Round Two: Doom Patrol

Doom Patrol: Season 1, Episode 2 “Donkey Patrol” (B+)

I’m pleased to report that, in its second outing, this show did not disappoint. I’m especially impressed with the immediate intensity of it, having Jane jump to what might have been her death and then having Nobody narrate the events happening to those sucked into the donkey as he drilled into their deepest fears and shortcomings. The powers that each of these people have are truly incredible, and while Rita’s blobness was expressed in a far more compact and efficient way than her destructive roll out the window in episode one, we got to see how Larry’s spirit (or whatever it should be called) dictated what he could and couldn’t do and how Jane’s personalities can be particularly dark and destructive, reminiscent of Dark Phoenix but with a more pointed anger, no more present than in the rejection of the sandwich Cliff used to make for his daughter. I love the way that this show is playfully structured, with Nobody announcing the pretentious credits and then providing labeled headsets for him to able to narrate as they experienced a return to prominence before remembering just what had happened and where they were now. Cyborg is a decent addition even if he’s the least compelling of the characters so far, aside from Nobody jumping straight to tormenting him by showing him false memories, and he was smart to deduce that Nobody is actually scared of them rather than being omniscient, which is why he tried to take them down and rip them apart right away. Suffice to say – I’m in.