Doom Patrol Review: Bird Patrol (Season 3 Episode 7)

The truth comes out on Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 7, “Bird Patrol,” and it’s a pretty ugly one for Laura.

Laura’s past has loomed over Season 3 since her arrival and the revelation that she has no memories of who she is. 

Over the course of six episodes, we cheered for her as she helped save the team from a pack of bloodthirsty were-butts, felt for her when she bonded with Rita, and delighted in Michelle Gomez’s wonderfully quirky performance. 

Through all that, though — even as she endeared herself to viewers — we knew there was another shoe to drop. On “Bird Patrol,” it finally does.

It’s obvious on Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 6, “1917 Patrol,” that whatever Laura was going to do to break up the happy family she had with the Sisterhood, it was going to be a grievous betrayal.

Unless there was a twist that revealed the Sisterhood broke bad, only something truly terrible could believably create such strife between them.

Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to watch. Without the shock of the unexpected, it’s even harder to witness everything go down.

The particularly vile nature of Laura’s betrayal is underscored by her cries that the Sisterhood members are pacifists and force isn’t necessary. She is trying to protect them from physical harm at that moment, but she is also forcing them to become weapons, knowing that.

It’s a detail that subtly show’s how conflicted Laura feels but also the absolute treachery of this breach of trust.

The sequence that reveals Laura’s betrayal is an emotional gut-punch. It’s gripping storytelling that you can’t look away from even as it breaks your heart. One of the things that makes the sequence effective is everything we saw on “1917 Patrol.”

“1917 Patrol” shows the Sisterhood’s friendship and gives viewers space to build investment. They give us moments on “1917 Patrol” that don’t particularly move the plot forward. They just allow us to spend time with these whimsical personalities and see what they mean to each other. 

That may seem like an obvious thing, but it’s a place where many other shows stumble. Whether it’s an issue of limited time or something else, there are countless examples of shows telling viewers the nature of a relationship and expecting that to be enough to make them care.

After one episode, we care about these relationships because the show invites us into those moments of joy and camaraderie. It doesn’t ask us just to assume those feelings are there, so the experience of watching it all fall apart feels more personal.

Similarly, spending time with the Sisterhood when they are still idealistic artists and not an ominous threat makes the tragedy on “Bird Patrol” all the worse because we know that light is about to be snuffed out. 

There isn’t enough that can be said about what April Bowlby and Michelle Gomez bring to this episode, either. Both actors bring immense vulnerability to their scenes. The pain they convey elevates everything and makes “Bird Patrol” the emotional bombshell that it is. 

Gomez’s vulnerability is particularly interesting. She is so good at making viewers empathize with Laura that the heartbreak viewers feel is as much for her as it is for Rita and the rest of the Sisterhood. 

All season Laura has struggled against evidence that suggests she is not a good person. Gomez conveys the grief Laura feels being confronted with the truth of her past beautifully. It belies her defensive response and signals that she doesn’t actually believe her own justifications.

There are still several unanswered questions about Laura. We don’t know why she came to the future or even at what point in the timeline she left. All of that will inevitably come out over the next three episodes.

What we are less certain to get — but hopefully do — is what happened to Laura in the years between “1917 Patrol” and “Bird Patrol.” The version of Laura on “Bird Patrol” is so different from the version of her on ‘1917 Patrol” that it’s hard to even make sense of without more information.

It’s not implausible to think that over the 30 plus years that separate the two-episode, Laura became slowly entrenched in the Bureau and drifted away from the rest of the Sisterhood. 

Still, Laura didn’t show any real loyalty or affinity to the Bureau on “1917 Patrol.” It’s hard to square the Laura de Mille of “1917 Patrol” with the one of “Bird Patrol” without getting a glimpse at the tensions during those three decades.

Viewers can fill in the blanks if there isn’t time to show more of how and why Laura ended up the way she did, but more context about what happened would be most welcomed. 

“Bird Patrol” is a fantastic episode. It is arguably the season’s overall best (Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 4, “Undead Patrol” is also a strong contender). Without question, it is the most emotionally impactful episode and the perfect start to the season’s final act.

Stray Thoughts

• Like “1917 Patrol,” “Bird Patrol’s” primary focus is Rita and Laura’s story, with everyone else’s taking a back seat. On “Bird Patrol,” however the other characters’ stories are better served and feel less like a distraction from the main action than on “1917 Patrol.”
• Dr. Harrison says the quiet part out loud and admits that the other personas’ reaction to Kay possibly getting better is about what happens to them more than it is about what’s best for Kay.
• Jane shouldn’t have lied to Kay. She needs Kay to trust her if they are going to get through the inevitable confrontation with the rest of the Underground. Lying to Kay only makes Jane seem like all the other personas. 
• There are some interesting parallels between Cyborg’s story and the Sisterhood of Dada, as both were forced to become weapons for the state. It will be interesting to see if the rest of the season explores that further. 
• Despite showing signs of being more assertive and active on “1917 Patrol,” Rita ends up hiding from the world again. As the others point out, a world war and racial injustice pass them by as they stay complicity safe in their little Dada bubble do nothing.

What did you think of this episode of Doom Patrol? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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New episodes of Doom Patrol premiere Thursdays on HBOMax.

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