The adventures of the world’s weirdest supers (note, I didn’t say superheroes) continue as the Doom Patrol gets close to the end of their third season. Rita is actually motivated for once, having a vested interest in stopping Madame Rouge now. The rest of the team, as usual, is wrapped up in their own drama and overall apathetic on the idea of being heroes. Who they are talking about in the title is up for debate as we see “Evil Patrol.”

The show opens with a visit to 1917 and the Sisterhood of Dada being their weird, artistic selves. Rita probably ends up revealing more than she meant to with her contribution, but Laura and Shelley really liked it. Then we cut to the present, with Rita confronting Madame Rouge, who overall seems utterly unimpressed. Rita talks a lot as usual, and Rouge shows how difficult it is to try and beat, or even fight, a shapeshifter.

Back at Doom Manor, Cliff comes downstairs and he and Jane coo over Larry’s weird larva thing that he’s caring for. The scene turns dark quickly, and in short order it’s revealed as a nightmare. Awake now, Larry tries to live up to his new responsibilities. In the facility he went to a while back, Victor is enjoying his new look, while his father is a lot less thrilled. Silas tells a story from his past about racism in the work place, and Vic, while horrified, doesn’t let him off the hook for his past misdeeds, and they have a very emotional confrontation.

Down in the Underground, Jane and Kay catch up. Jane is stunned at the sweeping changes, and while it sounds like a good thing for Kay overall, Jane is worried about some of the repercussions from what’s going on. While Jane worries over something she heard, Rouge tries to link up with her past allies. Heroes and villains are both weird versions of the concept on this series, and the Brotherhood of Evil is no exception. Rouge talks her way in to their new location, but isn’t encouraged by her reception.

Getting back at roughly the same time, Cliff and Vic run into each other. Cliff is impressed by Vic’s new look, although he’s understandably envious. Inside, Rita is trying to whip up support for her crusade against Rouge. Things aren’t going her way, and the recent changes in many of her teammates aren’t helping anything. The team bickers, as usual, and doesn’t really make any progress towards much of anything. As all this goes on, Rouge gets a tour and an update from the Brain. He seems to be listening to her, while Mallah is not at all happy she’s come back.

Rita shows much more determination and focus than usual, but just can’t get any traction. It sounds like she has at least one person supporting her, but an unexpected arrival drags them away, leaving Rita fuming. Rouge gets brought up short by the Brain’s assessment of her career, and gets stuck with a new assignment if she wants to get any help at all. Cliff has a talk with someone from his past and seems like he’s actually going to get some support and help.

Down in the basement, Kay wanders around and ends up in a place we’ve seen before. Vic finds her there, and they bond over the recent improvements in their lives. They find a lot of points in common and show a lot of support for each other. This ends with an odd request and an impression of a past member of the team. Rita and Larry have always been the closest two in the Manor, but even their relationship is showing signs of strain with all the recent changes. They have a not quite fight, and Larry points out some of the difficulties in what Rita is trying to do. Things are looking up for Cliff, aside from a joke about his name, until Rita comes by for a chat. He’s initially annoyed at her, but finally concedes she might have a point.

What we get next is probably the oddest fight scene I’ve ever seen in any superhero movie or series. Their opponent takes full advantage of their powers in a way we rarely see on this show, and the team’s lack of organization once again works against them. Kay shows how ill-suited she is for this kind of life, and then things take a turn when one of the team gets captured and the bad guy gets away. The abduction finally galvanizes the team into action, albeit with them being at the weakest we’ve ever seen them.

The kidnapped Doom Patroller gets a bit of the traditional villain monologue as they hear what the plan is and we learn some more secrets about this particular hero. It’s not a shocking revelation per se, but it’s interesting. Things aren’t sounding great for the Patrol, and there’s only one more episode in the season after this, which traditionally can be a bit worrying. While Kay wanders the Underground, the Patrol takes off in their less-than-impressive usual vehicle. There’s a lot more bickering and one of them gets surprised by their teammates.

The Brotherhood of Evil lives up to the name, and there’s a sudden betrayal as the plan moves forward. The last bit of the show moves back and forth between the Patrol bickering on their road trip and the Brotherhood moving along with the big scheme. Things aren’t looking good for a lot of people at this point. Kay is also having some terrifying experiences on her own as the Patrol proves once again to be its own worst enemy and we leave with the team in a lot of trouble.

What I Liked: The series has been tragic and dark for almost its entire run. It’s kind of nice to see some of them getting at least a bit of a break. While it’s selfishly motivated, it’s a good change to see Rita actually taking action. The bad guys are entertaining. They probably shouldn’t be, but they are. The scene with Victor and Silas was heartbreaking but really well done. The big fight was fun and weird and bizarre.

What I Didn’t: I get they aren’t exactly a superhero team, but the dysfunction is really hitting new lows. I’m fairly sure that most of the good news they’ve gotten is going to turn on them, which will be sad to see. I’m actually worried about the Patrol member who has been captured.

As always, this was a weird installment of the Doom Patrol adventures. I’m really not sure where this is going for the finale. I’ll give this a 3 out of 5. One more to go in this season.