TV Review: ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 4, Episode 6
by Frank Martin
Tension and suspense is one of the most crucial tools a show can utilize to keep viewers’ attention. The most successful shows are ones that can up the tension and suspense early on and carry it through to the end. Throughout this season, Doom Patrol has struggled to really heighten those things. In seasons past, villains were introduced early on and became a looming threat across the span of episodes rather than at the end. Early Season 3 episodes tried to accomplish that to very little effect, but now that Immortus is on the brink of rising, the mid-season finale has risen to the level fans of Doom Patrol expect.
The cliffhanger from last episode was largely glossed over with all of the characters restored to grown up status as opposed to being the infants they were previously. It was more or less explained away that Willoughby (Mark Sheppard) made a deal to protect their longevity. So far, Rita (April Bowlby) and Jane (Diane Guerrero) had lost theirs. Only Larry (Matt Bomer) and Cliff (Brendan Fraser) were left. Larry ends up relinquishing his longevity because he trusts his negative spirit to do so. The episode more or less ends with Cliff about to lose his longevity, but in the episode’s closing moments, he remembers that he left the freezer open with the zombie butt inside, thus creating a new threat the Doom Patrol will have to deal with.
Immortus hasn’t emerged yet, but he is turning out to be one of the most powerful villains the Doom Patrol has faced. Expectations are high for his arrival in the second part of the season, but this episode did a good job weaving together all of the various plot threads and making sense of what has been going on this season. Dorothy (Abi Monterey)and Casey (Madeline Zima) are still wild cards that are sure to turn up eventually, though. Compared with the previous seasons, this year has been rather up and down. But fans should be glad that this “part one” finale returns the show to what it does best.
Doom Patrol is streaming on HBO Max