The following contains spoilers for Doom Patrol Season 4, Episode 3, "Nostalgia Patrol," now streaming on HBO Max.
Doom Patrol's third episode introduced Sendhil Ramamurthy's villain, Mr. 104, but gave him a surprisingly heroic twist that complicates the character.
The third episode of Season 4 saw most of the Doom Patrol get transported into a massive hallucination which puts them inside Rita's old films. Mr. 104 first approaches Larry, telling him that he can help him to save Rita and get them out. Later, the pair rescue Cliff and Jane from where they're hiding in a closet from an evil child, then find themselves in a retro-sci-fi film that Rita starred in. Rather than help them to escape, he instead puts all but Rita in a tower across a fire chasm and explains that this is to help Doctor Janus. However, at the last minute, Mr. 104 makes a heroic gesture.
Janus, another minor villain from the comics, appears and informs Rita she has something that never belonged to her, indicating her emotions as they bottle up inside a pendent Rita wears in the hallucination. The villainous duo pressure Rita to cross the suspension bridge to save her friends, which fills the pendant. Janus leaves, ominously saying this will help to release Immortus. As she goes, Keeg appears in the hallucination and begins to erase it, slowly freeing the team. However, the suspension bridge begins to collapse, and Rita barely manages to hang on as Mr. 104 jumps in, holding one of the ropes and hanging over the chasm to keep her safe. Keeg, seeing this, decides to enter Mr. 104 rather than Larry, causing a massive whiteout.
Who is Mr. 104 in Doom Patrol?
Doom Patrol confirmed Ramamurthy's involvement in October, revealing he would play Jonathan Dubrovny/Mr. 104 (previously Mr. 103) in the fourth season of the hit HBO Max show. He's described as "a charming and mysterious man of many elements." Mr. 104 first appeared in 1965's Doom Patrol #98, created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Bruno Premiani. In the comics, Mr. 104 has the power of molecular reconstruction and can transform himself into multiple elements. It remains unclear how this translates to what he did in Janus' dream or how Keeg entering his body might play a role.
The episode also introduced Doctor Janus, who targeted Rita's insecurities and ego to fill a pendant with her emotions. In the episode, she's referred to as an "emotional vampire" who can suck emotions from people. This somehow relates to the emergence of Immortus in Doom Patrol, but it remains to be seen when and how.
Doom Patrol airs new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max. Seasons 1-3 are available to stream now.
Source: HBO Max