Wednesday, July 01, 2020

My Review of Doom Patrol's 2x02: "Tyme Patrol"


Written by April Fitzsimmons & Neil Reynolds
Directed by Harry Jierjian

Crazy Jane: "Maybe it is time for a change."

Onto the second episode and well, things certainly keep taking an interesting turn, don't they?Following Dorothy getting the warning about Niles facing imminent death, this episode focused on trying to slow down the process with a little help from Tyme. Yes, that's how it's really spelled.

Specifically Doctor Jonathan Tyme (Brandon Perea) who has a certain continuum in his head that could actually help Niles out. Rita was determined to get it. Jane agreed to go along and Cliff took some persuading but eventually also decided to help as well, in spite of his growing hatred for the Chief.

Dr Tyme's world though was a lot of fun to see. A roller disco derby with a certain Donna Summers song on repeat, it's actually a pity that we didn't get to see more of it. Tyme himself was a little under utilised and it came as no shock that the gang messed things up when Rita aimed for the head. Is it bad that I'm not that anxious for the Chief to survive?

I mean if he does, fair enough but the majority of the first season both portrayed him in a horrible light and posed the question as to whether or not the gang would be better without him. Of course, it's also implied here that without the Chief around, Dorothy could unleash hell on Earth but a part of me thinks everyone on this show, Dorothy included would be better off without him.

Keeping with Dorothy here - she spent a good portion of the episode in denial over her father possibly dying before getting Rita to help her learn to cook, which I thought was a nice moment between the two of them. I've noticed that Rita has been stepping more and more this season so far and I'm loving it.

As for the rest of the gang - it seems that one of Jane's other personalities, Miranda is vying for dominance and I'm guessing that Jane allowing that to happen will be both a bad idea and fairly imminent while Cliff was a lot more focused on sticking it to Caulder at every opportunity this week.

Then there was Victor. He went to a support group and then clashed and somehow bonded with Roni (Karen Obilom) - a military vet who certainly had a spark with him. As for Larry, he attended his son Gary's funeral, had a reunion with other son, Paul (John Getz) and then a swarm of butterflies captured him during the last moments of this one. Both Larry and Victor's plots were separate from the main action this week but both were very strong.

- Danny being a brick was another thing I'd forgotten about but going by trailers for the season, I don't think this will last too long.
- I wonder when we'll meet more of Dorothy's imaginary friends beyond Darling and Herschel.
- Standout music: Of course it's going to be Donna Summers Bad Girls, much to Cliff and Jane's annoyance.
- Chronology: London 1927 with the same flashbacks told from Niles's point of view. Caulder is also 139 years old.

Tyme Patrol was a bit stronger than the opening episode, although I do wish we had seen more of the title villain of the week and his world. Dorothy's still a strong addition to the series and I'm liking Rita's increased assertiveness in helping the gang out. Right now, I'm not sure if Caulder will survive the season. Maybe he shouldn't.

Rating: 7 out of 10

No comments:

Post a Comment