Doom Patrol season 4 follows the impending return of Immortus as the titular superhero team aims to stop the being from rewriting reality. The episodes are streaming on Max.
Episode 7 recap: Orqwith Patrol
Rita and Laura escape the Ant Farm but Laura is overwhelmed after seeing Wally die in front of her. Vic, Derek, Cliff, and Jane are escorted to a jail cell by the scissormen but Derek uses one of the sheets of paper to draw a big rock falling on top of their captors.
Cliff and Jane go out in search of Jane’s longevity while Vic and Derek go looking for Larry. Laura wants to look through papers they took from Wally’s cell and hopefully find a way to stop Immortus but Rita has all but given up.
They find a note left behind by Cliff and Jane saying that they’ve gone to Orqwith to find Larry and Jane’s longevity. Cliff and Jane find the chamber where their longevity is being kept but they aren’t able to fight off the scissormen.
Wally tells them to stand down and then offers Cliff a chance to see the possibilities he could have if Immortus is free. He talks about how he met Niles Caulder and learned about the Immortus Project for the first time.
He pulls out Niles’ longevity necklace and tells them to touch the stone and see what could be in their future. Jane is apprehensive but Cliff wants to see what is on offer.
Derek and Vic find Larry being guarded by some scissormen. They see no other option but to fight them so Derek draws Vic’s arm cannon. He tells Vic to take it but Vic doesn’t want it. Vic gets a magical sword instead and the two of them fight off several scissormen.
Derek continues to rave about the arm cannon and what Cyborg meant to everyone else but Vic says that being Cyborg was a completely different experience for him that weighed in him significantly.
Laura says that she found a drawing on how to create a gate to Orqwith and asks Rita for help but Rita is going through a crisis of confidence and has no interest in helping.
Cliff and Jane grab the longevity necklace and are immediately transported to a department store where Cliff sees his daughter. She is looking for her son and asks Cliff to help her look for him.
Jane tries to convince Cliff that what they’re seeing isn’t real but Cliff isn’t listening to her. He eventually sees his grandson who is much older but just as he goes to embrace him, they are transported back to Orqwith.
Wally tells Cliff that if he gives up his longevity, Immortus can ensure that he gets to see his grandson grow up. Rita finally goes down to help Laura and the two of them share a vulnerable moment as they drink.
Vic and Derek find Larry but Larry doesn’t want to be saved because of what he saw about the future. Vic says that he would be selfish for just giving up and needs to do better.
Cliff agrees to give up his longevity despite Jane’s protestations. Laura and Rita build the portal and arrive in Orqwith soon after Wally has all of the pieces back. Casey and Dorothy also show up but they arrive too late. Derek draws protective bubbles around all of their friends just as Wally is completing the ritual.
Immortus returns in the form of Isabel Feathers and emits a devastating scream that pushes down everyone in the chamber.
Episode 8 recap: Fame Patrol
Everyone wakes up in a crater a few miles outside of Cloverton. All of Immortus’ agents have perished, with Casey losing her father and her creator. Isabel walks ahead of everyone else as they wonder whether she is Immortus or not.
Rita wants to end her once and for all but the others aren’t sure yet. A man drives by and rejoices when he sees Isabel. The next moment, she is on television talking about her mysterious disappearance and reappearance while the Doom Patrol watches it from their mansion.
When the host asks Isabel where she was, she gives a very troubling answer but realizing what she said, she rewrites time and gives a more suitable answer. Only Laura notices that something happened while the others believe that Isabel seems normal.
Dorothy is trying to help Casey come to terms with the loss she just faced. Casey needs a new goal in life and Dorothy suggests helping ensure the Doom Patrol doesn’t die because they’re her family.
Cliff goes to the refrigerator to check the werebutt and panics when he sees that it is missing. Everyone else blames him for letting Immortus out because he’s the one who willingly gave away his longevity.
Rita wants to take down Isabel Immortus but she doesn’t have too much support. Larry goes back to his room and hears a disembodied Rama talking to him. Keeg removes some of Larry’s bandages so that the radiation can help Rama reconstitute himself.
Cliff looks for the werebutt and is stopped when the Parkinson’s suddenly hits. Dorothy approaches him and says that she has something to share with him. Jane isn’t able to find her way to the underground and Casey appears in her head to help, even though Jane isn’t interested.
Rita, Vic, and Laura head to where the preparations of the parade are being held in honor of Isabel and the heroes who found her. When everyone flocks around the Doom Patrol, Isabel gets jealous and rewrites time to bring the attention back to her.
Laura once again feels a sense of Deja Vu while this happens, although no one else notices it. Dorothy offers Cliff her father’s old motorized chair but Cliff doesn’t want it. He feels like he doesn’t deserve to be loved or cared for but Dorothy convinces him otherwise.
Casey keeps trying to connect with Jane but receives pushback until Jane realizes that she needs help and Casey is just being kind. Rita appears on television with Isabel and overshadows Isabel until she rewrites time to favor herself.
Larry has all but given up and Rama has to convince him that there is still hope. Laura confronts Isabel who shows her true self and wants Laura before wiping her mind and rewriting the moment.
Cliff calls everyone to go to the parade and help their friends. The Doom Patrol gets their own float and realizes that they’re the main attractions as Cliff uses this opportunity to tell everyone that he let out the werebutt.
When Isabel finds out that the Doom Patrol are the ones being celebrated, she gets very angry and lets out one of those devastating screams.
Review
- At this point, the series is trudging along to the end for the sake of it. The ridiculousness of the series has lost most of its novelty and many fans must have dropped off by now.
- There is still quite a bit to enjoy in these episodes, such as Brendan Fraser’s performance as Cliff and the dynamic between the various characters. Michelle Gomez has also been a delight ever since she joined the cast.
- The makeup department also deserves a shout-out for the aging displayed on Rita and Jane. The special effects are also kept simple and effective throughout.
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