The final countdown has begun and Armageddon is imminent for the ghastly Candlemaker charges forward in ‘Dad Patrol.’ The penultimate episode throws the dads into the limelight and if you know anything about the Doom Patrol, it’s that daddy issues are in abundance. The standout of this episode, once again, the incredibly faultless Dorothy Spinner, played by the flawless Abigail Shapiro. Gracefully tossing her into the mix for Season 2 was probably one of the best decisions made for the story in a show already so full of potential and showstopping performances.
Chief, still denying that fact that Dorothy will inevitably grow up, decides that a ‘Dorothy Day’ is in order as in a few short hours she must be given to Kipling and the rest of the Knights Templar to ensure the fate of the word. As unintentional as it was it was, watching the Doom Patrol go through some of their lowest moments this season showed Dorothy just how rough it was to be a grown up. She had spent a majority of this season doing everything possible to escape the inescapable threat of growing up. In this one day, Chief attempts to make up for years of not being with Dorothy and try to relieve some of that guilt hes feeling before his time with Dorothy is up. Yet all throughout this day Dorothy is haunted by the spirit of her mother who beckons her forward to claim the red boots and grow up.
Still reeling from the return of Miranda, Jane sets off to acquire a stuffed animal that once brought comfort to a sorrowful Kay, that had been forced deep into a well as a form of punishment from her abusive father. As primary its first priority to do what makes the girl happy, and with the return of Miranda and her claim that Kay is ‘Healing’, Jane goes into panic mode and she fears that if Kay really did heal she would cease to exist, this leads to her to the farm, where she believes that if she can acquire Kay’s stuffed animal, it can help her see that Kay needs her personalities. She’s joined by a confused Larry, stuck at a crossroads after an encounter with the negative woman, who told him that freedom from his cloth prison was an option, but he would need to become one with the negative spirit instead of just a host. But becoming someone new would mean letting go of his past, a past that has since defined who he is and he would once again be deserting his family, but this raises another question, would the negative spirit even want to merge with Larry? how do you coexist with such a being when you have little to no communication except for painful flashbacks.
Shifting the focus to an even more depressing topic, Cyborg, on the hunt for a now wanted Roni Evers, is joined by an eager Rita, who has dubbed herself ‘The Bee Keeper’ after having her ego blown back up to superstar proportions by a local paper. Roni, using Uma jelly she nabbed from the scants, sought out revenge on the men who poisoned and irreversibly damaged her body. this leads to an altercation in the sub shop where the two had their first date. Vic had become so attached to Roni, thinking he finally found someone who liked him for him, cybernetic enhancements or not, he so blindly ignored the many red flags that even she warned him about. After being betrayed and hurt by so many people Roni had reached a point where she thought she was truly the only person looking out for her and would do anything she had to survive.
Ending on a lighter note, were treated to a real reunion between Cliff and his daughter, Clara, who showed up to Doom Manor out of the blue. After showing her the tape of Nile’s confession the two really began to make progress. Seeing Cliff truly win for once was a satisfying enough as he had dealt with the loss of time and his family since he went operational. what really stuck with me was their final interaction, that of Clara offering Cliff an invitation to her wedding and the chance to be involved in a crucial point in his daughter’s life, and one true win for The Robotman.
With the finale up next and the threat of the Candlemaker approaching rapidly, ‘Dad Patrol’ lays the character development on hard and once again doesn’t fail to flesh out these outlandish characters while exploring the wild and eccentric history of one of DC’s oldest teams. With the ongoing pandemic the show was unable to finish filming its sophomore season meaning next weeks finale is sort of a place holder until further notice, with the seasons tenth episode which would likely be folded into the shows third season when it undoubtedly gets the greenlight.
