The latest episode of Doom Patrol finally answered one of the most pressing questions about the team, dropping a shockingly simple and obvious answer.
The following contains spoilers for Doom Patrol Season 4, Episode 5, “Youth Patrol,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Doom Patrol‘s latest episode finally revealed the answer to one of the fans’ most burning questions about the team.
In Season 4, Episode 5, “Youth Patrol,” the show finally revealed the consequences of Doctor Janus’ actions against Rita that left her unconscious for a time. After waking up, Rita realizes she’s suddenly aged an undetermined number of years, now possessing a few wrinkles and greying hair. Willoughby soon makes a return and informs the team that Doctor Janus extracted Rita’s longevity, something all but Rouge got from Niles Caulder. The necklace the Chief wore to keep himself alive wasn’t just a spell but contained a small sliver of the deity Immortus that kept him alive. In conducting his experiments on the Doom Patrol, he used tiny bits of the chip on each of them to prevent their aging.
Doom Patrol Teases Immortus’ Rise
Season 4 of Doom Patrol has been teasing the rise of Immortus with nearly every episode, though it wasn’t until now that it gave fans any idea of what the deity might be. When speaking to CBR ahead of the new season, showrunner Jeremy Carver teased that the search for Immortus would lead to revelations for the team while running parallel to a looming “Buttpocalypse.”
“I don’t want to jump to any assumptions and say that Immortus is a him,” Carver said. “The existence of Immortus is an ever-looming threat. I will say it is a parallel threat to the Butts destroying the Earth. So, they have a couple of very big battles on their hands. The search for Immortus and the effort to stop Immortus is going to unearth some seasons-long mysteries that have been dangling out there. It’s going to help the Doom Patrol understand themselves and their creations just a little bit more.”
Besides the Zombie Butts and Immortus, Doom Patrol has teased several additional villains. Doctor Janus appeared briefly in episodes 3 and 4, employing her powers as an emotional vampire to take away Rita’s longevity. Episode 4 introduced a fan-favorite hero from the comics, Space Case, and her criminal father, Torminox, though the ending of the episode put the latter’s motivations into question. “Youth Patrol” also seemed to continue its heroic twist with Sendhil Ramamurthy’s villain, Mr. 104, hinting at a potential romance between him and Larry.
New Doom Patrol Season 4 episodes air every Thursday on HBO Max. Seasons 1-3 are currently available.
Source: HBO Max