Another wonderfully weird episode of Doom Patrol has been bestowed upon us and wow do I adore this wacky show.
In the latest adventure for the team, they have to stop a cult from reading a book that will summon the mystical Decreator, a being that will destroy the entire world as we know it. What is this mystical book? Well the better question is, who is this mystical book.
It's inscribed on a young boy named Elliot who has essentially been raised like an animal for slaughter. On his 18th birthday he will be given to the hoodmen that guard Nurnheim (the hidden realm where the cult originated). But when Elliot's father tries to warn him of the dangers of the cult, his mother slits his throat right in front of him.
Back at Caulder's mansion, the gang is visited by a Diet Constantine character named Willoughby Kipling, an eccentric, snarky, magician played by Supernatural's Mark Sheppard. Kipling informs them of the cult's masterplan to destroy the earth. We are privy to a magical song about the cult prophecy and Nurnheim from a mystical floating blue horse head (seriously) and Kipling demands the team's help.
He opens a door for them to retrieve the book and they rescue Elliot from his crazy mother. But Kipling's plan is to kill Elliot and burn him so the cult can never read whats written on his body. No one wants to murder a teenager so they force Kipling to come up with a new plan. Cliff and Hammerhead will go close the gates of Nurnheim, while everyone else mans down the fort from the incoming assassins and try to keep Elliot safe in the mean time.
To find the gates, Cliff and Hammerhead have to find a man with stigmata and sew up his wounds. Except seeing the priest in question triggers a traumatic incident for Hammerhead and she tries to attack him, this triggers the gates and both she and Cliff are both forcefully sucked into the realm of Nurnheim! It's a strange, barren place marked by big blue homes that almost look like cardboard. (I LOVE the visuals rendered on this show). Hammerhead is replaced with Penny Farthing and both she and Cliff are abducted by the hoodmen.
They're delivered to Mother Archon, who is a giant court jester looking clown. She's super creepy and she forces the duo to see themselves in different perspectives. First, how they see themselves, which Cliff sees himself as his former human self and Jane remains essentially the same except she sees all the versions of herself in shattered glass. Then how they see each other, Cliff sees Jane as his daughter and Jane sees Cliff as a blood-soaked monster (like he was last week at Von Fuchs). Finally, she forces them to become who they really are. Cliff is merely a brain and Jane is a little girl named Kay who has been severely traumatized.
Needless to say, they fail their mission.
The assassins arrive at Caulder's mansion and none of Kipling's parlor trick magic (including hot sauce and rosary beads) work. Eventually they're overpowered, especially when the Nurnheim hoodmen show up.
Kipling tries to take matters into his own hands and murder Elliot but Rita is a surprising hero that saves him. But not for long. Elliot is taken by the hoodmen and they're all helpless to stop them from reading the inscription.
The episode ends with Cliff and Penny Farthing still stuck in Nurnheim (which may actually be housed in a snowglobe in the manor?) and everyone steps outside to see the massive eye of the Decreator blinking down upon them. Might this really be the end?
Odds & Ends
- Larry is still trying to figure out more about the energy inside of him. The energy forces him to watch an old interrogation video with Caulder where he tries to help him communicate. When asked how he survives inside of Larry he answers only one word: "torture".
- Kipling has a much different perspective of Caulder than everyone else. He knows Caulder is capable of doing what is best for the better of all, he believes Caulder would have helped him kill Elliot.
A new episode of Doom Patrol titled "Paw Patrol" premieres March 15th on DC Universe.
