Rita Farr catching up with Mento. Photo courtesy of Heroesvue.com.
Please Keep In Mind That This Article Contains Potential Spoilers For “Doom Patrol Patrol” and Events That Occurred Prior
After last week’s closing question, this week’s installment let us in on Niles little secret: he once ran a superhero group named the Doom Patrol back in the 1950s. Super suits and all! It’s a really neat little piece of world building and history that there was once a Doom Patrol—while at the same time being a good reminder that our band of misfits haven’t even gotten their trademark name yet. There clearly some cool X-Men vibes to be had in the whole set up, and seeing Jane and Co. stumble into it was wonderfully mysterious and intriguing. What made the entire storyline really excel and click together however, was when we learned the truth of it all.
Seeing the illusion shatter was heartbreaking, and really rather horrific. This peaceful, slice of heaven was all a mental paradise to keep the endless pain and torment of these three golden age heroes at bay. It was a perfectly set-up and guised threat from Mr. Nobody. A clear pronouncement to not mess with him. An extremely effective one at that. Not the crew wasn’t already taking Mr. Nobody seriously, but this unveiled tragedy will certainly make them take any and all advances on him seriously. I mean it’s also all a reminder to the audience—despite his zany silliness, Mr. Nobody is not someone to be taken lightly.
Our trio arriving at the school of The Doom Patrol. Photo courtesy of Heroesvue.com.
One of the characters focused on the most was none other that Rita Farr—and it was quite the stand out episode for her. We got to see her first steps towards recovery after her powers manifested—which involved a very relevant first time fatal incident. An incident which led to her seeking help from Dr. Nile’s got the first time. Which then steered her to Mento’s psychic therapy’s, showcasing some intriguing history between the two. I mean really Rita had several really powerful moments. The culmination of everything leading to her being the one to stand up and call Mento into submission was fantastic. It really gave her that heroic moment that she needed. Seeing her coming in to her own, and accepting who she was by episode’s end, was quite impactful.
While Rita got a brunt of the focus when it came to their Doom Patrol visit, Jane wasn’t far behind. Her journey was nearly just as tragic as those stuck in the false reality. She came to realize that her entire understanding and relationship with Niles may not have been what she thought it was. In fact, it seemed that Niles was about to throw her far away—out of sight out of mind. She could have been one of the tortured souls stuck there. It was very poignant seeing Jane come to the realization of this. I’m looking forward to see Jane confront Chief about this. Jane’s already got enough on her plate, and now having to feel that she was nothing but a broken toy to Neil’s probably doesn’t help things.
Cliff getting some repairs. Photo courtesy of Heroesvue.com.
Away from all of that action, we got to see our two Robot men get some time alone. I’m surprised it took so long to get this pairing—it seems like an obvious choice in hindsight. I like the angle that when it comes down to it, Cyborg is a better version of Cliff. The reveal of this angle was done very well, as Cliff watched over Vic while his father rebooted him. It was a great moment, and it was neat to see Cliff stand up for Vic. Furthermore, it was great that Vic is finally out from under his father’s control—even if he really didn’t have much a part in that change. When it came to Cliff, well we all knew the road ahead was rocky. I mean something has to go wrong when it comes to combing through your grown up daughter’s social media. It’s no surprise that there is plenty of information that won’t sit well.
“The Doom Patrol Patrol” slowed things down a little in order to give us some meaty backstory and great character moments. Something which I think was the right choice after the non-stop action of the Decreator. It’s really quite the accomplishment that with a show this outlandish, that the writer’s are still able to achieve a balance that allows for all of those emotional and serious moments to land—despite the craziness all around.
Bonus Notes:
- It’s quite an achievement that this episode was one of the more grounded and sane
- Now I didn’t mention Larry too much, but we did get some vague teases to some unknown part of his past. And what could that patch be? I’m sure if I had comic knowledge I’d know, but alas.
- The effects, and character specific moments and scares when Mento was falling apart was done fantastically. It really struck an unexpected horror-esque chord.
- I’m still unclear on what super powers the Administrator has.
You can catch new episodes of Doom Patrol when they air on DC Universe streaming network every Friday.
