Yes its all a little different this week, but different is great! Reveling in ones individuality was Episode 8’s theme, showing that people may be different but there is nothing wrong with that! I mean where is the fun in being normal?
Spoilers…..
Oh, Danny The Gender-Queer Street, The Ants Are Crawling…
I figured this episode might include Danny The Street to some extent with the episode being titled Danny Patrol. But I was surprised they went all out and adapted a good amount of material from Danny’s origin story in the comic. Even bringing in Darren Jones and The Bureau of Normalcy! Granted we didn’t get the comic versions of Nowhere Men, so hopefully we get them in a future episode because how they talk is unique and could work even better on the show. Throughout the episode was hints of The Ant Farm, which was a huge over-reaching arc in the comics, which mean we may see Flex Mentallo in the future!
On the other side of the plot we had Rita hanging out with what she deems “more annoying” personality of Jane’s, Karen. A “simple” persona that just wants to live her life in a 90’s sitcom with her multiple on and off again boyfriend Doug. Until shit hits the fan, per usual. We can’t forget our favorite robot friend Cliff, who also makes a new friend this episode!
Humor Patrol…
As with any episode of Doom Patrol there is some great humor, and boy golly we got some zingers (or whatever kids nowadays say). First up is Cliff’s imitation of the killer shower scene in Psycho (add clip) which was spot on even with the robotic noise. Karen using Cool Beans, that’s all that needs to be said. Everyone loves a great nickname and Maura Lee Karupt came up with the greatest for Cyborg, and Negative Man; Terminator, and King Tut. It’s so simple but yet so great! I started to like Cliff’s new friend and his dance moves and their interactions with each other.
Watching Doug’s family freak out about him getting back with Karen was hilarious, until she abuses her power that we won’t spoil here. Then we she uses that power I wont mention on Cliff and his reaction to it, *Italian Chef kiss* perfect. Finally we get to see and hear Negative Man sing at the end, boy that was a nice touch!
Drama Patrol…
In this wonderful stew we call Doom Patrol we always need a little of that drama to make it taste just a little better. Motivational songs are always great and we get a great karaoke scene with Negative Man and Maura with Cliff and the robot kid dancing spliced in. With a quick music cut we see karaoke was just in Negative Mans head, albeit dark it was funny and emotionally well done. It seems that every episode Rita is reminded how self-absorbed and how egotistical of a person she is, this time by Karen. What’s great about this scene is in the first few episodes she would of fought back but instead she acknowledges that she is in fact all of what Karen said.
“Should I buy my cape before or after I kill my family and friends?” – Negative Man. First off, how negative, Negative Man! But seriously that’s such a damn good line that I had to rewind just to hear it again and write it down.
Theme Patrol…
Let me lay this down lightly, I can easily pick up on themes and what something is about when I consume it, but I have the curse of explaining it horribly. So my best way to describe the theme is a quote from Maura said in the episode, “No one should ever have to feel uncomfortable in their own skin.”.
That’s right kid’s, the theme for today’s episode is individuality is great, and there is nothing wrong with being abnormal! You need to revel in how unique you are! It’s hard to express this in a show, but somehow Doom Patrol was able to do it amazingly with the help of a gender-queer sentient street. How crazy is that?
Villain Patrol….
The only downfall in such a great episode is that the villains felt highly underdeveloped and could have have been any other group of bad guys that hate abnormal things. In the comics Darren Jones and the Nowhere Men had more backstory/story in general that they could’ve sprinkled in during what was otherwise a great episode. What we got was a group of baddies that just hate things they consider abnormal, which is how this group is in the comics but it feels like they may have been wasted here, alas, I have a feeling Darren will be back.
What’s That Comic?
After constantly pausing and squinting my eyes (I watched on my phone) I was able to figure out what issue of DC’s My Greatest Adventure was that Cyborg picked up from Danny The Street! Issue 51, as seen here on the left. Doing multiple Google searches I was able to figure out what it’s about, a few magic pills. It doesn’t seem to tie in at all because it features no one we have met and seems totally random. Great thing is nothing is ever random in this show, so I guess we will just have to wait. A quick Flash Fact for you if your ever asked in Cash Cab, Doom Patrol’s debut was in#80 of this series, the more you know!
All Aboard The Underground Train!
Let’s hope on that hype and underground train because with an ending like that it seems we will visit Jane’s underground! With this hinted in a previous episode I figured we would see it sooner or later, so it’s nice it’s coming sooner!
Side Note: I don’t watch the previews, or pay attention to interviews/news on the show so it’s always a nice surprise when we get characters that I thought would never be brought to live action! Plus It took me half the episode to realize that Maura Lee Karupt equals Morally Corrupt, can you say whoosh?