Doom Patrol review: 5 best moments from Flex Patrol

Season-long character arcs are wrapped up and Flex Mentallo flexes his muscles on this week’s satisfying and heartbreaking Doom Patrol.

Mr. Nobody has no idea what he’s talking about. He may be complaining that Doom Patrol has taken 13 episodes for these characters to actually feel like a superhero team, but the “character-driven schlock” he hates has been the show’s most rousing success. Everyone here is damaged, and those deep-rooted issues take time to work out and overcome. But getting to know each of these character’s issues over the course of this season makes the moments where they finally start to make progress all the more powerful.

In Doom Patrol Season 1, Episode 13, titled “Flex Patrol,” the show seems to properly set up their endgame. They’ve restored their secret weapon Flex Mentallo’s memory, they have a good idea where the Chief is, and they’re willing to finally take the fight to the enemy in order to save him, although is it all part of Mr. Nobody’s grand plan? We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, here are the five best moments of “Flex Patrol.”

5. Flex Mentallo flexes his muscles

Turns out the cuckoo for Coco Puffs inmate known as 722 that Cyborg talked to last week was none other than Flex Mentallo himself! And boy, does he fit right in with the rest of the characters or what? Just like everyone else, he’s a little quirky and hides a truly dramatic traumatic past.

His powers are equally odd, with him apparently being able to manipulate matter and energy just by flexing his muscles. No doubt, he will prove a valuable asset to the team if he can get over the whole ‘wife evaporating right in front of him after years of separation” thing.

4. Hey, what’s on TV?

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Distracting from the heavy, angsty plots this week, we were treated to two delightful segments on television. The first was the ongoing trial of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral-Man where in a shocking turn of events, the wannabe villain was gunned down in front of the courthouse by a supporter of the Nazi whose research granted AVMM (too soon for an abbreviation? I don’t think so…) his powers. Luckily, he was just shot in his minerals so he seems fine!

The other funny segment saw the gang watching an old episode of Flex’s favorite soap opera with special guest star Cliff Steele! I don’t know what was funnier, Cliff’s horrible acting or the moment where he gave the sick kid a blanket, only for the kid to immediately die. Hey, I’ve heard there was some talk of giving him a Daytime Emmy Award for that!

3. Rita’s monologue

Wow, what a monologue. Staying at the hospital with a traumatized Vic, Rita befriends an elderly patient (special guest star Ed Fricken Asner for some reason??) and finally confesses her dark secret that’s been weighing on her all this time. Turns out, Rita would push wannabe starlets into the arms of a sleazy producer in exchange for starring roles. If that didn’t haunt her enough, one of those girls got pregnant and instead of Rita helping her, she sent her away and the girl ultimately died.

That’s a tough thing to atone for, but with the help of Ed Fricken Asner, Rita is finally able to stop wallowing in her self-hate and decide to take action to make up for her past. Now she’s ready to fight! It’s a great moment and only gets more shocking once Ed Fricken Asner turns out to be Mr. Nobody in disguise. Never trust old people!

2. Larry helps a friend

Much like Rita finally getting closure, Larry also reaches a conclusion to the problem he’s been facing all season. If we go back to the beginning of the series, Larry seemed to hate the Negative Spirit residing in him and refused to acknowledge or work with it. Fast forward to now, and Larry is willing to sacrifice himself so that the Negative spirit can be free. Talk about progress.

And the Negative Spirit almost takes him up on the offer. He leaves and flies above Doom manor before reconsidering and going back to save Larry’s life. It now looks like the two of them are finally going to work together. And they’re going to need to if the team has any hope of stopping Mr. Nobody. Speaking of the villain…

1. Mr. Nobody gets Meta

Alan Tudyk is a national treasure and it’s been fun watching him switch back and forth between menacing and wacky with his interpretation of Mr. Nobody. This week we get a tiny glimpse of what he’s after, which is the Doom Patrol to actually be a full-fledged team for some reason, but the best part is watching him sneer at the camera while decked out in Doom Patrol merchandise. Where can I buy that shirt and blanket??

What were your favorite moments from this week’s episode? Be sure to let us know down in the comments and we’ll be back next week with another review!

New episodes of Doom Patrol are available Fridays on DC Universe