Doom Patrol airs new episodes Friday’s via DC Universe.
Synopsis
Cliff and Victor come to an agreement while Jane, Rita, and Larry go in search of a mysterious team called the Doom Patrol.
Review
Just when I thought there was little more room for improvement in Doom Patrol the writers go and throw out and episode like “Doom Patrol Patrol”.
Introducing us to a classic line up for the team had seemed inevitable from the beginning. It also seemed like a great way to honour the series past whilst simultaneously continuing to explore its present and future.
Whilst we got all of that in the first 35-40mins of the episode, what we were confront with in the closing minutes was something incredibly tragic and emotional.
Overall the episode does a great job of acting oblivious to its own darkness. Once Jane, Rita and Larry jump from Doom Manor to the metahuman “school” there are plenty of hints that something more sinister is going on but they never make the impending twist too obvious.
Writer Tamara Becher was also responsible for the third episode of the season, “Puppet Patrol” (reviewed here). It would definitely say these two episodes are my standout favourites for the season.
Cleverly interwoven amongst the story of the classic Patrol characters, Mento, Armani alongside keeper Joshua Clay is some great character developments for our current heroes. It is once again Rita who steals the show.
Her flashback scene with the sleazy Hollywood producer right through the reveal of the “real” Mento are also beautiful moments in their own right. It’s unbelievable to see the growth in the character across what is now six episodes.
By comparison if we were watching Titans then the show would have ejected all reference to its on going story arc. But “Doom Patrol Patrol” still find plenty of time to shoehorn in references to Mr Nobody and to push the arc forwards.
Back at Doom Manor there’s also a lot going on with Cliff and Victor. We also get the biggest appearance for Silas, Victor’s father, in this episode. Though we finally get to see some reconciliation between the two I still don’t fully trust this version of Silas.
If there’s a clear and present consequence of everyone’s actions in this episode it is psychological trauma. It’s no wonder the next episode is called “Therapy Patrol”. I hope the next episode gives them all a chance to breathe and regroup after everything we have seen them go through over the past few episodes.
Verdict
After a weird and wonderful two-part storyline Doom Patrol has gone all emotional on us and the results are outstanding. This episode had so much character is was bursting at the seems and yet it still managed to tug at the old heartstrings with its conclusion.
9/10
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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