Hasitha Fernando reviews the twelfth episode of Doom Patrol…
Cyborg is being held prisoner in the Bureau of Normalcys’ secret underground facility- the infamous Ant Farm-where he’s subjected to various experiments. Meanwhile, spearheaded by Silas Stone our zany band of misfits hatch a desperate plan to rescue Victor from his captors…before it’s too late.
The erstwhile episode confirmed Victor’s worst fear; that he was slowly but surely becoming more machine than human. Following a hasty decision to aid Jane follow a lead, he is eventually captured by the Bureau of Normalcy. From there things go South for Vic, as he is tortured physically by his captors and mentally by a rebooted Grid. This completely and utterly disorients him as he loses his grasp over reality. And things get pretty ugly pretty fast when Vic meets his dad at the conclusion of the episode.
Cyborg is a property DC struggled adapting as evidenced by the much-maligned Justice League movie. So, the decision of the Doom Patrol showrunners to humanize the character more, was a stroke of genius. As a result of which, it made the character more relatable to the audience. This factor works in favor of Joivan Wade, who puts in a tremendous amount of work to flesh out the character, and his hard work truly pays off. His metamorphosis from ever-dependable do-gooder to paranoid-schizophrenic nervous wreck is simply devastating. How the showrunners will choose to conclude his particular story arc is still a mystery, but for now, this IS the definitive version of Cyborg until Warner Bros. figures things out for his movie counterpart.
From the get-go this TV series has never shied away from embracing its outlandish aspects. And this aspect is on full unbridled display here with the Ant-Farm. From goofy automatons operating the communications hub to sentient butt monsters, this episode has it all!
Alan Tudyk as the devilishly delightful scenery chewing Mr. Nobody makes a brief, albeit memorable appearance right at the very end. And this is where things get a little… complicated. It is revealed that he did have a hand in pushing Victor over the edge but that’s it. Nothing more. The tragedy that transpires in the end is Victor’s fault and his alone. Is this all part of Mr. Nobody’s elaborate plan? Or perhaps this is simply him being his usual duplicitous self. I guess we’ll have to wait for the next episode to find out.
Hasitha Fernando
