That's right, Titans. You're being watched by your fans (and, of course, your critics).
Control Freak informs the Titans that they are on a TV show he created and demands they earn him an award.
"The Fourth Wall" contains examples of:
- Art Shift: When attempting to become more highbrow and avoid being rebooted, the Titans ask their animators to upgrade them, turning the setting and everyone but Control Freak into something that Beast Boy and Starfire compare to a student-made passion project.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The entire episode is one big breaking-the-fourth-wall gag, as suggested by the title.
- Camera Abuse: The episode ends with the Titans "breaking the fourth wall" by ramming into and cracking it in order to stop Control Freak's broadcast and prevent him from rebooting them.
- Fartillery: The Titans start farting in front of Control Freak, which brings them back to their original animation.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In the end of the episode, the Titans literally start cracking the fourth wall to end Control Freak's scheme of rebooting them.
- Insult Backfire: Control Freak remarks that the Titan's humor is low-brow, which Cyborg takes as a compliment.
- Left Hanging: The Titans are upset that the original show ended after "Things Change."
- Mondegreen: When Robin complains about the lack of animation in their show, Raven agrees that it needs more zombies and starts raising the dead, only for Robin to state that she's thinking of reanimation.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In order to avoid being rebooted for being too lowbrow, Robin encourages the Titans to make more sophisticated humor, act more dramatically, and upgrade their animation quality. By the time they're done, Control Freak states that he no longer needs to reboot them because they've already rebooted themselves.
- Noticing the Fourth Wall: Control Freak tells the Titans they're being watched.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Control Freak points out to the Titans about everything wrong with the new show.
- Running Gag: Several of them.
- The Titans calling their viewers creeps.
- Beast Boy making toot jokes.
- The Titans trying to be more high brow.
- The Titans and Control Freak breaking the fourth wall.
- Running Gag Stumbles: As a "highbrow" cartoon, Beast Boy stating that he's about to toot is actually him pulling out a trumpet and playing music.
- Scolding the Fourth-Wall Breaker: Uses this as a running gag (see above): the Titans interact with the audience much to the chagrin of Control Freak.
- Self-Deprecation: Robin complains that their current animation quality isn't good enough and blaming their animators, while his voice is intentionally desynced from his lip flaps.
- Shaking the Rump: Beast Boy does his "underpants dance" in front of the fourth wall, which is basically him twerking with his underwear on. Raven, annoyed by it, smashes his head on the fourth wall.
- Take That, Audience!: This episode is basically this to critics of the show who prefer the original Teen Titans (2003), with the villainous Control Freak regretting that he rebooted that universe and threatening to reboot this one just because it won't win any golden statues.
- Toilet Humor: Beast Boy makes toot jokes throughout the episode. It becomes plot-relevant towards the end, when the Titans become "too" highbrow and play a chorus of farts in Control Freak's face to return to normal.
- You Bastard!: The Titans have this reaction when Control Freak reveals to them they're on television.Raven: People are watching us without our permission? Ew! What a bunch of creeps!
Cyborg: Creeps!
Starfire: The creeps!
Beast Boy: You fools bein' creepay!
