Constantine’s most dire prediction came true this week as Sara Lance became possessed by Mallus via the Death Totem, and trapped the other Legends on the Waverider to hunt them down by one-by-one. While our gang of time travelers try to gather the other Totems to combat her, Sara’s (official) girlfriend Ava gets Constantine to help free her from her predicament.
1. Another bottle episode
I think there must’ve been only three sets in this episode, namely the Waverider interiors and Mallus’s realm, with Constantine’s office (wouldn’t have thought he had an office, but there you go) as the sole new setting. This was an episode all about our heroes’ personal demons, with many a guest star turning up as the faces Mallus uses to disarm and render his victims afraid (hello and goodbye Violett Beane). It was an appropriately claustrophobic episode, and it’s amazing how creepy somewhere as familiar as the Waverider can feel with the lights off.
2. Don’t split
The episode played like a horror movie, like It (Mallus is basically Pennywise at this point) crossed with Alien (hence the Nostromo reference). True to form, the characters split up and made themselves victims like idiots: Wally, I could understand, given he is a young impetuous speedster, but it made no sense for Zari to go activate the jumpship without backup, Air Totem or no. Having Gary cast a spotlight on it while talking about his Dungeons and Dragons game didn’t help me swallow this cliche either.
3. Doctor Who is canon
Doctor Who looms over this show like a stern parent, and this episode happily dropped references to the story arcs of Season 5 and 6, namely the “time cracks” and the fear of a universe where time has completely crashed together. However, the big one came when Constantine all but confirmed the Doctor exists in the CW’s DC Universe. Sure, he could’ve been talking about the show itself, but I choose to believe the Doctor can crossover anytime she prefers. Wouldn’t that be great, having Matt Ryan and Jodie Whittaker northerning it up with Rory, I mean, Rip? I mean, the comics used to published by Marvel UK…
4. More teases
I’ve come to terms with the constant offscreen adventures being mentioned in passing: I recognize they would be ideal plot fodder for a comic book spin-off, and this was a bottle episode. The joke about Zari and Amaya discovering the Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci in drag felt like a cheap gag about his homosexuality (and for the record, one that undermines the the beautiful hypothesis that the painting is about the majesty and mystery of pregnancy). That said, it would be cool if we met Leonardo in a later episode and he was as familiar with them as Jonah Hex, much like the teased reunion with Einstein in this episode.
5. “I don’t want my pain taken away! I need my pain!”
The theme of painful memories forging us is an old but welcome one that’s been explored in great movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and some not-so-great ones (namely Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which I will not apologize for quoting). I found Sara’s speech to Nora Darhk’s imprisoned soul quite powerful, a stirring reminder not to let your personal suffering make you apathetic to the suffering of others.
Sara’s past couldn’t help but bring to mind Black Widow’s “red ledger.” The Avengers are the classic redemptive heroes (think of how Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Vision all started as supervillains in the comics), and it made me realize the Legends’ similarities to the Avengers go beyond surface level. On that note, it was damn cool how Mick Rory, the only real former supervillain on the team, was the one to finally break Mallus’s hold on Sara.
Bonus thoughts:
– Ray wearing goggles was a cool mirror image to how he used Snart’s gun last season.
– Nate’s been an ass this season but he’s a hero, and I’m sure he’ll master the Earth Totem.
– Rory’s fireball oddly resembles Pyro’s from the first X-Men film.
– It finally happened: I liked Gary. Or at least I find him tolerable.
Next week: welp, it’s time Ava and Sara had the talk.
