Legends of Tomorrow Review: “The Magnificent Eight”

This week, the Legends mosey on back to the Old West to meet Jonah Hex.

Title: The Magnificent Eight
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Writers: Greg Berlanti , Marc Guggenheim

Cast
Victor Garber as Dr. Martin Stein
Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary
Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter
Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl
Franz Drameh as Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson / Firestorm
Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory / Heat Wave
Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart / Captain Cold
Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex
Anna Deavere Smith as Mystery Woman
Anna Galvin as Sarah Neal
Brent Stait as Jeb Stillwater
Glen Gordie as Bertie
Amy Pemberton as Voice of Gideon

Premise

We learn certain that spots of spacetime cannot easily be viewed by the Time Masters, and the Legends high-tail to one of those—a small town in the 1870s—where they immediately draw undue attention to themselves and wind up in two very different shoot-outs.

High Points

Sara and Kendra’s encounter with the Mystery Woman does not fully exploit the situation, but it proves an interesting relief from a rather predictable episode.

Low Points

So the Time Masters’ protocol for delinquents is to send Chronos, followed by the Hunters, followed by the Pilgrim? They show little foresight, for time travelers. Shouldn’t they have a better sense of the Legends’ abilities, and the likely outcome of confrontations?

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6 Our pardners get to reenact every Western ever made. Also: The H.G. Wells twist made sense when Doctor Who did it, years ago. It really felt shoehorned here.

Effects: 4/6

Acting: 5/6

Story: 4/6 The show needs some writers who have given greater thought to the implications of time-travel for a narrative. The ep has its fun moments, but the show really doesn’t handle its basic premise effectively.

Emotional Response: 4/6 I looked forward to seeing Jonah Hex, but, as played here, he could have been any old west character (minus the toned-down Hex-face make-up).

Production: 5/6 It’s good to see those Old West backlots getting work.

Overall: 5/6

In total, “The Magnificent Eight” receives 29/42