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Doom Patrol is always a series that surprises, week after week you never really know what bizarro new twist or character will be introduced. This week’s episode throws us a real curve ball because, well, there’s not a Doom Patrol member to be seen. Nope, halfway through Part 1 of Season 4 and we’re off to visit Danny the Camp (formerly the Street), that interdimensional, non-binary, all-inclusive refuge space where we last saw Niles Caulder’s daughter Dorothy, placed in Danny’s care after Niles’ death. It seems odd to place a stand-alone ‘what’s Dorothy up to’ episode at this point in the season, but it’s actually another piece of the season’s Immortus puzzle.
As the episode begins, Maura Lee Karupt and Asa are on this side of the veil that separates Danny from the ‘real world’ and they see that hatred and bigotry are as strong as ever as they attempt to paint over some hate speech that had been spray painted on a mural. When they return to Danny, who appears as an ambulance in our world, Dorothy is relating a story to the other Danny-zens about a magical necklace she wears that once belonged to her father, a necklace which kept him alive for a hundred years so he could be with her since, at that point in time, she was never going to age. Dorothy regales them with the tale of how she retrieved the necklace, which her father traded before his death to help her and the Doom Patrol, so that she could remain in contact with her father and tell him all the things she never had a chance to say. The man who had the necklace refused, so she called the Candlemaker to help her take it back, and with the artifact in hand Crystal Palace and the Dead Boy Detectives helped bring her father back so she could talk to him. No matter how impossible the odds, love always wins.
But Maura Lee can see that Dorothy, who is now beginning to age and is becoming a very moody adolescent, can see that she’s having some real daddy issues, resentful of the fact that Niles is dead and she’s been stuck in this world of Danny, which is supposed to be a safe space for those who need it but to Dorothy it just feels like a prison. Her only ‘out’ is through her imagination, reading the ‘Space Case’ comics, idolizing the heroine of the story Casey Brinke, wishing Casey could come to life and liberate her from this place. But Danny may not be as safe as they think as bug-like drones somehow pass through the veil and begin infecting the Danny-zens, turning them into helmeted zombies, with only Maura Lee and Dorothy spared because they were inside Dorothy’s trailer.
With this terrifying turn of events, Casey is somehow materialized out of the comics and into their world in all of her 1940s ‘gee whiz’ cheesy glory (played with some real wide-eyed spunk by Madeline Zima). Maura Lee’s initial reaction to Casey’s over-the-top ‘gee whiz’ demeanor is to tell her she’s ‘up at Katy Perry and I’m going to need you to bring it way down to Alicia Keys.’ Casey is able to neutralize the drones and suddenly realizes that she’s no longer a two-dimensional character, now experiencing the sensation of hunger for the first time, gleefully chowing down on a gyro and savoring the flavors. She could get use to this new form. But when Casey springs back into superhero mode to take out another of the infected Danny-zens, Dorothy and Maura Lee have to explain to Casey that in the real world death is permanent. This, of course, is an alien concept to Casey because she’s battled her comic book nemesis 143 times … and he always comes back. That realization hit her like a ton of bricks, especially after Dorothy relates Casey’s entire backstory to her including the fact that the villain Torminox is actually Casey’s father, who has been transformed into a monster. An object appears in the sky and Casey sounds the alarm that Torminox is there as all of the drones are suddenly reactivated. She tells Dorothy and Maura Lee to run while she deals with the threat and the make their way out of Danny.
But Torminox (Tyler Mane) appears and demands Dorothy’s necklace. She refuses and he takes out his anger on Danny, shrinking down the ambulance and putting it into a little box. Casey was able to escape just in time and Torminox is surprised to see her. He tells her he has no quarrel with her, and asks her to leave with a ‘please’ which stops her in her tracks. He’s never said ‘please’ before. Seeing that she has no choice, Dorothy calls forth Candlemaker, saying he’s probably angry with her and perhaps more worried that he’d attack her than save them from Torminox and his drones. But he does appear and buys them time to hide out in a warehouse, but now for the first time Casey is conflicted on how to deal with the villain, knowing that if she kills him she kills her father, and she has always hoped that she can find a way to turn him back into the man she knows and loves. Candlemaker is no match for Torminox, who shrinks him down and puts him into another small box. Looking out the window, Maura Lee sees a boy painting on the mural they just fixed but when confronting him he tells them he was just trying to fix it, telling Maura Lee that not everyone around there feels the same way the vandals do. Maura Lee’s heart is touched and they thank him, but is then struck with an idea, asking the boy how much paint he has.
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They summon Torminox who offers them their friends in exchange for the necklace. Casey confronts him, reminding him that he was something else once and directs his attention to a new mural, one that depicts a happy moment from her childhood when he was still human. Torminox seems to be touched by the memory and tenderly says her name … and he grabs her by the neck and threatens to kill her unless Dorothy hands over the necklace. Dorothy tells him the necklace is all she has left of her father and she needs it to tell him all the things she needed to say but never did. Torminox could not care less and Maura Lee is confused because Dorothy had told them all she had spoken to her father. Dorothy admits it was all a lie, she and Candlemaker never went to retrieve the necklace, it was Crystal and the Dead Boys who got it for her, and she actually hadn’t spoken to the Candlemaker in months. She locked all of her friends away, which explains her reluctance to call him forth in the first place — and now he’s locked up in a little box. Maura Lee asks why she did that and Dorothy says it was because they reminded her too much of her father, all of them, Danny, the Doom Patrol, all remind her of what she lost. She hoped that if she’d been able to conjure up Niles even for a few minutes she’d be able to tell him how much she loved him, but the more time passed, she realized there was more she needed to say.
Dorothy tells Torminox she’s not the person she used to be, she’s confused, she’s scared and she’s angry, and her father was supposed to help her through it all. He kept her a child for so long and now that she’s finally growing up, he’s not here … and she hates him for that. She wanted to say all of these things to him, but maybe some things are better left unsaid. This emotional response does seem to have had an effect on Torminox and he lets Casey go when Dorothy gives him the necklace. Dorothy tells him that Casey needs her dad, and ‘fuck you for turning your back on that.’ Torminox really seems conflicted as he motions to the drones to turn over the boxes, and with that they transport away.
Danny is restored and apologizes for not being able to protect the Danny-zens. Maura Lee tells them not to blame themselves. Danny has already done so much for everyone there, but no matter how hard they try they can’t protect them from everything. Maura Lee tells the group they know how hard things can be out there, but tonight they were reminded that there are still good people in the world, people who want to help, true allies, and if they really want to change the world, they need to start living in it. It’s time for them all to move on to something new, including Danny. Every since they became an ambulance, they’ve been doing triage. They all know that Danny will always be a safe space to heal for anyone and everyone who needs it but it’s time they start making safe spaces of their own in the real world. Danny replies that they might be right. Asa asks if this means thay have to leave, but Danny replies only when they are ready. Another Danny-zen asks what if they’re never ready? Maura Lee begins singing Wilco’s ‘White Light’ and everyone joins in.
Inside Dorothy’s trailer, she and Casey are both internalizing their daddy issues and Dorothy asks if there’s anything she can do. Casey says that everything she and her dad ever said, felt or suffered through was never really theirs. But at the end, she did see something in his eyes just for a second. She really believes he can change and she wants to meet whoever wrote their story and make them write a new one. Dorothy says she could use a change of scenery. They both exit the trailer as Beth Ditto’s ‘We Could Run’ plays on the soundtrack, surveying the landscape, Dorothy watching Maura Lee and Asa chat. She looks over and sees a sign with a message from Danny telling her it’s okay, they will tell them all goodbye for her. A convertible appears attached to the trailer and Danny tells Dorothy it’s time for a new adventure. getting a bit emotional, Dorothy thanks Danny and she and Casey hop into the car. Casey asks where to and thinking for a moment, Dorothy replies, ‘Cloverton.’ A portal appears and a teary-eyed, but smiling, Maura Lee watches them leave.
Cut to — a ‘Space Case’ comic book on a table, a young man making a new drawing. Dr. Janus approaches and places the necklace with Rita’s emotions inside on the table, saying ‘Immortus will rise.’ She steps back and Torminox appears, placing Dorothy’s necklace on the table. He tells the artist that he’s done what was asked but he needs to be the man he was for Casey. Is the artist certain Immortus can help? The artist, his face still unseen, says that when Immortus rises their pasts will be cleansed, they will have everything they’ve ever dreamed of. Immortus will rise. Torminox walks away and we see a reversed drawing of the mural depicting him and Casey.
New episodes of Doom Patrol premiere Thursdays on HBO Max.
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