In just two short seasons, Doom Patrol on DC Universe has developed a reputation for being one of the most outlandish superhero shows out there. It's the story of a group of misfits whose powers and pasts don't put them at home with the big heroes. They're just trying to find a way to control their abilities, use them for good, and find a place to belong.
The series' sophomore season went into production in late 2019, and though it was slated to have 10 episodes, its production season was cut short thanks to the coronavirus in 2020. With just nine episodes, the season ended on a big cliffhanger. When fans rated the episodes on the Internet Movie Database, four of those episodes ended up ranking better than the rest.
Worst: Dumb Patrol (8.3)
Though this episode is plenty weird, it doesn't balance out the more emotionally dramatic components well, which is likely why it lands below the better episodes of the season.
While there are a lot of stories taking place in the episode, the bulk of it is concentrated on the Scants, who infect most of the team as they get sucked into the same painting where Mr. Nobody is trapped. The strange race of insect-like creatures causes Larry, Vic, and Roni to make bad decisions, though Miranda seems unaffected even when Kay's other personalities like Flit are. Why Miranda isn't affected is never truly explained, and the hour really just serves to get Roni access to the uma jelly.
Best: Tyme Patrol (8.5)
The second episode of the season divides itself between the emotional drama and the crazy antics of the team — which works in its favor. Doom Patrol is at its best when it finds the balance among the wacky and the serious.
The Chief recruits Jane, Cliff, and Rita to try to track down Dr. Tyme, who has possession of a substance that allows him to manipulate time; Niles wants to buy himself more time with Dorothy. When the trio travels to meet him in the '80s, they find themselves at a roller rink and he has an actual clock for a face. While the trio fails in their mission, Larry attends the funeral of one of his sons and Vic attends a support group back in Chicago.
Worst: Space Patrol (8.3)
Did the audience know that the Chief once sent a team to space? No? That's just one of many surprise reveals during the season that goes nowhere. Larry learns a little about himself while meeting the astronaut that also has a negative spirit inside of her, but the team has little to do with any part of the story after this episode.
Feeling guilty about allowing the Candlemaker to kill Baby Doll, Dorothy manages to send herself to space, and of course, the Chief ropes Cliff into going after her. The sequence gives Cliff a chance to be sympathetic, but it mostly feels like the episode is stalling before getting to the next.
Best: Pain Patrol (8.5)
A little Niles backstory is revealed in this episode as the audience sees him as a kid surviving as a pickpocket on the street in 1888. He happens to cross paths with the DC Universe version of Jack the Ripper, and then crosses paths with him again in the modern day as he and Rita set out to save Larry from him. Red Jack makes for an interesting character, and it's a shame the series doesn't devote more than one episode to him.
"Pain Patrol" really rips the Band-Aid off the most compelling story arc of the season: Jane's struggle to maintain her position as Primary for Kay. Kay's other personalities confront Jane about her not putting Kay's needs before her own. The conflict of Jane's own life versus that of Kay's plays out across the season.
Worst: Fun Size Patrol (8.3)
It's not unusual for season premieres to be ranked low compared to the rest of the season. The premiere has to both catch the audience up to the previous season's events and set up the storylines for the future. As a result, there's a lot of info-dumping.
Here, viewers are reminded that the team met Dorothy at the end of the first season. The episode spends a lot of time reestablishing the team's fractured relationships with one another.
Best: Dad Patrol (8.5)
Just as the season nears its end, Niles Caulder decides to finally be a dad before he's forced to take his daughter's life. The Chief defines dysfunctional family relationships, but "Dad Patrol" shows fans that for all of his villainy, he is trying. He decides to take Dorothy to a carnival for what is supposed to be her last day on Earth.
While he's doing that, Cliff is also bonding with his daughter, and Jane decides to prove she can give Kay what she wants. When Kay wants her old stuffed animal, Jane takes a trip back to the real-world well that inspired the one in the underground but Miranda doesn't take kindly to the amends Jane tries to make.
Worst: Sex Patrol (8.2)
Fan-favorite Danny the Street returns in this episode... sort of. A damaged Danny needs the support of his Dannyzens to heal, so they decide to throw a party at the mansion. The party gets interrupted by several surprise guests in the form of a team called SeX Patrol, some promiscuous ghosts, and a demon about to give birth.
Even for Doom Patrol, this episode gets pretty close to crossing all the lines. A lot of the fun of the episode is lost in the SeX Patrol showing up to attempt to save the day since the audience doesn't actually see them do much of anything.
Best: Finger Patrol (8.9)
There are a lot of moving parts in this episode, and though everyone's stories are separate, they all play into the season's big question: Will this group of people come together as family?
Rita supports Larry when he goes to meet his surviving son's family, only to have to help save him when his son tries to turn him over to the government. Vic takes Cliff to see his father, who flat-out rejects Cliff's plea to upgrade his technology. Jane is stuck in the Underground while Baby Doll makes friends with Dorothy — only for Baby Doll's new friendship to end in tragedy.
Worst: Wax Patrol (8.0)
The events of the season come to a head in this unintentional finale. The team has to battle their own imaginary friends at a carnival when they head out to help Dorothy and the Chief face the Candlemaker. Unfortunately, most of them don't take on those imaginary friends very well. The episode also reveals how Miranda ended up losing her spot as Primary, and that Jane isn't down and out just yet.
"Wax Patrol" is actually one of the better episodes in terms of bringing several plot threads together. Unfortunately, it also stops right in the middle of the action, and it really doesn't work well as a season finale, which isn't entirely the fault of the show's since they thought they'd have one more episode.