"Doom Patrol" Season Three Talkback (Spoilers)

[Yojimbo]

Discuss the 3rd season of Doom Patrol, now available on HBO Max streaming platforms!

The Doom Patrol is at a difficult crossroads and each member struggles to face who they are and who they want to be. And things get a whole lot more complicated when Madame Rouge arrives in a time machine with a very specific mission, if only she could remember it.

September 23, 2021
Episode 25 "Possibilities Patrol"
Dorothy and the Candlemaker finally face-off, while the Doom Patrol – now freed from their wax encasings – face troubling side-effects. Rita holds the key, but is she ready to answer the call?

Episode 26 "Vacay Patrol"
A relaxing vacation to escape the Doom Patrol’s recent loss proves anything but – especially when an unexpected evil lurks nearby.

Episode 27 "Dead Patrol"
After waking up in the tunnel of souls, the Doom Patrol must confront their own personal purgatories. Back at the manor, Dorothy and Larry consult a highly specialized detective agency to help reach their friends.

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Related discussions:
-"Doom Patrol" on HBO Max
-"Doom Patrol" News & Discussion Thread
-"Doom Patrol" Season One Talkback
-"Doom Patrol" Season Two Talkback

 

[Yojimbo]

September 30, 2021
Episode 28 "Undead Patrol"
The newly “undead” members of the Doom Patrol are inspired to work on themselves. Later, the team is rocked by the arrival of a mysterious woman on a time machine – and a former foe.

 

[Yojimbo]

October 7, 2021
Episode 29 "Dada Patrol"
Madame Rouge enlists the Doom Patrol’s help after learning about her unsettling past. While the rest of the team works to infiltrate the target, Rita stays behind and finds a surprising connection with their mysterious friend.

 

[Yojimbo]

October 14, 2021
Episode 30 "1917 Patrol"
Plunged back in time, Rita attempts to navigate the Bureau of Normalcy with the help of an oddly familiar group. Meanwhile, Jane gives Kay her first taste of freedom, while Larry finds closure with his son.

 

[Yojimbo]

October 21, 2021
Episode 31 "Bird Patrol"
Vic consults an old friend for help with a major life change, Cliff takes his online habits too far, and Jane battles the “others” for Kay. Sensing imminent danger, Madame Rouge attempts to rally the highly distracted group.

 

[Yojimbo]

October 28, 2021
Episode 32 "Subconscious Patrol"
While the fog obscures more than just the air, Vic, Cliff, Jane, and Larry must relive their most shameful moments until a breakthrough occurs, and Rita begins to better understand Madame Rouge.

 

[hobbyfan]

Discuss the 3rd season of Doom Patrol, now available on HBO Max streaming platforms!​

The Doom Patrol is at a difficult crossroads and each member struggles to face who they are and who they want to be. And things get a whole lot more complicated when Madame Rouge arrives in a time machine with a very specific mission, if only she could remember it.

September 23, 2021
Episode 25 "Possibilities Patrol"
Dorothy and the Candlemaker finally face-off, while the Doom Patrol – now freed from their wax encasings – face troubling side-effects. Rita holds the key, but is she ready to answer the call?

Decent start. Flashback with Brendan Fraser wearing a mustache? Not so much. And the dude was just cast as Firefly for the Batgirl movie? Get thee to Weight Watchers, Brendan!!!

Digging the retro soundtrack with the Hollies, Alan Parsons Project, et al.

 

[Yojimbo]

November 4, 2021
Episode 33 "Evil Patrol"
With Madame Rouge vying for her old spot in the Brotherhood of Evil, the Doom Patrol brace themselves for their impending visit.

 

[M.O.D.O.K.]

I've been really liking this season, especially above season 2. Giving Rita a protagonist role was a great move, and her arc with Madame Rouge and the Sisterhood of Dada has been fun to see unfold. "Evil Patrol" had a thrilling cliffhanger. I'm excited for the finale next week.

 

[Yojimbo]

November 11, 2021 (Season Finale)
Episode 34 "Amends Patrol"
As the Brotherhood of Evil closes in, the Doom Patrol try to set aside past issues in hopes of becoming a true superhero team – or risk being taken out for good.

 

[Road to Gotham]

April Bowlby season 3 interview from CBR.

Doom Patrol Star Breaks Down Rita's Heroic Role in Season 3 Finale

Doom Patrol star April Bowlby breaks down Rita's role in the HBO Max series' third season and praises the show's weird and wacky elements.

www.cbr.com

 

[Fone Bone]

Doom Patrol "Possibilities Patrol"

Cool tag. Good to see Mark Sheppard again.

My guess about Michelle Gomez's character: Rita from the future. It's the safest and easiest guess right now, which means it's probably wrong. But that's what I'm going with for now.

I have a love-hate relationship with this show, and believe it's probably the most overrated superhero show currently on television (second is Young Justice). But I still really liked the episode. I liked Dorothy getting control of the Candlemaker in essentially the first scene.

I also love how they tend to use metaphors for the inner struggles of Crazy Jane. The biplane metaphor for taking over could have been stronger (and might have been were the show not working under Covid restrictions) but I like the metaphor of them eating Miranda's corpse and it turning into candy. It's sort of like both comfort food and feeding on pain all at once.

Just the fact that Timothy Dalton came back to play his corpse told me they weren't done with Niles, even before the ghost did.

I don't like the show that much but I know a good episode when I see it. ****.

Doom Patrol "Vacay Patrol"

I also liked this one. Although it's closer to love.

I'm disappointed I was right about Rita from the future. The guess should not have been THAT easy, especially in the first episode. For the record Michelle Gomez DOES very much look like an older version of April Bowlby. But considering Rita hasn't aged after all this time (yet) I question how far in the future this Rita is from. I'm guessing VERY far.

'Bout time we got the Brain and Monsieur Mallah. Long overdue.

I love Garguyax the Decimator for the precise reason that Cliff was right about him and Vic was wrong. Ultimately, he IS a good guy, who wants to let Niles' team go because he assesses THEY are good guys. And he even gives them a warning before he (and alarmingly they) are killed.

I knew the red guy Samuels from somewhere, and according to the credits it's Billy Boyd. It's been awhile since I've seen him in ANYTHING, and I don't recall anything non-Lord Of The Rings related that I've ever seen him in but it was Pippin.

The weak link of the episode (and probably the series) is Vic. Let me be blunt. But the end of the episode, I agreed with Crazy Jane, that they shouldn't be superheroes. They are under no obligation to do that and Vic believing that shows he is simply emotionally damaged and projecting it onto other people. They don't want to be so they shouldn't have to be. And considering this IS a superhero show, I suspect that because of this episode, I will not ever really be fully on-board them going there. Because if they don't actually want that, the Universe isn't actually owed it. Vic is wrong. And always was.

What's especially annoying about Vic is how antagonistic he is towards Silas. Aside from the fact that every bad thing he's ever thought about Silas has turned out to be untrue, (so were I him I'd be a little deferential and apologetic this season, at least to start out with) he's also trying to dig him out of a mess Vic made for himself. Silas asking for gratitude is the correct response to Vic's outrage at being referred as Cyborg. Aside from being ridiculous since it's clear throughout the episode he ONLY considers himself Cyborg, I've grown tired of Vic always pushing back against his father. It was okay in the first two seasons when we or Cyborg weren't actually sure of Silas' intentions. Now that we know they are good, Vic needs to check himself.

Also for the record, Vic letting Roni go was the wrong move. If he is punished for it, he will have deserved it. In real life he'd deserve prison time.

The ending wasn't surprising to me however. And not just because the Doom Patrol get killed a lot in other continuities. It's the precise kind of ridiculous ending this specific show would do at the beginning of the season. Killing off almost the entire cast at the beginning of the season makes a statement, the biggest being "This ain't over." It's the kind of cynical and weirdly cloying thing this show does best that I equally love and hate it for. But the ending didn't shock me at all. It was totally on-brand. If that had been the series finale, that would be another thing. In episode 2 of the season it's equal measures gutsy and annoying instead.

I DID really love the episode though. ****1/2.

Doom Patrol "Dead Patrol"

I like the Dead Boy Detective Agency. One thing I especially like is one of them correctly noting that Larry was nosy. He was asking VERY personal questions without thinking about how personal they actually were. Nobody in the Doom Patrol has boundaries, but I guess Larry forgot that's not how the rest of the world works. Not even ghosts.

When Dorothy returned to the house I realized how much I liked the character. And I didn't like her last year. But Larry needed her, she was there, and she helped him get their friends back. While she was Candlemaker's tool last year, I disliked her. Now that she's calling the shots with him I like her.

I understand it's the point of Cliff, but Cliff just sucks. There is no part of him that isn't spiteful or jerkish for the sake of being a spiteful jerk. It gets old fairly quick. The series tries to make him lovable and funny by having him drop an inordinate amount of f-bombs, but I'm really getting sick of him. As long as the character doesn't evolve, I'm not going to bother investing in him.

Also annoyed Cliff and the crew say that Vic was right about Garguynax being bad. He wasn't. Did they miss him dying to warn them to run? That actually pisses me off.

I didn't like the stuff with Vic's mother because it seems like it's gonna cause a rift and backslide with Silas. And frankly what his mother is saying doesn't make a bit of sense. It sounds like she's second-guessing her husband's tough decisions when she wasn't there. It made me unhappy.

I predict the melted guy who saved them all was Larry and Rita's son from the future. Does time pass differently on the path of the dead? Probably.

Pretty good, but I didn't like it as much as the first two episodes. Plus, although I'm glad the death stuff is resolved (but as seen by the preview not completely) last episode's ending was really too big and significant to justify wrapping it up in a single part. But maybe that's just me. ***1/2.

Doom Patrol "Undead Patrol"

Opinion: The scene with the fight between the zombies and the butt-monsters is the best thing the show ever did. When Zombie-Larry has the chainsaw I was like, "This is GOOD!"

However, I was not as enamored with the scene of the Doom Patrol eating Niles' head as the actors in the accompanying featurette were. Yes, it's nothing any other show would do. Which is why I felt they did it, which doesn't impress me much. It seemed the moment was more to do with the violent and weird brand than anything else. It's not as emotionally fulfilling as it is being billed as. For one thing, there isn't actually a metaphor present. It's insane, and a sacrifice on Niles' end, but it doesn't speak to a larger human experience the way the best type of sci-fi allegory does.

Let me clear: I'm not saying the scene was BAD per se. I'm saying I wouldn't be putting it on my Emmy Reel. People in the featurette are overselling it.

Speaking of the featurette, I'm annoyed they spoiled Michelle Gomez is actually Madame Rouge. We learned she wasn't Rita at the end, but I can't help feel like that bit of info should not have been spoiled for people who either don't read the comics, or don't listen to press releases and trailers for fear of being spoiled. A featurette about the episode we just saw should JUST focus on that episode and not reveal upcoming stuff.

Cyborg continues to be a total d-word to his father and I continue to hate him for it.

I always liked the name Shannon too.

Good to see Mark Sheppard again. Willoughby is no John Constantine, but he's a decent stand-in if we can't have that character. Sheppard would have made a good Constantine in another life.

Bonkers, insane, bananas, a lot of fun, and I don't think quite as great as people think it is. ****1/2.

Doom Patrol "Dada Patrol"

Interesting. Very.

I liked the bit with the scorpion coming out of the gun followed immediately by Larry's son Paul saying some completely puzzling, random nonsense things. David Lynch could have wrote and directed that scene and I can give it no higher compliment.

Fog's an interesting character. Unlike the rest of the Sisterhood, I sense she's bad.

Frenzy is a cool character too, and in just one appearance he's already a far cooler character than Vic.

I did like that Vic made a measure of peace with Silas at the beginning.

The Japanese girl in the glass cage is also something Lynch might do.

A lot of striking and dreamlike imagery makes this episode very much like a David Lynch film. And like Lynch, it's open for interpretation (so far). I expect more answers here than Lynch usually gives. But for now, it's irresistible not actually knowing what the hell is going on. ****1/2.

Doom Patrol "1917 Patrol"

The Sisterhood of Dada is fun but insane. Just based on the ending, whatever Madame Rouge did to piss them off, must have been REALLY bad.

And we now see that Rita was left behind on the mission last week for story reasons. If the Sisterhood knew she was in the Doom Patrol, they'd trust them.

I have basically thrown up my hands with Cliff. There is no part of me who cares about that jerk anymore.

I thought Larry's speech to his son was not damn good enough. But it fascinated the hell out of me. Because I think Larry himself believed it was, and on some level I think he son was starting to too. I don't have to agree with that notion to find it interesting.

Rita's romance with Malcolm was very sweet.

Both Seasons 1 and 2 were extremely hit or miss. Season 3 has been VERY strong so far. It has yet to deliver a turd. ****.

Doom Patrol "Bird Patrol"

This show is beyond interesting. And weird. Don't forget weird. That ending is bananas.

I don't like where Cliff's plot is going with his daughter. At all. I find it unnecessary to be truthful.

I love that Rita didn't time travel back. She simply lived through all that. I can't wait to see how she's actually changed next week.

My favorite bit was the look on Laura's face when Larry questioningly asks if he should name the tumor. She is surrounded by morons.

And we see the problem with Jane and the Underground in a nutshell. She's the only one who wants Kay to get better. The rest fear their world disappearing if she does. It's admirable that that is not Jane's concern at all. Frankly, it probably should be.

Where does Niles fit into the stuff in the past? I feel like the ball was dropped a bit there.

This show is nuts. In the very best way. ****.

Doom Patrol "Subconscious Patrol"

I didn't respond to that. It was too dark and I wound up loathing Cliff even more than I already do. I think the show is crazy for making me do that.

It will be interesting to see where they go with Vic with the implants removed.

I also have to say Madame Rouge was far more deliberately evil than I expected. She's not the misguided victim of Niles Caulder she's been portraying herself as.

Didn't dig it. *.

Doom Patrol "Evil Patrol"

Only that show could make an ending that equal parts operatic and ridiculous.

The fight with the Madame Rouge baby was also bonkers. And the stuff with the Brain was hilarious.

I'm surprised Jane is surprised Kay dislikes her. I think Kay sees all of the personalities as her curse and burden. And if Jane is trying to make her happy, she'll realize she doesn't need them anymore. As sinister as the rest of the personas earlier seemed for sabotaging Kay's happiness, it was literally a matter of survival for them.

I hate Vic. I thought Silas' speech was amazing, and moving, and explained everything about him. Instead, Vic chews him out for it. If Cliff didn't exist, Vic would be the most outright disgusting character on the show. I can't believe him. He sucks.

Also, he's OUTRAGED nobody is happy for him. Like everything's about him. I hate him so much.

Good week. This has been the first really good season of the show. I expect good things from the finale. ****1/2.

Doom Patrol "Amends Patrol"

I thought it was funny. Cliff was relatable for the first time ever, and I like where Rita and Madame Rouge ended up with each other.

A little iffy on Jane and Cyborg, and I'm unsure about leaving Cliff in a mecha and Vic in a human body. But Larry seems to be going in the right direction at least.

And the end was pretty much hilarious. "DOOOOOM FORCE!" We'll see if Rouge manages to make amends or not but I DO approve of her trying at least.

Good finale. ****.