Doom Patrol: Hope Patrol

The bizarre chaos that is the Doom Patrol’s final season careens onward towards the end. Last time, the cast regressed to babies, dealing with weird magic and the weirder Wiloughby Kipling. Now, they need to deal with the aftermath, and the truth of their various immortalities being gone. Things don’t look great for the team, and now they really need what it is hinted at in the title: “Hope Patrol.”

The episode opens with Cliff hard at work on the car that is playing an increasingly large role in the season since he and Madame Rouge found it by the side of the road. I still wonder whose it is, or was, but that doesn’t seem to be a factor here. Jane stumbles in, making confused references to the events of last episode, and Cliff fills her on some details she missed. Jane urges immediate action regarding some of the problems facing them, but Cliff has made his own decisions how what to do. Jane reacts about as well as usual when she doesn’t get her way on something she believes to be important. On the road, Victor and Derek deal with their own issues after last episode’s strange events.

Never one to mildly accept something she doesn’t like, Jane visits the Underground to try and get some help for the current issues. No one is interested in helping her, and they all seem to have a new task to deal with. Jane, irritated (but really, when isn’t she?) leaves again, vowing to fight on, even if she’s alone. Madame Rouge goes to find Rita, who is not exactly in the most dignified position. They deal with their own perceptions of last time’s events, and then talk about what to do next. Rita seems ready to give up, but Madame Rouge pushes her to take some action. Very much on his own, Larry is in another reality, more or less, and trying to figure out what’s going on and how to get out. He has a confused conversation with Mr. 104, who explains some of what’s going on and what the plan is, to the extent that there is one.  After some discussion and doubts, they agree to work together, at least for now.

Cliff is having an argument with what is probably a figment of his imagination, or possibly a symptom of his illness. On this show, it’s hard to be sure exactly what rules of “reality” apply, or if there even are any rules. This weird discussion, which shows a bit more self-awareness than Cliff usually possesses, gets interrupted by a new weird event. The man can’t even have an existential crisis in peace. Jane, still seeking allies, goes somewhere that surprised me, both in terms of her choice to go there and how she was able to get there at all. Jane has her own breakdown over what to do next, and gets some surprising reassurance from her one-time foe. She finally goes home and starts working on her own odd project.

Cliff is surprised by suddenly having visitors, also by who at least one of them is and how they got there. He expresses some understandable doubts about this alliance, and isn’t convinced by the arguments about what needs to happen next. As that discussion ends, Madame Rouge and Rita carry out their own mission. Their initial stage is surprisingly low-key and competent. They don’t find what they were hoping for, and Madame Rouge is clearly at a loss. Rita, apparently feeling more energetic suddenly (I wonder if bi-polar is among her issues at times), gives a good pep talk and the two carry on.

Victor and Derek finally return to the Manor, and Cliff brings them up to speed on the latest odd events. Victor is determined to help, even with the loss of his abilities, and the others aren’t sure this is a great idea. Victor has always been the one person in this series: I would call an actual hero, as opposed to a victim of weird circumstances, which I think sums up the rest of the team fairly well. While Victor and Derek embark on their next mad quest, Rita and Madame Rouge find at least part of what they are looking for. They get some disturbing clues and an unpleasant reminder of the past, and Rita once again gives Rouge a pep talk. Alliances and attitudes certainly shift a lot on this series, considering how the two of them were mortal enemies not all that long ago.

As Rita and Rouge get startled by a new development, Victor and Derek do some exploring. In the midst of a weird realm with powerful foes doesn’t strike me as the best time for a heart-to-heart talk, but that seems to be how this show works. Me, I’d be focused on the potential problems and dangers with where they are, but maybe that’s part of why there isn’t a show about me.  Heart-to-hearts seem to be going around, even between the most unlikely people. Cliff goes to visit Jane, and their usual juvenile antics and petty bickering gets put aside for once. Jane muses that she’s not sure she deserves to be loved, and Cliff gets off what might be one of the best lines of the entire series: “I hate to break it to you, but if people want to love you, there’s not really anything you can do to stop them.” True to form, their tender moment gets interrupted, this time by the return of Wiloughby Kipling, who comes bearing a wounded ally and unwelcome tidings. Cliff and Jane take off to deal with what they’ve learned, leaving behind a bemused Kipling. Mark Sheppard really does play that part remarkably well. Of course, I can’t think of a role he’s done badly with.

Creeping along on their mission, Victor and Derek continue to patch up their friendship and then make jokes about what they’re doing with 80’s cartoon references. Their unlikely new plan hinges on something from their D&D campaign. I’m a huge gamer, but I don’t think I’d want any of what my group does playing a part in a potentially life or death issue. Having found something unexpected, Rita and Madame Rouge immediately begin disagreeing on what to do next, so that status quo is back. The argument goes badly and ends with an unexpected result, but it does resolve the issue.

Larry is definitely not enjoying his trip, and things aren’t looking great for him. He and Keeg are having an ongoing argument that isn’t helping the situation any. This somehow triggers a… flash forward? I guess? of events from one of the future timelines they’ve touched on in the past. It seems like whatever they experience in the time yet to come helps resolve at least some of their issues. Vic and Derek enact their plan, and I guess it makes sense for the weird place they find themselves in. It’s a nice callback to something they’ve been talking about pretty much since Derek starting appearing on the show.

As the wrapping up scenes begin, there’s a lot of catching up to do. Rita and Madame Rouge have to deal with the aftermath of the unexpected twist in their mission. It’s definitely not going to help Rita’s assorted self-esteem issues. Most of the rest of the team come together to try and help Larry and, as usual, nothing goes to plan. Vic and Derek’s big plan, which looked cool, proves the truth of the old saying about no plan surviving initial contact with the enemy. Jane and Cliff charge in with their usual meticulous battleplan and that works about as well as you’d expect. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Cliff also gets a reminder about a very questionable choice he made, and we see that is definitely going to come back to bite him and probably everyone else.

What I Liked: Rita and Madame Rouge make a good team when they’re not getting in their own way. Cliff and Jane’s scene was unexpectedly touching. Victor’s heroic spirit shone through in pretty much every scene he was in. Michelle Gomez as Madame Rouge and Mark Sheppard as Wiloughby Kipling did their usual really impressive work.

What I Didn’t: The shifts in allegiances and alliances happen so often it’s getting dizzying. I think Vic and Derek got cheated out of their big scene. I’m a little tired of Larry not being able to catch a break. I felt really bad for Rita near the end of the mission.

It’s interesting watching them set up the end of the series, and trying to guess what’s coming. It’s been a weird show but oddly compelling at times. I’ll give this one a 3.5 out of 5. The end moves closer.