Season 1 Episode 10 “Vic and Rita find the mansion infiltrated by Ernest Franklin, a dangerous man called the Beard Hunter, who has been activated by the Bureau of Normalcy to find Niles Caulder; the tragic love story that started Niles on the path toward the man he is.”
The Good & The Bad
The Good
1. Hair Patrol focuses on the sole reason behind Niles, and his major secret. The bearded lady. In 1913 Niles was an explorer, and was working alongside a hunter. The hunter was attacked and Niles was somewhat saved by the woman. Over time they bonded, and Niles learnt the ways of a hunter, also falling in love with each other as well. The ark was fairly interesting as it went on. We also later understand that’s what Mr Nobody wants, the whereabouts of the woman. Niles admitted he doesn’t care about anyone, and he won’t let Mr Nobody break him.
Questions arise throughout this. His friend found him years later after he was tracking the woman, but Niles lead him to a trap and let him die. Shortly after Niles finds a camp and heads home. Why did he leave her? Why is he protecting her so badly? I’m sure we will find out in the next few episodes. This was definitely the most interesting parts of the episode.
2. The dialogue between Rita, Cyborg, and the Beard Hunter was epic. It was the only moments that took me away and had me laughing. I will leave it there, because the dialogue is one to watch.
3. The episode showed us what happened while Cliff was in The Underground. Vic and Rita get up to all sorts with the Beard Hunter, and seeing Vic’s system fail him through this got me curious. Grid was mentioned a lot, and throughout Vic seems to have an attitude problem. Is Vic going to have problems with Grid soon? If you don’t know what or who Grid is. Grid is similar to Cyborg but 100% robot, and basically evil.
The Bad
1. Another episode, another story. While I feel this was itching toward the main story, I still feel like it’s constantly going off track. Doom Patrol has had some epic episodes this season, but 10 episodes in it should be edging towards the main ark now. The characters have all had some amazing progression, now is the time to start showing us what the characters are really capable of in action.
2. It took me 10 minutes into this weeks episode to actually figure out what was happening. The Beard Hunter was just, well, he just happened. A few episodes this season have confused me in the openings, but this one topped it for me.
3. Does anybody age? Can somebody please tell me why none of the main cast have aged at any point? With the exception of Vic who is the right age for the right time, some of them are nearly 100 years old and it’s never actually told us how they don’t age.
Holy Shit Moment
Cyborg vs Beard Hunter was this weeks Holy Shit Moment. Beard Hunter manages to take all the information from Vic’s brain, therefore adjusting his fighting style and knowing every move Vic is about to hit. Obviously Vic misses every shot, and the Beard Hunter manages to shut his system down. A slight bit of action, but more a hilarious scene. Cyborg lost as well.
Verdict
A weak episode, probably one of the weakest of the season. A lengthy time to figure out what is going on, with a lackluster side ark. The season needs to move on from these constant angles and get to the point. Disappointing from start to finish, besides a couple of good parts, overall it was just bad.
Rating: 4.5/10
