Hasitha Fernando reviews the second episode of Doom Patrol…
The opening scene of episode 2 finds our eponymous band of ‘super-zeroes’ in a bit of a hairy situation. To recap succinctly, the pilot of Doom Patrol concluded on a cliffhanger; albeit a rather outlandish one. It involved the appearance of an otherworldly flatulating donkey and the subsequent emergence of Eric Morden a.k.a Mr. Nobody (Alan Tudyk) who opens a vortex in the heart of Cloverton, Ohio. All hell has literally broken lose now. Our band of outcasts put up a valiant fight, but to no avail. Morden delights in the chaos he has created, observing how ill-equipped ‘our merry band of misfits’ are when it comes to carrying out grand acts of heroism. He is a villain whose sole idée fixe is controlling the narrative. And as per his plan, he takes Dr. Caulder into the vortex along with his megalomaniacal self. Disappointed that she couldn’t avert this, Crazy Jane follows after them in spite of Cliff’s heartfelt outcries. The vortex closes, but not before devouring the town and its populace.
Things escalate pretty weird pretty fast and once the dust settles only our oddball trifecta of – Robotman, Negative Man & Elasti-Woman remain. The shaky alliance forged moments before is broken and the three, part ways- with Rita retiring to Doom-manor convinced of Caulder’s inevitable return and Larry planning to skip town. Cliff becomes the last man standing, amidst a town now reduced to smoldering rubble. The scene then shifts to a seedy part of Detroit, where a robbery in progress is foiled by a hooded-figure in red. Enter, part robot and full-time do gooder Cyborg (Joivan Wade) who has already created a name for himself in the city, fighting crime. Very early on, we are introduced to Victor’s overbearing father Silas Stone (Phil Morris) and Dr. Caulder’s relationship with the duo is explored via flashbacks. Interspersed between this narrative is a brief but hilarious montage of the entity within Larry, deterring his innumerable attempts to leave town. Great stuff. Meanwhile Cyborg discovers that a mysterious ‘near apocalypse’ type event had transpired in Cloverton and goes to investigate. What he stumbles upon is nothing short of…strange. A devastated dust smothered town and an irate Robotman stumbling after a seemingly innocuous donkey.
After restraining the creature-who then literally regurgitates Crazy Jane-the obfuscated duo head back to Doom Manor with their new companions in tow; a semi-conscious Crazy Jane and an odd toed ungulate. It is later revealed that this donkey is a ‘doorway’ of sorts to another dimension. A reluctant Rita volunteers to first explore this possibility and by accident Larry and Vic are sucked in as well. Cliff meanwhile babysits a ‘more volatile than usual’ Crazy Jane who appears to be rapidly shifting through her myriad personas. On the other side, our confused trio try to make out where they are. Is it a parallel dimension? An alternate reality? We are not given a specific answer. But it IS a place where the sadistic Mr. Nobody can bend and alter to his will. He taunts our protagonists with horrifying visions from their dark pasts to thwart their search for Dr. Caulder. The episode concludes, with the entity latched onto Negative Man saving the day and the whole of Cloverton along with our heroes are spit back out.
The first episode set a fairly high bar for the weirdness factor and boy, the second episode (titled ‘Donkey Patrol) did not disappoint! Cyborg’s big screen appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League didn’t make a particular impression on me- there was a cold aloofness and lack of empathy that made me unable to relate to the character on any level whatsoever. The good news is that Joivan Wade’s interpretation is the polar opposite. A welcome change indeed. It will be his character, that the general audience will relate to in Doom Patrol moving forward.
Cyborg’s origins too have been slightly altered, making his motivations more personal and emotional. The fact that Doom Patrol doesn’t shy away from embracing the properties’ inherent weirdness is one of its strong suits. Titans got off on the wrong foot by antagonizing the audience with the whole ‘F*** Batman’ episode. But it looks like the fledgling is finally getting their act together with this one. Once again featuring some solid performances all around-with Alan Tudyk’s scenery chewing Mr. Nobody being a particularly delightful standout- I eagerly await to see what next Doom Patrol has in store for us.
Hasitha Fernando
