Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 5 Review: Youth Patrol
Rita’s ego once again lands the team in a crisis on Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 5, “Youth Patrol.”
After losing her longevity on Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 3, “Nostalgia Patrol,” Rita wakes up to find herself suddenly physically aging. She does not handle it well.
Having missed the update from Willoughby about Immortus, Rita panics and impulsively unleashes a de-aging spell on herself, the rest of the team, and Willoughby. A spell that Willoughby informs them will eventually de-age them out of existence if they don’t fix it.
It seems to be two steps forward and one step back for Rita this week. She showed real growth on “Nostalgia Patrol.” Rita put her ego and pride aside to save her found family. She didn’t get lost in her past glories as she has done so often before.
But vanity, it seems, is a harder nut to crack. It’s frustrating to see Rita once again getting her team into trouble for superficial reasons, but it’s true to her character.
Maybe if she had been a part of the team meeting, she would not have acted so recklessly. Rita not freaking out because of grey hair and age spots, though, wouldn’t have even made sense as much as we — viewers rooting for her to be better — want her to make different choices.
Narratively, “Nostalgia Patrol” is an important episode. Most notably, we learn more about Immortus and his plan. Immortus is shaping up to be quite a compelling big bad, and the season has done a great job building him up slowly but steadily.
There is a sense of growing danger with each new piece of information we get about him. Still, most of that information comes in drips and drabs that keep him more mysterious than menacing for now. With each episode, though, that menace becomes more acute.
I’m looking forward to seeing the picture of what kind of threat he is, what he wants, and why to take focus in the second half of the season.
“Youth Patrol” also begins what might finally be a good storyline for Larry. The juxtaposition of Larry’s scenes with Mr. 104 and the rest of the team’s teenage bender feels a little tonally disjointed.
They don’t quite work together but, taken just on its own, giving Larry a new ally (and possibly a love interest) that understands what he’s been through and can actually touch him feels like the start of a storyline finally worthy of the character and of Matt Bomer’s talent.
Plus, that cliffhanger at the end when Larry is ripped out of the scene (I’m guessing by Immortus) is pretty darn exciting.
I’m still being cautious with my hopes for Larry’s storyline this season, though. The show has disappointed me before when it comes to him. Still, I can’t deny feeling a glimmer of hope that I might finally be able to invest in Negative Man again.
Despite the big developments and fun premise, “Youth Patrol” is an episode that should be better than it is. Perhaps I’m an old curmudgeon, but I find the teen version of the team irritating. The episode meanders until the last 10 minutes and doesn’t offer any particularly illuminating insight into most of the characters.
The exception to this is Madame Rouge, specifically her scene with Rita on the bench. Michelle Gomez is the absolute MVP of this episode and the saving grace of the storyline with the teenage team. In an otherwise subpar episode, that scene is one of the best of the season.
Michelle Gomez’s performance is heart-wrenching and raw and leaves viewers absolutely gutted. I’ve never wanted to hug a sociopath as much as I did during that scene.
With only one episode left until the mid-season finale, “Youth Patrol” drags when it should be escalating the tension. It’s particularly disappointing coming off the excellent episode, Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 4, “Casey Patrol.”
Michelle Gomez, the prospect of a good storyline for Larry, and some big narrative revelations help keep the episode engaging, but it still feels like the Season’s first real stumble.
Stray Thoughts
- It’s always good to see Mark Sheppard make an appearance.
- I like the rapport developing between Rouge and Cliff. I hope that’s something we see more of.
- Rita and Madame Rouge still have more work to do to repair their relationship, but it’s nice to see them start to reconcile.
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New episodes of Doom Patrol stream Thursdays on HBO Max.
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Sarah Fields
Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.