Doom Patrol airs new episodes Friday’s on DC Universe.
Synopsis
A sentient, gender-queer, teleporting street, named Danny is being hunted by the secret Bureau of Normalcy and needs help from Niles – but gets Vic and Larry instead. Meanwhile, Rita and Cliff try to help Jane.
Review
This week Doom Patrol introduced another classic Grant Morrison character from the comics with Danny the Street. In keeping with the characters quirky tone we get an episode which possibly the weirdest yet… and that is really saying something!
I had questions over how Danny would be rendered in the show. It felt like it could potentially be one concept too far for the show to be able to it in way which honoured the comics and ensured the general audience would understand what was going on.
Why did I ever question the show’s capability?
It’s made clear early on that Danny, as with the comics, would speak through the various banners and visual elements on the street. There are also enough speaking characters living on the stree to to be able to keep everything clear for the viewer.
Also Minho Jnr (Broadway’s Kinkyboots) was an excellent piece of casting for the show. The character of Morris/Maura wa easily the audiences gateway to understanding the world of Danny and how it could impact on those around it.
Though Danny was ultimately unwilling to help in the search for Nile’s it sill ultimately had a huge impact on Victor and Larry. I’ve never felt so much hope for one of these characters than I have seeing LArry shrug off the bandages to perform a full musical number.
Watching the sequence it felt like he had finally come to accept himself and it was a beautiful moment. A moment bookended by the realisation that it was – as the song in the trailers says – “all in your head.”
Seeing the scene snap back to the bandaged Larry sat in his seat, only to then turn down the opportunity to sing was utterly heartbreaking. We got a glimpse of his character taking such a huge step only for it to be taken away.
Elsewhere in this episode Jane has once again retreated further in to herself. So far in fact that we meet Karen. Karen is easily the scariest of Jane’s personas, the one she retreats too when things get to the worst. She’s that ex-partner we’ve all had who was a little too clingy and emotional who just keeps coming back over and over again.
What was really interesting in these scenes was to see Rita take a bit of a back seat. She is very much a supporting player, alongside Cliff, in the s**t show that is Karen’s dinner party with her in-laws-to-be.
Though these scenes still have a sadness to them they are much more the comedic side of this week’s storylines. The culmination of which is a scene ripped straight from a horror movie.
Next week it’s time to enter The Undergound!
Verdict
Doom Patrol strikes it’s most hopeful tone and brings us all crashing back down to Earth with a bang this week. Another hugely emotional episode which really twists the knife when it comes to Larry and Jane.
The hits just keep on coming with this show.
10/10
On the next episode…
Doom Patrol stars Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele, Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor, Diana Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Alan Tudyk as Mr. Nobody, April Bowlby as Rita Farr, Joivan Wade as Vic Stone and Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder.
The series comes from Berlanti Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The one-hour drama is written Jeremy Carver (Supernatural, Being Human) and will by executive produced by Carver alongside by Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns and Sarah Schechter.
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