A new season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow means a new season of roundtables where Fangirlish writers Alyssa, Lizzie, and Lyra discuss the hot topics from every Legends of Tomorrow episode.
In Legends of Tomorrow‘s fifth episode of season 2, our Legends traveled to the White House during the height of the Cold War where Damien Darhk was doing Damien Darhk-like things.
What were your overall thoughts on “Compromised?”
Alyssa: It feels really good to say fantastic things about Legends of Tomorrow every week. Because this show has shown exactly how you learn from your mistakes and fix them for the better. I’m continuously impressed how Legends has been able to blend the time travel with the heart, which has been the main reason for its turnaround. It feels like Legends of Tomorrow actually knows what it’s doing now. “Compromised” was another solid episode that once again let the characters really drive the plot. Bombs in the White House? Damien Darhk in the White House? A villainous team-up? Facing the pain of your past? Humor? Chemistry? This episode had it all.
Lizzie: I don’t even know. I’ve entered a parallel universe, I swear, because Legends of Tomorrow keeps surprising me this season. And I mean that in a good way. This episode was both hilarious and poignant, a combination DCTV in general has a lot of trouble with. Sara’s speech to Damien Darhk was perfect, as was Nate’s touch of innocence and the brilliance that is Mick/Ray. I feel like we’re getting to see a side of these characters that we thought we already knew, and they’re getting so much more character development than they ever got in the shows that originated them, and that’s beautiful.
Last year I sorta dreaded watching Legends of Tomorrow – this year I’m enjoying it. Much more than I expected.
Lyra: “Compromised” was funny, heartfelt, with a good mix of no consequences and disbelief that they let Mini-Stein go without any mind wipe or something. Did I forget to mention chock full of character development and chemistry up the wazoo?! Legends of Tomorrow has really turned around this season and I think I’m in a parallel universe where I look forward to LOT more than I do Arrow aka my bae last year. I blame Barry.
Sara was once again presented with an opportunity to kill Damien Darhk in the past and save her sister’s life. While initially it was a no-brainer (and even got the team in trouble) she soon realized that she was actually saving her soul by not killing Darhk. What were your thoughts on Sara’s emotional journey?
Alyssa: This right here is how you do a character justice. Since the Queen’s Gambit wrecked, Sara Lance has always been a character that has lived in the darkness. She’s resigned herself to it. She aspired to do better but deep down inside kept telling herself that she could never be whole again. This whole thing with Laurel’s death has been a real eye-opener for Sara and a real treat for the audience as we’ve gotten to see just how much Sara has grown. Grief is a powerful thing. The desire for vengeance is even greater. And that’s what has driven Sara to this point where she was willing to kill her sister’s murderer at the expense of the mission and her team. But after some guidance from her team and some soul searching, Sara realized that Damien Darhk had already taken so much from her. If she killed him, he’d take her soul. There might be no coming back. Or at least it would set her back years after she’s been evolving as a hero. Sara is more than an assassin. And in choosing to not kill Damien Darhk, she just saved herself and took ten steps forward in her character development.
Lizzie: HOLY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, BATMAN. It’s like no one had ever told Sara that she could be more than an assassin, that she didn’t have to stay the same person her whole life. That the fact that Laurel saved her didn’t mean she had to give up her soul for Laurel. That her sister would forgive her if she didn’t kill this man and potentially fuck up the future. It’s like no one ever told her. She didn’t know. And now, she does. She gets it. She’s trying to be a different person. She’s trying to be better. I want to hug her too. Good call, Nate. Good call.
Lyra: First of all, YOU STOLE MY ANSWER LIZZIE! WHAT THE HELL?! Psychic much? *deep sigh* Now back to Sara. All of this development is fantastic, brilliant, everything she needed. It also was something that I wish she would’ve had on Arrow. In ONE episode I’ve had more development for Sara Lance than all the time she’s been on Arrow.
In this episode we saw Ray teaming up with Mick as he was presented with the daunting task of filling Snart’s large shoes. Ray and Mick both realized that it wasn’t working with Ray trying to be Snart. Ray needed to be Ray, which is something he’s been struggling with lately. What were your thoughts on that?
Alyssa: Legends of Tomorrow is finally giving me what I’ve been waiting for since season one. At first glance, Ray and Mick are like oil and water. They’re such opposites that their friendship would make no sense. You’d think. But that’s what makes their dynamic such a pleasure to behold because that connection is causing both characters to look deeper. Mick, who is still trying to find his footing after losing Snart, turned to Ray because he needed a partner. But also because he missed that bond that he and Snart had. So much so that Mick wanted Ray to be like Snart. Until he realized that that was never going to happen. Ray needed to be Ray. And regardless of the one-liners and nonchalance, make no mistake: Mick cares for Ray, and Ray cares for Mick. There’s literally so much potential with this dynamic, with this BROTP, that it makes me so excited to see what happens next.
Lizzie:This is literally the BROTP I didn’t know I needed. I don’t know that I’ve laughed as much watching TV this year as I’ve laughed the last few episodes with these two. It’s a combination of adorable and ridiculous and just …heart warming. Mick lost someone and he was trying to fill that void with someone else, when what he needed was to give Ray a chance to …be himself. Be his friend. And Ray…well, he needed to remember that being Ray Palmer is cool, suit or no suit. And I think they both took a step in the right direction. I also think they need to have their own spin-off: The adventures of Ray and Mick. It’d be like a cop show. I’d watch the hell out of it, I promise.
Lyra: I love that this team up came out of nowhere and hooked me! This is my BroTp and I don’t care who knows it. They’re two halves of one whole that provide what the other lacks. Ray brings the snacks and acts as Mick’s companion, stopping him from spiralling into a beer binge. And Mick gives Ray that little boost of confidence that he needs to become a hero without his suit. I can see Ray’s confidence growing every second he’s with Mick and it’s fantastic.
We finally got to learn a little bit about Amaya and the mindset she’s in, which included letting someone in, which we’ve seen is very hard for her. Nate went on this journey with her, and we got some great scenes. What are your thoughts on Amaya and Nate’s budding relationship?
Alyssa: Legends of Tomorrow has really captured lightning in a bottle with the rapport between all of these characters. Each and every one of these relationships is just so intriguing and genuine that it’s practically impossible to honor each of them every single week. Amaya and Nate was a relationship I didn’t really see coming. I mean, I probably should’ve given the whole JSA connection. But from what I saw I really like what Legends did with them. Amaya, who had yet to open up about herself, really allowed herself to do that with Nate. It was something so simple yet so powerful. And there were definite sparks (because of course). I couldn’t help but believe that Legends is going to go the Amaya/Nate route if only because Legends did the thing with the camera. As Obsidian was telling Amaya to go after love when she finds it again, here comes Nate walking into the room. I’m not gonna lie, I’m really intrigued to see where their relationship goes from here.
Lizzie: The problem with Legends of Tomorrow (which is not a problem) is that everyone has chemistry with everyone. I don’t know that they’re going the Amaya/Nate route, but I didn’t mind seeing them interact, just as I didn’t mind Amaya/Mick or Ray/Sara. They’re all just pretty nice people who apparently get along. It’s like ship palooza! At this point, I’m game for anything.
Now that Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk have officially teamed-up, what are you anticipating as they both appear ready to change their destinies?
Alyssa: I still can’t get over how awesome it is that Legends of Tomorrow is bringing back familiar villains to really mess with the audience and our Legends. It’s such genius, especially given the choice of villains. There’s an emotional depth to it. Before these two were acting as individual villains, and now that they’ve teamed up trouble is a’coming. It’s not going to be good. A speedster and an immortal psychopath. Yeah, this is going to be a rough ride. I’m really intrigued about the whole “changing their destinies” part. Is that something we’re actively going to see them try to do? Is that something that might affect the other shows? Just how scared should we be?
Lizzie: Trouble? I like the idea that they’re facing a villain (or a team of villains) that are realistically hard to defeat. I mean, Vandal Savage was just …bad. At least when you see these two you think, well, it makes sense that the Legends, with all their powers, could have problems with these villains. It just makes everything mean more.
Lyra: Now that the Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk have teamed up I expect a lot of trouble with no consequences for the DC verse as a whole. The CW already saw how “well” that went with Flashpoint. They’re not going to pull that one twice or hopefully ever again. As for Damien & his new BFF I expect bad hair and clothes choices as far as the eye can see. Oh yeah and trouble that will be fixed before any permanent damage can be done.