fyeahbatmanandrobin:

This is one of the most devastating moments in the DCAU.  The torture Tim Drake is forced to endure culminates with the Joker ordering him to shoot Batman; anyone even vaguely familiar with the Batman mythos knows the significance of guns, which is why I think the edited electrocution scene doesn’t have the same impact.  But in this version, when Tim ultimately shoots and kills the Joker, it destroys the heroic allure being Robin once held for him: his childhood fantasy, the bright colors and quippy puns and soaring above the city with Batman, it all strips down to a nightmare of child endangerment and irrevocable trauma. 

His turmoil and inevitable breakdown in the final three gifs are painful to watch.  He’s just a child, just an innocent little boy, forced to suffer torment beyond his ability to handle.  Knowing Tim Drake’s fate in the DCAU makes it bittersweet to watch his first episode, when he is so eager to take on the role that leads him to ruin and the bitterness he holds as an adult.