Home Featured TV Shows All TV Shows Movie Reviews Book Reviews Articles Frequently Asked Questions About Us

Legends of Tomorrow: Compromised

"I hate the 80s!"

This week the Legends travel back (or, technically, forwards) to the time of pastel suits, Reaganomics, and good John Carpenter movies.

I knew from the second I saw Damien Darhk dressed up like Sonny Crockett, selling cocaine with a speed boat and a Ferrari, while Jan Hammer-esqe music played on the soundtrack, that I was going to enjoy this episode. Legends has finally started to become the show I was hoping it would be when it first started. There are some creases to be ironed out (why are the Flarrowverse writers so bad at writing time travel that makes even a little sense?), but positives are now strongly starting to outweigh the negatives.

I suppose I should really be annoyed with the show's writers for lazily annexing two of The Flash and Arrow's best villains rather than introduce their own, but how can I really complain when this means that we are getting Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne as time travelling, bad guy BFFs? Normally I hate it when shows keep using good villains past their obvious expiration point (*glares at Heroes*), but I am more than happy to make an exception in this case because Neal McDonough and Matt Letscher are obviously having so much fun together. Can we have an episode that is just them hanging out at their bad guy clubhouse?

As much as I like the Legends, I am still staggered by how monumentally stupid they can be. Ray knows that Sara goes into full Terminator mode whenever Damien Darhk's name is mentioned. What was he thinking blasting over the comms that the object of her obsession was in the White House? This, Raymond, is why you will never be the new Snart. That, and your total lack of anything even remotely resembling cool.

Adding Martin's annoying younger self to things felt like a subplot too far. All it did was just add more timey whiny complications to the character's lives. How is it that Martin can't remember any of these encounters with his past self? And isn't it a bit rich for Martin to lecture his younger self on neglecting his wife when he has pretty much abandoned her to go play Time Lord Master? I know she encouraged him, but still, he didn't seem to need that much encouraging. Nor does he seem to want to check up on her that often.


Young Martin blundering into things also meant we got less time with Lance Henriksen's older Obsidian, aka Todd Rice. The other members of the JSA weren't all that fleshed out in their previous appearance. Most of them, including Obsidian, were just glorified extras. I don't think Obsidian even got any dialogue in that episode. So it was nice for Todd get some time in the spotlight, however brief. It is credit to how good Henriksen is as an actor that I quickly grew to like Todd and wished we'd got to spend more time with him.

I'm still struggling to warm to the newbies. Nate and Amaya are nowhere near as annoying as Carter and Kendra were, but I still find them equally boring. I was also disappointed to learn that the reason Amaya is so hell bent on finding Rex's killer is because they were involved. Can't a girl seek bloody vengeance for a close male friend without it having to be romantic?

Everybody remember where we parked:

--So, where were Mick and Ray keeping their guns? And how did they get them past the Secret Service? Twice! Security was surprisingly lax in Reagan's White House, which also looked suspiciously like a hotel. Be honest, you guys just shot this at the airport Hilton, didn't you?

--This is the first time Amaya has been to the future. I'm surprised there wasn't more culture shock.

--Mick is quickly becoming my second favourite Legend (Sara will always be my favourite). His angry reaction to his own feelings about missing Snart was touching and hilarious. Dominic Purcell really doesn't get enough credit for his comedic skills.

--Thawne has himself a time sphere. Back in season one of The Flash he mentioned that Rip Hunter built the time spheres. Does this mean that he has Rip? Is he locked up in the Hall of Doom's basement building time spheres?

--Since Darhk is now trying to actively change his future, will that mean Laurel won't die? How ironic would it be if Sara saved her sister by not killing Darhk?

--The only thing better than hearing 'Danger Zone' on the soundtrack was the band at the state dinner playing a jazzy version of 'Danger Zone'.

Quotes:

Mick: "You killed my beers."

Damien: "I need to change my destiny."
Eobard: "Tell you what, why don’t we work together to change both of our destinies?"

Amaya: "Surely by now men and women are considered equals?"
--If she thinks 1987 is bad, wait until she sees 2016.

Three out of four CD-ROMs
--
Mark Greig says relax. More Mark Greig.

4 comments:

  1. I admit Stein going on about how Clarissa is the love of his life and means more than anything doesn't click with him running around with the Legends. They probably should have brought her along for a mission and then killed her off, although I HATE the fact that it would be fridging a woman, or have something happen so they handwave that if Martin goes back she will die. Heck, they could have had her fall in love with someone while Martin was "dead" before they figured out he was part of Firestorm. In the end, he never talks about her, he doesn't ask to go back, so I'm having real issues with how much he "loves" her.

    I suppose it does mesh with the way his past self behaves towards her. Martin knows he love her in his head, but other challenges are just more important. I hope she has found a little something on the side to keep her warm at night.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loved the review, Mark. I so agree that Clarissa's existence in 2016 is a weak spot that they should be addressing. Sara and Mick are absolutely my favorite characters on this show, too, although I also like Ray a great deal. I'm liking Nate and Amaya more than the Hawks.

    Henriksen was terrific, wasn't he? What a pro.

    I suppose I should really be annoyed with the show's writers for lazily annexing two of The Flash and Arrow's best villains rather than introduce their own, but how can I really complain when this means that we are getting Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne as time travelling, bad guy BFFs? I think they did this because the biggest complaint about season one was that the villain didn't work. Bringing in two villains that absolutely worked on the other shows was like insurance. Maybe the suits made them do it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Honestly Legends has become the Flarrowverse show I enjoy the most. Or at least the one that doesn't live on my DVR...I honestly might drop Arrow, it's so dreary and the newbies are just...okay never mind. Focusing on THIS show, I like Amaya (although I shared your annoyance at the fact they squeezed in a romantic subplot for her) but Nate leaves me cold. He's trying too hard to be likable. Although he's obviously superior to the Hawks.

    Agree on the Clarissa thing. Old Stein lectures Young Stein about abandoning Clarissa for a couple of days while abandoning her for MONTHS.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the Clarissa thing works out, doesn't it? Rip promised the team he'd return them to 2016, so Martin probably thinks he's not missing any time with Clarissa: for her, just a few hours will have passed once he returns.

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.