What I’m Watching: Doom Patrol

Doom Patrol: Season 1, Episode 7 “Therapy Patrol” (B+)

Sometimes, this show is just weird, as in the case of this episode which ended with a subtitled rat parodying “The Princess Bride.” But that’s also because Mr. Nobody enjoys the pleasure of narrating and amusing himself, and especially when time can be measured in episodes ago, all bets are really off and this show can be as wildly creative as it wants to be. Hours like this that are splintered into different timecodes building towards the full story can become overdone, but I didn’t feel that here. What was strongest about the way this all played out was that just one relatively short flashback per character really did prove impactful, and less certainly is more as we slowly learn about everything that makes each of these characters tick. Larry talking to the Spirit through his memories that weren’t entirely accurate was extremely compelling, and it’s good to see them forming a relationship that also sometimes means that Larry hangs back while the other being inhabiting his body gets to go out and be the hero. I love how excited Cliff got about therapy, though it seems that another influencing force may have been responsible for that delirium. Vic swiping through the many women who were apparently interested in him was an unexpectedly lighthearted plot point, though it did get unfortunately serious when he saw the girl’s reaction to the receipt of his cyborg selfie. Rita getting stuck in the furnace was yet another instance of how her miserable powers externalize the way she feels about being trapped in her own no longer-perfect skin.