Next week is the penultimate episode of the season, and Legends of Tomorrow is really amping up for the finale. This week, the episode hit on just about every character and never felt rushed or frantic.
1. Alexa
Seeing Snart and Rory consistently reference an event from their past went a long way to remind us that they have been working together for years, and likely have a ton of shared experiences. So much of this season has been detailing the ways that they are different, it is nice to remind us that they are quite alike in some ways, too.
Both of them, along with just about everyone else, are beginning to doubt that Rip has the best intentions for this team. And he certainly doesn’t make it easy for himself, as he makes a few decisions that can only be described as horribly selfish throughout this episode, especially his letting Jax work on the timedrive (more on that in a bit).
What can Rip do, at this point, to restore his credibility? I’m not sure, but I don’t doubt that we’ll see jhim try soon.
2. Ray and Kendra
Think about Kendra’s insane last year: from Jitters barista to girl with wings to immortal reincarnate, to falling in love with Carter, then Jax (sort of), then Ray, then Carter again. But the Ray/Kendra romance really had an interesting twist to it; it was defiant in a way, because they both knew it was against all odds. And now, that has gone the way of Ray’s romance with Felicity – always losing out to guys with perpetual five o’clock shadow, apparently.
To be fair, Kendra and Carter are connecting through many planes of existence, and Ray could never really compete with that. But to see them fight upstream against destiny was nice – fare thee well, Hawkward (I wish I had thought of that nickname three months ago).
3. Carter’s Awakening
To see Carter be brainwashed – and then break free of that – didn’t have the emotional resonance that I presumed it would when it was introduced last week. Now, part of that is just simple timing – we’ve had less with with Carter than any other character on the show, and so our connection him is less than anyone else on the program. But it also illustrates that, while the story with Savage is the driving force in the show, the characters and their relationships are where it really is.
And from a relationship standpoint, being a star-crossed lover need to have something else behind it to make the character worth rooting for. And thus far, the show just hasn’t provided that.
4. See ya, Jax
Seeing Jax age before our eyes was both a fun sci-fi trope, and also a reminder of the stakes that the show has ahead of it. In addition, to see Stein take such risks to protect Jax was a really nice touch for Stein. Stein on occasion can come off as overly cold or ineffectual, so to see his true friendship rise to the surface felt very rewarding.
Plus, we all know that Jax will play into the finale somehow, right?
5. More like Time Bastards, amirite?
Seeing the Time Masters being in league with Vandal Savage was a predictable twist, but one that makes a lot of sense, and again, builds towards the finale. This review has been actually pretty tough to write, because so much of it just feels like racing towards this season’s conclusion. There are only so many ways I can say “this is building nicely towards the finale” before it gets tiresome, so let’s just leave it here, one more time:
I can’t wait for this finale.
What did you guys think? Let me know in the comments!
