This week on Legends of Tomorrow, the Fates had taken over the world, and the Legends were trapped in Friends, Downton Abbey and Star Trek rip-offs designed to sway the masses into trusting their masters’ order. Fortunately, Zari’s original self was accidentally reawakened, and she inspired Mona and Gary to help them get all their memories back and escape.
1. The Fates are Communists
The Fates’ takeover of Earth is incredibly Orwellian/Stalinist (which makes sense, given Animal Farm was an allegory for that state): there’s Russian vocals, a new Soviet propaganda-styled opening credits, and Mona works in a government department that oversees the removal of any human defiance and rebellion from history (eg. Spartacus’s rebellion never happened), reflecting the historical revisionism in the country. It does feel like a topical commentary on China though, especially now that everyone’s mad at Beijing’s handling of COVID-19: it feels politically potent seeing a Chinese girl like Mona being encouraged to rise up first, and the emphasis on everyone wearing gray jumpsuits and eating varieties of “mush” feels like a jab at the Communist Party’s disdain for creativity and imagination.
2. Life is Weird
This episode is very much the spiritual successor to “Legends of To-Meow-Meow,” with alternate versions of everyone on different shows with their own opening titles: Zari, the resurrected Behrad, and Nate live on the sitcom Ultimate Buds; Astra, her mother, and their butler Mr. Constantine live in Highcastle Abbey; and Sara and Ava are co-captains of the USS Faterider on Star Trip. (“Two captains is an exciting power dynamic,” says one of the android crew members.)
What’s great is how, even after hopping into each others’ shows, and the “Fate Plus” algorithm adjusting their appearances as a result, everyone except Zari still they believes they are who they think they are, leading to the fantastic sight of Nate and Behrad still behaving like slapstick idiots in full make-up and costume, or Constantine acting like a fussy alien butler. Do you think anyone on this show, or who became a part of it because they were cast on other shows, ever expected they’d signed up for this? I saw Caity Lotz tweeted that these was her thoughts exactly, “but I love this wild ride:” I agree, and I must add, she absolutely. Nailed. That. William Shatner impression — it had, me in stitches, the whole time.
3. The CW’s Star Trek
So on that note, the decision to make Sara and Ava Kirk and Spock is an inspired reference to those characters being the original slash fiction pairing, back when queer fans had to project their own representation on to straight characters. Star Trip itself also feels like a reference to the mirror universe, as Sara’s version of the captain’s oath from the opening credits tells us they’re not here to explore strange new worlds, but to bring order to the universe, in line with the Fates’ goals (basically making the Faterider the Terran Empire’s Enterprise). In line with that, the crew are all androids, even though androids were an unfamiliar and scary thing on the original show (and a fun jab at the inconsequential deaths of minor crew members every week).
Furthermore, who had dibs on Mr. Rogers/Parker (yes, him again) grabbing the ship à la Apollo in “Who Mourns for Adonais?,” or Mick showing up as Khan circa 1982? (He looks fabulous with the hair by the way, and he knows it.) Sara also delivers a shockingly profound Kirk-esque speech when Ava regains her memories, and starts freaking out, thinking she’d prefer this illusion after seeing her die last week: she assures her, “Ava, life is beautiful and terrible, all at the same time. But if we’re only living part of it, then we’re not living at all.” They end the simulation by allowing “Dhan” to kill them — an appropriate way to reference Khan being responsible for Kirk and Spock’s deaths in his respective film appearances.
4. Live Free or Die
That speech encapsulates this week’s themes, about how it’s easy to become despondent and burn out, especially when you remember you’ve lived under an authoritarian government for a while, but that’s ultimately how they get you, so don’t lose hope things can change. (This may not have been the best message after the pandemic revealed just how selfish some people can be, but I digress.) Mona similarly says that when Charlie catches her giving the Legends their memories back, by hacking into her scriptwriting algorithm (yeah, this is a dystopia alright): she’s become so afraid of her sisters that she’s become willing to let her friends remain delusional simulations forever. It is gonna be awkward between Charlie and the Legends next time — proof that try as we might, we can’t make everyone happy.
Continued below5. Twins!
It is fascinating how Zari 1.0’s emotional first meeting with her brother is nestled into the sitcom hijinks at the start: anyway, once the gang gets their memories back, they remember everything, including her original self. Behrad raises the query of where his sister is, as well as his discomfort with her being an item with Nate, while Constantine is miffed the version of her into him is apparently gone — this is a complicated love triangle, we might have to invent a new phrase for it. Fortunately, Charlie, in an attempt to sway the Legends to go back into the TV, splits Zari’s thread of destiny, bringing both versions into reality: great! Except Behrad now has twin sisters with the same name — d’oh!
Bonus thoughts:
– It’s so nice seeing Mona again in a prominent role, as much as I understand Ramona Young was busy with her role on Never Have I Ever (which is brilliant, by the way).
– It is hilarious Gary thinks Mona sounds crazy when she tells him she thinks the characters on TV are talking about them, but since he’s the only one who does remember the real world, it’s not actually ironic.
– It is really sweet how Ava reassures Behrad his presence is fine when he remembers he was dead in the pre-season 5 timeline, almost like a mother (or co-captain).
– It’s lovely seeing Behrad, Zari, John and Astra sing, shame it’s such a creepy song Charlie forces them to do though.
– Mina’s mom thinks Dhan is hot.
– Can’t believe they got away with the MF word just because it’s “mother-fater” in this reality.
– I can’t decide which Nate line I like better: “Not today Satan!,” or “I happen to like mush, but that’s besides the point!”
Well, home stretch next week folks: it’s the season finale, “Swan Thong” (a title so audaciously bad it’s wonderful).
