Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second season of DC’s wonderfully surreal Doom Patrol ended on a very abrupt cliffhanger. The third season premiere, “Possibilities Patrol,” picks up immediately from there, dusts itself off, and begins anew — starting with the Chief’s death.
1. The End is the Beginning
Everything about this episode feels like it was written for the last season, since most of it concludes and resolves threads from there, instead of setting up new storylines (which the second season would’ve admittedly also done in its final moments.) The opening ends the story of Dorothy and the Candlemaker on a hurried note, with her basically telling him (and the audience) that she’s not interested in this arc anymore, and returning to the carnival to find her father has died. As a result, there’s a strong sense of an epilogue in much of this whole episode, from Rita reading the letter Niles left for her, to Larry deciding to leave the mansion, and Cyborg bidding a final goodbye to Roni Evers.
2. Jane vs. Depression
Dorothy refuses to bury Niles until Jane wakes up from her coma and has a chance to say goodbye to him, using frozen food packs to preserve his body on the dining table. Over in her subconscious, Jane has discovered the personality trying to take over from her as the dominant form is neither Miranda or her father, but rather a darkness, or infection as it calls itself. It was still rather vague as to what it actually was, but we see it reawaken Jane’s body, and attempt suicide, indicating it was her hatred and self-loathing at being abused by her father, and the darkest possibility for someone struggling with depression like her.
Jane manages to reassert her dominance with the help of all her other personalities, who help her defeat the infection with a red biplane. What does the biplane symbolize? Beats me, but since it was unveiled by her younger self, Kay, perhaps it’s an expression of hope, because what is more hopeful than a child? And at the end of the episode, when Jane’s personalities agree to eat and play with the infection’s puzzle-shaped remains, it’s an expression of child-like joy that reminds us that, sometimes, all it takes to get through the day is to play pretend like a kid would.
3. Niles isn’t Quite Dead
Niles appearing as a ghost to Cliff was a hilarious surprise, even though it shouldn’t have been, after the whole episode about ghosts throwing an orgy. (At first, I thought Niles recorded a hologram message for Cliff.) Niles reveals he can’t move on from the house unless his body is cremated, and who better to do that than Cliff? Cliff can’t though, because of Jane, and ultimately forgets after his baby news (more on that next), meaning Niles remains trapped in the mansion after Dorothy and Danny the Street take his body away.
During the credits, Niles decides to engage in some hanky panky with a couple of horny ghosts that are still doing it in the dining room, but before he can join in, his spirit is yanked away by Willoughby Kipling, who has recovered his head from his grave for some unknown reason. I think the real question here though is: if Niles is a ghost, why does he still have to unbutton his clothes like a living person?
4. Cliff Becomes a Grandpa
Cliff calls up his daughter Clara, and learns she’s in labor: he gets so excited, he even forgets Jane is supposed to be in a coma. After the real Jane returns, he gets round to the hospital to cradle his newborn grandchild. Cliff admits he can’t actually feel the baby, but it brings back memories of when Clara was born, and that’s good enough for him; Clara also comments his trembling hands may be soothing for the child as well. It’s just a really lovely reminder that someone as disabled as Cliff can still engage with the joys of the world.
5. Good Grief, Madame Rouge
The ending introduces Michelle Gomez as our new big bad Madame Rouge, who’s a shapeshifter like Rita. She emerges from the underground in a huge drilling machine, and asks Isabel Feathers, the awful (and talentless) actress who played Rita on stage, where she can find Niles Caulder; she also squats in the middle of the street to relieve herself. Now, way before Doctor Who or Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Michelle Gomez was best known for playing a demonic staff liaison officer on the British sitcom Green Wing, who also enjoyed relieving herself in front of other people on the men’s urinals. Coincidence, or intentional nod? I’ll let you decide.
We’ll be back next week to discuss the second part, “Vacay Patrol.”
