Before we get started here, I should fess up right off the bat that I’ve never seen Doom Patrol before watching the first three episodes of season 3 on HBO Max. I’ve got no context for who the characters are, what they’ve been doing up to this point in the story, or what they’re after. And I think it’s a testament to the show that despite my lack of knowledge, I had a pretty good time watching Doom Patrol season 3 start. Here’s why.
The strongest aspect of Doom Patrol are the characters, namely our cast of heroes. They’re all interesting in their own right, either because of their sense of humor or design, and they balance each other out well. I’m especially interested in the aspect of them being, for lack of a better word, “loser” superheroes. Their superpowers plague their lives, and can be just as difficult to deal with as the villains they face. So not only are they funny and interesting to look at, but they have human foibles as well which make them sympathetic, far more than some other anti-hero DC squads I could name. Sure, we all like our heroes to be strong and stoic, but give me a scene where they dance together to “Forever Young” in a lonely ball room, and you’ve got me hooked.
Another thing I like about Doom Patrol is the villains, and the show seems to have no shortage of them. In the first three episodes I think they introduced a total of seven, which gets me pretty pumped. It reminds me of my younger days watching the old Teen Titans show and the parade of evildoers they had to fight, and I’m glad to see Doom Patrol is going for that same “Villain of the Week” format. And like the heroes, the villains are pretty hilarious and well designed (though now that I think about it, a lot of credit for the design is probably due to the comics). Some of them even have their softer sides, like Garguax, Devourer of Worlds.
While the show clearly relies on continuity, which is just the way shows are made nowadays, I appreciate Doom Patrol‘s ability to still make every episode its own self-contained adventure. That’s part of the reason the show is so easily to jump into without having seen the rest of it. After the first episode, which mostly just set up the season’s problems up addressed past issues, episodes two and three featured the cast in unique locations with fresh objectives. Doom Patrol can seamlessly go from a mountain resort in one episode to the River Styx in the next. That variety goes a long way in keeping folks like myself binging.
My one criticism so far is that some of the story elements are not given enough space to breathe. I’ll try and avoid spoilers, but if you’ve been following the show you know that at the end of season 2, the cast was trapped in wax by a villain called the Candlemaker, who kidnapped Dorothy. This dilemma is resolved quickly at the start of the season — in the span of one scene, actually — and the cast is released from their wax trappings.
Now, on one hand this makes sense, because the show needs its characters around so they can go on adventures and entertain us. On the other, it seems weird how quickly the problem was settled given how important it was at the end of season 2.
Something similar happens with Larry and the beginning of his arc. At the end of the first episode he sets off into space, but that doesn’t last long, partly because the show needs him back for the plot of Episode Three. The show mostly gets all its dominos in a row, but the pace can feel pretty quick.
Overall, I’m excited to follow the Doom Patrol. I like all of the characters, and the promise of more villains and conflict excites me greatly. In the meanwhile, I’ll do my best to binge the rest of the show so I actually know what’s going on.
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