Doom Patrol season two: Dorothy, daughter of The Chief, has been cast

The newest member of DC Universe’s Doom Patrol has officially joined the team. Abigail Shapiro steps into the shoes of Dorothy.

The season one finale of Doom Patrol was all about rescues, especially the rescue of Niles Caulder’s daughter, Dorothy. The character is a familiar figure for comic book readers but was only teased at the end of the last episode. According to TVLine, viewers can now add a face to the name. Newcomer Abigail Shapiro will be taking on the role of 11-year-old Dorothy in the return of the show.

We know little about Shapiro, other than her IMDb bio. Her credits include two shorts, stage experience, as well as talents in singing and dancing. The actor is also older than the pre-teen character she’s playing, which probably means the writers will push the envelope with regards to her scenes and dialogue. Considering how violent and profane Doom Patrol can get, choosing an adolescent actor seems a wise decision.

Dorothy’s most remarkable feature in the comics is her facial malformation that gives her ape-like appearance. When we reported on Dorothy’s arrival on the show last year, we speculated about how the show would handle the character, since Dorothy struggles with image issues. Though there is no confirmation whether the show will follow the comics’ character design, one can assume Dorothy’s comic book features will be emulated.

Given Shapiro’s casting, it would appear that the showrunners will rely on prosthetics to capture the character’s unique facial features. This seems like a missed opportunity – the showrunners could have gone down a different route with Dorothy, casting someone with physical differences, thereby representing a community that is all-but-forgotten by Hollywood. Once again on-screen properties are going down the easy route, much like The Witcher, which cast able-bodied Anya Chalotra as a character with disabilities, who undergoes a magical transformation that ‘fixes’ her.

We are still in the dark about what Dorothy’s arc will be like on the show, or how the showrunners will manifest her powers. In the comics, Dorothy is able to bring her ‘imaginary friends’ to life, an ability that is both a gift and a curse. While she isn’t Caulder’s daughter in the source material, on the show she was the reason for much strife in the final episode of season one. Will the team’s animosity percolate down to their treatment of Dorothy?

Doom Patrol will return for a second season. Stay tuned for more updates.d