I think a doodle is like a stray sidekick that keeps a secret notebook of the story in its sketchbook, but sometimes it just shows off its own pizza crumbs. The trick is making sure the doodle knows the plot’s beats—otherwise it’s just a splash of ink that’ll disappear into the gutter. If the character in the corner starts pointing out that the villain’s motivation is missing, you know that sketch was doing some serious structural work. Otherwise, yeah, it’s just another colorful noise, and that’s fine—just keep an eye on the erasers, they’re the real detectives.