It’s all aboard the pain train this as we pinch off another Doom Patrol recap before we resume regular coverage of it. “Pain Patrol” is the final of the three episodes DC and Warner Brothers decided to drop all at once and I would say is the highlight so far. We have such sights to show you, so here’s five thoughts about “Pain Patrol” and remember, as always, beware of spoilers.
1. Two Banana
There’s about five plots running through “Pain Patrol,” some within others. The most minor of which involves Dorothy who is left home alone with the various other cast members away for different reasons. Dorothy is a fun character and the show continues to tease us by slowly including more of Herschel and Darling, but I find myself enjoying any moments they show up. Abigail Shapiro handles her role–and what has to be an uncomfortable amount of facial prosthetics–as Dorothy with grace and a spirited enthusiasm.
Their game of hide-and-seek does end with Danny the Brick being broken, which wraps the episode back around to the theme of forgiveness that much of the episode centers on. It isn’t made clear how being broken in half affects Danny, but Niles seems to be unsure what to do with them as the episode nears its close. Let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of our favorite non-binary street, alley, brick, and friend.
2. Can You Feel That?
All of these plots center around two themes, the aforementioned pursuit of forgiveness, and the less subtly delivered topic of pain. Though that isn’t to say everything lies on the surface here. The romance between Vic and Roni, the fellow support group member he pursued in “Tyme Patrol.” As it turns out that bar from the last episode was where the meetings take place so thankfully I was wrong about Vic following this woman around but now Roni puts a foot forward and brings him back to her apartment.
As I implied the theme of pain goes deeper than just the character “Pain Patrol” is referring to and these scenes between Vic and Roni serve to explore that. Both of these characters feel they are their more than their scars, but that all the world sees is the surface. Unfortunately, the chemistry between Joivan Wade and Karen Obilom is lacking, and the writing direction makes the viewer spend too much time questioning their own suspension of disbelief at this pairing that is, underneath its surface, pretty inexplicable. Though it is nice to know that unlike his film counterpart, this version of Cyborg does, indeed, have a dick.
3. Intervention!
Doom Patrol‘s presentation of the “underground” never fails to be engrossing. The decision to have other actors play the majority of personalities within the body Jane plays primary host to has allowed for some great moments. The other entities intervening with Jane and airing their grievances ranks up as being one of the better moments. Very little can top Driller Bill complaining how she hasn’t “had time for drilling or billing” brings some much-needed levity to an otherwise fairly heavy episode.
4. It’s My Fucking Bus
I suppose taking a road trip is a healthier coping mechanism than putting a metal fist through Niles Caulders’s face and, thankfully, that’s the direction Cliff takes in “Pain Patrol.” Or I guess South is actually the direction, as we head back to Florida, again. There’s a little less punch to Cliff’s arc with Clara here despite him finally revealing to her that he is her father. It’s a shame because Brendan Fraser has utilized profanity-laden anger to create a bedrock foundation for this show, but what little he is given in “Pain Patrol” to work with seems superfluous to the broader story and his own direction. Something that should have more emotional heft and really touch on that pain that this episode is about, feel very throw-away.
5. Be My Butterfly, Sugar, Baby
Red Jack is one of the most entertaining antagonists that Doom Patrol has provided us with that it is a shame for him to seemingly be making a one-off appearance. Even if he’s just Pinhead splashed with a Victorian aesthetic and a flair for the dramatic, I kinda love him and hope the end we see is not his last. This pain-fetishist butterfly-enthusiast is well worth playing with a bit more in this sandbox if the writers have a compelling reason to use him again.
As I opened with, overall this is the highlight of these first three installments of Doom Patrol but it isn’t quite hitting the highs it did for me by this time last season. I’m hoping that the re-introduction of Flex Mentallo will help to further lift this show up to those heights it has previously achieved this week. Stay tuned, and we shall see.
