In Review: Doom Patrol – Therapy Patrol

Synopsis: After a violent outburst from Cliff, the team engages in some self-led group therapy – leading to some growth within the group as they are knit closer together.

Review: You’ll definitely need therapy after watching this.

The Story

In the wake of having met the real Doom Patrol to only learn that they are all broken human beings. The various members of the new Doom Patrol begin to do a bit of soul searching of their own to try and battle some personal demons. With Rita we see her trying to come to terms with the fact that she is no longer the big time movie star, but who is the new Rita?

Larry has to tackle his own self-loathing and come to terms with his sexuality in a very present-day context with a bit of help from the entity, which makes him Negative Man.

While Cyborg aka Vic is having to adjust to now having a privacy mode incorporated as part of his programming as he finds out just how much his father has been hiding from him.

Cliff aka Robot Man is in meltdown due to seeing his Daughter’s social media profiles and learning about her foster dad.

It is Cliff’s meltdown, which leads to the group all deciding to try and sit down and air their personal insecurities in the hopes that by airing them. They can become a stronger group.

The Acting

Matt Bomer knocks it out the park with his performance as the tortured Larry Trainer who seems to be struggling to form a healthy relationship with the entity that keeps him alive.

Meanwhile, April Bowlby makes us feel a great deal of empathy for Rita as she tries to reinvent herself as a kinder and less selfish version of the old Hollywood star.

Overall

A fun episode, which dragged us through an emotional roller coaster ride as we learned more about the inner workings of these characters. I probably need a few sessions of therapy myself after watching this.

I loved the twist ending, which involved Robot Man, Mr. Nobody, and a field mouse.