The ever-odd Doom Patrol continues their final season with more weirdness. They learned a lot about a big new threat in the premier, and now have to figure out what to do about it. The long tradition of having seen a horrible future and now having to prevent it continues with the team possibly least equipped to handle it in “Butt Patrol.”

The episode opens in 2016, where someone in what seems to be a bomb disposal suit looks as if he’d rather be dealing with an actual bomb. He instead is doing what appears to be elaborate stage setting, fixing a tableau that has obviously sustained some damage. Things go badly, and his coworkers watch in horror as we learn the bulky protective suit is utterly useless.

At Doom Manor in the present, Rita is attempting to lead a team meeting about what they’ve seen. Vic tries to talk to her, but she is, as usual, not listening. She comes up with an interesting idea about how to try and prevent the grim future, while Jane gets in a rare comic book reference. She quips about the “Crisis of Infinite Ass,” which was a nod to the “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” a groundbreaking comic story in the 80’s, and has been adapted in both live action on the CW and more recently as a series of animated movies. After the meeting goes somewhat predictably off the rails a bit, Rita makes the mistake of asking for suggestions. Vic finally gets to say what he was trying to earlier, and Rita is offended and surprised. Rita makes a little speech about how no one else can really lead the team, and is then even more offended by their choice, who is, at least, just as surprised as Rita.

The new leader dives into the role, taking command and altering the plan Rita had come up with, to go deal with a former foe who has had some issues since we last saw him. The team isn’t sure about the new approach, but grudgingly agrees. Then, the new leader shows they are already several steps ahead, pulling someone aside for a secret mission while the rest of the team is getting ready. Flashing back to 2017, we see the Ant Farm bringing in a new, and odd, employee, whose accomplishments include being a linguist, anthropologist, and a musical theater degree, because why not? This newcomer to the weird world, Margaret Yu, gets introduced to her project, and has an unusual reaction.

Back in the present, the team is off taking advantage of the hour’s prep time they have in assorted ways. Vic is making his own plans, while Larry tries to reach out to the freaked out Keeg, who hasn’t been the same since their jaunt to the future. Larry is worried enough about Keeg that he ignores Rita’s display of drama and temper, further enraging her. In her room, Jane begins working on a challenge she was given last episode. After several really unfair things happen, she walks away from it, and runs into Victor. Annoyed by something he’s learned, Victor has come up with his own plan, and Jane agrees to go along.

The special side mission proceeds via a very unusual mode of transportation for superheroes. They stop, finding something on the side of the road, that provokes some strong reactions from one of them. This leads to a series of metaphors, finally broken off when they see their target engaged in some surprising activity. In 2017, Dr. Yu shows the results of her work, and the military backers of the project are less than impressed. Things go badly, and a scene that was epicly weird even by Doom Patrol standards comes to an end.

Larry tries to work things out with Keeg, and Rita keeps interposing herself in the process. Larry, usually her best friend and staunchest supporter, finally has had enough, and verbally hits back, something he hasn’t really done with her before. They snip at each other before Rita gets overly dramatic, which isn’t a great surprise. Off on their own, Vic and Jane try their hands at being undercover, meet someone with a truly weird specialization, and namecheck two legendary DC comics talents along the way. The two teammates end up arguing about the recent changes, and Vic tells Jane about something Kay did Jane was unaware of.

Team Secret Side Mission finally put their plan into motion and, to no surprise at all by season four here, nothing goes to plan. Their target has some ideas of his own about what they need to do, and it makes one of them very, very uncomfortable. For what it’s worth, I see where that particular hero is coming from. The situation gets complicated and ugly, and a few tragic things happen. Unlike their usual results, they accomplish their mission, just not exactly how they planned to. Jane and Vic manage to get their job done, too, which makes two successes in a row. This is very unusual for the Patrol, and made me start to wonder what was about to go wrong, and how badly.

In 2019, Yu sort of crosses paths with the Doom Patrol, as their attack on the Ant Farm back then plays out. Yu survives the chaos and bloodshed, and then makes a discovery. I’ll give her credit for staying true to her own ideas, but she makes a choice that is probably going to cause problems down the line. The team, such as they are at this point, regroups, with a lot of bickering and sniping. An unpleasant duty falls on Cliff, who is already having a lot of doubts about what he’s been doing recently. He ruminates over recent events, while someone listens in and is very worried.

With enough insanity for one episode, things start wrapping up. Victor actually does something that should be good for him, which is a big step for him. It’s also very brave, considering how his ditching his Cyborg tech a while back has worked out. Jane follows up on what Vic told her earlier, and begins learning that a few things she’s been sure about might not actually be true. And, just to cap things off, we check in with Dr. Yu again, who has taken in a very unusual roommate.

What I Liked: The change in leadership is an interesting idea, and I get where it’s coming from. Rita’s reaction is annoying, but very in character. The assorted side missions in this episode were weird, but they actually managed to get some things done and we saw some character development along the way. I also enjoyed the comic book nods. I think I’m most intrigued by what Jane found out at the end.

What I Didn’t: Sometimes, it really does feel like when the writers aren’t quite sure what to do, they turn up the weird. They did several times in this episode, especially in the scenes involving Dr. Yu, and I just can’t figure out why they decided to go there. I felt bad for Cliff especially, who seemed to get hit hard throughout the episode.

I’ll give this one a 3 out of 5. If the oddness they played into here is a big part of the season, maybe I won’t be quite so saddened when we get to the end.