Jane Patrol

"Jane Patrol" is the ninth episode of the first season of Doom Patrol. It premiered on April 12, 2019.

Synopsis
A catatonic Jane is confronted by her many other personalities in the Underground, who want her to restore order and resume being the dominant personality. With the help of Driver 8, Jane chooses to remain catatonic and try to figure out what is wrong with her. Back in Doom Manor, the team argues about how to help Jane until Larry's negative spirit sends Cliff's consciousness into the Underground. He is soon subdued by two of Jane's aggressive personalities, Hammerhead and Driller Bill, and locked in a cell next to Karen. She is let go, and Penny Farthing leads Cliff through Jane's memories. Cliff and Jane face her biggest fear, revealed to be Jane's abusive father, who appears as a giant monster made of puzzle pieces. Jane's cathartic rage destroys him, and she and Cliff leave the Underground. Jane awakens in Doom Manor.

Plot
In Arkansas, 1957, a young Kay Challis is completing a puzzle in her bedroom during a stormy night. Her father opens the door and asks Kay to give her a sweet kiss, but Kay shows some reluctance. Kay eventually gets up and gives her father a hug.

In the present in the Underground, Karen is dragged by the hair by Hammerhead. Hammerhead drags Jane into a building where more of Jane's personalities are waiting. Pretty Polly confronts Karen, but Karen starts singing a song that angers the former, causing Polly to angrily slap Karen. Jane is alone, quietly walking towards the group after hearing the commotion, while Karen is dragged away by Hammerhead. Polly senses Jane's presence, alerting the others, who then surround Jane. Jane is interrogated by the personalities about why she isn't the current host of Kay's body, and is told she is the primary; the one who keeps the equilibrium in the Underground.

Jane agrees to take over, and is then driven from the Underground to the surface by Driver 8. Driver 8 explains she has never been to the surface, but wonders what it is like. Jane confides in Driver 8 and reveals that it is hard to act as the primary up on the surface. Jane notices an emergency break lever in the train.

On the surface, Rita, Larry, Cliff, and Vic hover over Jane's unconscious body. Vic notices Jane's brain is active but doesn't know how to wake her. Suddenly, the Negative Spirit releases itself from Larry's body and touches Cliff's head. Cliff is sent to the Underground in his human form, much to his bewilderment. He finds a stalled train on the tracks and meets Driver 8. Cliff explains that the Negative Spirit is touching his brain and Jane's brain at the same time, which somehow sent him to the Underground. Driver 8 says she will make some calls and find someone who can assist him.

Jane is picking flowers in a meadow in the Underground and hears Penny Farthing singing. Penny tells Jane she thought she was the only one that knew about "this" memory, revealing the meadow is a memory of the past. Penny doesn't know who's memory this is, but explains it is her favorite place. She has also heard that Jane doesn't want to go back up to the surface, but Jane tells Penny she is experiencing some internal conflicts at the moment, and leaves the meadow.

Hammerhead confronts Cliff on the train platform and assaults him. Driller Bill appears and joins her. They escort Cliff away from the train. Jane is seen walking down an unknown hallway and receives a paper ticket from a ticket dispenser, which allows her to enter the den of the The Sisters. Elsewhere, Hammerhead throws Cliff into a prison, where he sees Jack Straw and Karen locked in other cells.

The Sisters sense Jane feels lost, which is making it hard for her to return to the surface. They suggest Jane go deeper into the Underground to the well. Penny is seen outside the den and tries to dissuade Jane from following the Sisters' instructions. Penny tries to convince Jane to go back to the surface because she doesn't want to be the one sent up. As a last resort, Penny reveals that Miranda was looking for answers too and was sent to the well.

Hammerhead returns to the prison and releases Karen. Cliff starts punching the wall to try to escape, but then Jack Straw slides him an ice pick. Cliff breaks a hole through the wall and sees Jane on a bed. He tries to apologize to her, but she doesn't hear or see him. Penny appears and tells Cliff that Jane is in trouble, and explains the Jane on the bed is a memory. Penny tells Cliff the real Jane is heading towards the well and she needs his help to stop her.

Jane walks across a street in a metropolitan area. She watches her past-self get caught by two mental institution workers while she is playing with a stray dog. Meanwhile, Penny and Cliff walk down the hallway of a high school and enter a classroom. A young Kay Challis is seen not paying attention in class, and thus is reprimanded by her teacher. Kay says that she is Miranda, not Kay. She notices Cliff and Penny walking towards a door in the back of the classroom, causing her to repeatedly whisper the phrase "shut the door." Penny reveals that behind the door is what's left of Miranda's work station, and as they open it Miranda gets up and yells "shut the door."

Penny tells Cliff Miranda threw herself into the well. She says everyone looking for answers is sent to the well. The two then reach a memory where Cliff is watching Jane paint on the lawn of the mansion. Cliff wonders why the memory is buried so deep. Penny explains this memory was the start of everything going sideways for the personalities because Cliff gave Jane hope.

Jane watches a memory of her past-self interviewed by Dr. Niles Caulder. She is found by Cliff and Penny. Cliff apologizes to Jane for pushing her to receive therapy, and urges her to come back to the surface. Jane doesn't appreciate the apology. Jane argues with Cliff, but then hears her father's voice whisper "Sweet, Sweet, Baby Kay, please don't keep me waiting." Cliff tells Jane he knows everything about the Underground and the well, but Jane pleads with him to leave. She begs Cliff to get out of her head, which is the only thing that will truly help her, and she leaves. Jane walks down an empty hallway that reminds her of the one in her childhood home. While walking, she hears her father's whispers. At the end of the hallway, she is confronted by Black Annis, who points Jane towards a door where she once again hears her father's whispers.

Penny and Cliff follow Jane, but Penny refuses to go on and leaves Cliff on his own. Meanwhile, Jane walks down the hallway of her childhood home, and opens the door to her bedroom. She sees a young Kay Challis finishing a puzzle of a meadow; the meadow of the memory in which Jane was in earlier. Jane realizes that this is where "she" began. Jane tries to seek the advice of Kay even though she knows it's only a memory. Kay's father appears, and the memory from the beginning of the episode plays. Kay gets up and is forced to leave the room with her father, but when Kay looks back, she is replaced with Jane. Kay wishes Jane goodbye as she finishes her puzzle.

Black Annis senses Cliff's presence. Black Annis slashes at Cliff's face, and explains no man can pass the door leading to the well. This triggers Cliff to replay painful memories of his past in his mind. He begins to peel off his human skin, revealing his robot suit underneath. Cliff tells Black Annis he is no longer a man, and she proceeds to caress his body with her claws, eventually groping his metal groin. She is convinced that Cliff is not a man and allows him to pass.

Cliff walks towards Jane, who is standing on the edge of the well. Jane looks as if she is in a trance, as she repeats the phrases "no one tells" and "no where to turn." Suddenly, a whirlwind of leaves erupts from the well and takes on the giant form of Jane's father. Jane says that no one can fight daddy, but Cliff pleads with her to fight. Jane's father grabs Cliff and drops him away from Jane. She becomes distressed, and she yells at her father that she is no longer afraid of him. The giant deteriorates and the leaves go back down the well.

Jane and Cliff are seen sitting next to each other on a moving train in the Underground. They get off the train and walk together towards the surface. The two return to the others in the real world. Vic asks Cliff what happened in the Underground, to which Cliff responds it is not his story to tell. Jane returns to her room and lays on her bed, but when she closes her eyes she hears her father's voice whispering "sweet, sweet baby." Jane quickly opens her eyes.

Starring

 * Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Karen and Driver 8 (inhabiting Kay Challis' body)
 * April Bowlby as Rita Farr
 * Joivan Wade as Vic Stone/Cyborg
 * Alan Tudyk  (credit only)
 * Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor
 * Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele

Special appearance by

 * Timothy Dalton as Dr. Niles Caulder/The Chief

Also starring

 * Riley Shanahan as Cliff Steele  (physical)
 * Matthew Zuk as Larry Trainor  (physical)

Guest starring

 * Anna Lore as Penny Farthing
 * Stephanie Czajkowski as Hammerhead

Co-starring

 * Skye Roberts as Kay Challis
 * Tara Lee as Lucy Fugue
 * Chelsea Rivera as Silver Tongue
 * Hannah Alline as Pretty Polly
 * Jackie Goldston as The Secretary
 * Monica Louwerens as The Weird Sisters
 * Leela Owen as Young Miranda
 * Helen Abell as Black Annis
 * Celeste Marcone as Teacher
 * Tyler Buckingham as Frank
 * David MacDonald as Daddy

Trivia

 * As Cliff took a trip though Crazy Jane's Underground, he along the way  met some of Jane’s creepier personalities and got to see many scenes from 1990’s classic Doom Patrol #30 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Richard Case) come to life.
 * "Jane Patrol" begins with a flashback to a horrific encounter Kay Challis had with her father. We got our first clue about “Daddy” when Steve Dayton unleashed a mental attack on Jane in “Doom Patrol Patrol,” and now we learn more about the relationship. The flashback to Kay finishing her puzzle was a pivotal memory that Doom Patrol readers finally got to see adapted in live-action.
 * To save Jane, the Negative Spirit acts as a conduit between her brain and Cliff’s. The comics had a similar set-up, but the circumstances were slightly altered. Jane was comatose because her battle with the Fifth Horseman (as seen in 1990’s Doom Patrol #29) had damaged the Underground.
 * The Chief wasn’t kidnapped at that time, so he helped with the experiment. The Negative Spirit didn’t have to separate from his host body because at the time Larry and he were part of a union with a doctor named Eleanor Poole, forming a mystical third entity called Rebis. Cliff had to leave his body for the procedure, and his brain was put in a jar. Cliff also maintained his robot form while traveling through the Underground. But this was changed to instead show Cliff  in his pre-accident body portrayed by Brendan Fraser.
 * The Underground is populated with Jane’s many different personalities, and we got to experience many of them up close and personal this week. Longtime comic readers met some of their favorites, including Scarlet Harlot (who has a memorable scene in Doom Patrol #47), the Secretary, and Driller Bill. There were lots of cool details to catch, such as Baby Doll’s pajamas and doll, which looked exactly as they did in Doom Patrol #30.
 * The show's creators really did their homework for this week's episode. Not only was Driver 8’s outfit straight out of the comic, but posters at the various subway stations were replicas of the ones in the panels of Doom Patrol #30. The writers, however, still gave their own spin to the story. In the comics, Driver 8 (who was first mentioned in Doom Patrol #20) was friendlier with Cliff and served as his guide through the Underground. And some of Driver 8’s comic-book dialogue was given to the helpful Penny Farthing, while Driver 8 chose instead to betray Cliff.
 * Miranda’s Station is one scary place! In both versions of the story, Cliff’s guide (Penny in the show, Driver 8 in the comic) instructs him to close his eyes. Unfortunately, Cliff spots some of the hanging corpses and learns how frightening these stations can be. Both versions of Miranda destroyed themselves in the Well, leaving Cliff to fear a similar fate for Jane. Miranda’s backstory was elaborated on in 1992’s Doom Patrol #55 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Richard Case).
 * The only thing standing between Cliff and the Well was Black Annis, who refuses to let any man through. Black Annis was first seen in Doom Patrol #21, when Jane brought her personality out to fight against the Scissormen. In both versions of the story, Cliff is able to save himself from Black Annis by convincing her he’s not a man due to his robot body. Luckily it works, because this is one scary version of Jane!
 * The final battle between Jane and her father was a complete panel-to-screen translation. Everything from Jane’s frightened mutterings to Daddy’s monstrous form to Cliff almost being devoured to Jane standing up to her father was taken from the final pages of Doom Patrol #30. In the comics, Cliff’s act of heroism meant a lot to Jane, and their friendship deepened as a result of it. It remains to be seen, however, if their screen counterparts will still have some issues to work through.
 * The trailer for the following episode “Hair Patrol” features the Beard Hunter. If you want a taste of how hilarious next week’s episode could be, be sure to check out Doom Patrol #45 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Richard Case).