Welcome back to Legends of Tomorrow, a show Elias Rosner describes as DC’s “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure”! Gosh, has it really been almost a year since Sara Lance got abducted by aliens in London ’77? Yes, so let’s get into it:
1. The Kitchen Sink is Going into the Temporal Zone Too
It seems Legends‘ predilection lately for weaving multiple historical figures into one episode is not slowing down, because in this premiere alone we had David Bowie (Thomas Nicholson) informing the gang he witnessed Sara’s abduction; Spartacus (Shawn Roberts) also being abducted (and quickly swallowed whole) by the aliens; and Constantine revealing he has Aleister Crowley’s soul in a box. I absolutely get wanting to break formula, and avoiding having an episode revolve entirely around a guest star; I just wish it was easier to separately unpack what Bowie was really doing in ’77 (he was in Berlin!) as well as the fake song, Spartacus’s depiction as a himbo, or me learning Crowley knew Arabic — it’s an educational show! Kinda.
2. Gary?!
After all this time, Legends of Tomorrow still knows how to amaze and astonish: Gary turning out to be one of Sara’s alien abductors was a truly bodacious reveal by the writers. Would Constantine and Neron have found out? Surely we’ve seen him without his glasses before? (Unless… that was also a hologram.) Who cares? It works! Gary is totally Harry Vanderspeigle‘s brother from another mother. On that note, I can’t believe he actually looks like a Predator with tentacles and a huge oral cavity for a chest — at least he doesn’t eat humans (“anymore”). I loved that even as a fearsome alien he was still completely dominated by his utter bridezilla of a fiance, Kayla (did the actress who plays Allegra Garcia on The Flash lose a bet or something?) Yes, Gary had a fiancé — what a world time to be alive.
3. Esperanza “Spooner” Cruz
Lisseth Chavez’s new character “Spooner” is Jessica Cruz, the same way Sara Lance is Black Canary and Zari is Isis: she’s a woman living with the trauma of being abducted and implanted with an “antenna” by aliens as a child (judging from what Gideon says at the end, it’s probably not a physical antenna). So far, Spooner also feels like a retooled version of Zari 1.0, living rurally instead of in a city, and I think that was a really unique background for a female character of color. She’s gruff and cynical, but she’s hardly an aggressive stereotype as she prefers to use tranquilizers, and I really loved how she instantly warmed up to Ava when she admitted she was only being nice to her to get her help — also, the tin foil under her duster hat was a really nice touch of dry comedy.
4. Supergirl Territory
Ava trying to get the D.E.O.’s help, and finding out the group was destroyed in the last season of Supergirl was a pleasant surprise, as the show can feel often isolated from the rest of the DC CW (DCW? DCWU?) universe. (It was also amusing to see Ava stating that Sara’s past dalliance with Alex Danvers doesn’t bother her: this show is very mature in ways you don’t expect.) The last seasons of the CW universe didn’t really get to explore the ramifications of ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ because of the pandemic, but the potential is here now to further explore how the migration of all the aliens from Earth 38 to Earth One reshaped the lives of people like Spooner: presumably, pre-‘Crisis,’ she didn’t feel the need to live in hiding from the aliens, unlike the version we meet in the current timeline.
5. Mick’s Such a Responsible Dad Now
It cracked me up seeing a sober Mick having breakfast on the Waverider after dropping off Lita, while Ava and all the punks invited over during last season’s celebrations were shaking off their hangovers: it’s truly beautiful how much he’s grown as a person. Likewise, it was great to see Ava just embracing the crew’s chaos, and let them figure out how to save Sara in their own ways — this is such a silly show, but it’s incredibly well-written in many understated ways.
Continued belowBonus Thoughts:
– Judging by Spartacus asking if he was a Saxon, I’m guessing that monster is going to turn out to be Grendel.
– “Being an avenger is stupid” — you heard Sara Marvel! (Preventers: Kang Dynasty anyone?)
– Gary’s species being time travelers felt like a poke at the Doctor from Doctor Who as well.
– Behrad finding out about Spooner via a tabloid story is totally a Men in Black reference. (“Best investigative reporting on the planet. Read the New York Times if you want, they get lucky sometimes.”)
– An alien being flushed out of the airlock this season: check.
Alright, Mondays aren’t so bad anymore yeah? See you next week as we uncover what strange new world Sara and Gary have landed on. Remember, she’s not lost: she’s pre-found.
