Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 7 recap: Bird Patrol

The following article contains SPOILERS for Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 7

While the titular team endures internal conflict in the present day, Rita and the Sisterhood of Dada are betrayed in this episode of Doom Patrol Season 3.

Check out our recap of last week’s episode here!

The episode opens with Lloyd and Holly building some sort of cage in the present-day and The Fog. After they are done, Lloyd climbs the cage and activates his metahuman abilities of wind and this creates flyers to swirl around that is promoting some sort of event that the Sisterhood of Dada is putting on.

In Larry’s room within Doom Mansion, it looks like we can see what was inside of him all along and it was a slug-like creature. Naturally, Larry passes out after averting so much energy and seeing a 2-foot long slug come out of him. After he lays prostrate on the ground, the very same flyer that Lloyd and Holly looked to be giving out.

After the last episode saw Victor Stone (not Cyborg, remember) venture into the world of synthetic skin, audiences are finally able to see what the outcome is with this appraisal from a former STAR Labs doctor and family friend. The good doctor explains that if Vic wants the synthetic skin, he will lose his Cyborg characteristics, including Grid. The doctor wants Vic to take a moment to think about it, even though the procedure will be extremely easy to execute.

Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 7: The Sisterhood of Dada are coming

At Doom Mansion’s kitchen, Jane is understandably ticked off at Cliff for selling all of her vinyl records to aid his gambling addictions, among others. Both of the Doom Patrol members receive messages from the Sisterhood of Dada leading to Laura De Mille entering the kitchen and telling the two to prepare for the oncoming arrival. Jane and Cliff do not believe anything this squatter has to say and it is then revealed that Cliff sold even more stuff of Kay’s personas. This leads to Flit teleporting Cliff away from the mansion to his daughter’s home to likely try and shame Cliff into realizing the error of his mistakes.

The episode then jumps back to the Bureau of Normalcy in 1949 where viewers see Laura doing some intake exams of another meta recruit. The recruit is categorized as a weapon because he can make pictures into four-dimensional items. The amnesia-ridden Rita invites Laura into a Sisterhood of Dada party but De Mille declines because she is focusing on her job. Malcolm tries to push Rita away from bringing Laura back to the group, but Rita says she will not give up on her because Laura saved their butts.

Larry is finally woken up by a knocking Laura who is trying to convince the former pilot to prepare for the Sisterhood’s arrival. The two try and figure out what to do with the parasite that came out of Larry’s mouth and Laura believes this is because Larry went into the Negative Nebula, something we saw at the beginning of Doom Patrol season 3. Laura says that Larry must burn the parasite to truly get rid of it and instructs him to come to the great room after he does.

Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 7: Jane struggles in The Underground

Cliff offers to watch his granddaughter so Clara and Mel can go get some ice cream and spend some time away from their newborn. Mel sees Cliff’s hand still trembling from the Parkinson’s so she is hesitant but since the couple only plans to be gone for a little bit, it should be no bother. Before she goes, Clara hands her father her credit card for emergency only which will likely backfire given Cliff’s recent money issues.

Down in The Underground, Jane finds Kay crying, something the little one has been doing for a bit. According to Kay, someone stole her bike that she brought down in her little world and Kay will not hear anything else about it. Jane confronts the other personas about the stolen bike and it looks as though the personas see Jane as a negative for Kay and have turned against her.

Back in The Fog, we see Holly building a train-like structure that comes with a horn. She blows the horn and this likely is the start of the event they are planning for tonight. Larry is seen bringing the space parasite into the woods with some food, water, and a scarf for the cold night ahead. Just as he sets up the parasite for survival, some mysterious fog approaches him and he casually walks away.

Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 7: Vic’s big decision

Because Vic is unable to talk to either of his parents about his decision to get synthetic skin, he turns to Roni who is attempting to go off the grid. He informs his former love that he will be getting rid of the computer and technology that has impacted his life. Roni says he is an idiot for this because that has helped him make some change in the world as Cyborg like she has been doing less legally. After all, the laws were made that way. This conversation shows how much their differing ideas have rubbed off on the other and created some shades of gray in their eyes and it ends with Roni telling Vic to do what he wants.

Cliff is seen going a little stir crazy in Clara’s home by trying to be a good father and grandfather while also trying to prevent his vices from rearing their ugly heads. While trying to make a bottle for his granddaughter on the gas stove, he gets distracted and leaves the burner on high and this is caught by Mel right when the two return home. That is basically the worst thing he did, sans a little water spill on the floor, so it was a mini success for Robotman. Clara asks her father about this fog that is approaching the town and Cliff recognizes that this is the Sisterhood of Dada but tells his daughter not to worry because he will protect his family.

Jumping back to 1949, Laura De Mille is approached by an agent from the Bureau named Willie about the number of recruits they are bringing in but Laura makes sure she is the one who gets all the credit. The agent says if numbers were the only thing that mattered, Laura would be running the organization. After a patriotic spiel from Willie about using the Sisterhood of Dada members in the army, it looks as though Laura might be considering reclassifying her former close friends as weapons.

At the Sisterhood’s hangout, Rita and Malcolm try to entertain the group wearing masks of the other, but Sachiko and Lloyd try and convince the others to embrace their destiny. By asking the same questions the Sisterhood asked the Doom Patrol members in Episode 5 and make a major statement to the world and not be complicit anymore, especially after events like the Great Depression, nuclear warfare, and racial injustice that has occurred around the world and within their own borders. This leads to them all agreeing to set the Eternal Flagellation on the world.

Doom Patrol Season 3, Episode 7: Laura betrays the Sisterhood

As Vic is about to undergo surgery, Jane is shunned out by Kay, Cliff steals Clara’s credit card, and Larry and Laura are trying to secure the mansion, fog embraces all of them and brings them to the hangout room of Sisterhood of Dada. This is when the episode gets strangely intriguing.

There are direct parallels between the Doom Patrol in the present-day and the Sisterhood of Dada in 1949 doing their weird dance. Laura is standing in the same spot and it turns out this is where Laura betrayed her one-time friends. De Mille brought the Bureau into the Sisterhood’s hideout and classified the Sisterhood as weapons in a war they have no choice but to fight in. With Malcolm standing up for Rita still wearing his Rita mask and this allows Rita to getaway. it turns out the Malcolm stand-in taking place in present-day wearing the Rita mask was the woman herself, Rita. They all transport to the cage that Lloyd and Holly were building at the start. It turns out this cage was hosting the rebirth of Malcolm through an egg that once hatched Laura DeMille needs to free.

Laura refuses to set Malcolm free and this leads to Rita freeing her love but since it was not Laura, birds fly out and De Mille can escape by finally becoming the bird she once thought she was. This new side of Rita is a brilliant and much-needed development for the former actress and one that will likely see her more independent and courageous. The episode ends with all the members of the Sisterhood of Dada, including Rita, disappearing in a poof of smoke. Then the Doom Patrol members are all transported somewhere through these magical birds that have been set free from the cage through Rita opening it.

The preview of the next episode saw the eponymous team facing inward on who they were and who they will never be again. This just raises the excitement for next week’s episode in the incredible saga being told throughout Doom Patrol Season 3.

Stream Doom Patrol Season 3 on HBO Max with new episodes every Thursday!