"Vacay Patrol" is the second episode of the third season of Doom Patrol. It premiered on HBO Max on September 23, 2021.
Synopsis[]
A relaxing vacation to escape the Doom Patrol's recent loss proves to be anything but - especially when an unexpected evil lurks nearby.
Plot[]
In 1949, in the secret lair of the Brotherhood of Evil, Ultimax and Monsieur Mallah talk about his crusade against Niles, since he assassinated Von Fuchs and supposedly Eric Morden in Paraguay, so that they summoned the alien Garguax and his assistant Samuelson to travel to Codsville with the mission of killing Rita Farr when the device gives them the signal. During his stay, Garguax amused himself with the residents of the resort while informing the Brotherhood that he awaited their orders. The days continued to pass until they reached the year 1958, where Garguax and Samuelson discovered that the brotherhood was defeated by the superhero team, the Doom Patrol. To avenge the Brotherhood, Garguax continued to wait until finally rejecting the mission due to lack of answers.
In the present day 2021, Rita was letting off steam eating ice cream while remembering Niles' letter and the call she refused when she saw how the mysterious traveler was wanted. Rita began to melt into slime and into a pot. In the Negative Nebula, Larry is transported by the Negative Spirit to his home. Excited about his duty as a grandfather, Cliff takes care of Rory while Clara and Mel talk about Cliff's excitement at feeling like part of the family again and Clara was worried about her father's problem. The wives went to Cliff to put Rory to sleep after he was frozen in the grass. While looking for clues about Roni's search, Vic notices that his artificial color has now changed to blue and calls Silas to discuss his situation, discovering that he left him without technology so as not to be tracked by S.T.A.R. Labs for letting Roni escape.
Vic finds Rita melted in the pot and when she was going to get something to get her out, Rita confesses to wanting a relaxing vacation away from the manor, something that Vic accepts and they see Secretary appear to offer them vacation spots, choosing Codsville as the cheapest. From The Underground, Jane and Kay discuss Niles's death and learn that the group is going on vacation, so to relax, Jane takes control again, agreeing to join. Still frozen, Cliff talks to Clara about his hand problem and she mentions that Mel's late grandmother, aged 192, had the same thing, deducing it was Parkinson's, and tried to convince Cliff to get a checkup, but he refused because he felt fine, worrying Clara. Cliff is found by his friends and agrees to go on vacation, but while still frozen, Hammerhead shows up to kick Cliff, helping him move again. With the help of Flit, Vic, Jane, Rita and Cliff arrive at the resort, discovering that some activities cannot be carried out and that they charge for phone calls. Cliff noticed The Backbone, which was a contribution to discover who he really was.
Larry was excited to return to normal within the negative nebula, before realizing that the spirit appeared in Larry's current form, sharing glances with each other. As the spirit bids him farewell, Larry reverts to his current form, appearing at the manor, and realizes that his partner of several years has stayed at his home. Vic was trying to find an internet signal to find out more about Roni and finds Cliff before getting on The Backbone, assuming it was a death trap. Cliff tried to go up, but his brain problem prevented him, getting frustrated because Clara and Vic asked him to check himself to find out what was wrong with him, and he kept refusing because they would tell him that nothing could be done with him, deciding to enjoy every moment of his life. Vic talks to Cliff about why he was deactivated when trying to help Roni last time and was upset that his technology was part of him, which Cliff didn't believe, giving Vic some advice. Watching the sunset, Jane talks to Rita about the other personalities and her feelings while Rita comments on how she was trying to figure out who she really is by failing as Gertrude, Rita and the Beekeeper, celebrating Niles's death between them.
In the sauna, Cliff complains about Vic, before meeting Garguax who was relaxing. Cliff and Garguax talked about their younger days because they took everything without asking anyone, and by talking about their hatred of Niles, Cliff and Garguax became friends because of their mutual hatred of Caulder. Garguax agreed with Cliff that Niles ruined their futures, but that made them better people. The group was having dinner, before seeing Samuelson introduce Garguax, and Cliff greeted his new friend, speaking of his hatred for Niles. Shocked, Vic deduced that Garguax was a supervillain, asking to confront him, but Jane, Cliff, and Rita refused because Garguax would be retired. Vic confronted Garguax and Samuelson after the butler made fun of his nickname, but Garguax convinced Vic and Samuelson not to fight, but Vic was still watching the two aliens.
In the ballroom, Vic tried to convince the group to stop Garguax because they were a superteam, but Jane and Cliff claimed they weren't superheroes like him. Cliff refused to stop Garguax to honor Niles. Rita mentioned that they just came to take a vacation, making Vic angry because they didn't do anything important to earn some time off. Rita talks about how she stopped being the Beekeeper after being rejected and returned to her normal form after she rejected the call to action to be a hero. Jane expressed her annoyance at not being a superhero team because they weren't equipped for it and Vic was angry that he was ready, though Cliff reminded her that his tech was off. When Cliff refused to talk about his illness, Vic revealed that Cliff had Parkinson's to Rita and Jane, who became worried, and Cliff was upset that he just wanted to rest with his problems, adamantly refusing to attack Garguax for everything Niles caused him. Jane rudely refused Vic's help, causing the group to split up and Garguax watched the group argue.
Samuelson was excited after learning that the residents knew about Niles and his Doom Patrol, so he prepared to kill them along with Rita, but Garguax was packing to leave, revealing to his butler that they would leave Rita and the others alone for being good people, angering Samuelson who claimed that they should do it for Ultimax, and Garguax denied that they should do it because since the group owed Niles nothing, they shouldn't honor Ultimax either, ultimately deciding to leave Codsville. With their friendship estranged, Cliff tries to climb The Backbone, but ends up falling apart, Vic tries to communicate with Roni, but the internet won't allow it, Rita tries to practice fencing, failing, and Jane tries to get over Niles' death and gets frustrated because she can't it's no use. At the manor, Larry processes their separation with the spirit because it would have been a new beginning for both of them in their relationship, although he was melancholy that his friend left him, since they thought they were a team and would be one.
In the dance room, the group is estranged until Kay hears the song Forever Young and starts dancing from The Underground and Jane follows her dancing on stage. Touched, Rita joins Jane, and Cliff joins the two girls for a dance. Vic joins in last, joining hands with the group for fun and the four of them are friends again. Before leaving Codsville, Garguax and Samuelson realize that the device finally gave them the signal to attack as the mysterious machine manifested in front of the ballroom. With the last of his strength, Garguax interrupted the group's dance to warn them of Samuelson, before being killed by him with a blaster. Mercilessly, Samuelson shoots and kills Vic, Cliff and Jane, but Rita managed to survive to try to flee, although to her surprise, she meets another traveler who is herself, and closes the doors of the room, causing Samuelson to kill Rita. Samuelson gathered the five corpses in the ballroom before leaving.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Diane Guerrero as Kay Challis/The Secretary/Crazy Jane/Flit/Hammerhead
- April Bowlby as Rita Farr
- Joivan Wade as Vic Stone/Cyborg
- Skye Roberts as Kay Challis
- Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele (physical)
- Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor (physical)
- Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor
- Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele (voice)
Guest starring[]
- Phil Morris as Dr. Silas Stone
- Stephen Murphy as Garguax
- Billy Boyd as Samuelson
- Bethany Anne Lind as Clara Steele
- Riley Shanahan as Ultimax/The Brain (voice)
Co-starring[]
- Walnette Santiago as Mel
- Glenn H. Allen as Jim Thompson
- Jonathan Lipow as Monsieur Mallah (voice)
Gallery[]
Promotional stills[]
To be added
Video[]
Trivia[]
- Riley Shanahan and Matthew Zuk are promoted to the main cast.
- Brain and Mallah first appear after several winks and mentions in the first season.
References[]
| Season 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Possibilities Patrol" • "Vacay Patrol" • "Dead Patrol" • "Undead Patrol" • "Dada Patrol" • "1917 Patrol" • "Bird Patrol" • "Subconscious Patrol" • "Evil Patrol" • "Amends Patrol" | ||||