Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 11 Review: Portal Patrol
This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The team confronts their past as they race to restore their longevity, save Rita, and stop Isabel/Immortus on Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 11, “Portal Patrol.”
At the end of Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 10, “Tomb Patrol,” the team rallies to save Rita. However, the episode ends with Isabel/Immortus flinging them into a time portal as a resurgent butt monster horde closes in.
“Portal Patrol,” — written by Chris Dingess and directed by Christopher Manley — picks up where “Tomb Patrol” left off, with the team falling untethered through space and time.
After Vic creates a shelter in the time storm using his new tech, the episode shifts again into a more character-driven episode.
The team splits up to retrieve their longevity from three different points in time. Unsurprisingly, the place and time each character visits confronts them with difficult truths about themselves or their past.
Everyone’s story makes significant progress on ‘Portal Patrol,” as one might expect on a penultimate episode.
Rouge explodes violently at her past self, laying bare the full extent of her self-loathing. Cliff has an interaction with Niles that reveals he is responsible for Niles being in a wheelchair.
It also ends with him making the unselfish choice even though it costs him his chance to restore his longevity. For the other characters, this might not be a big deal.
They have all been selfish in the past at one point or another. However, when it comes down to it, there is never a doubt that any of the original team members– other than Cliff — would sacrifice the thing they wanted to do what is right.
Selfishness has always been Cliff’s fatal flaw, though. It is something that’s been particularly glaring this season.
The team is only in their current situation because Cliff wanted the vision of his future he saw on Doom Patrol Season 4 Episode 7, “Orqwith Patrol.” He gave up his longevity to get that possible future despite knowing the consequences for everyone else.
It is a big deal that Cliff doesn’t take Niles’s longevity when he’s dying. Maybe even more so because of how Cliff feels about Niles and what he thinks Niles owes him. His choice on “Portal Patrol” is the most significant growth we’ve seen from him since the beginning of the season.
Then there’s Larry, whose conversation with his original passenger teases a different interpretation of the future Keeg and Larry believe they are fated for.
At the end of the episode, despite the progress of these three characters, their stories are still very much unresolved. Their scenes on “Portal Patrol” are essential steps towards the conclusions of their Doom Patrol journey, but just steps nonetheless.
Conversely, Jane and Vic’s stories mostly reach their emotional climax by the end of “Portal Patrol.” There are a few details to wrap up for both, and hopefully, some closure on the finale. However, their central internal conflict is resolved.
For Vic, that big resolution actually happened on “Tomb Patrol,” when he decides to be Cyborg again. “Portal Patrol” confirms that Vic does chart his own path. It gives Vic and viewers a peek at what that will look like, but we had already seen his big climactic moment going into the episode.
That leaves Jane, who has the most substantial character progression on “Portal Patrol.” Jane finally solves her puzzle after a conversation with Niles. She admits that she and the other personas are just as much victims of her father as Kay is.
The key to Jane’s puzzle is that moment of self-compassion that allows her to acknowledge her pain rather than dismiss herself as simply Kay’s protector. She is made whole because she can recognize the trauma they have all suffered.
But Jane doesn’t just become whole emotionally. It also transforms her into The Kaleidoscope as all the personas merge into a single consciousness.
There are still some questions to resolve for Jane on the finale. We don’t know what becoming The Kaleidoscope means for Jane in tangible terms. Plus, there is also Janes’s budding relationship with Casey to address before the end of the series.
Still, like Vic, Jane’s series-long emotional conflict is resolved on “Portal Patrol.” We have a satisfying conclusion for her character’s arc, and it’s exactly what she and the viewers who love her deserve.
“Portal Patrol” is far from one of Season 4’s best episodes. It’s a solid episode. Jane’s scenes, in particular, are excellent. It is exciting to see Jane finally find peace. Outside of those scenes and a few other small moments, though, the episode doesn’t have the same spark as most of the rest of the season.
That said, the episode does make me excited for the finale. Perhaps even more importantly, the direction of Jane and Vic’s stories makes me hopeful that we won’t just get a good season finale but a worthy series finale.
What did you think of this episode of Doom Patrol? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Sarah Fields
Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.