By 
Until Episode 4 “Doom Patrol”, the audience hadn’t seen much of Gar Logan while we’ve been getting to know Dick, Rachel, and Kory, but episode 4 introduced us not only to Gar’s backstory and home, but to the family he lives with, otherwise known as the Doom Patrol.
Now aware of Rachel’s power, Dick and Kory unite to find her. Escaped from the convent that sought to imprison her, Rachel puts her trust in Gar who reveals his own transformative powers. Seeking refuge, Gar brings Rachel home to his “family” – a group of misfit medical experiments we will come to know as The Doom Patrol (including Cliff Steele aka Robotman, Larry Trainor aka Negative Man and Rita Farr aka Elastiwoman) – in hopes of helping the girl. But what starts as a place of comfort for Rachel, soon turns dark under the scientific curiosity of The Doom Patrol’s leader Dr. Niles Caulder, whose experiment into Rachel’s powers threatens to set free a darkness, and reveal a new level of evil waiting to escape.
Titans Recap: Episode 104 “Doom Patrol”
Written by: Geoff Johns
Directed by: John Fawcett
Originally Airs: November 2, 2018
Titans — Ep. 104 — Photo Credit: Christos Kalohoridis / 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Fleeing from the explosion at the convent, Rachel runs into Gar in the woods where he has “beasted” out as a Tiger, once he transforms back, he invites her to come home with him. We see in flashbacks that Gar’s backstory is much like that of his comic book origin. He’s in a hospital in Africa where a disease is killing everyone in the village that his parents are working in as Doctors. He is one of the only ones still alive and a man injects him with something that keeps him from dying. This injection makes him turn into a green tiger. The Doctor that cured him, aka The Chief, has also saved various other individuals that live with Gar and who will be the stars of the previously announced Doom Patrol series on DC Universe.
The episode serves as a backdoor pilot for the new series as the audience gets the opportunity to meet Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti Woman, and The Chief in a fun and entertaining hour that showcases a brighter side to the Titans– verse. The fun big brother/little brother interactions with Gar and Cliff (Robotman) coupled with the badass introduction of Negative Man teases a little of what we’re in store for when their show hits the streaming service in 2019.
Titans Ep. 104–Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie / ©2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved
Dick and Kory are mostly sidelined for this episode while they’re searching for Rachel and really bonding over their protective feelings towards her. They really are “the parents” and by episode’s end not only have they found Rachel, they also have invited Gar to join them. FINALLY all of the Titans are together!
For a debut season to sideline the story for a backdoor pilot in episode 4 seems completely insane and on any other network would have called for a massive uproar amongst the audience. However, here it works and that’s because Titans knows its audience. This is a show that exists solely on a streaming service dedicated to comic book fans, the likelihood that you are paying for this service and not utilizing any of its other content is slim to none. That gives Titans the ability to just throw the audience into the action as the assumption is most of the audience is familiar with most if not all of what it’s being presented.
Comments