Doom Patrol Episode 3 RECAP (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Puppet Patrol

• Before I start this recap, I just wanna state that I appreciate the writers and showrunner of this show’s ability to read minds, because almost all of the comments and critiques I had about the second episode were respectively touched upon and addressed in THIS episode
• Yes, I know that’s not how TV production works, just let me have this, alright? I’m just very impressed with their decisions in dissecting certain characters in this episode!
• Speaking of the episode, we get hit with a good amount of B plot points right off the bat, specifically involve Cliff and Larry
• /Cliff in which while searching through Niles’ stuff in order to find info on where Mr. Nobody could’ve taken him, he finds the phone number to his daughter, and Larry’s life before the cosmo-ning, in which we see hints of his life Mr. Nobody alluded to in the last episode/
• (Clip of him arguing with his lover)
• ...Ah. I see.
• So, I have opinions about how they’re tackling this angle of Larry’s backstory if you couldn’t already tell. But they touch on it later on in the episode, so I’m just gonna wait until then to share them, if you don’t mind.
• /Anyways, Cyborg calls everyone in for a meeting because he discovered some info on Mr. Nobody; specifically who he was beforehand and the location of where he received his powers; a town in Paraguay. They all reluctantly agree to head there while Cyborg makes plans to travel there via jet, but because Silas wanted him to come home to stay on the course for his foolproof plan to join the Justice League that HE developed for him, he cuts Victor off because SILAS IS A PIECE OF SHIT NO MATTER WHAT UNIVERSE HE’S IN./
• So with no jet to get there in one day, the team takes the bus on a 2-week road trip instead
• They each take turns driving the bus, until it’s Larry’s turn, who provokes the cosmic spirit living in his body for it to actually sabotage the trip by doing enough damage to the truck to force them to get a motel room for the night
• This leads to the next morning, where a lot happens
• /Vic and Cliff continue to be at odds with each other which is honestly getting a bit old at this point; I honestly don’t know why Cliff is so anti-Cyborg at this point when he’s been nothing but helpful. Rita locks herself in the bathroom in order to prepare her body from not melting all over the place, which coupled with the Vic/Cliff stuff makes the tension in the room all the more palpable. That’s when one of Jane’s alters takes control, brabs Cliff and Larry and just TELEPORTS TO FUCKING PARAGUAY I GUESS/
• Though to be fair to Crazy Jane, there was a scene before this happened that explained how her alters and their corresponding powers worked that helps put things into perspective
• (play scene in question)
• So I can’t really get mad at her for not deciding to teleport everyone there once Cyborg’s jet plans fell through
• Plus, splitting the team in this manner actually makes for some good dynamics
• /Take Victor and Rita for example. Not having any other positive outlet to let out his frustration regarding the situation they’re in, he takes it out on Rita by saying she’s been useless for the entire trip, and she appropriately reads him right the fuck back./
• I didn’t necessarily know how to feel about this scene when I first saw it because of how out of place it seemed for this version of Cyborg so far, but in retrospect I actually appreciate it as a development tool that teaches both of them about respect and humbleness. It did a decent job at getting the point across
• /Meanwhile, the rest of the team is in Paraguay where they discover that the Nazi responsible for making Mr. Nobody has turned his lab into a clinic where individuals come and pay ridiculous amounts of money to be turned into metahumans (Nazi Puppets) Oh, look at all the PewDiePies!/
• That’s also when they find out that Niles was there during Mr. Nobody’s creation and appropriately shot the Nazi
• Don’t worry, those were different times. Nowadays we just punch them
• That’s when Jane and Larry do a bit more digging. /Jane finds out that the Nazi doctor is still alive, while Larry discovers the hyperbolic time chamber used to make Mr. Nobody in hopes to finally separate himself from the cosmic entity living in his body/
• And now we get to the point that I stated at the beginning of this video, because I finally see something from Jane that I’ve been wanting ever since she was first introduced. I finally see DEPTH.
• /Her initial interaction with the doctor - while not much - gives me such a better grasp of her character than the previous two episodes did, because she’s not just being used as a way to move the story along or to advance the development of someone else. We finally get a sense of her, her relationship with her alters, and her overall sense of self. I never got that in the first two episodes and seeing this low-key has me excited to see the route her development goes in/
• Now in the case of Larry, he has a bit of an existential crisis/outer-body experience
• /Because not only is he being forced to confront the cosmic entity because it refuses to leave him despite entering the machine, but he also deals with the guilt that’s been plaguing him even before his accident/
• And the reason why I wanted to wait until this portion of the video to talk about Larry’s darkness is because of how the episode displays it.
• You see, I said in the first episode when it was revealed that Larry was queer and cheating on his family that the only way to be queer in that era of America was to adapt and survive
• This episode shows that it wasnt survival that was first and foremost on Larry’s mind. It was selfishness.
• As accurate as I’m sure the narrative in question is to some people who lived this in the 60’s, Larry’s “have your cake and eat it too” mentality up until the realization of his selfishness after his accident is a bit disheartening to me
• Like, this is obviously the hurtle he has to get over in order for him to properly develop and become a better person. I’m just personally not a fan of this narrative choice because of the equivalent stigma already attached to queer folk; especially bi and pan leaning queer folk
• Nevertheless, his past behavior explains a lot of Larry’s actions over the course of the series so far. And despite my previous opinions, I’m still interested in the overall development of Larry’s character and want to see where it goes.
• /Especially now that the doctor is dead, Silas gets his head out of his own ass long enough to help out Victor and the rest of the team, and they go off to continue the search for the Chief/
• So while I wouldn’t say this is my FAVORITE episode so far, I’d be lying if I said it’s not an important one.
• We get proper exposition regarding the creation of Mr. Nobody, a solid yet gory fight scene, and a nice sense of depth and development from Jane and Larry respectively, while at the same time not completely placing Rita and Victor off to the side
• If anything, I’m interested in what next week’s “Cult Patrol” is gonna be about