Legends of Tomorrow Review: “Legendary”

“I can’t pretend to understand this time travel thing, but it sounds important.”
–Captain Lance, trying not to sound absurd

While Ollie and Dig sneak around a suburban dystopia in the most conspicuous manner possible over on Arrow, Captain Lance takes time to guest-star on the season finale of Legends, which has the team jumping through history and previous episodes in a desperate attempt to end Vandal Savage for all time, before he can reset time with himself as master of the world.

Feel free to discuss Arrow here, too, since we don’t have a review this week.

Title: “Legendary”
Director: Dermott Downs
Writers: Phil Klemmer, Marc Guggenheim, Greg Berlanti, Ray Utarnachitt, Chris Fedak.

Cast
Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter
Victor Garber as Dr. Martin Stein
Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / White Canary
Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl
Falk Hentschel as Carter Hall / Hawkman
Franz Drameh as Jefferson “Jax” Jackson / Firestorm
Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory / Heat Wave
Casper Crump as Vandal Savage
Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart / Captain Cold
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance
Isabella Hofmann as Clarissa Stein
Alex Duncan as Mother
Kiefer O’Reilly as Jonas
Shane Leydon as Carmine Broome
Kis Yurij as Arms Dealer
Blair Penner as US Army Sergeant
Art Kitching as Nazi Commandant
Amy Pemberton as Voice of Gideon
Patrick J. Adams as Rex Tyler / Hourman

Premise

Savage has the means to reset time from the ancient Egypt on, with himself in control of the world. The Team disband, but then reconvene to stop him.

High Points

The film features the kind of action and fight sequences the audience of a superhero show expects, and Firestorm finally uses his transmutation powers. Actually, Firestorm using his abilities effectively at all is an important, positive step for this series.

Although we appear to be losing the Hawks for next season, the episode (which name-drops Thanagar) ends by introducing Hourman and a Justice Society of America that exist somewhere or somewhen in the DCCW-verse.

Low Points

The killing of Savage in three eras made for an interesting death, and will benefit the show. Crump gave decent performances, but he never managed the presence and charisma that his role required. However, the Legends didn’t do anything particularly new or original to achieve this end, and they literally could have had the same result episodes earlier.

The notion that this entire team couldn’t save Laurel but can change literally anything else about time seems even more arbitrary.

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6 Time-travelers revisit their own past. I also caught an amusing visual echo (intended or not) of both Back to the Future 2 and Firefly‘s “The Train Job.”

Effects: 5/6

Acting: 5/6

Story: 3/6

Emotional Response: 4/6

Production: 5/6

Overall: 5/6 The finale gives promise for next season, but the writers will need to find a way to better handle the diverse range of powers (especially the overpowered Firestorm) and the vagaries of time travel.

In total, “Legendary” receives 29/42

One reply

  1. I thought it was a great ending, better than most of the season and it seemed to fit. I’m glad they dealt both with Savage and the time masters. I commented to my wife that they moved even closer to Doctor Who territory now.

    And I really wanted Rory^WRip to say they couldn’t save Laurel because “It was a fixed point in time” :-)

    I heard that Snart is down to a regular next year and even then with his appearances spread across the CW shows and not just Legends, and if the Hawks aren’t back, I wonder who else they’ll pick up. Probably Vixen, since she was at the CW upfronts and recently on Arrow… And I know it’s too much to hope, and probably not even a good fit, but Constantine needs to show back up on one show or another.

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