'Doom Patrol' Season 2 Spoiler-Free Review: Growth, consequences and more weirdness than ever before
Season 1 of 'Doom Patrol' was all about uncovering the mystery of just what made them who they are. Crawling out from the wreckage of their own trauma while dealing with the strangest catastrophes their world had to offer, it wasn't until the finale that the team was able to put together a clear picture of their origin and start to take back control. Season 2 expands on this as the Droom Patrol deals with the fallout of Niles Caulder's (Timothy Dalton) betrayal and what they do with their lives now.
For anyone worried about whether or not the series would be able to keep up the weirdness that made it so distinctive, it manages to do just that. In fact, as far as the first three episodes are concerned, it manages to ramp things up a few notches, making fun of some more classic comic characters that are made all the more absurd for how straight they are played. Timothy Dalton manages this especially well, explaining the origins of the clock-faced Doctor Tyme with absolute seriousness as Tyme's story gets increasingly ridiculous with every sentence.
For all the fun the season has so far, though, the team is very much broken apart. Where once they were united by the desire to find the Chief, their goals are a lot more disparate this time around. Cyborg (Joivan Wade) and Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer) leave Doom Manor to explore story arcs of their own. Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser) is furious at the Chief, but isn't leaving until he's managed to make the Chief answer for what he's done and more tragically, where else would he go? Delightful new character Dorothy Spinner (Abigail Shapiro) and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) need the Chief to help them deal with the dangerously powerful people in their own heads and the Chief has his own demons to deal with. Rita Farr (April Bowlby) seems to be the only one trying to keep things on track and hold the Doom Patrol together but not even her limbs can stretch that far.
Everyone in the group has had their illusions stripped away, to an extent and are having to come to terms with just how self-absorbed they've been and answer the question of what comes next. Season 2 appears to be all about the Doom Patrol finally growing up and the first step in that process appears to be dealing with everything they've spent their lives lying to themselves about.
The show has not forgotten its heart, holding to its perfect balance of wild absurdity and deeply emotional examinations of dealing with trauma. Nothing on 'Doom Patrol' should work, but episode after episode, it does and the show manages to hold on to its spot as one of the best written and most unique series out there.
'Doom Patrol' Season 2 airs June 25, on DC Universe.