[Warning: Spoilers ahead]
Director: Ralph Hemecker
Writers: Keto Shimizu and Ray Utarnachitt
Starring: Victor Garber, Arthur Darvill, Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Nick Zano, Amy Pemberton (in the flesh!) and Dominic Purcell
Summary
The Legends have to break Gideon to get her out of evil Rip’s clutches. In doing so, she sends them back to the oldest point in her memory banks, which was the cretaceous period where Ray was stranded at the end of season 1. Ray, Amaya and Nate head out to find a missing piece of the ship while Sara and Jax invade Rip’s mind palace. Mick drinks beer and befuddles Martin.
Positives
Gideon gets a body! How cool is that? Granted, it is not really really real as it is in Rip’s mind palace, but it still pretty cool to get to see her walk around and interact with the team. She is such a vital character so her inclusion here as a human being is a nice touch. In that crazy realm of Rip’s messed up memories, we see Sara and Jax finally make evil Rip good Rip again. It is about time.
Dominic Purcell better win a Saturn award and a few others as next year’s award season rolls around. Seriously, the dude saves each show he is on. Even when he is not on it enough, just the way he delivers a line and never smirks is acting gold. Bravo to you sir.
Negatives
I know this is going to read like anathema to viewers of the Arrowverse (and to my editor, sorry Roy), but this is my favorite show in the Arrowverse. If that seems like an odd way to start out the negative section of this review, you are right. It is odd. I started there because while this episode was plot heavy, which is often a good thing, it was really a bit too heavy in general. I like this show best because it is the ugly duckling. I almost always root for the underdogs. This show is quirky, deals with Sara’s sexuality in a grown up way, it has a lot of jokes and plenty of action. It is a well paced, well thought out, underdog of a show. Much like the CW’s critic’s darling (and my favorite show on network TV) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Legends is a show that is willing to be different. At least, it was until this show.
The problem is, this episode was not different. There were a lot of tension that was built upon easy tropes. Martin and Mick have a heart to heart about treating Jax like a man and then Martin does that at the end in an ABC After School Special way. Gideon and Rip share a kiss just before his mind palace collapses and then in reality, she tells him how much she enjoyed it. Unrequited love al’ a more tropey tropeness. Amaya and Nate can not be together. Dun Dun dun…more dramatic tension. Rip gets a hand shake from every member of the team. Everything is perfect. Really? Come on.
Verdict
The upside is that final scene. If we can get back to the actual plot, where the Legion of Doom appears in the show and not just in the “Previously on LOT” part of the show, I will be pleased.
