Doom Patrol: Finger Patrol
July 9, 2020 5:52 PM - Season 2, Episode 5 - Subscribe
Vic tries to make amends with Roni, Larry reaches out to his son, and Dorothy makes a new friend.
Yeah, this felt like the most low key and inessential (until the last few minutes) episode of Doom Patrol so far. Vulture called this a “hangover episode” after last week’s off-the-hook cray-crayness, which feels right. It very much felt like wheel-spinning up until the “Steele and Stone” sequence (which was amazing).
Mind you I love this show and these characters, so watching an episode that is mostly a hang-out episode or a “check in on their emotional states” episode is fine by me.
The twist with Larry’s story was interesting (Paul’s line “Nobody survives Larry Trainor” turned out a little too prescient for Dex). The part where Larry admitted to Paul he was gay actually made me laugh because up until that point no one asked and he didn’t offer why he was still alive 60 years later and wrapped in bandages! Maybe explain that part first!
The plot with Dorothy and Baby Doll was agonizing because of how inevitable it was. Also I just learned from the above-linked Vulture recap that Jane’s Human-Torch-like personality is named “Flaming Katy;” for some reason I thought that was Kay herself, no doubt due to mishearing Kay for Katy at some point last season. But it makes sense that Kay would never be on the surface.
I don't really understand how the Candlemaker is storming the Underground like it's a physical place?!
I had a similar reaction when Ezekiel and Admiral Whiskers somehow showed up in Mr. Nobody’s white space, and again when the season 1 finale took place in a painting. Best to let go of logic! Though when the Negative Spirit let Cliff access the Underground it sure felt like a physical place then too, so same deal. Mainly I’m wondering if Jane is now permanently down to 62 personalities.
Self-pitying Rita is nothing new but drunk self-pitying Rita is hilariously awful. The bulletproof bit was an interesting development. The Vic and Roni storyline is sweet but I’m not happy about this “enhancements” twist—the contrast of Vic (maimed so he becomes a Superhero) and Roni (normal hero who becomes maimed (but actually she wasn’t that heroic)) was interesting enough without bringing in this “Quorum.” And I loved Cliff’s relatively chill and friendly energy.
I give this episode 4 severed fingers up (surreptitiously pocketed).
posted by ejs at 7:26 PM on July 9, 2020 [4 favorites]
Mind you I love this show and these characters, so watching an episode that is mostly a hang-out episode or a “check in on their emotional states” episode is fine by me.
The twist with Larry’s story was interesting (Paul’s line “Nobody survives Larry Trainor” turned out a little too prescient for Dex). The part where Larry admitted to Paul he was gay actually made me laugh because up until that point no one asked and he didn’t offer why he was still alive 60 years later and wrapped in bandages! Maybe explain that part first!
The plot with Dorothy and Baby Doll was agonizing because of how inevitable it was. Also I just learned from the above-linked Vulture recap that Jane’s Human-Torch-like personality is named “Flaming Katy;” for some reason I thought that was Kay herself, no doubt due to mishearing Kay for Katy at some point last season. But it makes sense that Kay would never be on the surface.
I don't really understand how the Candlemaker is storming the Underground like it's a physical place?!
I had a similar reaction when Ezekiel and Admiral Whiskers somehow showed up in Mr. Nobody’s white space, and again when the season 1 finale took place in a painting. Best to let go of logic! Though when the Negative Spirit let Cliff access the Underground it sure felt like a physical place then too, so same deal. Mainly I’m wondering if Jane is now permanently down to 62 personalities.
Self-pitying Rita is nothing new but drunk self-pitying Rita is hilariously awful. The bulletproof bit was an interesting development. The Vic and Roni storyline is sweet but I’m not happy about this “enhancements” twist—the contrast of Vic (maimed so he becomes a Superhero) and Roni (normal hero who becomes maimed (but actually she wasn’t that heroic)) was interesting enough without bringing in this “Quorum.” And I loved Cliff’s relatively chill and friendly energy.
I give this episode 4 severed fingers up (surreptitiously pocketed).
posted by ejs at 7:26 PM on July 9, 2020 [4 favorites]
I would watch as many seasons of Steele & Stone as humanity is capable of producing between now and the eventual heat death of the universe.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:24 AM on July 10, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:24 AM on July 10, 2020 [11 favorites]
the “Steele and Stone” sequence (which was amazing).
I can’t be the only one who looked at Vic’s seventies hair partially occluded by his cranial implant and immediately thought “halfro.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:35 PM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
I can’t be the only one who looked at Vic’s seventies hair partially occluded by his cranial implant and immediately thought “halfro.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:35 PM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
The part where Larry admitted to Paul he was gay actually made me laugh because up until that point no one asked and he didn’t offer why he was still alive 60 years later and wrapped in bandages! Maybe explain that part first!
I think Larry was trying to explain why he absented himself from his family's life and was a shitty father even before he "died."
Rita's drunk self-pitying makes sense to me in wake of her revelation from the last episode. Speaking of that, what happened to Dorothy's concern if she was pretty? It seems like she recovered quickly from that particularly gutting moment.
The fight between Baby Doll and Dorothy makes sense to me. The solution to put two super powered "children" together with absolutely no supervision is exactly the type of thought Niles would have, and the resentment it breeds and the unfortunate fall out for people who are not responsible.
posted by miss-lapin at 9:05 PM on June 12, 2021
I think Larry was trying to explain why he absented himself from his family's life and was a shitty father even before he "died."
Rita's drunk self-pitying makes sense to me in wake of her revelation from the last episode. Speaking of that, what happened to Dorothy's concern if she was pretty? It seems like she recovered quickly from that particularly gutting moment.
The fight between Baby Doll and Dorothy makes sense to me. The solution to put two super powered "children" together with absolutely no supervision is exactly the type of thought Niles would have, and the resentment it breeds and the unfortunate fall out for people who are not responsible.
posted by miss-lapin at 9:05 PM on June 12, 2021
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*Pretty watchable overall, but it was almost entirely filler material. This season is about half as long as the first, and I really wonder whether production was halted midstream due to covid-19; I can easily see how this episode could have been cobbled together from odds and ends.
*It was nice to see Silas back, although it felt weird that...I guess everything is just okay between him and Vic? Vic was so traumatized from attacking his dad at the behest of Mr. Nobody that it seemed it would define his (Vic's) character this season, but they got along as if nothing had happened.
*Roni is apparently scarred from having her enhancements gouged out of her body, which is pretty fucking intense. Her plotline feels like something ported over from a show like Titans, but I guess that's fair, since Vic himself was basically ported over from Titans. Still, this mysterious super-Blackwater or whatever doesn't seem very Doom Patrol-y.
*Honestly, Larry's son is an asshole. I guess I get it, but he's still an asshole. And this storyline isn't doing anything for me at all. Turning Larry in to the DoD is predictable stuff, and a rehash of stuff we did last year. I wish this had gone somewhere interesting.
*Similarly, I love Rita, but what is all this? I don't care about this.
*Baby Doll and Dorothy were really the highlight of the episode, but even their story took a weird turn without much prompting. Baby Doll wasn't really rude to Manny, and Dorothy turning on Baby Doll felt out of character. If I followed the story, I think Baby Doll began to merge with a more aggressive personality when she tried to kill Dorothy, but she also tried to kill Dorothy, which feels extremely off. I'm not really into characters doing dumb shit in order to progress the plot. Usually, the show is much better than that. This just didn't really work.
*The ending was gripping -- however we got there -- but I don't really understand how the Candlemaker is storming the Underground like it's a physical place?! Okay.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:21 PM on July 9, 2020 [3 favorites]