As we head into Thanksgiving, it’s a time to reflect on what we give thanks for. Most people will say family, friends and happiness. Instead I will give thanks to Legends of Tomorrow for giving us a tribute to monster movies and magical diaries while still injecting heart into the silliest of situations. And considering there was a three-boobed fighter warrior woman in “Tagumo Attacks!” that Rory created and then had sex with… Well, there’s something to be said about that. What that is I have no clue but let’s still dig into the feast that was “Tagumo Attacks!”
DEADLY IMAGINATION
So the big magic bad of the week is a giant octopus named Tagumo, created in a magical Celtic diary. Tagumo wants to destroy 1951 Tokyo. That none of that gave me any pause in any way is just more proof I’ve gotten used to the wackiness of Legends of Tomorrow. I did love that Ishiro Honda was Tagumo’s creator. The real Ishiro Honda directed the original Godzilla in 1954, along with several other monster films, after serving in the Japanese military.
Honda tells the Legends his military service led to him create Tagumo in the diary. But the magic doesn’t allow rewrites, so he can’t stop it. The diary needs someone new to write another story to stop the monster. Luckily, as Zari gleefully points out, the Legends have a writer in their midst: Mick.
Tapping into this side of Mick always works. This is no exception. While he’d suffered writer’s block before, Mick gains the confidence to write a monster-stopping story in the diary. And in typical Legends fashion, the hero ends up being someone you wouldn’t expect: A three-boobed Amazonian woman named Karima. If you expected anything different from Mick Rory but for that to be the hero of his story, then this must be your first time watching Legends of Tomorrow.
The plan works after Sara and Charlie shrink Tagumo to a more fightable size for Mick’s creation to battle. And after the victory comes the spoils. Like many creators, Mick is in love with he wrote and then makes love to what he wrote. Literally. As Mick and Karima make love, the rest of the team share in the awkwardness of it at first before deciding to do what we all would do — get the heck out of there before clothes come off.
Wackiness aside, this story centers on how different people deal with scars through creativity. Honda dealt with the fear and pain he still had from the war through creating Tagumo – a monster that wanted to destroy through pain and fear.
Mick dealt with his scars by tapping back into the thing that gives him the most non-alcoholic joy – writing. Creating Karima let Mick put his passion and joy into his writing. Seeing this side of Mick is always a joy. Hopefully we get more of it this season.
HELLO AND GOODBYE
The “B Story” dealt with two different plot points that had been left hanging: Constantine’s near-death state and the return of Nora Darhk. They connect in “Tagumo Attacks!”
My MVP of this episode has to be Courtney Ford. From the moment Ray arrives at the Renaissance Fair to ask her to help save John’s life, she plays Nora’s vulnerability to returning to the magic life she left behind so beautifully. From the worried look in her eyes about opening up to the dark magic to that haunted her soul, to her pride when she and Ray give John the life force he needs to survive, it makes me hope that Nora becomes a bigger part of the show in the future…..
…even though might be a while. At the end of the episode Nora turns herself in to the Time Bureau as a way to be free. Nora knows to become type of person she wants to be, the type of person who could care about a Ray Palmer, means being the type of person that takes responsibility for her past. It was such a wonderful character growth moment for Nora, even if I had the same hurt puppy look on my face as Ray did when she was being arrested.
BIG BAD TURKEY DAY
And finally we have Nate and Ava dealing with Nate’s family’s Thanksgiving dinner and Gary’s usual stupid nonsense. The dinner stuff was fine. Nate felt like us when we have to spend time with family during the holidays — we’re happy to be there at first, but soon we want to get the heck out of there.
The Gary stuff… Sigh. I have no clue what to say that I haven’t said before. Quickly – Gary has a bunch of creatures under lock and key at the Bureau while he and Mona (remember her? Yeah she’s the same as she was last time – annoying but still a million times better than Gary) enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. But as things happen, the creatures get loose, Nate and Mona save the day by feeding the hangry creatures and Gary is still worthless.
Sorry for being so negative on the dude but Gary… where’s the growth? He’s still a guy who makes constant mistakes and serves as nothing but comic relief. How many times can you hear, “Shut Up Gary!” before you say “Well maybe he really should shut up.”
*Deep Breath* Okay, I apologize for the rant but had to get it off my chest.
The end of the episode gives us a hint of what might be in store for the Legends, as Nate’s dad tells someone on the phone that “Project Hades” is a go. While this doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy… Nate’s dad is most likely a bad guy. I mean, you don’t hire the guy who played Biff from Back to the Future just to play a rough but lovable father. “Project Hades” gives me dangerous feelings that the team is going to go through hell this season just to survive.
TIME MUSINGS:
- “Let’s make like a tree and get out of here!” – A+ Back to the Future nod there.
- Gary locked Mona in a closet and was going to flash her memory away again. Instead it looks like Nate might try to get her a job in the Time Bureau. With a $4 billion budget, I think they might just be able to afford her.
- Sara and Charlie had quite a few bonding scenes, as once again Sara Lance is shown to be one of the best developed characters in the Arrowverse. These scenes highlighted how much Sara has grown from season 1 to now as she was in Charlie’s situation and now she’s the leader like Rip was.
- Constantine warns Nora that going back into the magic life is not a bed of roses. Feels like they are preparing us for something to happen to John. Something really bad.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Monday nights at 9/8 Central on The CW.
