This week on Legends of Tomorrow, it turned out Constantine damaged the Waverider‘s time jump engine after he used magic to transport the ship last time, so the gang were looking at a three-week, real-time voyage home through space. To alleviate the boredom caused by having to save power, the team agreed to play a board game suggested by Gary called Beast/Slayers, which John decided to make more immersive with his magic… and which also turned out to be a terrible idea.
1. SPAAAACE – Bored Now
As Zari 2.0. (or Fancy Z as O.G. Zari calls her) points out, the Waverider is in real space this week, instead of the temporal zone. Given the sheer vastness of space (for reference, a flight from Earth to Mars would take several months at current sub light speeds), it’s a little surprising Legends hadn’t done an episode about the crew taking their faster-than-light technology for granted until now, but perhaps it took a global pandemic to inspire that — seeing Nate and Behrad become unable to play video games to conserve power certainly reminded me of when a power failure forced me to scramble to do something offline during lockdown. (It was late and dark, so I couldn’t even read a book.)
I have to ask though: couldn’t the team have used the jump ship, or a time corridor, to get the necessary parts for the engine? My No-Prize suggestion is that those have a limited range, and they’re no good if you’re three weeks away from Earth, or anywhere else with a useful history.
2. A Board Game? Nah
I couldn’t help but wonder if this episode was inspired by the recent rise of Dungeons & Dragons livestreams like Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, and if it was similarly going to only consist of the cast gabbing around the table (like the Community episode “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons“). It makes perfect sense if you want to do a bottle episode, but Constantine instead turns the game session into a murder mystery party at a recreation of his home: what’s funny is that this was still a way to save money on sets, especially after creating the new costumes for the characters’ alter-egos. When Sara asked John why his house, I laughed, half expecting him to break the fourth wall and give the aforementioned reason.
3. Mick’s Bad Heir Day
Poor master of ceremonies Gary, and Mick (who was preoccupying himself with puzzles instead), wind up having to deal with the return of Kayla, who docks her ship on top of the Waverider. She uses the ship’s med bay to regrow one of her tentacles, and then makes up for the energy cost by repairing the jump drive. It was pretty obvious her claims that she tirelessly fought her way off Bishop’s planet were false (especially since we didn’t get any flashbacks to her escape), but her betrayal still gave us a couple of unique comedy moments, the first being Gary fighting her still active, missing tentacle, which was delightfully gross; then Mick admitting he’s pregnant with their brood in a failed attempt to get her to spare him, which led to her pulling off the beanie he was wearing to hide the hair he’s grown thanks to his hormones. His hair was hilarious: it was so clearly a wig modeled after a boy’s hair, not someone as old as Mick.
4. A Little Brother Looks Out for His Big Sis
Core to the episode was the tension between Constantine and Behrad, who can tell something is off with the magician, and consequently concerned about his sister’s relationship with him. Zari confesses to her brother that she won’t give up on John, because she has fallen in love with him: it was really nice to see the two siblings have such a candid and honest conversation about what they’re going through, when blood relatives typically come across as obnoxiously secretive on TV.
Predictably, the Beast in the game turns out to be Constantine’s dark side, who taunts his original self about how he enjoys reveling in his power, and sabotaging his relationships. Zari and Behrad literally save Constantine from himself, by stabbing him in the back, although Zari does not realize who the Beast was until she sees the scar on her lover’s back. The question now is: will Zari still consider John worthy of her love, or will Behrad be vindicated that he’s not right for her?
Continued below5. Stalker Much?
We only see his feet in this episode, but it’s pretty clear Kayla used the medbay’s regeneration machine to create a new body for Bishop. They say evil is banal, but I can’t believe Sara, on the eve of her wedding, still has to deal with this sleazy bro trying to win her over for his harebrained scheme — it must be a little too close for comfort for some female viewers.
Bonus Thoughts:
– Nate compares Beast/Slayers to Mafia (aka Werewolf) to speed along the exposition, so I think it’s worth mentioning that, if you haven’t, you should definitely check out the excellent horror/murder mystery comedy Werewolves Within, which was based on the video game that was in turn inspired by Mafia/Werewolf.
– The Beast version of Constantine was dressed like a plague doctor: why am I seeing so many supervillains resembling plague doctors now? I get they look creepy, but Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood was a while ago now.
– Behrad’s character in Beast/Slayers is a starving artist: geddit? It’s because he always has the munchies. Sara’s alter-ego being a “black” widow was also a pretty cheeky nod to you-know-who.
– It’s adorable how much rapport Spooner and Astra have now.
– Since I saw a PSA about it during commercial breaks, narrated by our very own Zari(s) Tala Ashe, I feel I ought to share https://www.vote.org/action/: an Earth with Jim Crow 2.0 is not an Earth worth being protected by the Legends.
See you all next week for the “Silence of the Sonograms.”
