Sometimes, in the middle of all the wackiness and off-the-wall adventuring of Legends of Tomorrow, you can forget that at its heart are characters who endure some real emotions. Sometimes, like in “Witch Hunt,” they do it while battling evil fairy godmothers!
We sometimes ignore how much trauma each Legend has gone through in their life. Ray lost his wife to violence, Mick lost Leonard and you could write pages about the losses Sara Lance has endured. “Witch Hunt” highlights one character in particular in this retrospect – Zari Tomaz.
We almost forget that Zari has only been a part of the team for a short amount of time, and how she joined the Legends in the first place. She had lost her mother and brother to anti-government forces. I know from personal experience that the pain of losing a loved one doesn’t go away in the short time she’s been with the team. Heck, it never goes away. The pain just boils until it erupts in one form or another. The pain of Zari’s losses finally erupts here, as the Legends find a new magical “mythteries ” in 1692 Salem.
This Week’s “Mythtery”
As anyone who took high school history, Salem is best known for its witch trials. And of course as magic would have it, a girl named Prudence is about to lose her mother to these trials.
The similarities between the men of the town and their hatred of anyone they considered a witch to today’s landscape was very noticeable. It hurts my heart to know that some things haven’t changed.
After a murder of crows swoops in to attack the townspeople (pecking out the eyes of one man), the Legends confront Prudence, leading to a what I like to call a “Vintage Legends” moment. The team meets Prudence’s protector: a very wicked fairy godmother. Through song, she puts the Legends in a bit of pain before Zari is able to convince Prudence to stop her fairy godmother thanks to the shared connection Granny/Prudence have.
Zari goes to talk with Prudence’s mom, Jane. This is where Zari bares her soul. She sees in Jane the chance to save her mom that she didn’t get. Any child would do anything possible to save a parent from harm. Yes, there is such a thing as parental instinct, but there is also a child’s instinct to care and worry about their mom or dad as well. This shines a few times in “Witch Hunt,” when Zari ignores Jane’s wishes to not save her by….well, saving her. Or at least trying to, until things go bad and both Zari and Jane are tied up to the stake.
At the same time, Prudence is taken aboard the Waverider, to enjoy the wonders of the future such as doughnuts and Beebo games. At least until Granny shows up with a little smooth talk. Anyone with a grandparent who plays the “sad card” knows what Granny’s doing. She shows Prudence an out-of-context clip of Sara saying they can’t save Jane – even in the original timeline, she always died. Seeing that, Prudence decides to lay some wrath on the the assholes of Salem. On the way out, she has Granny turn Ray and Mick into pigs and zip Constantine’s lip. It’s just a taste of the power Granny’s about to unleash.
Now anyone with a brain knows what happens next — Zari talks Prudence out of destroying the town and its people. Don’t get me wrong: It’s a lovely scene about forgiveness and how children honor their parents. I’m just saying – Would anyone have really gotten mad at Prudence if she had destroyed the town? They were burning innocent women. I understand, “Heroes don’t kill!!” But sometimes saving assholes like these people really make you question it. But let’s save that debate for another day and go back to the episode.
Prudence breaks her connection to Fairy Granny, undoing all the spells (and leading to that awkward trope of “Person returns to normal naked” that every TV show seems to do no matter what genre). The Legends save Jane: exactly what Sara had said they couldn’t do and before. Yes, this is hard to explain, but as always- when I have a tough question to a plot hole that makes no sense, my answer:
Afterward Zari and Sara talk, and Zari bares just a bit of her pain and soul to Sara. Much like all of us, she admits to hiding her pain through sarcasm. Sara admits there are times where she could do what Zari wants to do and that’s save her family too. (RIP Quentin and Laurel). Having Zari and Sara bond more is something I badly hope the show does. Female friendships have been lacking greatly since Amaya left the ship, and sometimes even before that. Having the two female teammates of the Waverider form their own bond — even if it is forged through mutual pain and suffering can greatly benefit both characters.
“Witch Hunt” was a fun little tale. Its main goal was to give help us understand Zari Tomaz, a character we love but have never gotten to fully bond with. This episode lets us bond with Zari and know that behind the sarcastic jokes and the aloofness is a person who just misses her family. This team may be Legends but also they are very much human.
LEGENDARY THOUGHTS:
- The B-Story of “Witch Hunt” involved Nate trying to help Ava get funding for the Time Bureau. Of course, the man in charge of deciding whether or not is Nate’s Dad!! I DON’T BELIEVE IT. WHAT A COINCIDENCE. The Nate and his father arc is already going on too long and it’s only been in two episodes. I understand what they are doing here and Nick Zano is doing some good work here. The problem is , this story has been told countless times in countless ways. I just don’t care.
- I’m not a fan of pigs but the pig playing Ray was very cute.
- Constantine’s “Yeah I’m here but not part of the team” banter was okay but the montage of John getting Mick upset by lounging around the Waverider was very good stuff.
- “I need validation.” “You are very good at your job!”
- Why does the Time Bureau need funding anyway from the government? Why not go back in time and find some treasure or make a few gambling bets to get the money? I’m sure betting on the 1969 Jets will not ruin the timeline for anybody.
- Before sending Granny to hell, Constantine tries to get her to be his fairy godmother for the power. First of all, NO JOHNNY. Second of all, whatever has John that afraid has Granny say no to that offer so fast, your head will spin. What could be stalking John Boy? If you have any ideas, hit me up with them.
Legends of Tomorrow airs on the CW on Monday Nights at 9 pm.
