REVIEW: Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 4 “Undead Patrol”

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be attacked by hundreds of butts?!"

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

“Undead Patrol” opens with the unsettling sight of Willoughby desecrating Niles’ disembodied head. As implied at the end of “Possibilities Patrol,” he uses it to bring Niles’ spirit back to the human world. Willoughby’s crusade of petty, self-serving tasks is interrupted when Darren Jones breaks into his room searching for the head. Meanwhile, back at Doom Manor, a mysterious woman has made herself at home. She is also searching for Niles, but she can’t remember why she needed to find him or even who she is. When Cliff informs her that the Chief is dead, she decides to go back in time and find him, but instead discovers that her time machine is broken. The housemates display strange symptoms like itching and skin discoloration. Rita spies a familiar garment in the woman’s vessel and tries to discover how they know each other.

While the nameless woman searches Niles’ abode for information about herself, the Patrol turns into zombies one by one. She learns that her name is Laura De Mille, and she has transformation powers. Willoughby arrives just in time to save Laura from having her brain eaten. Together, they form a plan to confront the head thief and rescue what’s left of Niles. Willoughby and the zombified Patrol divert Jones and keep him talking. At the same time, Laura prepares to turn into a bird and bomb him from above. This doesn’t go to plan, and Jones reveals that he was turned into a were-butt when the Patrol left him to fend for himself in the ant farm and released the butt monsters. The undead antiheroes are cornered with few options, so they feast on the creatures. Per Niles’ instruction, Laura feeds his head to the Patrol, curing their condition in exchange for his information on her. Laura learns that she wasn’t just on bad terms with Niles; he described her as dangerous and recommended her for termination.

Well, there go my hopes for the Chief to return. I was initially stunned by what Willoughby did to his head and the grisly appearance of his work. It fits pretty well in a show where the main characters died last week and butt-monsters are a thing, but this seemed particularly disturbing. I like how this was used to give the Patrol members, particularly Jane, the closure they needed. This is another example of Doom Patrol using something horrible and disgusting to arrive at a heartwarming conclusion. I don’t know how they do it, but I love it. The scene where Jane burns the Chief in effigy, repeating his last words, was genuinely moving. Although Jane isn’t my favorite character, Diane Guerrero has always been spectacular in this role. She probably has the most demanding job of the main cast since she plays Jane’s various alternate personalities.

“Undead Patrol” hones in on the idea of parental failures and intergenerational trauma. While none of the Patrol is Niles’ biological child, and they’re all adults, he became a father figure when he “rescued” them. After he arranged for their “accidents,” he took the responsibility of helping them acclimate and provided them with a home. After years of what seemed like the most normal, happy family life they could ever have, their world was turned upside down when they learned what really happened. This season, Rita and Jane especially have been wrestling with their mixed feelings about the man they’ve lived with for decades. It’s painful to admit that, despite what he did to them, they still love him. His absence is still disruptive and agonizing to the people who depended on him, whether they liked it or not. I love this outcome because it’s raw and honest. It’s not easy to feel ambivalent about someone you love, especially when they die before you can process and confront that hard truth. Sometimes people just die, and there’s not a happy ending. Eating the Chief’s brains and shouting his final words at his smoldering likeness is the best Jane gets.

Likewise, Cyborg hashes it out with his father yet again in “Undead Patrol.” Victor’s resentment towards his father’s split-second decision to use biotech to save him has been an ongoing conflict between the two. This time, the confrontation is spurred on by Vic’s encounter with his mother in the afterlife, during which she told him robotics weren’t the only way to save him. I don’t know if or when this will be resolved, but both sides are sympathetic. Victor’s feelings speak for themselves; he feels like his near-death experience was used as an opportunity to test experimental tech and create a superhero. Silas says everything was done out of love and insists that no other option would have been safer. His response is fairly calm since he lost his job thanks to Victor’s involvement with Roni. However, I’m not sure that simply repeating the same old answers is the best way for Silas to move forward with his son and reassure him.

The zombie development was absolutely hilarious. I love the makeup for the zombified Patrol, and their dialogue and body language were hysterical. I especially like that their personalities were kept more or less intact, give or take a desire to consume brain matter. Their ribbing of Willoughby and later Darren Jones was glorious. Speaking of Jones, he was amusing in this too. His pathetic sob story and the reveal of his butt status were amazing. Between the zombification of the main characters and the return of the butts, “Undead Patrol” feels like it should have been saved for Halloween. The post-credits reveal that one of the butts was turned into a zombie is sure to have some bearing on the next episode. Then there’s Larry’s condition before and after being a zombie. Because he no longer has the Negative Spirit, he pukes up a blue substance and develops a large, round stomach mass. I doubt they’ll kill off another main character so soon after Niles, and Larry still has room for character development. I’m very curious to see how they resolve this in the next few episodes. Laura’s subplot really surprised me. I assumed going in that she would be a villain, but everything else about her has caught me off guard. By the end, when she learned the truth about herself, I grieved along with her. She’s funny and willing to help. It would have to be hard for anyone to read their own death order.

Overall, “Undead Patrol” is probably my favorite episode of season 3 thus far. It’s funny, heartwarming, irreverent, and explores an interesting theme very well.