While DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has often received more criticism than praise from me – and rightfully so – the final two episodes of the season have delivered in terms of emotional satisfaction that I really enjoyed.
“Legendary” proved to be a solid finale for a show that has seen its share of struggles this season. It was able to weave emotional character arcs within a final showdown with perhaps the worst villain I’ve seen on these DC shows in a way that felt very satisfying. But perhaps that was because Vandal Savage finally met his end.
Two of the season’s biggest problems – offing said worst villain Savage and letting the Hawks fly off into the sunset – were seemingly wrapped up leaving a show full of potential as it heads into its sophomore season with a clean slate and some vacancies on the team.
Then the show brought us the emotional character moments that this show needs as Sara finally learned about her sister Laurel’s death, Rip got closure with what happened to his wife and son, and Rory finally got to tell Snart how much he meant to him. One of the joys of an ensemble show like this is that there is so much potential to explore the personal journeys of these characters, as we got to in “Legendary.” Here’s to hoping we get more of that in season two.
But of course a season finale isn’t a season finale without some kind of twist – be it a shocking cliffhanger or a happy ending you never expected. As our group of Legends prepared to board the Waverider, another time ship crash-landed in front of them leaving everyone wondering what the hell was happening. A ridiculously good-looking Patrick J. Adams emerged and dropped one hell of a bombshell that will forever change Legends of Tomorrow as we know it. Justice will be served.
Let’s break this down:
The End of the Savage Era
Ding dong, Savage is finally dead. And the Hawks have flown into the sunset. For all of the struggles of this season, it’s been worth it to get to this point where we can seemingly reset for season two.
Vandal Savage has been the worst villain I’ve ever seen on one of these shows. Honestly, Legends deserved better. Savage was nothing more with a greased-back hairstyle and weirdly accented voice that irritated me to no end. I understand that the show wanted me to fear him, but all I did was laugh. He wasn’t intimidating in the slightest, and it angered me to no end how it took this long for him to die. But the only thing that matters is that he is dead. And we won’t have to ever deal with him again. [She says looking over her shoulder praying they don’t ever attempt that.]
As far as killing an immortal like Savage, it was actually quite complicated and utterly confusing. But in laments terms, the team had to kill Savage in three distinct times: 1958, 1975, and 2021. The fact that he was setting off his alien-like meteors to help him control time somehow made him mortal, which allowed Rory to kill him in the ‘50s, Sara in the ‘70s, and Kendra delivered the final death blow in 2021 forever ridding the world of the most pointless villain we’ve had to deal with. Hallelujah praise Jesus.
With Savage dead and gone – for good, seeing as he was no longer immortal with the meteors destroyed – we finally closed the chapter on the Savage Era, which also allowed us to part ways with the Hawks. Given that Savage was dead and no longer plaguing their immortal lives (well, now Kendra and Carter must be mortal, too, right?), the two eternal lovers decided to live a life free of fear and decided to part ways with the team.
It makes sense when you think about it. The key to defeating Savage has always been Kendra and Carter, well mostly Kendra. Now that Savage is gone, what is their reason for staying? Now that they don’t have to look over their shoulder they’re free to live their lives without fear of Savage killing them. And after many lifetimes of pain, suffering, fear, and death, they deserve it.
Sara Deals With Grief Over Laurel’s Death
When it comes to time travel there are two things that I’ve learned this season. First: those on the Waverider have no idea what is happening back home. Second: Rip and Gideon are fully aware of what is happening back home and choose not to divulge that information even when it includes the death of a family member.
It’s been several episodes of Legends of Tomorrow since Laurel Lance was killed by Damien Darhk, a fact that was never revealed to Sara. Until this finale when she returned home and her father had to break the heartbreaking news that nearly brought Sara to her knees. There is nothing like watching a family react to a death to emotionally cripple you, especially someone like Sara who has experienced so much tragedy in her life already.
Of course Sara’s initial reaction was to go back in time and prevent her sister from dying at the hands of Damien Darhk. Sara was willing to do anything to bring her sister back, screw the consequences of messing with the timeline. But Rip explained to her that it wouldn’t matter if she went back and tried to prevent Laurel’s death, the outcome wouldn’t change. Well, actually it would only it would’ve resulted in the deaths of Laurel, Sara, and her father. It was a harsh reality to come to grips with, but Sara was able to accept that this was something that she couldn’t prevent.
When you think about the circumstances it makes you hurt inside to know that Laurel went as far as to bring her sister back from the dead – including saving her soul – but Sara couldn’t do something as simple as go back in time and help fight Damien Darhk and try to prevent Laurel’s death. You could literally see the emotional turmoil that Sara struggled to contain. She was helpless to do anything, and it killed me seeing her like that.
But when all is said and done, time remains as it always has. This actually reminded me of a scene from The Flash when the speed force warned Barry that there are tragedies that he will face that even he can’t outrun. That goes for everyone – Barry or Sara; Hero or not. While the Time Masters might not be forcing things to happen, time still needs to happen. There are some things you just cannot change.
So by episode’s end Sara realized that while she can’t go back in time and prevent Laurel’s death, there is another way she can show her love for her sister; by honoring her in life. As Laurel told her earlier this season, she needs to be a hero in the light. Sara decided to return to the Legends team so that she could honor her sister. And dear lord if that entire graveyard scene wasn’t enough to kill me emotionally.
Rip’s Redemption
While Rip Hunter has never been my favorite character on Legends of Tomorrow due to his incredible selfishness and disregard for anyone that wasn’t his direct family, even I can’t discount what he was willing to sacrifice in “Legendary.”
This entire season we’ve seen Rip concerned only with saving his wife and son from death at the hands of Vandal Savage. He’s put his supposed teammates at risk seeing them merely as expendable and pieces in his puzzle of defeating Savage for his own selfish purpose.
But there were pieces, however little they might’ve been, that were planted in showing that Rip was willing to change. But as we know changing isn’t as simple as saying so. You have to be willing to show that you want to change.
Rip still isn’t my favorite character, but I will admit that he finally did something noble in this episode as he was willing to sacrifice himself – ala Snart – by flying the world-threatening meteor into the Sun (how crazy was that shit?!) along with himself and the Waverider.
For a moment I really believed they were going to do it. When Rip saw his family materialize in front of him – his wife and son calling out to him – I thought that was it. In a way it was Rip being reunited with his family as he’d been fighting so hard for all season long. And he got that moment in the Sun (excuse the pun).
But Rip realized that he wasn’t willing to die yet. While he had managed to defeat Savage and his family was still dead, Rip decided that it was more important to live. Honestly, if Rip had chosen to die like he did it would’ve been the same selfish Rip – dying because it’s easier than living without his family. But Rip understood that there were still people that relied on him – his team, his new family. So he fought to live. And succeeded.
Rory Gets Closure With Snart
Now this moment was brief, but it was something that needed to be done in order for Rory – and us, quite frankly – to get some closure over Snart’s heartbreaking death in last week’s penultimate episode.
Following the Legends defeating Vandal Savage, they each had a decision to make: return to their lives in 2016 or join Rip in watching out for time. Most of the team, with the exception of two, decided to keep on this journey. It seems as if they’ve all found a purpose; something worth fighting for, and I think that’s pretty amazing.
But someone you’d think would want to get away following the recent tragedy he experienced would be Mick Rory. Only that couldn’t be further from the truth, as we got a taste of in last week’s episode when he opened up about his caring about this team to Ray.
But Rory couldn’t leave without getting some type of closure with Snart. Given that Snart knocked Rory unconscious in order to sacrifice himself and save his friend’s life, Rory never got a proper goodbye. So he traveled to 2003 Central City – which was the time that Rip could help take him to – and got to tell Rory what he meant to him.
“You’re the best guy I ever knew. You may not think you’re a hero, but you’re a hero to me.” – Rory
It broke me. Absolutely devastated me. Snart was my second favorite character on this show – behind Sara – and his dynamic with Rory has been one of my favorites on this show. Seeing Snart again – even in the past – just brought all of the emotion back. And watching Rory’s reaction to that – as he fought back the emotion that he felt in waves inside of himself – was equally as heartbreaking.
Even though this is a different Leonard Snart than the one we’ve come to love this season on Legends – one that had grown exponentially as a person and evolved into a hero – that didn’t take away from anything that Rory was saying or how we’ll remember Snart.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that even the less vulnerable appearing characters on this show are quite vulnerable, as we saw with Rory. The relationship he had with Snart wasn’t a menial friendship. It was a brotherhood. The pain of losing his brother – and not getting the chance to tell him how much he meant to him – was something that affected him to his core. Rory needed a chance to get closure with Snart’s death otherwise it would’ve eaten him alive.
It’s moments like this one – however brief it may be – that remind us why we give a damn about these superheroes. It’s not just that they’re out there fighting and protecting us. It’s that they’re people just like us. They have feelings, heartbreak, people they love. Yet they’re incredibly courageous as they risk all of that to fight to protect this world we live in. That sacrifice and that passion is what makes heroes super. It certainly isn’t the powers.
The Next Chapter (Featuring the Justice Society of America)
Following our Legends’ victory over Vandal Savage – and managing to protect the world from utter destruction at the hands of the technology that made his and the Hawks’ immortality possible – most of our team decided to return to the Waverider and help Rip keep watch over time. But in the wake of Savage’s death, Kendra and Carter decided to leave the team and live their lives without fear. Just as the producers had been teasing, the team will look a little different next season.
And of course it wouldn’t be a season finale without one finale bombshell. Just as Rip, Sara, Ray, Rory, Jax, and Stein were preparing to head back on the Waverider, another Waverider crash landed right in front of them and a man emerged inquiring about whether it was May 2016.
The man, who introduced himself as Rex Tyler, on top of warning the team that if they got on that ship that they would all die, also dropped one hell of a bombshell:
“I’m a member of the Justice Society of America.”
That’s right, Hourman has arrived – just in time to launch a new chapter for season two. For so long there had been speculation about who Patrick J. Adams’ mysterious DC Comics character would be ever since it was teased a few weeks back. In the comics, Hourman discovers a drug that is able to give him superpowers for one hour at a time.
According to postmortem interviews with executive producer Marc Guggenheim, the intention is to bring in the Justice Society of America into season two of Legends of Tomorrow along with an even greater threat. Can you say, Holy shit?!
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow returns Thursdays this fall on The CW.
What were your thoughts on “Legendary?”