Cult Patrol
With the Chief and Mr. Nobody still missing, the members of the Doom Patrol find themselves regrouping back at home and discussing the potential places (or dimensions) where their friend and his abductor might be found. While doing this, a stranger named Willoughby Kipling (science fiction mainstay, Mark Sheppard) arrives and asks to talk to the Chief. When the Doom Patrol tells him that the Chief is missing, Kipling informs them that they’ll have to help him find and destroy the Book of the Fifth Window in order to save the world. The Book, by the way, happens to be an eighteen year old boy named Elliot (Ted Sutherland).
The episode introduces new villains, a new realm, and chips away slowly at the backgrounds of the members of the Patrol. Crazy Jane and Cliff find themselves united once again as they are tasked with closing a supernatural door. They also learn more about each other. There’s a lot of friction between Cyborg and Rita as he continues to play the role of leader and she struggles with her own place in the group. Larry uncovers a painful truth about the negative entity that resides within him and battles with himself once again.
There is a great action sequence in the episode that features Cyborg and Kipling battling an enemy force that leads up to another confrontation with an even deadlier group of enemies. While this battle is ongoing, Rita talks with Elliot about his place in this world. Strong characteristics of Rita are shown during her time with Elliot and it’s one of my favorite sequences in the episode.
The episode ends on a brilliant cliffhanger and viewers are left wondering just how in the world the Doom Patrol will get out of their wold destroying situation. It’s my favorite episode so far and I can’t wait for next week’s episode to get here.
Minor spoilers ahead!!!! Stop now if you haven’t seen the episode!!!!
Bizarre is a term that can be used to describe pretty much everything that happens in the world of the Doom Patrol. This episode has bizarre in spades. We learn a little bit about the Cult of the Unwritten Book and some of its agents. We meet the Archons of Nurnheim, the Little Sisters of Our Lady of the Razor, the Hoodmen, and the Dry Bachelors. We are also introduced to the Decreator. I can honestly say that up until this episode I had never heard of any of these characters. Based on a quick web search, these are just a few of the many characters that are part of this cult. Hopefully we will get to meet more of them in the next episode.
We also meet Kipling, who I’m sure will be compared to John Constantine quite a bit. Like the members of the cult, I was unfamiliar with Kipling and had to do a little web research on him. He’s a lot like Constantine because he is essentially the same character. DC Comics wouldn’t allow Constantine to be used due to an editorial policy, so Grant Morrison and Richard case created Kipling as a substitute and based him on the title character from Richard E. Grant’s Withnail & I (thanks, Wikipedia).
Like Constantine, Kipling uses all sorts of magic (albeit a tad dodgier) to fight against villains. He also likes to smoke and drink. Unlike Constantine, Kipling appears to use song lyrics and relics from pop and rock icons as tools in his magic. It’s a pretty cool aspect of the character in my opinion. Oh, and he can summon a talking blue horse head named Baphomet.
As I already mentioned, we see a whole lot of development in the character of Rita this time. She takes on a protective role with Elliot and starts to show less fear in the face of the enemy. Cliff and Jane start the episode at odds primarily because of Jane’s attitude thanks to her personality named Hammerhead. Their bond quickly strengthens, though, as during their attempt to close the door that will let the Decreator through, Cliff sees hints of what might have happened to Jane as a child and it’s revealed that he sees her as his daughter whom he was taken from years ago.
As I’ve already stated, this is my favorite episode so far and despite being more and more absurd with each episode, it doesn’t rely on the absurdity to carry the show. It features great character development and a nice dose of humor that keeps things interesting. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really need to check out Doom Patrol!
As always, thanks for reading. I hope to see Captain Marvel this weekend and if I do, I’ll be sure to post a review.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 