Doom Patrol “Amends Patrol” Review

Season 3 Episode 10 – As the Brotherhood of Evil closes in, the Doom Patrol try to set aside past issues in hopes of becoming a true superhero team or risk being taken out for good.

What I Liked

1. The episode opens with the team recovering from the bush crash that just occurred. Rita attempts to persuade them to continue on but they refuse to do so, believing that they are not built for saving the world. Not long after, Larry, Vic and Jane are picked up by the Fog who leaves Rita on her own.

2. In the Underground, Jane discovers a destroyed section of the station which prevents her from getting to Kay. Seeing how we do not find out if Kay is truly safe by the end of the episode, it is a rather ominous moment.

3. Monsieur Mallah has chosen not to throw Madame Rouge and Cliff’s disembodied brain off of a ledge, having decided that being a member of the Brotherhood of Evil is no longer part of who he is. He leaves Madame Rouge tied to the gurney and drives off, leaving his past behind him.

4. In her struggle, Madame Rouge drops Cliff’s brain off the ledge where it lands next to Mr. Nobody’s giant robot.

5. In the Fog’s area, Jane finds the other personalities and discovers that they have all left the Underground due to believing that Kay doesn’t need them anymore. During an argument with Dr. Harrison, Jane discovers that by staying out of the Underground longer than they are supposed to, the other personalities are beginning to slowly rot and die.

6. After being told by one of the personalities that Larry’s alien parasite needs to merge with him (and that it’s name is Keeg), Vic offers to do so until Larry can get back to the manor to his room where he can take his bandages off and bond with it.

7. The Brain is living his best life in Cliff’s body, enjoying his time around the retirement community. In a hilarious turn of events, Madame Rouge turns up in the giant robot with Cliff connected to the source (and in an old container that housed the villain) and goes after the Brain. The Brain attempts to drive away in a golf cart only to immediately get stepped on by the robot.

8. After exacting her revenge on the Brain, Rouge plans to head to the Manor and kill Rita. When she refuses to listen to Cliff’s advice of turning over a new leaf, he takes control of the giant robot and starts to pilot it on his own. When Madame Rouge threatens to kill him, Cliff calls her bluff and she abandons the robot.

9. Cliff takes the giant robot to his daughter’s house and promises things will change with him. Clara is too dumbfounded to even take in his words before he heads back to the manor. The entire scene is both heartwarming and extremely funny. It is especially hilarious to see the giant robot mimic Cliff’s normal movements.

10. Rita arrives at the Brain’s retirement home and finds him in Cliff’s body crawling around with no legs. When he sees her alive and well, the Brain can do nothing but curse at Garguax for failing to assassinate her.

11. Madame Rouge heads to the Sisterhood of Dada’s old room at the Bureau of Normalcy and relives the games that she and the others used to play. After finding the time machine in an old closet, Rouge contemplates where and when to take it. The time machine narrates her actions and makes her doubt her purpose. After finally giving up on changing her past, Rouge decides to take the machine to Doom Manor.

12. In a last ditch effort to save Kay, Jane convinces Dr. Harrison to take the other personalities back to the Underground by offering up her position of primary. While this action is rash, it just shows how far Jane will go to protect Kay.

13. As the Brain reads a note that Mallah left for him after abandoning the Brotherood, Rita cooks some tea as she listens to him complain. Desperate to get Cliff’s body working, the Brain offers a partnership to Rita with the promise of killing Rouge if the former helps him. In a shocking twist, Rita declines the villain’s offer and instead kills him by pouring scalding hot tea on his exposed brain. This was not something I ever thought I’d see Rita do but I absolutely loved it.

14. Larry gets back to his room where the alien parasite hatches and releases a Negative Negative baby that enters inside of him.

15. Rouge arrives back at the manor, having lost her memories once again. Before Vic and Jane can process her return, Cliff shows up in the giant robot and loses control of it thanks to his Parkinson’s disease. Larry attempts to stop him but quickly falls to the ground.

16. Rita gets to Rouge and makes her remember what she did. She ultimately decides not to kill Rouge when the shapeshifter herself tells her that she isn’t worth it. This is a huge moment for Rita and without a doubt a massive turn around for her character.

17. Jane enters the giant robot to save Cliff only to accidentally trigger the self destruct lever. While waiting for their impending doom, Jane and Cliff bond over their relationship, culminating in Jane hugging him. This was a very sweet moment, especially due to the fact that it was Jane who hugged Cliff in his current state.

What I Disliked

Nothing to report this week.

Favourite Moment

The entire last ten minutes of this episode are just incredible. Rita grows to a giant size for the first time without blobbing out and is able to stop Cliff from causing more damage. Cliff says that he just wants to go home to which Rita replies that they can do that. This is a brilliant callback to the very first episode of the show where Cliff stopped Rita from accidentally destroying Cloverton. Feeling empowered by their success, Rita convinces everyone to become the superhero team that they were meant to be. Unlike earlier in the season, the team is now fully on board and they prepare to fight some sort of testicle monster emerging from the Suez Canal (because of course it is). Rouge even volunteers as well to join them. They then take the time machine for their first mission. To make sure that they remember who they are when they get there, the team puts labels on each-other’s foreheads and make a list of what they need to do. The season then ends with our characters leaving to go on their very first superhero mission.

Standout Character

The final MVP for this season has to be Rita. Her growth during the season has been incredible, but this episode shows a very different side to her that we had not seen before, with her showcasing a much darker personality. The scene in which she kills the Brain just says it all.

Verdict

This was a phenomenal ending to an already fantastic season. Rita and Madame Rouge’s conflict is given a satisfying conclusion while still leaving their relationship open by having Rouge become a member of the group. On top of that we see our characters come full circle and finally become the superhero team that they never thought they could be. It will be very interesting to see where the show goes from here. Will our characters start fighting crime or will they fail on their very first mission? We’ll have to find out next season. Until then, all I can say is what an absolutely bizarre and amazing finale.

Rating 10/10