Doctor Fate

***Doctor Fate*** was an American television series that ran for four seasons from 2017 to 2020. It is based on the DC Comics hero, Doctor Fate. It is the second television series in the DCEU and the second and final television series in Phase 1. It premiered on August 24, 2017 and ended on November 19, 2020.

## Plot Summary

### Season 1

While looking through his great uncle's basement, Kent Victor Nelson finds the Helmet of Nabu as well as the Amulet of Anubis and the Cloak of Destiny. Once a very successful psychiatrist, Kent made one small mistake that caused his entire downfall. Caught cheating, he was divorced by his wife and she got full custody of their daughter. He fell into a depression and stopped listening to or caring about his patients which caused him to get his license revoked. He sees his great uncle's Doctor Fate costume as a chance, a chance at redemption. But is he ready for the consequences of being a hero?

### Season 2

After the defeat of Mordru, Nelson considers quitting as Doctor Fate but the voice of Nabu urges him to keep the role as Fate, so that he can continue to be the conduit of the Lords of Order, as the world needs order now more than ever. He decides to continue, at the same time that a young woman named Lori Zechlin finds her mother's body in a pool where she committed suicide, as well as manifesting her powers of taking mystical being's powers and using it for her own devices. With this, they eventually cross paths, and Doctor Fate must confront his sense of morality and what things he's bringing order to.

### Season 3

After getting Lori the help she needs and properly helping her getting through the loss of her mother, Kent decides that he must fix his actual life and save himself before he starts saving other people. So he gives Doctor Fate a rest and decides to try and mend the relationship with his wife and try to get his license reinstated. While doing so, an evil millennia old sorcerer who fought the original Doctor Fate, tries to take the Helmet for himself, to try control all of magic for his own nefarious purposes. Kent needs to learn the value of his own life before the sorcerer known as Wotan takes everyone's else and defeat him once and for all.

### Season 4

In the fourth and final season, Kent Nelson's life is a bit on the up and up. He has a bit more of a healthy relationship with his ex-wife, he can finally see his daughter again, and he is on the path to become a psychiatrist again. But, he has also fallen in love with being a hero, meeting other ones and saving people from disaster. When a new villain named Mister Who enters the picture, Nelson realizes this must be the final test of his heroics, if he can balance both lives, and whether or not he finally deserves redemption after all this time.

## Cast

### Main

* Domhnall Gleeson as Doctor Fate II/Kent V. Nelson
* Anya Taylor-Joy as Lori Zechlin (seasons 3-4)

### Recurring

* Ken Watanabe as Mordru (season 1)
* Anya Taylor-Joy as Black Alice/Lori Zechlin (season 2)
* Mads Mikkelsen as Wotan (season 3)
* Robert Englund as Mister Who (season 4)
* Katie McGrath as Marissa (seasons 3-4)
* Spencer Moss as Laryn Nelson (seasons 3-4)

### Guest

* Thomas Mitchell Barnet as Psycho-Pirate/Roger Hayden (season 1)
* Russell Tovey as Anti-Fate/Benjamin Stoner (season 2)
* Terry Notary as Abnegazar (season 3)
* Lee Ross as Rath (season 3)
* Alexander Ward as Ghast (season 3)
* Teresa Palmer as Dinah Lance (season 1)
* Alexander Skarsgård as Pieter Cross (season 1)
* Stephanie Beatriz as Yolanda Montez (season 1)
* Justin Hartley as Silver Scarab/Hector Hall (season 2)
* Isaiah Mustafa as Crispus Allen (season 2)
* Jamie Bell as Jack Knight (season 2)
* Sterling K. Brown as Michael Holt (season 3)
* Graham Phillips as Sandy Hawkins (season 3)
* Harry Styles as Hourman II/Rick Tyler (season 4)
* Brett Azar as Al Rothstein (season 4)

## Reception

When it first premiered, *Doctor Fate* received positive reviews from critics and audiences. "Schmidt manages to perfectly execute the flawed hero with a very different version of Fate. It evenly balances interpersonal drama with the struggles of being a hero, as well as fun action and an intriguing look into the mystical side of the DCEU." Watanabe's performance as Mordru was considered one of the best of the DCEU at the time, as well as the ongoing story of Nelson's redemption from cheating husband and shunned medical professional, to a fully fledged hero. The writing, the themes, Nelson's arc, the performances, and overall story were overly praised. However, despite a rather good performance, Barnet as Psycho-Pirate wasn't that well received and people stated that he was underutilized.

When season 2 first premiered, it received positive reviews to universal acclaim. "*Doctor Fate* just got better with its second season, focusing on the themes of Nelson's ongoing redemption as well as the struggles of being a hero. In addition to the chemistry with this season's villain." Taylor-Joy's performance as Black Alice/Lori Zechlin was the highlight of the season and received universal acclaim to the point it even overshadowed the title character at points during the season. Gail Simone, the creator of Black Alice, praised the performance and use of her character as well. The secondary villain, Anti-Fate portrayed by Russell Tovey was given a more substantial role and received praise accordingly.

When season 3 first premiered, it once again received positive reviews to universal acclaim. "Lauren Schmidt's series continues to impress with yet another out of the park season with a great villain." The main villain and secondary villain were much better utilized this season, and their paths were much better intertwined than previous seasons. Zechlin's character was also praised showcasing the consequences of her actions but on her own path of redemption alongside Nelson, and helping one another through their crises. Wotan portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen was also positively received, as well as the integration of their troublesome backstory.

When season 4 first premiered, it received very positive reception. "The final season is a great cap on the series, despite arguably being the weakest season with the weakest villain." While many thought it was a great final season with great writing and development, many felt it was a step down to the previous two seasons, and the villain was not as good as Mordru, Black Alice, and Wotan. However, Englund's performance was still praised as well as this season pretty much being an epilogue to Nelson's arc and cementing him as the new Doctor Fate in this universe.

## Trivia

* Lauren Schmidt considered making one of the actors who played The Doctor on *Doctor Who*, Mister Who as a little in joke. But found none of them fit the role well enough, and went with Robert Englund instead. Schmidt later stated she felt she made the right choice as Englund was "too perfect" in the role.
* Schmidt cast Katie McGrath as Marissa because she was impressed with her acting skills on various projects, and felt her talents were being "wasted" on the CW show *Supergirl*.
* Initially, Lori Zechlin was supposed to leave the show after season 2, but Schmidt was so impressed with how the character turned out, and Taylor-Joy's acting capabilities, she decided to keep her on as a main character for seasons 3 and 4. Schmidt thought the dynamic between Nelson and Zechlin was "what the show needed" and thought they could develop each other's characters in the right ways.