Just four episodes in, Legends of Tomorrow is starting to get a little predictable – we now understand the tone, the fractured cast, and the overall structure of the show. That said, despite becoming more formulaic, this was still an enjoyable – if flawed – episode.
1. Soviet Firestorm
This is a really fun idea that spins out of the time travel conceit of the show – people saw Firestorm in the 70s, and have spent a decade trying to replicate Firestorm for their own purposes. That’s a clever idea, as well as one that can have major payoff down the road.
The show is also – wisely, I believe – limiting Vandal Savage’s appearances to every other week or so. Or, at least, not making each episode explicitly about them dealing with him, he is able to retain some mystique and not get overexposed in the way that characters on Arrow tended to early on in the show’s run.
In addition, by making the show structured in 2-3 episode arcs allows the tone and the pacing of the show to be its own thing, rather than be the same as Arrow or The Flash. By allowing this ‘Soviet Firestorm’ to take a few weeks to develop, it allows every aspect of it to feel more important and integral to the overall show.
2. Snart’s sexy side
Leonard Snart and Ray Palmer are quickly becoming my favorite pairing on the show – Snart’s constantly calling him Raymond, which seems somehow both patronizing and flirty, and is the opposite of Ray in just about every way. Snart is cool (pardon the pun) and low energy; Ray is a bouncing ball. Seeing Ray try to use his intellect to charm the Soviet scientist falls on its face, whereas Snart’s subtle approach gets him exactly what he wants – both a kiss and her key card (and her wallet).
On a somewhat different note – if people aren’t shipping these two yet, just wait. I’ve been debating their proper shipped name, but Captain Atom is already someone else. Snaraymond? Palmnart?
3. Kendra’s feral side
Kendra and Sara don’t make a lot of sense as the characters to pair together on this show, until Kendra’s weird blood lust became a part of the show. Now, the two seem like naturals to spend time together. Sara can help not just with the blood lust, but also her hand to hand combat training. Sara is the least interesting character on the show at the moment, and maybe Kendra can rub off on her a little bit.
4. Stein’s tender side
Stein has been used to great effect thus far, and this week he takes on the role of ‘dickhead with a purpose,’ as he really goes after Jax for being selfish. And he really doesn’t hold back at all – he goes for the jugular, and makes Jax really feel like shit. I see what Stein was trying to do here, but for once can we get a Firestorm relationship that isn’t quite so contentious?
5. Rory’s loyal side
Seeing Heat Wave stick with Rip Hunter, and try to impart some wisdom to him was a nice touch. Mick Rory hasn’t been the best used character on the show, but this begins his journey towards relevancy. He seems to have more of a code of ethics – well, relatively speaking – than previously presumed, and seeing him attempt to steer Rip in the right direction was a nice bit of storytelling.
The biggest problem with the show, thus far, is that I’ve listed five different plot points, and they rarely intersect. That’s part of the problem with an ensemble show, but one that hopefully the producers can figure out sooner than lter.
Tell me what you think in the comments!
