Doom Patrol- The Best Superhero Property of the Decade









I think it's fair to say DC hasn’t been doing that well recently, whether you are a fan of their latest films or TV shows they are always controversial, messy or lacking the identity of other superhero products. However, with the announcement of their own streaming service, I was optimistic as it seemed to be a way to allow the production of more creatively challenging productions and at the top of my excitement was the ‘Doom Patrol’. If you haven’t read a ‘Doom Patrol’ comic, they are a bizarre and surrealistic set of superheroes who all feel alienated from modern society and have been a part of some of the most outrageous comics since the 50s. I was mostly intrigued to see how they would manage to adapt this into a high production Television Show but they did it in such a unique and highly entertaining way that I can confidently say this is one of the most engaging and fascinating pieces of Superhero media I have seen in a long time. Without further ado, let's break down every episode and why I loved every second I spent with this show.





Pilot









Pilot episodes aren’t easy, many shows struggle with the ideas of balancing audience engagement and creative integrity but within the first hour of ‘Doom Patrol’ the show doesn’t hold back in creating an ambitious and thrilling journey for the audience. It is mostly a flashback and set-up episode for the character of Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser) and how he became Robotman, which is a surprisingly emotional story and there is no holding back on emotional development. It is an episode of origins, of the character set up and paving the way for the arcs these characters are going to go on. Immediately there are stellar performances from all the cast, Brendan Fraser blew me away and it is so fantastic to see him act again and pulling off this a sympathetic messy and outrageously complex character with heart and commitment. The supporting cast doesn't get as much screen time, it is Cliff’s story through and through, but the glimpses of April Bowlby’s origin and her portrayal of a classical Hollywood actress is spot on with the accent and mannerisms. Matt Bomer plays this fantastic melancholy character in Larry Trainor that makes him an intriguing part of the episode, Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane establishes her range and steals the episode immediately. Timothy Dalton is, of course, sublime as the Chief but it is Alan Tudyk as Mr Nobody that is truly incredible, the third act introduction to his character and antagonistic presence is intimidating and incredibly entertaining. A fantastic pilot which is emotional, entertaining and full of intrigue.





Donkey Patrol









After the monumental reveal and call to action of last episode, to follow that up is difficult and daunting, but ‘Donkey Patrol’ tones it down and decides to explore the characters first. We are introduced to Jovian Wade as Cyborg who makes ‘Justice League’ seem even more like a joke, he is charming and he plays off the rest of the cast really well as the ‘professional superhero’ who is ultimately as alienated as the rest of them. The episode splits into two, following the exploration of Jane’s personalities as she copes with losing Niles as the other characters travel inside a Donkey. Doom Patrol indulges in the weird and that’s what allows it to pull challenging emotional moments off as well. We get these weird outlandish characters literally travelling inside a Donkey to emerge in a world controlled by an omnipotent Alan Tudyk yet this results in a dive into the trauma that motivates these characters, in a powerful set of flashbacks and emotionally harrowing scenes involving these characters. Seeing Cliff and Jane grow to each other is very heart-warming, especially putting Cliff in the context of last episode and the enigma around Jane we feel sympathetic and really supportive of Cliff. The production design is brilliant, the look of these characters is just so unique and daring, Larry, Cliff and Vic all look uniquely comic book-esque; they stand out yet work in the reality of this show’s universe. After a complex episode we finish with ‘Lazarus’ by David Bowie and a soft quiet moment of reflection for all these characters and the development of Larry and the Negative Spirit’s relationship, it’s a fantastic bookend to a fantastic episode.





Puppet Patrol









And it just keeps getting weirder and weirder, the group decide to leave the manor and go on a road trip to Paraguay, whilst last episode was very character based this is a bit more conventional structure wise yet still off the walls insane for ‘Doom Patrol’. During a heated stop at a motel, where the group clearly struggle to work as a team with Cyborg being the A-List Superhero and trying his best to take the leadership role and the rest having none of it. This is mostly a comedic portion of the episode, revolving around the character’s interactions and it really works because they all have such amazing chemistry no matter what the pairing. But it is the second half of the episode that really turns it up a gear, Jane/Flip gets impatient and teleports Cliff and Vic to Paraguay and the rest of the episode is puppet filled absurdist Nazi exposition and it is downright beautiful. It stays consistently weird and hilarious, with the first appearance of Steve Larson (Alec Mapa) as this wonderfully over the top character that maintains this absurdist wonder for the audience. This segment is so strong that the motel scenes with Vic and Rita just aren’t as impactful in comparison, the Paraguay scenes use insane moments to reveal ideas about the characters yet here it’s just a conversation that lays out the ideas very straightforwardly. The action is surprisingly well choreographed, seeing Cliff rip through Nazi’s was highly entertaining and then added another layer and conflict to his character and his relationship with Jane. A fantastic episode with a bunch of memorable comedic and character moments that lays a lot of ground work for the rest of the show.





Cult Patrol/ Paw Patrol









I’m putting these two together because they work as a complete story and are probably the most ‘comic-book’ like episodes in the season. When Willoughby Kipling (Mark Shepard) in a scene-stealing guest appearance enlists the Doom Patrol to help protect a book, that’s also a boy, from a cult that is going to summon the end of the world things get a bit insane. I love how this is the first time the show has really dived into its comic book tone with a collection of outrageous characters and situations that are visually engaging and absurdly fascinating. The episode is paced wonderfully, with an opening call to action that is efficient and blissfully outrageous, we are positioned as an audience to see the events as the Doom Patrol watching this outsider coming in and the chaos that is ensued and this feels authentic and engaging. The moral dilemma that the rest of the first part is structured around is genuinely really compelling and seeing how characters like Rita and Vic respond to the ideas presented is wonderful. Nurnheim has to be one of my favourite locations in the show visually and conceptually, the Archons look incredible and seeing Cliff struggle with this and his relationship with Jane makes it that much more engaging especially due to the inclusion of Penny Farthing. The cliff-hanger compels the plot into ‘Paw Patrol’ which features the most ingenious way to balance stakes in a story like this. The literal apocalypse is here and with the help of Mr Nobody and time travel, they simply start their own cult and magical book to defeat the upcoming apocalypse. It is a welcomed return of Mr Nobody and a fascinating look into his relationship with Niles and this world that breaks the fourth wall in this laid-back way that is so unique to his character. In typical ‘Doom Patrol’ fashion, all the chaos and absurdity are put in comparison to the characters emotional journeys, seeing Rita cope with losing the boy and how these characters come to terms with Niles and Mr Nobody’s dynamic is amazing as well as hints at Jane’s past being cryptic and enticing. Those closing moments are tense and horrifying and add an exciting developed layer onto Cyborg’s character which conclude a brilliant two-parter.





Doom Patrol Patrol









From apocalyptic absurdity, to a disturbing look into how dangerous Mr Nobody and Niles Caulder actually are. At the end of the last episode, Mr Nobody placed the idea in Jane’s head to find the ‘Doom Patrol’ and we see Jane, Rita and Larry go visit the retired superhero team’s school for superpowered youngsters (subtle I know) whilst Silas comes and attempts to repair Vic and Cliff. This is a dark and grim episode that is harrowing and tough to watch in many ways. The distressing dynamic between Silas and Vic is disturbing as the audience and Cliff struggle to trust this man and this technology. But it is the haunted house of the Doom Patrol’s mansion that is the darkest the show has gone with a surrealist horror element portrayal of the reality behind superheroes. As a comic book fan, it is wonderful to see all these references to the classic Doom Patrol and their portrayals are bang on, but it becomes more and more unsettling as the barriers between reality and time seem to break down and strip away these characters to the hollow shells they have become. Larry’s terrifying needle fingered doctor, Rita seeing that baby again and the flashbacks to her dark moments in her career as well as that harrowing jigsaw scene with Jane makes this a creepy and unsettling episode that goes into the darkest areas of these characters. The flashback with the original Doom Patrol is the first time I’ve been terrified by Mr Nobody all series, that is some boundary pushing dark material and Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ playing over those last moments revealing the truth behind how Niles Caulder treats his mistakes is haunting. One of the less fun episodes but a strong set of character and content that was refreshingly dark and grim.





Therapy Patrol









With the least actual plot development and complete and utter dedication to character building, ‘Therapy Patrol’ is a beautifully constructed exploration of these characters and what has made them become the vulnerable people they are. It is a breather episode, we take a step back and look at who these characters are in a structure that pays off in a hilariously insane denouement. The flashback scene with Larry is by far the highlight of the episode in my opinion, seeing him struggle with his sexuality and the anxieties and self-doubt that comes from hiding all your life was tough and the way they pulled it off was so unique and meta I really like what they did to his character. We get some much-needed development for Cyborg as he struggles to come to terms with how human or how robot he truly is and the how much control over himself he has. Rita seems to be getting worse and worse and I really sympathise for her character, the metaphor of her power being a mirror to how Hollywood treats actresses is simply ingenious, and I always love what is done with her character. Cliff confronting the reality of his daughter was harrowing and his descent into madness became increasingly hilarious, the group therapy scene may be the funniest thing the show has done, and the Admiral Whiskers moment is so blissfully bizarre yet really makes sense in universe. It is becoming harder and harder to sympathise with Jane as she struggles to come to terms with Niles treatment of the Doom Patrol, her emotional outbursts are cruel and the lead up to revealing why she is like this is a frustrating yet ingenious character arc.





Danny Patrol









If ‘Doom Patrol’ wasn’t always breaking records in character, absurdity and consistency it now breaks records in representation and presents a beautiful piece of television that is emotional, inspiring and mind-blowing. A long-awaited fan favourite character in Danny the Street finally is given the justice they deserve in this amazing portrayal. The fact this show is able to make a genderqueer teleporting personified street as a means to explore coming to terms with sexuality and identity in a balanced portrayal of what it is like being alienated by society is downright fascinating. I genuinely could talk about that karaoke scene for the rest of this review but ill limit it by saying Matt Bomer pulls of his best performance and if your soul isn’t crushed by that hard cut into reality then you aren’t human. I love the b-plot with Karen, Jane’s most entertaining personality, it is dark twisted and hilarious, but I find it is completely overshadowed by the other plot. ‘Danny Patrol’ is an important character piece with a very direct and uncompromising moral lesson about accepting yourself and others and it may be my favourite episode of the season.





Jane Patrol









This is the episode we have all been waiting for since the show started, the exploration of the Underground and a deep dive into Jane’s mind and it really doesn’t disappoint. Jane doesn’t want to re-emerge from the Underground due to her anger, fear and confusion towards Cliff, so with the help of the Negative Spirit, Cliff goes to explore what is happening in Jane’s mind. It is so satisfying to see all these personalities’ designs; the makeup and design of these characters are unique, and all the performances come to life. Diane Guerrero’s performance is complex, damaged and so sympathetic as she manages to portray her fear of her very own mind, she also manages to showcase her variety as she interreacts with versions of herself. The Underground remains enticingly mysterious, yet we see parts that are relevant to the audience’s understanding of Jane’s character. Cliff gets to experience his most emotionally relevant arc so far in the show, it’s amazing to see Fraser act like this and his performance is miraculous and the scene where he rips his face off is emotionally mind-blowing. In many ways this is the conclusion to Jane and Cliffe’s character relationship, they still grow but this is the episode that was needed to give some satisfying explanation to their characters, Cliff realises to understand empathy and people’s perception of him first whilst Jane comes to terms with fighting and owning her past and her trauma and opening herself up to other people. The third act realisation is dark, harrowing and also surprisingly empowering and proves ‘Jane Patrol’ to be a risk-taking emotional powerhouse of an episode.





Hair Patrol









Now this is a weird episode, a bizarre introduction to one of the weirdest and grossest comic book characters: ‘The Beard Hunter’ whilst also being a flashback Niles Caulder origin story thing. This is the only episode in the season that I didn’t love, it’s a bit messy and a bit exposition heavy, it is still as absurdly entertaining as usual, but I think narratively it serves too much of a purpose and also not a purpose at all. The main goal of the episode is to explain Niles Caulder’s history with this cavewoman and his life in the wilderness, the flashbacks are genuinely entertaining with a ‘Revenant’ feel to them they are intense and engaging as well as dark and emotional. However, they do not mesh well with the present-day hijinks, The Beard Hunter is this Jack Black-esque comedic character that is hilariously over the top and his scenes play out with this gross-out immature comedy that the show takes pleasure in owning. Now both of these ideas work separately but they are so tonally distant that I can’t quite enjoy either one as much as I should. It is an important episode in the long run, seeing Vic lose control and becoming less and less human is fantastic set-up and the flashback is gigantically important to Niles’ character (and for comic book fans hints at the inclusion of someone very interesting). Seeing Niles and Mr Nobody interact in the final moments proves Tudyk as an incredibly intimidating antagonist and these two characters work amazing at odds with each other. A somewhat misguided and confused episode that with some tweaking could make the set-up to the final stretch of episodes worth it.





Frances Patrol









Oh boy bring out the tissues for this episode. This is the emotional conclusion to Larry and Cliffe’s hidden demons and trust me it is incredibly emotional. The way this show has explored Larry’s past is one of my favourite aspects of the whole series, using The Negative Spirit as a character who is simply trying to help Larry come to terms with his identity and his past is emotional and ingeniously unique. Cliff goes to finally find his daughter after finding out her adopted Dad has passed away from being murdered by a crocodile called Frances. This is a tough series of events to watch and watching Cliffe learn to let go is just upsetting, I also really enjoy Cliffe and Rita’s relationship and think they work really well together. The real highlight of this episode is by far Larry finally going to see an older John Bowers and I can’t really put into words the beauty in this scene. This is the kind of scene that wins films Oscars, that melds emotional storytelling with heart-warming satisfying character, and I loved every second of it. The use of Frank Ocean’s cover of Moon River in John’s last moments is one of the most powerful scenes I’ve seen in a long time. A feat of a bittersweet beauty which is enticing yet hard to watch and it proved that ‘Doom Patrol’ isn’t afraid to pull at the heart strings.





Cyborg Patrol









This episode feels like a brilliant example of what a comic book adaptation should be, it is just like the fantastic blend of the character and the absurdity of comic books. The Doom Patrol perform a heist in order to rescue Cyborg from the Ant Farm, so obviously the episode is framed like a heist movie. Seeing the team actually work together and do some small essence of superhero-like activities is just ridiculously entertaining, it is hilarious at times, tense at times and for the most part just engaging. This 45-minute episode feels like a 20-minute episode, it is beautifully paced and every scene never wastes time in getting the characters from point A to point B in order to effectively pull off that off-the-walls harrowing and absurd ending. Seeing the inside of the Ant farm is fantastic, the weird and confusing world that exists in the Bureau of Normalcy is really well-imagined. Jovian Wade gets to finally really show off his acting skill as GRID progressively takes over his body, it is dark and incredibly uncomfortable to watch Vic turned into this monster. But seeing Mr Nobody’s smug face pop up after Silas has been beaten to almost death by Vic is devastating, it makes your blood boil and it is truly proof of the power of Mr Nobody as a villain. A fantastic dark episode, with a focus on more straight-edge comic book action as well as people being eaten alive by butts, I love this show.





Flex Patrol









In many series, there tends to be an episode which is a breather before the climax of the series and ‘Flex Patrol’ serves to flesh out the comic book favourite character Flex Mentallo and conclude as Mr Nobody puts it ‘Thirteen pointless meandering episodes of character driven shlock”. Devan Long is just amazing as Flex, seeing the powerless TV-Obsessed version of him interacting with an increasingly frustrated Jane and Cliffe is hilarious, especially seeing Brendan Fraser pretending to act in a bad sitcom as a celebrity guest is amazing. Rita finally reveals her secret in a moment that doesn’t need anything but an extended close up of April Bowlby as she monologues to guest star Ed Asner, a DC veteran, it is “quite a cathartic journey” for her character and is really what she needed. There has been this frustrating mystery behind her character and seeing her act her heart out and reveal her past was touching and really emotional. The team seem more broken than ever, yet this also seems to be the episode that brings them to realise their traumas and come to terms with who they are and how damaged they are. Rita reveals herself to be a stronger and forthright character as she helps Vic come to terms with what he’s done, Larry understands the Negative Spirit, Flex says goodbye to his love, and it all seems to be ready to go into the finale. That is until Mr Nobody reveals himself and mocks the position the show is in, threatening the audience in a hilarious monologue to be careful with what they wish for in a superhero show.





Penultimate Patrol









In a world where there is a ridiculous amount of Superhero content it is effortlessly satisfying to witness a gigantic assault on the fourth wall in this episode. In an opening flashback we see what motivates Mr Nobody and why he is the way he is, he wants an arch-nemesis, to be feared by superheroes and to make his superhero story come to life. The team travel to Danny the Street, who is always a treat to see (big props to actually putting the non-binary flag in!) and we witness what is undeniably the best scene in any comic book property ever which is the ‘I flexed the wrong muscle scene’ which had me in tears laughing. The team travel into the white-space, a space in between the comic book panels that is where Mr Nobody resides and to showcase the strength and progress these characters have come to, we have the emotional empowering scene revolving the characters origins. These characters have lived their trauma into seclusion, isolating themselves in shame but now they get the opportunity to literally narrate their own stories, to overpower the villain using their ability of self-realisation. It is a compelling metaphor and makes the confrontation with Mr Nobody that much more earned and then they win, with a bullet to the back Mr Nobody is defeated, and we travel into the future where the Doom Patrol are, well, the Doom Patrol. Of course, this isn’t real and is just a way to reveal the twist comic-book fans have been waiting for, the realisation that Niles causes the accidents these characters went through. This is simply a stellar episode, there is so much in it that is satisfying, entertaining and suitably comic-book-y (seeing the suits was amazing) and it earns every ounce of that incredible montage and that incredible twist.





Ezekiel Patrol









After last episode’s reveal, it seemed insanely difficult for the show to recover from such a daring move but ‘Ezekiel Patrol’ is bizarre, compelling and an insanely good finale. Eric Morden has won, he has made Niles Caulder into a Nobody as revenge for what he did, the team has just found out that everything that went wrong in their lives was this man’s fault and it seems to be the turn of a sad ending. But the show chooses optimism, community and absurdity in a melancholic first half that embodies the show’s complete and utter devotion to authenticity. Rita and Larry retire to a simpler life as they give back to the community, Jane finds a cure for the noise of the 64 in her head and Cliff silently watches over her all intercut with flashbacks exploring why Niles did what he did. It is a sad sequence that showcases the importance of being able to recover together, it really showcases the vital idea of the comics that it is possible for those feeling isolated from society to come together and maybe even do some good for society themselves. Morden is plainly evil, he did what he did for the sake of being evil and he gets the big third act superhero fight he wants but he underestimates what these characters are capable of and is beaten in a wonderful ending. The finale features a gigantic Admiral Whiskers and Ezekiel the Cockroach making out in one of the surrealist final battles I’ve ever seen but I loved it because it felt earned due to the build up to this moment. The actual ending cliff-hanger is quirky and thankfully low stakes, as well as intriguing enough (Dorothy!) to keep me captivated in a thankfully confirmed season two.





Conclusion Patrol









I’ve never seen anything quite like this show, I could spend hours trying to work out why I love it so much, but I really struggle to put it into words. I think at the end of the day it manages to do something I love in Films and T.V, be emotionally compelling whilst also being hilariously absurd. If you can make me laugh in wonderment at some of these characters, then I’m going to cry with sympathy when you try emotionally tough moments. ‘Doom Patrol’ does the best with both and combines to a politically relevant and heart-warming message reflecting on its own genre and representation. In the comics and now the show ‘Doom Patrol’ is about people alienated from society and who are recovering from trauma finding both self-realisation and community, that is an idea that we need more than ever right now.

Thanks for reading.