This review was made possible by advanced screeners of Doom Patrol Season 4, Part 2. The final episodes begin streaming on October 12 on Max.
Back in January, we learned that the fate of the final DC Universe original series had been sealed, with Titans and Doom Patrol set to end with their fourth seasons. While opinions tended to differ on Titans, its spin-off, Doom Patrol, always tended to garner much more positive reactions with the way it handled certain topics such as mental health, as well as its incredible cast led by Brendan Fraser, April Bowlby, Matt Bomer, Diane Guerrero and Joivan Wade. As the Buttpocalypse looms and Immortus reigns, the Doom Patrol faces their most dangerous mission yet, and just about sticks the final landing.
The Wait For ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 4 Part 2 Is Finally Over…
To say the wait for these final episodes has been long would be an overstatement, taking nearly nine months to finally return. While Titans saw a much smaller gap in its return to Max for its final episodes. I bring this up because the final six episodes can feel a bit rushed at times, and while they say the season was written to give it a satisfying ending, the end result can’t help but feel just a tad bit rushed in certain aspects. There are moments where certain characters just up and leave, It feels random as they really just came back.
‘Doom Patrol’ Fails Certain Characters, But Not All.
The specific issues of the final season have to do with Dorothy and Casey Brinke, I don’t know if I fully see the point in the roles these characters play this season. While the actresses themselves are great, they are heavily underutilized, they’re grand departure from Danny at the end of the first part of Season 4 seemed to set them up for more in the second part, but they kind of just show up for the sake of the matter. I don’t know if the writers felt like Dorothy had more story in her, but she should’ve just been left where she was, with the Deadboy detectives. While Casey of course is a beloved character from Gerard Way’s run on the team, personally, I found her presence unnecessary and just felt like another mouth to feed.
Beyond that, other aspects of the series just feel wrapped up way too quickly, with grand conflicts wrapped up mind-shockingly quickly. At one point a character is tasked with finding someone – who? I do not know, as they do not come back, and you never see them again. Unfortunately, I believe the impending doom of the old DC Universe resulted in this series suffering, and in time became unable to “keep up” and really build towards a truly satisfying ending in the final episodes.
Let us get onto the good, of course, the cast is great, when have they not been? While obviously things could’ve been handled a bit smoother, I believe these characters are put to rest in a respectful and well-deserved manner. Having been through so much, time was running out and the end would need to come sooner rather than later before welcomes were overstayed. Without going into spoilers, the Doom Patrol goes out in a heartwarming and emotional final send-off.
A ‘Doom Patrol’ Musical Episode?
For those who may not remember, it was confirmed that this season would reportedly have a musical episode, and yes, it does, and it rules incredibly hard. The episode Immortimas Patrol is a big ’80s-inspired musical episode that features multiple hilarious big song and dance numbers as the team rings in the most wonderful time of the year, Immortimas! It is a full family affair as the characters find themselves spontaneously breaking out into song and dance, It’s something that is just soooo Doom Patrol, that it is honestly shocking that it took this long to happen.
‘Doom Patrol’ Season 4 Part 2 – Final Thoughts
While it may have had a bit of a bumpy ending, Doom Patrol is able to offer a much more satisfying ending than some shows and leaves you feeling like you just said just said goodbye to a real good group of friends. Its zany and outlandish nature made it special, it was one of those shows that made you think “Are they gonna go there?”… well they’ve been there and they’re already about a mile or two down the road.
Check out the trailer for the final episodes of Doom Patrol, and check out our review for the first part of Season 4 here.
The Review
'Doom Patrol' Season 4 Part 2
While it may have had a bit of a bumpy ending, Doom Patrol is able to offer a much more satisfying ending than some shows and leaves you feeling like you just said just said goodbye to a real good group of friends. Its zany and outlandish nature made it special, it was one of those shows that made you think "Are they gonna go there?"... well they've been there and they're already about a mile or two down the road.
