Doom Patrol EP Explains Series Finale’s ‘Sad But Not Depressing’ Ending, Why That Last Shot ‘Felt Right’ (Grade It!)

Spoiler alert: We’re about to break down the series finale of Doom Patrol, now (time) streaming on Max. Haven’t watched yet? You’ve been warned!

After four seasons of time travel, farting donkeys and sex ghosts (if you know, you know), the Doom Patrol completed its final mission in Thursday’s series finale, a devastating hour of television that several key members of the team did not survive.

Before we get into showrunner Jeremy Carver’s thoughts on the series’ bittersweet conclusion, here’s a very quick recap: With every personality’s power now at her disposal, Jane — actually, make that Kaleidoscope, “K” for short — battled Immortus alongside her fellow Doom Patrollers, a fight that was ultimately won through the time-honored tradition of musical theater.

Rather than fuming over her defeat, Isabel surprised everyone by gifting them (in the simplest terms) magical toenails that, if consumed, would restore their longevity. So, what did everyone do with their new leases on life? K travelled into space with Casey, confirming their relationship with an out-of-this-world first kiss; Larry reunited with Rama (also in space!) and transformed into a sun; Vic joined Deric in his quest to mold young minds and raise the next generation of great tech developers; and Rouge returned to the Ant Farm… this time with a flamethrower in hand.

Sadly, not everyone got to live happily ever after. Or even live at all. Rita, who died before she could snack on a toenail, accepted her death and reunited with Malcolm in the afterlife, while Cliff managed to spend a little more time with his daughter and grandson before succumbing to his health issues and shutting down once and for all — but not before getting a supernatural sneak peek into Rory’s future, a heartbreaking montage in which Cliff watched his son grow up to repeat many of his own worst mistakes.

Let’s discuss that haunting final shot, which Carver considers “sad but not depressing.” (That makes one of us!) As he explains, the thesis of Cliff’s entire arc was that “a person is the whole of everything they do. They’re not just not the worst of what you’ve seen them do. You can be an imperfect father or husband, or an imperfect anything, but the whole of you can ultimately be at least trying to be good.”

“That’s what the show was really trying to explore,” Carver says. “We are all imperfect, but what are you going to do when the alarm clock rings in the morning? You’ve still got to get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other.”

Ending with that shot of Cliff was also a no-brainer because, as Carver reminds us, “We largely came into this show through Cliff. He was our eyes and ears into this new world. For many folks, including myself, who had never heard of the Doom Patrol before, he became the sort of everyperson in the sense of ‘What the f–k is happening here?’ So it felt right that he would be the last image.”

Speaking of “what the f–k is happening here,” you’re also probably wondering what’s next for Larry and Rama now that Keeg has helped them form a sun. Well, you can keep wondering, because Carver says that particular development was “purposely left open to interpretation,” adding, “Hopefully everyone is thinking positive thoughts.”

We’ll have more of Carver’s thoughts to share as everyone watches and processes the ending of this truly one-of-a-kind series. For now, how do you feel about the way everyone’s stories (or lives, in certain cases) concluded in the finale? Grade the episode and final season in our polls below, then drop a comment with your full review.