REVIEW: Doom Patrol: The Complete Third Season
With Doom Patrol moving to HBO Max for their frenetic third season, the shows looks and feels much the same: an energetic mess that has a heart lying underneath the chaos and disjointed storytelling. Now available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment, the 10 episodes unfold quickly.
We immediately dispatch the cliffhangers leftover from season two and plunges us into new issues, stemming from the death of the Chief (Timothy Dalton) and soon after the death of the team. In fact, it takes the Dead Boy Detectives (Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant)—lifted from the Sandman universe and destined for their own series—to help locate the spirits. Meantime, a woman calling herself Laura De Mille (Michelle Rodriguez), arrives from 1949 and seems to be replacing the Chief as a leader. Once revealed as their long-time comics foe Madame Rogue, things take a deadlier turn.
While season two was mainly about Robotman (Brendan Fraser) and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), this season, it’s Elasti-Girl (April Bowlby) finally taking the spotlight. The slow dance between Rita Farr and Laura De Mille is a delight, thanks to fine performances. By season’s end, Rita seems ready to be the team’s true leader.
Larry (Matt Bomer) seems to be rid of his Negative Man energy, which is a mixed blessing, while Crazy Jane’s multiple personalities vie for attention, continuing her arc from last season.
We get the Garguax the Destroyer (Stephen Murphy), the Brotherhood of Evil, and the Sisterhood of Dada for good measure. But, the problem with the series remains fractured, focusing too much on individual story arcs and nowhere near enough team interplay. These are a bunch forced together by circumstance, who have bonded into a family of misfits, all robbed of their humanity, and yet, all showing their uniqueness hasn’t robbed them of anything at all.
With season four about to drop, now is a good time to revisit these episodes and refresh yourself because the pacing requires you to pay attention.
All ten episodes look sharp with a solid 1080p transfer and an equally good audio track.
Only two Special Features are here: Life After Death (14:00) with a look at the season; and Filter Not Included: Robotman’s Best Lines (3:00).