After what was an unfitting second part to the four-show crossover, the episode of Legends Of Tomorrow had a lot to make up for. But could it manage it?
Picking up where the end of the lacklustre episode of Arrow left off, the episode of Legends got back some of the pacing that the previous entry to the crossover lacked. We were our abducted heroes suddenly taking off towards the escape pods that a) magically have the right amount of seats (always), and b) they instantly know how to fly. Is it too much to ask that one time we actually see people struggle when they’re trying to escape? Come on now. As they shoot across the stars back towards Earth, the Waverider appears and saves them before the aliens can roundhouse kick them through space.
Back on Earth and we’re learning a few things. They came once before back in the Fifties, caused a scene and killed a bunch of people and then it all got covered up, naturally. Enter the Waverider, some of the Legends go back in time to grab the alien and hopefully find out some more intel. But they aren’t the only ones around. So suspicious, Nazi-esque guys round them all up, taking not just the alien, but Steel (Nick Zano), Vixen (a painfully underused Maisie Richardson-Sellers), Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes). Felicity, bless her, is not made for travelling in time.
While this happens, Flash (Grant Gustin), the Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), White Canary (Sara Lotz) and Atom (Brandon Routh) go off to meet the president. What we find out is that they cut a deal with the aliens back in the Fifties so that they would leave the Earth alone, but something brought them back. Somebody playing with the time line. Somebody messing things up. We’re looking at you Barry, we love you, but you’ve really done it this time (enough of the picking on Barry, we’re over it. We like him too much to be too mad).
The aliens won’t be happy unless they give up Barry.
Barry, naturally, is going to happily sacrifice himself to the aliens so that they will leave the Earth alone. But Oliver isn’t having any of it. “You and what army?” Uh, Barry, there’s like a million different superheroes and vigilantes in that room, that damned army. (Oh, at some point the rest of them returned from the past with the alien, honestly, it’s a bit of a non-event in the big event episode) The thing is, if any of the others had so self-sacrificingly decided they would give themselves up, we would be flipping them the bird, but it’s Barry. You really believe that he would do it, it doesn’t feel disingenuous like it would with most others.
During all this, Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Doctor Stein (Victor Garber) are working away in the lab, trying to do something with nanotechnology with his new daughter, Lily (Christina Brucato), who happens to have some her masters in Nanotechnology, of course. They’re trying to make a weapon to use against the aliens. It’s all good and well, but they already have a nanotechnologist on the team. While it’s good that Stein gets more of a storyline, the story is alrady over stuffed without having to add another new element.
It’s so overwrought with people that Kara really doesn’t get given enough to do. She’s drastically underused and easily the best character. She gets to be a big part of the final fight, but she’s zooming around at super speed with Barry that she doesn’t actually get to do very much.
Our stand-out moment of the episode comes from her main part, when they’ve saved the day, Kara turns around to the governmental body and informs him that she’s spoken to the President, she’s got it sorted it so he’s put into the worse position available, threatens him, and serves him with the sweetest smile she can muster. Everybody should remember that Kara could rip your balls off without breaking a sweat, and still look like a sweet puppy while she’s doing it. Kara Danvers, you are our MVP. Thank you for existing.
Of course, we were ecstatic when Cisco gave her a doohickey to allow her to travel between worlds easily and communicate with them when she needs them, opening the doors up for musical shenanigans, honestly, maybe our excitement for the all-singing, all-dancing Flash/Supergirl crossover has overshadowed this one. Maybe the episodes (Flash excluded) were just misjudged and completely over stuffed that you can’t breathe. Whatever it is, we’re kind of sad that all the promise fell flat.
