This week’s Legends of Tomorrow started with a bang, with Bishop and Constantine luring away the longtime Waverider crew as they stole the ship. As a result, Astra and Spooner (the only ones on board) were spirited away to the Fountain of Imperium’s location in Texas, 1925, where Spooner encountered a woman who appeared to be her mother.
1. The Secret Origin of Esperanza Cruz
Naturally, it feels strange Spooner would think this woman, Gloria (Alexandra Castillo), is her mother, rather than her grandmother or great grandma, but this is a time travel show, and it’s entirely possible the aliens who kidnapped her deposited her here. However, when Constantine meets the young Esperanza in the forest, it becomes apparent Spooner has it the wrong way round: as shown when Constantine restores her repressed memories, she was the one transported in time to the future, after she fled and stumbled on the Fountain of Imperium after her mother was murdered. It’s certainly a far more interesting reunion between mother and daughter than the interstellar rescue mission I’d imagined when Spooner was introduced, and somewhat of a profound reminder that Hispanic Americans have always been a part of the States, rather than the recent arrivals some would have you believe.
2. Spooner’s Selflessness
Spooner wants to prevent her separation from her mother, despite Astra and Gloria’s concerns that it will erase her current self from history. Spooner tells her mother that she has become an angry and bitter woman because of her temporal displacement, and that it would be for the best, but Gloria reminds her she is her daughter, and what happened/will happen doesn’t matter, because they’re together now. Spooner’s desire to sacrifice herself for her younger self’s sake proves she’s a true hero, and why it’s fine Astra and Gloria send little Esperanza to the forest to be taken to the future — it’s ultimately the connection with the Fountain she forges that enables her to protect her mother from the greedy oil prospectors.
3. It’s Literally a Magic Mushroom!?
While scouring the forest, Bishop informs Constantine that humanity will eventually discover mushrooms are alien lifeforms, and that they are conduits for the Fountain of Imperium: it’s an amusing concept, but I think it had its thunder stolen by Resident Alien‘s similar octopus revelation. Still, it does lead to the spectacular sight of the two awakening the Fountain, and it revealing its true form to be… a giant, sparkling mushroom. Well, it’s certainly pretty and psychelic, and dare I say… magical?
My god, has Constantine really been chasing a pun this whole season? He was just going to replace one drug (blood potions) with another!
4. E.T. Tag Photo
Back at Constantine’s house, Sara, Ava, Gary, Zari, and Nate track down their ship by taking a photo of Mick with some fake eggs, and posting it to an alien website while tagging Kayla. Kayla arrives in her time-traveling ship fairly promptly, and is surprised to see Mick survived giving birth; she agrees to track down the Waverider for the sake of their offspring on the ship, despite Mick’s unconvincing attempt to persuade her he still loves her. As for me, I thought the use of tagging her on social media was a really original way to “phone home,” and also left me pondering what the alien internet is like exactly: do they enjoy videos of us the way we enjoy cat pictures?
5. Why Would You Ever Trust This Guy?
Constantine injects the serum Bishop concocted from the mushrooms, gifting him with a connection to the Fountain and its magic, before realizing the serum was poisoned, and that he’s become a Trojan horse delivery system for destroying the mycelial network. My goodness was Constantine a fool for trusting this man, even for ruthless ends: did he really never question why Bishop wanted to help him? Suppose it’s karma for alienating all his friends and giving into his dark side, but at least John apologized as he passed away in Zari’s arms.
John’s actions also led to Spooner collapsing as the Fountain’s power faded away, and Mick getting a face full of an explosion as he rescued his last egg from the bomb Bishop planted on the Waverider — what a cliffhanger, and it isn’t even the finale! Despite some of the goofiness like Mick’s photo, the show has felt more dramatic since Constantine became hopped up on blood magic, and I imagine there’s going to be even more emotional fallout before Sara and Ava get their happy ending next week: it certainly is going to be rough, bidding one last goodbye to some of these characters.
Continued belowBonus Thoughts:
– Bishop’s description of the Fountain as an immune system for Earth, shielding it from alien infestation, sounds a little funny since it was nowhere to be seen everytime the planet’s been invaded on the CW’s DC shows, but as he’s a biologist, I assume he means bacteria, which is bound to shape human evolution in unique ways (presumably detrimental ways for most of us, but he is evil.)
– Astra turns Spooner into a fork again when hiding from Bishop and Constantine, proving some jokes never die.
– Mick is afraid of ghosts? I feel like I would’ve known by this point, but hey ho.
See you next week for the season finale, “The Fungus Amongus.”
