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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Jeremy Carver’s vulgar group of strange characters meet a new villainous match. This week’s episode of Doom Patrol is titled “Dada Patrol”. Executive story editor Shoshana Sachi returns to pen the teleplay, while Kristin Windell (Alias, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) returns as the director.
According to Warner Media, here is the synopsis of Doom Patrol Episode 305.
After receiving vital information about her past, an out-of-sorts Madame Rouge grapples with her future, enlisting the Doom Patrol for a mission that thrusts them deep into a perplexing society. As the rest of the team attempts to infiltrate their target, Rita discovers a surprising connection to Rouge at home.
In this review, I will be discussing this week’s newest episode. There will be spoilers to follow, as the title of this article suggests. Please read ahead at your own discretion.
Plot Summary
Following last week’s episode’s events, Jane (Diane Guerrero) and the other personalities discuss letting Kay (Skye Roberts) take over. Vic Stone’s (Joivan Wade) “Cyborg” systems come back online. His father, Silas (Phil Morris), allows him to be his own type of hero. Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan) dumps his Parkinson’s medication into his body. He also scrolls through his family’s social media feed. Rita Farr (April Bowlby) and Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer and Matthew Zuk) learn that the latter is not dying. Although, they do discover something crawling beneath his skin.
Laura “Madame Rouge” De Mille (Michelle Gomez) sends the team to encounter The Sisterhood of Dada. She has Rita stay with her at the mansion to show her the Sisterhood’s film. She reveals that Rita was behind the scenes of the film. De Mille also shows Rita the letter that Niles Caulder has written about her (De Mille). The two women discuss their purpose for the future (i.e. destinies) over drinks.
Cliff overdoses on his dopamine stimulators en route to the Sisterhood. The Patrol nearly crashes their bus and finds themselves in a fog off the road. The fog then thickens and alters their reality. Cliff meets a woman in a glass cage who speaks to him in Japanese and in English subtitles; Janes meets the woman controlling the fog; Larry comes across his son Paul (John Getz); and Vic meets an artist who asks him what he (Vic) knows about suffering.
Learning that De Mille sent them, the Sisterhood awaken the Patrol in the bus. The team returns home, and Vic tells Rita to forget about the entire mission. Cliff dumps more pills into his body and clicks on a pop-up ad on his computer. Rita climbs into De Mille’s time machine and turns it on.
Supporting and Guest Members of the Patrol
The Sisterhood of Dada is established as a group of superpowered individuals who escaped the Ant Farm. Wynn Everett guest stars as Shelley Byron a.k.a. The Fog, a woman from The Sisterhood of Dada’s film. Other members include Anita Kalathara as Holly, a narcoleptic Dada member who plays Barry Manilow through her headphones to stay awake; Miles Mussenden as Lloyd, an artist who has bicycle parts attached to his back; and Gina Hiraizumi as Sachiko, a germophobic member who is kept in a glass case.
Stephanie Czajkowski appears as Hammerhead, while Catherine Carlen plays Dr. Harrison; both are personalities of Kay’s body.
Hannah Alline returns as another one of Kay’s personalities, Pretty Polly, while Eric James Morris plays a B.O.N. Agent.
Discussion
The episode’s pacing is awkward and slow; its plot structure follows a type of format that we’ve seen two episodes ago — Episode 303 “Dead Patrol” — when the team was in their personal purgatories. Marc Pattavina returns as the editor. Other than that, everything seems about the same.
With five episodes into the new season, I do want to see what new adventures the team has to embark. Season 3 is about their traversing through grief, and they’ve already encountered a profound number of character groups and adversaries. There are many arcs to explore that Doom Patrol (like Season 2) doesn’t necessarily settle on one concrete story.
The inclusion of De Mille and the Sisterhood does foreshadow that we will definitely come to a point where the team will face something like themselves. Or rather, it seems the team will come to terms with who they are. From what I know about the succinct plot synopses for the next three episodes, it looks like the arc will concrete itself. Although, I do think that this arc will pace itself a bit. More to come as the season’s upcoming episodes roll out…
Performances and Character Developments
I love how much more developed the characters get in their tastes. For example, we begin the episode with Jane listening to My Chemical Romance. Her type of behavior (as much as that of the rest of the team) can best be described by Dr. Harrison. She states: “There are rules in place. The Underground is a delicate ecosystem, and brash decisions affect us all.” Later, Byron suggests Jane is scared — and that her (Jane’s) leaning on her desires renders herself weak. Compared to the Patrol, the Sisterhood seems to know their place in the world, more organized and less rebellious than the former group.
Cliff’s interactions with his family via the Internet are a means that helps him get more with the times. The fact that he does not know the acronym behind ‘L.M.F.A.O.’ is an indication of this. Vic warns him not to click on a pop-up advertisement, and eventually, Cliff will have to face the consequences when he does do it.
Larry’s returning to his son, Paul, grants him a second chance. However, the fact that they met in Byron’s altering of reality might suggest something strange.
There may be some redundancies. Lloyd asks Vic, “How can you know suffering or joy without knowing who you are?” I believe that, with how far the series has progressed, the latter character should know the answer to this. He and the rest of the Patrol have developed over the course of two and a half seasons. Is this not enough development for the plot and the characters to showcase such an answer, whatever that may be? Hopefully, we’ll discover later this season.
Final Thoughts
“Dada Patrol” segues greatly into a new storyline, albeit with too gradual pacing. The first half of the episode should have been compressed a bit so they could spend more time interacting with the Sisterhood. I almost thought that the Patrol would be stuck in the fog, which would continue on for the next episode or so. This would be similar to how Season 3 had “Dead Patrol” and “Undead Patrol” back-to-back. Of course, the Sisterhood takes them back to the bus, but this seems all too easy. We’ll see what happens next.
Doom Patrol Season 3 is available to watch on HBO Max!
Have you seen this series yet? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Let us know! For more comedy, drama, superhero-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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