from ign.com
 https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/29/doom-patrol-season-1-episode-7-therapy-patrol-review

DOOM PATROL S1 EP 7:

THERAPY PATROL

The team tries a little talk therapy.

By Jesse Schedeen

Warning: Full spoilers for Doom Patrol Season 1, Episode 7 below. If you need a refresher on where we left off, check out our review for Season 1, Episode 6.
Doom Patrol has a unique ability to render plot unimportant and and almost meaningless. Normally I consider myself a stickler for pacing and react poorly to shows that don't progress at a steady clip. But Doom Patrol consistently proves that some projects don't need much narrative momentum, so long as they have compelling, extremely damaged characters worth exploring.

Granted, it took a little while for "Therapy Patrol" to click. There's a slight "Haven't we been here before?" quality to the early scenes, as we see Rita and Larry continue to grapple with their respective tragic pasts. With Larry in particular, I don't know that "Therapy Patrol" had all that much to add in terms of his backstory and his struggles as a closeted gay man in 1960's suburbia.
Doom Patrol: "Therapy Patrol" Photos



Fortunately, things quickly picked up after those sluggish early scenes. It eventually became clear that "Therapy Patrol" is the Doom Patrol equivalent of a bottle episode. The premise is extremely simple - our heroes get called into a group meeting, struggle to make their way to said meeting and then deal with the fallout of Cliff's psychotic break. But between the nonlinear format and the heavy emphasis on flashbacks and nightmares, the writers mined a lot of gold out of that straightforward premise. It was a lot of fun to see the situation steadily escalate as we learned a bit more about Cliff's breakdown with each new revolution.

And while this episode didn't do much for Cliff, it did succeed in further fleshing out the other members of the team. Cyborg probably benefited the most this week, as we saw the unexpected consequences of him gaining total autonomy over his body and programming. Vic is the only one of these characters who lives openly in full view of the public, and that clearly has its drawbacks. The scenes of Vic coming to terms with modern, Tinder-driven dating managed to be hilarious in a deeply tragic sort of way. Once again, I'm glad this series opted for a slightly more grounded approach to Vic's origin story and powers, rather than the New 52/Justice League movie approach. It helps reinforce him as a sad sack of a superhero who's only slightly better adjusted than the rest of his teammates.

It was also great seeing Cliff play such a prominent role this week after taking a backseat in recent episodes. This episode, as much as any other, showcases how much Brendan Fraser and Riley Shanahan can accomplish with such a limited range of physical expression. It can't be easy conveying the idea of a man losing his mind when that man is trapped inside a rigid armored shell, but they really pulled it off. Cliff's psychic meltdown was made all the more heartbreaking for the fact that none of it was real and he was no closer to reuniting with his daughter than before.


Jane also benefited quite a bit from this week's misadventure. The solo focus offered a great opportunity to see what it's like to live in her head and be one of these 64 personalities fighting for attention. She's currently in the midst of a terrific character arc, as her faith in The Chief is shaken and she's seen a potent warning sign of where this team is headed if it goes down the same path as the original Doom Patrol.

Last week's episode showed that Doom Patrol can stumble slightly if the humor recedes too much. Fortunately, that wasn't a problem this time. As dark as this episode got, there was always that sense of absurdity keeping things in perfect balance. Rita's slow crawl up from the depths of the mansion was both tragic and darkly comical. Cyborg's struggles with dating were as silly as they were depressing. And even Cliff's psychotic snap was caused by a talking rat spurred to claim Inigo Montoya-style vengeance for the death of his comrade. Few shows are so adept at blending misery, tragedy and comedy together.

Verdict

Doom Patrol shows how much fun and pathos can be mined out of a simple premise this week. "Therapy Patrol" offers even deeper insight into these profoundly damaged heroes, while also ensuring that there's enough absurdist humor at work to balance out thee darker moments. The series may not be moving along very rapidly from a narrative standpoint, but as long as it's this entertaining, who cares?