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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.
The end of a new story arc is coming. This week’s second-to-last episode of Jeremy Carver’s Doom Patrol Season 3 strips our strange superheroes of their essences. The episode is titled “Evil Patrol”. Story editor Eric Dietel pens the teleplay, while Rebecca Rodriguez returns as the director.
According to Warner Media, here is the synopsis of Doom Patrol Episode 309.
With Madame Rouge vying for her old spot in the Brotherhood of Evil, the Doom Patrol brace themselves for their impending visit.
In this review, I will be discussing this past 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
Flashback – 1917
In the Sisterhood of Dada’s hideout, Rita Farr (April Bowlby) speaks with Shelley Byron/ The Fog (Wynn Everett) and Laura De Mille (Michelle Gomez) about putting on a performance.
De Mille reveals to Rita that she can shape-shift into anything – a cat, a bird, etc. Rita then responds that people will be “captivated” once they learn of this metahuman ability. The Bureau of Normalcy’s metahuman recruiter says she will not let this happen. She states:
My power is my power. My art is my art. The project isn’t about a woman transforming. It’s about a woman becoming herself. That is why we make art, Bendy. The world is complicated, even when they try to make it simple. Weapon, not a weapon, weapon, not a weapon. Art is the only path. The only path through this messy life is paved with moments of pure expression. What will your dance be?
Post-Flagellation – Present
Following immediately after last week’s episode, Rita and De Mille confront each other in the middle of the woods. The former talks about how the latter’s speech about power and art is a lie. She then says that she has hidden the time machine. De Mille says that is useless to her now that her memories have returned to her. Rita tries to fight her, but De Mille shape-shifts into a bird and flies away.
Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer and Matthew Zuk) returns to the mansion with his “sentient tumor”. He has hallucinations of Jane (Diane Guerrero) and Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan) telling him he is “not really capable of fatherly love”. The tumor causes this to happen, as it can sense Larry’s emotions.
At Orsus Labs, Victor “Vic” Stone (Joivan Wade) comes out of his operation for synthetic skin, which proves to be innocuous. His father, Silas Stone (guest star Phil Morris), visits him and reveals why he gave him the Cyborg nanotechnology. After experiencing racism at S.T.A.R. Labs, he designed “a suit of armor to build him into something the world could not tear down, build him into something that could walk the world free”. Vic rejects being what his father wanted him to be.
In the Underground, Jane asks Kay (Skye Roberts) what happened to the other personas. Kay tells her they left. She says she wants the feeling she got when they were in the sweet shop inside of The Fog. Jane claims she knows what is best for her, but Kay disputes she does not understand. The girl then takes a train up to the surface.
Boca Raton, FL – Present
De Mille, now referred to as “Madame Rouge”, travels to the Brotherhood of Evil’s current location. There, she speaks with Monsieur Mallah (voiced by Jonathan Lipow), who tells her they have retired. However, the Brain lets her in through the gates.
Rouge persuades the Brain to help her destroy “Niles Caulder’s creations”. He mentions how he lent his death ray to an alien to destroy the “leggy broad who time-traveled to Codsville”. The Brain then says that Rouge will have to earn back his trust.
Preparations at the Mansion – Present
Vic and Cliff return to the mansion, where Rita is teaching Kay about the Brotherhood. Rita is dismayed to see that Vic has given up being Cyborg and the powers that come along with it. She asks Kay if she has any powers, but the girl believes she has nothing to offer. With Kay and Vic lacking the “Keys to Success”, Rita finds that they are of no help.
Larry – now in a new change of clothes – joins the rest of the Patrol in the library. Cliff claims that Rita has not changed in the three decades that she has been gone and that the Eternal Flagellation has not changed any of the group members at all. Rita warns them that the Brotherhood of Evil is coming and places Victor in a “stage crew” position.
Calm Before the Storm – Present
Cliff’s daughter, Clara Steele (guest star Bethany Anne Lind), visits the mansion. In the kitchen, she returns a bottle of Parkinson’s medication to her father. She talks to him about the pills’ “pretty serious side effects”, including “impulse control, gambling, lust”. Although she is disappointed at what he’s become, Clara offers to take him to an authentic doctor.
Vic speaks with Kay about how the group has always wanted to talk to her. She says that the personas have always kept her in the Underground. The two discuss having become who they were supposed to be; Victor is proud of her for it, that “we’re finally in charge of ourselves again”. He interviews Kay on camera as if he were Niles Caulder.
In her bedroom, Rita packs her clothes into baggage, planning to hunt Rouge down. Larry speaks with her, but she soon remembers that Rouge is a shape-shifter.
The Storm – Present
Downstairs, Rita sets Cliff aside and asks him if the person appearing as Clara is really his daughter. However, he calls her bluff. Cliff returns into the kitchen, where Rouge is revealed to have shape-shifted into his baby grandson. The rest of the Doom Patrol enters the room, and Cliff tells his actual daughter to hide somewhere with her son. Rouge gets into a fight with the teams and tases Cliff in the next room. As this happens, Kay hides behind furniture. She returns to the Underground, where she tells Jane that the group is under attack.
Jane returns to the surface as Rouge teleports elsewhere with Cliff’s body. Rita implores her for the personas’ help, but Jane declares this feat is impossible to accomplish. Rita also has Vic find the Brotherhood’s location, which he does by using a computer. He tells them that the Brotherhood is in Florida.
At Boca Raton, the Brain tells Cliff about being fond of his robot design. He reveals it was he who bought his blueprints online because the robot’s body is “infused” with both scientific and magical properties and is, therefore, “one of a kind”. The brains in the robot body are soon switched; at the same time, De Mille is deceived and is injected with “a metahuman power dampener”. The Brain reveals he has no plans whatsoever for world domination and instead just needs the body to live life and dance to mid-20th century music.
Elsewhere, atop a cliff, Mallah dumps Rouge’s body over the precipice.
On the Way – Present
On their bus ride to the Brotherhood’s location, Larry reveals he is not happy for Vic, suggesting he is rather jealous. He tells Victor and Jane that Rita has a different reason for going after Rouge. Rita reveals she had the opportunity to change the timeline by traveling to the past but did not do so. She says, “[The present] does not feel like home, not anymore. You are strangers to me”.
In the Underground, Kay is left in the dark. She hears screaming voices and hears glowing red eyes, which prompts her into fleeing into her bedroom. There, she lets out a scream, which lets out waves. On the surface, Jane lets out a scream, which blows up the bus. The vehicle flips over and crashes.
Discussion
With a runtime of 49 minutes, “Evil Patrol” offers a remarkable penultimate episode to Doom Patrol Season 3. There is much to write about. Leigh Dodson returns as the editor, while Blake Carlile joins as the assistant editor. Sam Sparks is the visual effects artist, while Jim LaRock is the VFX editor. Petra Bach serves as the supervising sound editor. The episode has some awkwardnesses with its visual effects, but this is made up for with its teleplay.
The writers’ room perfectly divides its focus on not just the Patrol members, but partially on the Brotherhood members as well. I lost a little hope after Clara’s disappointment in her father, although her return to give him somewhat of a second chance was nice to see. The pacing feels moderate, and the editing and music are clean. These elements of the episode allow it to flow well, thus giving viewers a good narrative with which to follow along.
I love that the writers reveal cliff as the Robotman and was excited when at least one member of the Doom Patrol met The Brain.
Performances and Character Developments
Morris delivers an excellent performance as Silas Stone, who speaks up about his experience as a Black man and what he did to make the world a better place. Although, Victor rejects this; he refuses to be a solution to the world’s issues nor Silas’s symbol of improvement. This is best expressed in his line, “I want to walk the world as the man I was born to be”.
Guerrero and Roberts deliver terrific performances as Kay, and it’s noteworthy and surprising to me how they share similar mannerisms as this character. If you take Guerrero’s scenes in the mansion, for example, you will notice the way she speaks, acts, along with the body language that is conveyed. These small details about Kay are something that we don’t see often on the surface. Of course, this is due to the fact that she has always been in the Underground and has had minimal interactions with the Patrol. Guerrero is able to light up every room as both Jane and Kay. I can’t pinpoint which exact detail it is about her, but she left me in awe.
Out of the members of the Doom Patrol, Rita developed the most. She’s lived thirty years of a different life away from the mansion. This was taken away from her by Madame Rouge, the act of which then has Rita reacclimate to the present. I like that she takes initiative as a leader, such as when she tells Victor, “There are no small roles, only small actors”. Bowlby is able to balance the gravity of the situation with comedy. Her character is trying to make plans on taking down the Brotherhood, at one point wondering if Larry’s “weird alien slug” is useful in their current conflict.
Final Thoughts
“Evil Patrol” is about our main characters’ reactions to their situation. For a profound fraction of Season 3, we see them avoiding the call to adventure and are frequently forced into it. Now that they’ve endured the Sisterhood’s Eternal Flagellation, they still elude the chances to change. They don’t make any second guesses about choosing to run away, and once again they have a leader figure – this time, Rita Farr – push them into their next mission. Larry tells Rita that “change can be positive”. This makes an interesting argument since we don’t know for sure if this is beneficial to the world at large.
One thing we do know is that everyone, except for perhaps Monsieur Mallah, deals with a fight-or-flight response. Rouge literally flees from Rita, and Rita neglects the opportunity to do better in the past. Victor Stone doesn’t want to be Cyborg for the world’s sake, and we see that the Brain has given up evil… Or has he?
Overall, this is a splendid episode on the writers’ part, and I cannot wait to see the series’ third season finale next week!
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 adaptation, adaption, 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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