#Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Subconscious Patrol

Oof. That was a lot of deep-diving into our core team members.

Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 8 takes us through the proverbial looking-glass into our reluctant heroes’ worst memories, pivotal moments in their lives that scarred them with shame.

Meanwhile, Rita’s got it ALL going on with two complete sets of self-actualized memories AND a time machine.

But let’s start with the best WTF scenes EVER.

The Puppetizing of Kay’s alt personas has to be the BEST use of muppets since Broadway’s Avenue Q.

(Oooooh, will Doom Patrol ever make a musical episode? Oh, please!)

From Jane’s entrance to the posters on the walls to Harry the Lamb’s gory demise to Dr. Harrison’s ominous decree, everything about Underground Avenue is bonkers and yet exactly what we’d expect of Kay’s subconscious in look and function.

What kind of Captain Kangaroo, Jim Henson devilry is this?
Jane Muppet

I’m personally appreciative that they put effort into creating such detailed muppets for a single episode. Now, that’s commitment to quality.

Diane Guerrero never fails to impress as Jane and the other personas as they surface, but her extended run as Kay here while voice-acting the Puppet Jane deserves over-the-top kudos.

The resolution between Kay and Jane has been the writing on the wall since Doom Patrol Season 3 Episode 5.

Kay: Everything you do just brings me more pain. And it’s time for me to grow up and be on my own.

Muppet Jane: No. You can’t survive without me.

Kay: I’d like to try.

The constant conflict with the other alts — specifically Pretty Polly’s rising anxiety and Dr. Harrison’s aggressive defensiveness — has indicated Kay was reaching the stage of healing that meant she could do away with her protective persons.

The question remains whether Kay gets to keep the superpowers her various alts had.

Now, to jump from puppets to action figures. Vic’s childhood shame highwater mark also involves his father and, most likely, set a tone for much of their relationship after that fateful day.

Internally and obviously, Vic was messed up by the messaging of that event, but, honestly, he could’ve done worse than having General Tony held up as an ideal.

Young Vic: I just wanted a black superhero toy. I made a mistake.

Silas: We don’t get to make mistakes. One mistake could cost you your life.

There’s a not-so-subtle lesson embedded in Vic’s story about the need for representation. “You have to see it to be it,” as the saying goes.

As a kid, he wanted to be a superhero. As a youth, he was given the tools to be a superhero. But the only model he had was a soldier. So he became a soldier. A super-soldier in many respects, but even a super-soldier isn’t necessarily a superhero.

The conclusion of his interaction with his General Tony sub feels lacking somewhat until the post-Eternal Flagellation moments where he wakes up (with Silas standing close by), and all the Cyborg-ness has been stripped away from him.

Tony’s advice to take some time to be a kid, make mistakes, have some fun sounds a bit simplistic as if Vic’s sub has no idea who he’s been hanging out with for the last few years.

General Tony: We relive our pain every day. Why do we have to air it out?

Young Larry: Maybe because we have a duty. A duty to our conscious selves so that they can live a better life. They’re stuck because of us. Life is about duty. It’s about what and who you serve.

Larry’s sub being the voice of reasonable self-care is a bit of a twist since his primary has proven multiple times this season that, given life options, he’s bound to make the poorest choice in every situation.

That being said, his moment of shame — his wedding day confrontation with his mother — rivals Cliff for the most profoundly damaged sort of parental memory.

Maybe because Larry’s sort of the victim of his mother’s intolerant and conflicted attitudes, he ekes out the win.

And probably because of that, it seems fitting that he and his sub are the first to work things out.

Young Larry: How do you think it feels to be the worst memory of someone’s life?

Larry: You’re not the worst. There are others far worse than you.

Young Larry: Then why am I here?

Larry: You’re the day I committed to lying to myself. What?

Young Larry: I got news for you. I’m from the day that you hid from love. That’s why you secretly like those bandages. They give you an excuse to keep people away. You’re afraid you don’t know how to love. You think you’re not worthy of it.

Larry: Maybe you are the worst memory of my life.

It sets the stage for Cliff to admit to his neediness and selfishness. And can I take a moment to say how cool it is to see Brendan Fraser on-screen with Robotman?

Their first encounter in the subconscious is the only real moment of levity in the whole shebang. If I had the talent, I’d turn it into a gif.

Back in the real world, it’s going to be a hard path for Cliff to reconcile with Clara after all the digging he’s done, burying any hope for them ever connecting.

I still hold out hope, though, because Clara has proven to be way cooler and psychologically healthier than I could’ve ever predicted.

You know, at some point, the party’s got to stop. I may be stuck on a loop, but I’m not fucking blind.
Human Cliff

Of the subs, I think Cliff’s showed the most insight in contrast to his primary.

Ultimately, Cliff has the most to lose and gain from healing some of his neuroses through honesty with himself and the people who matter to him.

With all the trippiness of the subconscious versus primary resolutions, it’s almost possible to overlook Rita’s whole journey from redemption to vendetta.

But no, all the cards are on the table now with Laura/Rouge and Rita/Bendy.

Furthermore, knowing that there are actually TWO time machines zipping around the continuum, wiping memories, setting off sensors, and setting in motion all sorts of Dada-esque shenanigans is a new sort of awesome twist.

Art is bullshit. Art is a narcotic you suckle while life, ambition, purpose pass you by.
Rouge

I propose that we get an entire episode from Laura’s perspective, chronicling her downward spiral from Dada founder to hard-core meta-narc.

I’m usually okay with vague backstory shading, but I really want to know what happened there.

And where does all of this navel-gazing get us at the end of the day?

While Rita’s staring down her nemesis on the lakeside, Jane and Kay are dealing with the disappearance of the alts, Cliff has a reckoning with Clara to deal with; Larry’s adopted a space larva, and Vic’s all-synthetic skin and nothing else.

Is this the end for the team?

Can they be a super team or even a not-super team if Jane no longer has powers and Cyborg is just Vic?

Also, this has been a burning question in the fandom for a while now — what will be the big reveal about The Brain?

The voice actor has been a tightly-guarded secret, and it seems unlikely that a brain in a container can be the effective leader of the Brotherhood of Evil?

Will this be something we learn by the time the curtain goes down on Doom Patrol Season 3?

Do you have any idea how The Brain will play out? Throw your best guess into the comments!

Diana Keng is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.