Hasitha Fernando reviews the ninth episode of Doom Patrol…
Our ragtag band of misfits have hit a snag; they are at a loss to explain what’s wrong with Jane. But just when they’ve all given up hope, the Negative Entity within Larry comes forth and with the assistance of Cliff, they try to save Jane before it’s too late…
In this episode we dive deeper into Jane’s backstory and the purpose of her innumerable personalities which inhabit the mysterious ‘Underground’ is explored. The fact that Jane was a product of childhood abuse was hinted at, in past episodes but nothing concrete was given. In this installment, the extent of her trauma in the hands of her sadistic father is examined. And it is this memory of her father (portrayed as an all-powerful, malevolent giant composed of jigsaw puzzle pieces) that Jane and Cliff must fight and defeat so she could return to the real world.
Child abuse is a crime, plain and simple. But it is an epidemic that continues to thrive, in spite of the best efforts of the authorities. Annually more than 3.6 million referrals are made to child protection agencies, involving more than 6.6 million potentially abused children. USA has one of the worst records among the industrialized nations- losing an average 4-6 children to neglect and abuse.
In Doom Patrol we catch a glimpse of the long-lasting detrimental effects of such dastardly deeds. Jane suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID), possessing 64 distinct personalities. These personas were created by her as a coping strategy against the repetitive trauma she experienced as a child. For the most part, the entertainment industry tends to romanticize dissociative identity disorder but this is not the case with Doom Patrol. Although the super-charged personas look ‘cool’ (I’m looking at you Silver Tongue!) and Diane Guerrero has a proverbial ball portraying them, it’s in capturing the more quiet, intimate moments that she truly shines. The fear, confusion and pain the character undergoes is almost tangible. Amazing stuff. In reality, sufferers of said affliction are extremely conflicted, volatile and impulsive as well. All in all, I’d say Diane Guerrero has done an exceptional job juggling both the outlandish and realistic aspects of her character.
Like the comic book property its based on, Doom Patrol pushes the boundary in terms of the dark themes it continues to explore. And the fact that we, as an audience can relate to this motley-crew of outcasts speaks volumes about this TV series. Let’s see what happens next…
Hasitha Fernando