Doom Patrol season 4 episode 5 recap & review: Youth Patrol

In episode 5 of Doom Patrol, the team learns more about Immortus and its motivations while also dealing with a de-ageing curse. The episode is streaming on HBO Max.

Recap

Larry is meditating in his room when he gets flashes of Mr 104 and a possible location for Keeg. He tells Vic and asks him to give a still-unconscious Rita a hug when she gets up again.

Jane decides to pleasure herself but just as she gets started, she’s pulled into the underground. She asks the other personalities why they brought her there but they say that they had nothing to do with it.

Cliff is checking out the classic car he and Laura found while they were looking for Darren and Laura tells Cliff that he needs a project to work on to soothe his own mind.

Willoughby shows up and tells them to gather everyone because he has grave news to report. Rita wakes up and notices signs of ageing on her face and hair.

Willoughby tells everyone that a god named Immortus is coming back and he’s looking for the pieces of him that got into the hands of Niles Caulder who put a little bit of it into each of the original members of the Doom Patrol which is why they don’t age.

Laura and the others immediately realise the piece within Rita was extracted by Dr Janus. Rita is looking through Niles’ office to undo her ageing and she finds a case with several tonics.

She picks one out and turns around as Cliff walks in and startles her, causing her to drop the bottle. The others walk in behind Cliff and whatever was in the bottle turns into a wisp of smoke that envelopes all of them.

Larry is walking through the forest when he gets more flashes of Mr 104 before collapsing on the ground. He finds himself in one of Mr 104’s visions where he’s being experimented on by the same people who tested Larry.

The smoke turns everyone into teenagers and Willoughby tells them that it’s a curse that will continue turning back the clock until they don’t exist anymore. He finds a location for his mentor, Ms April, so that she can undo the curse.

Laura looks the same and she tells them that she just held her breath so it didn’t affect her. Larry tells Mr 104 that he just wants Keeg back and Mr 104 replies that he’s been trying to get rid of Keeg but he hasn’t been able to.

He then sees Larry’s memory of being tested and how much it hurt to go through all that. The team stops off at a gas station and Rita walks off with Laura following after her.

Jane and Cliff make friends with other teenagers and convince Willoughby to let them go to a party before continuing on their mission. Everyone lets loose at the party and Vic tells Jane the pros and cons of the teenage years because she was created long after Kay’s teenage years.

Jane gets so high that she gets a trippy vision bringing her face to face with Kay. She apologises to Kay for using her body the way she is and Kay says it’s alright because this body belongs to all of them.

Vic thinks about how good his life was growing up with his friends and peels off into the crowd. Jane and Willoughby de-age even further and try to collect Cliff and get back on track but Cliff refuses to go along because he’s not doing too well himself and is mad at them.

Laura finds Rita who’s also now a young child and she tries to console her. She says that the curse affected her too but she used her powers to appear normal. The two of them hash out their differences and comfort each other during this difficult time.

Mr 104 tells Larry that his powers are fritzing and there will come a point when he loses control causing a catastrophic event which is why he’s helping Immortus, so that he can undo his powers and avoid causing pain and suffering to others.

Vic shows up at the doorstep of one of his friends and embraces him as he looks like a small boy. Jane and Willoughby are outside when they’re approached by the other Knights Templar and Bunbury.

Bunbury tells Willoughby that he can undo the curse but at a cost. He brings Willoughby back to normal and then tells Jane to approach but she runs away. She doesn’t get too far before turning into a baby and Bunbury approaches her as Willoughby asks him to do things quickly.

Review

• The mist effect that takes place on multiple occasions in the episode is quite trippy and mesmerising. The VFX department of the series is generally very good and this is another example of their quality.
• The narrative of this episode is brilliant as several characters are forced to confront their past and come to significant realisations that require some great acting on the part of the cast. For once, the fact that Clint can’t exactly emote, his plight is less impactful.
• The mystery of Immortus is made a little clearer and the potential romance between Larry and Mr 104 progresses in this episode as the series approaches its mid-season break. Sendhil Ramamurthy also puts in a good performance here.

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Also Read: Doom Patrol season 4 episode 4 recap & review: Casey Patrol