in "Revolution!"

Mario Anima