Doom Patrol – Unprotected Flex

Stretch out your limbs, oil your hinges and meet me on Danny Street for some unprotected flex. Lean in with frivolity with the DC brought to life, Doom Patrol this week.

Stats

Released: February 2019
Network: DC Universe/HBO Max
Creator: Jeremy Carver
Cast: Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Matt Bomer

Breakdown and Analysis

• We lay our accolades for Dianne and the comprehensive range of acting through Jane in this series.
• Doom Patrol is a nice companion to anime in western entertainment as there is frivolity and nonsense that creates the charm to this show.
• We both really enjoyed the character building and focus in the show. Action is cool but character building is our taste of reference.
• KT clocked very early that Brendan Fraser and Matt Bomer were not physically acting their characters. Oti was incredulous and felt cheated by it. Within our humble podcast we would like to acknowledge Riley Shanahan as Robotman and Matthew Zuk as Negative Man.
• Niles is the symbol of a white saviour and colonisation. KT is certain he is the type to use the words ‘native’ and ‘savages’ in textbooks. The more Oti learned about Niles the more he became disenchanted. He muses what the purpose of revealing his true intentions was, was it to resonate with the others or endear us to him? Neither was achieved through this specific reveal. We thought circumstances made the saving of the team understandable but this was not the case. Niles wilfully hurt innocent, albeit imperfect, people for his own selfish gains. Especially seeing as he wasn’t even a present father to Dorothy. We address the first draft of Doom Patrol and how Niles just left them frozen in time of the damage he inflicted. KT highlights foreign aid on how Niles stepped out as soon as it got dangerous. Oti furthers this to the UN in creating a mess and leaving when the situation gets real.
• Dorothy presents as a child however has been alive for over 90 years. KT brings the comparison of San in Princess Mononoke in experiencing the harsh realities of the world and was not naive. She found it hard to apply the naivety of a child because she experienced severe isolation and an absent father. Niles wastes many lifetimes just to ignore Dorothy the whole time whilst ruining the lives of many people. KT put it on the record that Dorothy’s strength came from her Indigenous heritage and not the colonial one.

Unrelated but vital points

• Other DC review episodes include Joaquin’s Joker and The Suicide Squad films.
• We all have missed Brendan Fraser and use nostalgia to fill the hole of pain we are not ready to address yet.