Hasitha Fernando on what we might expect from a second season of Doom Patrol…
As of yet the fledgling DC streaming service has yet to green light season 2 of Doom Patrol, but with strong critical and audience approval ratings there is a chance that it will eventually happen (despite the cancellation of fellow series Swamp Thing after airing just a single episode). If so, then here’s a rundown of what we could expect from the second season of Doom Patrol.
Dorothy Spinner
At the conclusion of ‘Ezekiel Patrol’, we are briefly introduced to Dr. Niles Caulder’s daughter Dorothy Spinner. In the comics she was a member of the Doom Patrol who possessed the power to bring imaginary beings to life. As was seen in the finale, it was she who was responsible for transforming Ezekiel the cockroach and Admiral Whiskers the rat, to Kaiju sized monsters which even Mr. Nobody was powerless to stop. Caulder knew what she was capable of and feared what she’d become if left unattended, since like here mother Slava (the former cavewoman love interest of Caulder) she too possesses immortality. Hence his compulsion to gain immortality, just to keep her in check. Portrayed as a hideous simian like child shunned by society, she played an integral role during Grant Morrison’s run of Doom Patrol. It will be interesting to see how she factors into the overall narrative of season 2. Will she become the new big bad? An immortal super-powered being with a penchant for volatility does sound like a recipe for disaster after all.
The Brotherhood of Evil & The Bureau of Normalcy
The Brotherhood of Evil are the main antagonists of the Doom Patrol comics. Created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani in 1964 they initially consisted of the enigmatic villain Brain, the super-intelligent gorilla Monsieur Mallah and shape-shifter Madame Rouge. In the TV series however, their presence is quite diminished. In the episode ‘Penultimate Patrol’, a flashback to the 1940’s finds Eric Morden telling his girlfriend he was a former member of the group before he was unceremoniously kicked out by the Brain and replaced by an ‘intelligent French gorilla’-which is an obvious reference to Monsieur Mallah. Having the Brotherhood of Evil pose as the chief adversary for the next season would actually compliment our delightfully zany band of super-zeroes in many ways. Throw in Alan Tudyk’s Mr. Nobody into the mix and it would make for a delightful vichyssoise of villainy indeed.
The Bureau of Normalcy (formerly the Bureau of Oddities) had a very strong presence in the TV series often filling in for Mr. Nobody in his absence. Caulder worked very closely with this group from its inception and utilized their influence to get what he wants. In the episode ‘Cyborg Patrol’ our band of misfits unwittingly unleash an army of ravenous butt-holes who were held captive on the Bureau’s infamous Ant-Farm facility. It’s quite safe to assume that not many of the Bureau survived this onslaught but something tells me this is not the last we’ll hear from the dastardly organization.
Dr. Niles Caulder
To say that the relationship shared between the Chief and our band of super-zeroes is strained, is a bit of an understatement. The entire first season revolved around the team trying to bring him back since he was the connective tissue that held them all together. So, when they discovered that he was responsible for the horrors they underwent, it shook them to their very core and they were left irrevocably broken. How the showrunners will choose to portray this fractured relationship and how it affects the overall dynamics of the team during the course of next season remains to be seen. Suffice to say, patching things up won’t be easy.
During the course of the season we notice that Caulder ages at an exceedingly slow pace. But no reasonable explanation is given to the audience. Is it possible that during his encounter with Slava in 1913 that she bestowed some form of immortality on Caulder? Or has it something to do with the ‘mysterious item’ Caulder steals from Von Fuchs in the 1940’s during Mordens’ transformation in Prague? We can only guess, only time will tell if this detail will be addressed during the next season.
The Fate of Cyborg
Cyborg’s character arc was one of the highlights of the series. Starting off as the quintessential good Samaritan type superhero at the outset we soon realize, as the story progressed, that this was an individual carrying a lot of emotional baggage who has not made his peace with the demons of his past. Adding to this mental trauma came the grim discovery that he was becoming more mechanical and less human gradually. Will Crazy Jane’s nightmarish apocalyptic painting become a reality? Or was this all an illusion created by Mr. Nobody? Afterall, he relishes in manipulating the narrative for his sadistic entertainment. Hopefully season 02 will provide more answers.
What started off as a back-door pilot in Titans eventually blossomed into something truly special. When you strip away the farting donkeys and the fourth wall breaking humor, what remains is a brutally beautiful show about second chances. Here’s hoping that season 2 will be greenlit soon.
Hasitha Fernando
Originally published July 2, 2019. Updated July 21, 2019.
