It was Thanksgiving Day on Legends of Tomorrow: Nate sat down for dinner with his family, and invited Ava, who was all alone as Sara was leading the team to grab a monster in Tokyo, 1951. However, Gary and friendly delivery girl Mona wound up trapped in the Time Bureau’s offices when the monsters detained there broke out. And finally, Ray tracked down Nora and asked her to help the dying Constantine.
1. Godzilla
This episode was a love letter to the original 1954 Godzilla and director Ishiro Honda, who was depicted as having come into contact with the Book of Brigid, which brings to life the titular giant octopus he conceived in the shadow of Hiroshima. Now while Honda wasn’t actually at Hiroshima, as the episode seemed to imply, the horror inflicted there and at Nagasaki did weigh heavily on his mind, and it was a great way to convey what inspired everyone’s favorite giant monster to anyone who may have not been aware.
I have one quibble as a die-hard Godzilla fan: I feel instead of Mick telling Honda that he thinks lizards are cooler than octopuses, he should’ve said gorillas are cooler. It’d be a cooler nod to Godzilla’s Japanese name Gojira, which is a portmanteau of gorira (gorilla), and kujira (whale). I suppose in this universe, Honda gets credit for naming the King while Rory gets credit for coming up with his look.
2. “I take my porn very seriously”
As you may have surmised from that, this Honda storyline turns out to be Mick’s, as we pick up on his writing hobby and learn he’s been suffering from writer’s block. He’s really reluctant to talk about it, and would have rather Zari believe he’s watching porn on his typewriter (hence the quote). Things come full circle when he uses the Book to bring his triple-breasted warrior queen protagonist to life to kill Tagumo (who Sara has shrunken with Ray’s glove), and then they make love on Honda’s set. He really does take it seriously – man, I could not stop giggling over the commercials. (Also, I don’t think I’ll be able to think of the phrase “monster mash” quite the same way ever again…)
3. Non-Powered Newcomers
Gary spends Thanksgiving all alone, guarding the monsters sedated at the Time Bureau, because no one likes him, except Mona, who’s still wondering what the agency is for. The monsters wake up, but after Nate returns and realizes they’re just very hangry (that’s right), she bravely escapes to buy food for them, calming them down, and earning her a job at the Bureau as their handler. (Turns out Mona’s a keen reader and is as much a monster expert as Constantine, and knows exactly what like to eat.)
What struck me is between her and Charlie, the new recruits don’t have any superpowers – this week made a big demonstration that Charlie’s still useful in a fight even without her shapeshifting skills, but being able to tackle a giant tentacle isn’t exactly gonna be much help every week. I suppose there’s Nora, but that’s if the Time Bureau lets her help… it’s probably all due to budgetary constraints.
4. Contemporary Music
So Ray found Nora, she gave some of her life to heal Constantine, and then Ray offered her another chance to escape, but she decided to hand herself in to the Time Bureau instead, deciding she was tired of running and wanted the genuine chance to repent. What was striking about this moment is that it must’ve had the first use of contemporary music on the show: for anyone wondering, the song was “Girl” by Timecop1983 (feat. Seawaves), which I’ve embedded below.
Now I love synthpop, so I thought it was a great choice, it definitely provided a lot of melancholy and nostalgic feelings that chimed well with Nora and Ray separating again, Nate having dinner with his family, and Mick realizing there was some worth to his storytelling (which felt very topical after the death of Stan Lee, a man who once anguished over writing in the “lowbrow” medium of comic books).
5. Monster Munch
When I saw Gary escorting Baba Yaga to her cell at the start of the episode, I figured, we’d probably see her and the chupacabra again this season, because their make-up looked expensive. I was half-right: sure they broke out, but Mona’s solution to calming them down proved they could be controlled. And so we end on an ominous note as Nate’s dad gets on the phone, and tells his superior that “Project Hades” is possible. I imagine everyone at the Time Bureau is not gonna be happy about that, which is great, as the conflict between Nate and his dad can’t possibly be settled this early in the season.
Continued belowBonus thoughts:
– Sara mentions her dad, seems she’s really moved on quickly after his death.
– We get a closer look at whoever’s haunting Constantine during his shared vision with Nora, but contrary to what some may think, that doesn’t appear to be Manny’s actor.
– Gosh, the audacity of these lines homaging Jaws and Back to the Future.
– Of course Nate’s nephews got ahold of an air rifle, This is America.
– Happy Thanksgiving! Only in America can you have Christmas twice and back-to-back.
Next week: a cameo from F. Scott Fitzgerald perhaps?
