Why did Raven’s hair suddenly turn blonde in ‘Titans’ season 4?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Titans season four, episode three, “Jinx.”

Raven is known for her signature dark looks in Titans and across various mediums, including the comic books and the animated Teen Titans series. After all, she’s the resident magic user on the team who conjures dark energy to manifest her awe-inspired powers, but in season four her look has gotten a major overhaul.

In Titans season four the team faces danger of the occult variety when they travel to Metropolis. Raven (Teagan Croft) experiences strange visions involving blood and death as they try and solve a string of murders. As they ride out of Metropolis, they’re stopped by a powerful sorceress named Mother Mayhem (Franka Potente) and get in a fight in the middle of the street. Mother Mayhem proves too strong for the team and when Raven uses her powers against the witch, the villainess uses her staff to steal Raven’s energy. Raven falls unconscious and her hair turns blonde.

In season four, episode three, “Jinx,” Raven is taken back into the Titans RV. She feels cold to the touch and she’s still unconscious. When she wakes up, Raven says she can’t feel anything. Then we get to see what Mother Mayhem has done with her powers. She goes to the Temple of Azarath and tells a Cult of Blood member that Raven never deserved her powers, and she sends the energy from her staff into a large crystal. What is the true purpose of this crystal is still unclear.

Later, Raven has breakfast with Gar Logan/Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) and she tells him that it feels like something’s missing. She realizes that it’s her Soul-Self, the dark part of Raven’s soul connected to her demonic heritage and the source of her powers. To her surprise, she doesn’t mind that it’s gone. Without it, she feels worry-free and light. Her Soul-Self is connected to her empathic abilities, and without it, she’s not bombarded with everyone’s pain. Then guilt sets in and she questions herself. She’s a Titan and she’s responsible for saving people, but this disconnection from the rest of the world is a nice break from it all.

Raven is now powerless, which is disappointing because she started off the season so strong. In the first two episodes of season four, Raven’s abilities were on a whole new level. She used them with the effectiveness of a pro and was responsible for finding a little girl who was in danger and entering her mind to save her from the dark figure that’s been murdering people.

Because Raven might be out of commission for a while, Dick Grayson/Nightwing (Brenton Thwaites) and Kory Anders/Starfire (Anna Diop) went out on a mission to recruit another magical user: Jinx (Lisa Ambalavanar). She’s a thief who’s talented at manipulating people and has a history with Nightwing, but if the Titans hope to defeat this magical threat, they’ll need someone who’s familiar with this particular battlefield.

Titans is available to stream on HBO Max.