Doom Patrol Episode 4 Recap

Doom Patrol Episode 4 introduces to Elliot and his family. Elliot’s parents raise their son in the Cult of the Unwritten Book to believe that he will one day save the world. Inky runes appear on his skin, increasing with the passing years. On his 18th birthday, Elliot’s father tells him that Elliot is not destined to save the world but to destroy it. Elliot’s mother slits her husband’s throat in front of Elliot, who runs and hides from her.

Looks Like A Team To Me

Vic has called the team together to discuss finding the Chief–all except for Rita, who told Vic in the previous episode that she is no hero and is afraid to search for the Chief. The team meeting is interrupted by Kipling, an ally of the Chief’s who is here for the Chief’s helping in stopping the Cult from reading the book–Elliot–and destroying the world. Using chaos magic, Kip creates a doorway through which the team is able to snatch Elliot and return him to the manor.

Kip says the only way to keep the book from being read is to kill Elliot and destroy his body. Vic says that no one is going to kill Elliot. Instead, Cliff and Jane are sent to close the portal to Nurnheim, thus sealing the Cult away, while the rest stay and protect Elliot.

Nurnheim

Cliff and Jane (Hammerhead)) go to Spain to sew closed the stigmata in the hands of a priest, which is the gate to Nurnheim. Jane wants nothing to do with Cliff, saying that he is a violent monster after his display in Paraguay.  Jane relives her trauma at the hands of a priest, causing her and Cliff to be teleported to Nurnheim, where they are taken to the Archons. The Archons are Elliot’s parents, who have been rewarded with ruling over Nurnheim for their success in raising their son to be the book that, when read, will destroy the world.

Cliff says that he might have been a bad parent, but Mother Archon is the worst. The Archon states that there is no reality, only perceptions, showing Cliff and Jane how they see themselves, one another, and what they truly are at their essence. Cliff sees himself as human; Jane sees him as a monstrous robot with blood on his hands, he is really just a brain in a metal jar. Jane sees herself as fractured; Cliff sees her as a daughter, like Clara; Jane is really just a scared, traumatized little girl.

Torture

The negative spirit is trying to communicate with Larry by turning on a video taped session of the Chief questioning Larry. Larry doesn’t get it, at least not at first, because he isn’t patient enough to sit through the tape. The Chief managed to communicate with the spirit once. When asked how the spirit sustains itself inside of Larry’s body, the spirit was able to communicate a single word: “torture”.

Don’t Question The Magic

Kip tries to convince Vic that if his magic spells and Vic’s science don’t work, then they’re going to have to kill Kip. Vic says that’s not what a hero does and is not what the Chief would have done. Kip says that Vic clearly didn’t know the Chief very well. When cultists attack the manor, Vic and Kip fight side-by-side, magic and science combined, defeating the first wave of assassins. When the second, more menacing wave attacks, Kip pushes Vic to them and goes to kill Elliot.

Not A Hero

Rita both remains defiant about the fact that she is not a hero and tries to get the others, particularly Larry, to admit that they are not heroes, neither. However, when Elliot is in trouble, it’s Rita who reaches out and saves him. First, she keeps Elliot from killing himself in order to deny the cultists the book. Then, when Kip comes to kill Elliot, Rita uses her abilities to stop Kip.

Unfortunately, none of her heroics matter, as the cultists grab Elliot. Reading the marks on his skin, they summon the eye of the one who will un-create all of reality.

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