Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Nostalgia Patrol
Diana Keng
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By framing the team's adventure on Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 3 with the melodramatic cinemascape of early Hollywood, the show manages a fascinating effect.
The usual bonkers hijinks and emotional extremes blend into the high theatricality of the environment, leaving our posse of problematic peeps with their vulnerabilities exposed. While the A-plot is Rita-centric, everyone from Jane to Keeg bares their insecurities.
Meanwhile, Vic gets smacked upside with his own privilege when his old gang speak hard truths about the time that's passed.
For once, it really is all about Rita.
Losing the team leader role on Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 2 hits her hard and leaves her ripe for a calculated appeal to her narcissistic nature.
It's indicative of how far down she's wallowing that all the red flags that go up for Jane and Cliff when they see the flyer for the retrospective film festival don't even flutter for a moment for her.
Rita's level of self-delusion is almost endearing as she simply accepts there must be hitherto unidentified legions of fans willing to stage an event to celebrate her celebrity.
All of my life, I have felt like a fraud. All of my life, I have been the imposter masquerading as Rita Farr. But one day, you crazy bunch of misfits who are just like me came into my life. I say, ‘Fuck Niles Caulder,’ for most things, but not this. He gave me you, my family. I know you don’t think we deserve anything but one thing I know we do deserve is the love that we have for each other. Well, had. Before the Butts screwed us up and that weird testicle monster thing, but the point is you accept me, the real me, whether I blob or triumph, you are always the place that I return to. You are my home.
Rita
Personally, I enjoy delving into the Rita Farr filmography. The only film I remember any detail about is the rip-off of The African Queen, where she gets blobbified.
My favorite line has to be when Mr. 104 -- possibly Jonathan Dubrovny, but the jury's still out -- informs Larry that Dr. Janus wants Rita to emote.
Not-Oliver: I’m just an innocent soul trapped in here too.
Larry: By who?
Not-Oliver: A strange creature, really. She calls herself Doctor Janus. Her orders are to get your friend to emote as much as possible.
Larry: What does that even mean? She’s an actress. She wakes up emoting.
Larry really does know her best.
Larry and Keeg's falling out is a hard one to parse since everything Keeg does is with ambiguous motivation.
We can only guess at his reasons based on how Larry and the others interpret his actions. We know that Future Keeg shared something, but whether it upset Now Keeg, angered him, or sent him into a tailspin of confusion, is anyone's guess.
Larry: Sorry, folks. I won’t be joining you. I don’t have the strength. I’m still trying to wrangle my wayward kid.
Cliff: Seriously? Are you going to stay and wait for your fucked-up, manipulative kid who abandoned your self-flagellating ass? Or are you going to support your best friend, Rita?
Larry's acting like most new parents, focusing all his energies (no pun intended) on the kid and simultaneously taking the opportunity to virtue signal.
Most new parents don't contend with their toddler hiding in the electrical grid, so Larry's forgiven for leaving Keeg to it while he steps up for Rita.
I like that Larry is often the most precise voice in the babble. It's sometimes challenging to make sense of Cliff's logic, and Jane postures a lot to juggle her internal and external responsibilities. Rita speaks from a zone of self-centeredness, and Vic's analysis often carries the tinges of Silas's perspective.
Larry is just as guilty of navel-gazing, but it's pretty spot-on when he directs his commentary outward.
Rouge: I looked at my past and I decided to leave it behind, start afresh, quiet the demons of the past sort of thing. You should try it.
Larry: Oh, ok, I see. Now that you’ve been voted team leader, you’re going to have emotional wellness check ins.
Rouge's efforts to reshape herself into the mighty team leader are out of character at best and deranged at its extreme.
She is, however, brilliant and capable of researching effectively and examining problems.
There is no way to save them. I’ve sent them to their deaths. And the mission was trust. I can’t even trust myself. I mean, why did anyone think I was worthy of being a leader? Navel-gazing bastards, were any of you paying attention? Have you not seen my track record, people? Fucking hell.
Rouge
Unfortunately, that means she recognizes an impossible situation when she sees it.
And so she drinks. A lot. And talks it out—a lot.
And I'm totally here for it because, honestly, no one on this show is capable of equalling Michelle Gomez when she decides to Rouge it up.
Name, Dr. Janus. Category, emotional vampire. FUCK. Weakness, fragile ego, lacks empathy. Well, that’s the same for most of us. Weapon, creates artificial realities, hallucinations. Oh, shit.
Rouge
Her best scene partner is herself, so it's perfect that Rouge's internal stressors are putting enough pressure on her to cause functional dissociation.
It hasn't escaped my notice that Gomez isn't listed as core cast in the opening credits, showing up as a "Special Appearance" credit instead. This begs the question of how long this canonical supervillain can "play nice" with these alleged superheroes.
They say you can't go home again, and Vic learns that the hard way when he tries to reconnect with the friends of his youth.
He faces Calvin's jealousy and Deric's hurt, and -- bless his heart -- he's completely taken aback by it.
Vic: Let me remind you that I found you guys now. And I’m trying to make up for the time we lost.
Deric: Except you can’t! Too much time has already passed. We’re not the same people we once were. We have been shaped by life in Detroit. And there’s been a lot of beauty but also a lot of shit that we had to face. It made us the men that we are today. You missed all of that.
It never occurs to him that his friends wouldn't accept him back into the fold with open arms, that they wouldn't just pick up where they left off.
Ten years is a lot of time to make up, and the fact he hasn't reached out to them in all that time underlines how self-centered his superhero life has been.
There's a strong parallel between Vic and his friends and Rita's return to her celluloid fantasies. Neither fits into that role anymore.
Finally, the Immortus plot point is starting to take shape.
What do we know so far?
One: Kiping is not keen on Immortus, insisting it's made-up and impossible.
Two: Dr. Janus is an agent of Immortus, and Rita's emotions are vital in Immortus's rise.
Three: The catchphrase, "Immortus Will Rise," intimates Immortus was once put down and is returning.
Assuming Immortus will require more teamwork to fight than a testicle monster, we're a member down as Rita's in a coma. Two, if you consider Larry and Keeg haven't reconnected yet. Three, since Vic has yet to reinvent himself sans tech.
The Fog's return is my bright light in all this, even if it was just to light Jane's sparkler for a moment. Can we hope for more Dadas? Could they subvert Immortus's rise?
I’m sorry for blowing you off earlier. We can totally talk about orgasms if you want to.
Cliff
With everything happening behind the scenes, I know the odds are slim to none that the Dadas will get their spin-off, but if Network Santa is listening, that's all I want in my DC-verse stocking.
Over to you, Fanatics. Whose soft underbelly were you most moved by? What did you think of Dr. Janus's immersive movie experience? Why do you think her victims smell sweet treats before being taken?
Hit our comments with your wackiest thoughts and theories!
Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X.
