REVIEW: Doom Patrol – Season 4, Episodes 4 and 5, “Casey Patrol” and “Youth Patrol”

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

In “Casey Patrol,” Dorothy shares the story of how she reclaimed her father’s necklace and reunited with him. She struggles with her life and doesn’t appreciate Danny. The Danny-zens are infected and turn into machines, prompting Dorothy to summon her favorite comic book character, Space Case/Casey, to fight them. This initially works, but it leads to problems when Casey’s villainous father comes for Dorothy’s necklace. Dorothy reveals that she lied about seeing Niles again. She gives Casey’s father the necklace, and he leaves. The Danny-zens decide to leave Danny, and Dorothy joins Casey on a journey to find the author of her story. Finally, we learn that this mysterious author is working with Casey’s dad, and Dr. Janus. 

In “Youth Patrol,” Larry seeks out Mr. 104 to reclaim Keeg. Rita casts a de-aging spell which turns out to be a curse. It doesn’t have her intended effects, making everyone act like teenagers but not look any younger. Cliff and Jane encounter some actual youngsters who invite them to a party, and Willoughby allows them to go for five minutes. Jane and Vic discuss balancing their work with personal stuff. Cliff gets high and abandons his friends. Larry and Mr. 104 agree to work together, but Larry is sucked through a portal. Willoughby’s associates arrive and return him to normal before attacking Jane.

“Casey Patrol” is a case (hehe) of “Be careful what you wish for. ” I complained throughout season 3 that Dorothy’s storyline was neglected; I believe we only saw her in the finale that year. But “Casey Patrol” only follows Maura Lee, Dorothy, and her titular hero. This was a mistake because this episode feels less impactful and slower despite being relatively short at 40 minutes. I’m not sure why Doom Patrol insists on focusing episodes on one group of characters rather than balancing subplots, but I don’t like it. Dorothy’s story thread is essential, and I want to feel like it ties into the main plot, but spending a whole episode with her isn’t fun. Normally I wouldn’t dedicate much time and thought to how subplots are balanced, but it ruins this episode for me to an extent. 

However, there are things to like in “Casey Patrol.” There’s a significant parallel between Dorothy’s relationship with Niles and Casey’s with her father. Niles is dead now, but both girls struggle to communicate with their fathers. Torminox/Richard Brinke being “as good as dead” to Casey makes the connection even clearer. Some of the best moments in “Casey Patrol” come in interactions between Torminox and Casey. I may be biased since Timothy Dalton is one of my favorite actors, but I still think killing him was a mistake. Dorothy isn’t very interesting or likable without him, and it’s legitimately disappointing when we find out she didn’t connect with him in the spirit world or whatever. There seems to be a sort of implicit promise that Dorothy will become more interesting. After all, her whole arc revolves around what will become of her without her father. She will grow up alone after being a child for so long. I’ll obviously keep watching because I love the other characters, but this isn’t enough to keep me invested in Dorothy. Torminox’s immortality in the Space Case comics forms a solid contrast to Niles’ demise in season 2/3. I question Torminox’s apparent desire to make amends with Casey after he chokes her out earlier in the episode. Still, the scene is sweet in a vacuum. 

I don’t know anything about Space Case or Torminox in the comics; this is the first I’ve heard of these characters. However, I don’t like the art style of Casey’s comics as shown in Doom Patrol. It looks too simplistic and kiddie, which I guess makes sense, since it’s Dorothy’s favorite and she’s a kid. But I don’t like it and think it’s worth discussing since it’s in “Casey Patrol” so much. I do like Madeleine Zima’s performance as Casey, for the most part, especially the voice she initially uses and that she drops it when she realizes what trouble she’s in. Torminox looks like a lazy attempt to rip off Thanos, but I have no idea what he was/is like in the comics. Doom Patrol usually has better-looking makeup and prosthetics. Since this character is presented in a somewhat tragic light, I think he’s meant to be taken seriously. This isn’t a huge deal, just another blotch in a disappointing episode. 

There’s a sad scene where Dorothy calls on the Candlemaker for help, and Torminox absorbs him. I can’t recall if Candlemaker is one of the hostages Torminox returns to Maura and Dorothy at the end. Regardless, I wish I cared enough about Candelmaker to worry about him in such a dire context. But Dorothy’s imaginary friends have always been bad news, especially him. Similarly, it’s meant to be emotional when Dorothy tells Maura she locked her friends away. They reminded her of Niles, and it was too upsetting. This is the explanation for Dorothy moping around Danny and doing nothing as well. I don’t know how to feel about Dorothy, so I don’t care. I guess I never noticed this in prior seasons because she was with Niles and the Doom Patrol, but I don’t like her. Her voice annoys me, and I don’t find her that sympathetic. And as previously established, her friends are a safety hazard to everyone. 

However, I liked “Youth Patrol” a lot more. The connection between Mr. 104 and Larry is intriguing, and I wonder how it will play out. They could become a couple, but Mr. 104’s unique abilities that protect him from Larry may be going away soon. He says that getting rid of his powers is his goal, but that’s the only thing that makes it possible for them to be together. Of course, in the story, they just met two episodes ago. But mutual interest has been heavily implied, let alone the scene where they collapse and their hands almost touch. 

I’m also glad Rita and Laura have finally talked it out and made peace. The acting in this scene is awesome, and they did a great job casting the younger versions of the characters. Almost everyone seems to take something profound from this experience, but Cliff returns to partying and substance abuse. Willoughby is even more guilty than him, but Jane and the others aren’t his surrogate family. What exactly is Bembury taking from Jane? I’m sure it’ll be explained next week. 

“Casey Patrol” features some good performances and interesting ideas. However, those ideas aren’t always carried out in the most exciting ways, and this episode feels inconsequential. I like every member of Doom Patrol more than Dorothy, and they’re undeniably more interesting. In short, giving her an entire episode was a mistake. Hopefully, things will pick back up next week. 

I liked “Youth Patrol” much more. I like the fact that Dr. Janus draining Rita’s emotions has lasting consequences in aging her. This is also significant because Rita cares so much about her appearance. The humor is also good in this one, such as Jane calling the group of well-dressed teens “Euphoria.”