TV Review: ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 4, Episode 4

Sometimes it’s nice when shows take a break from the regular plot and characters in order to check out a side story. It’s an opportunity to breathe and experience something refreshing rather than going down the same old path with the same old individuals. That’s exactly what this week’s episode of Doom Patrol decided to do. But while it was a fun and entertaining on its own, the episode really didn’t do enough to stand out and become memorable. As far as Doom Patrol craziness is concerned, it was merely a middle of the road adventure whose only blessing was the introduction of a new character.

The episode mainly focused on Niles’s daughter Dorothy (Abi Monterey) and the street formerly known as Danny, who is now an ambulance that can transport people to its own little safe campground. Their paradise is interrupted when a villain from Dorothy’s comic book named Torminox (Tyler Mane) begins infecting their friends. In order to combat the threat, Dorothy brings to life Space Case (Madeline Zima), the hero from her comic. Eventually, they managed to dissuade Torminox by giving him what he wants and appealing to his former life as Space Case’s father.

Danny as an ambulance and Casey Brinke — aka Space Case — are adaptations of Doom Patrol’s most recent incarnation; welcome introductions. And though the episode was fun on a playful sort of level, it wasn’t anything groundbreaking or bizarre in the way things have been in the program’s past. Fictional characters coming to life and grappling with their existence is nothing new. It was still fun for what it was, but this episode seemed as nothing more than a stepping stone towards the larger plot, when the show undoubtedly has Casey and Dorothy reunite with the larger Doom Patrol.

Doom Patrol streams Thursdays on HBO Max