‘Legends of Tomorrow’ 5×03 Review: “Slay Anything”

One of the world’s most popular genres has always been the teen slasher film. “Slay Anything” is Legends of Tomorrow’s very enjoyable homage to that generation of films that gave us everything from Carrie to Prom Night.

Back to the Prom

The encore of the week happens to be one Freddy Meyers who has become a world-famous serial killer (at least podcast-famous thanks to Ava’s Stabcast). As it goes in most horror/slasher flicks, Freddy goes to his old high school reunion to get revenge on the lady who he felt had wronged him, Tiffany. Sara, Mick and Ava try to stop him there but fail miserably. So they come up with another plan — have Ray, Nate and Nora go into the past and stop Freddy from getting pranked at his prom.

One thing that Legends of Tomorrow has always reminded us of is how much these characters have grown and changed along the way. And no better character is an example of that in “Slay Anything” than Nora Darhk.

Much like all of us, Nora is fed up with being a Fairy Godmother. After all, wouldn’t you if you had to constantly grant wishes non-stop?? Nora ends up becoming Freddy’s godmother as part of the plan to stop him and right here is where we touch upon the biggest emotional beat of the episode.

Nora has been in Freddy’s shoes. She was full of rage and vengeance. She felt no pity for anything or anyone. Thankfully though thanks to Ray and the Legends, she grew out of that and into a person who is good. Someone who’s trying to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.

So after Freddy gets humiliated by the bullies at prom and it looks like he’s going to get his revenge, Nora is able to talk to him because she’s been there. Nora understands that the path to darkness is one that can grip you. But she also sees that like herself, Freddy can be a good person.

That’s why Nora is one of my favorite characters on Legends of Tomorrow. Nora has earned her path to redemption because she knew that it’s tough to be good. Nora has seen her share of pain but to come out of it all as someone who still believes that in the end that it’s worth fighting for to be good. That’s why I love Nora Darhk so much.

So thanks to a little magic from Nora and a rap performance for the ages, Freddy realizes that the best revenge is showing the bullies that he is stronger than their pranks. That he can still be a good person to himself and to Tiffany.

So all’s well that ends well right?? Well considering this is Legends of Tomorrow and mix that with the old teen slasher twist…..not quite.

Back in 2004, Sara and Ava are able to reveal that the encore terrorizing the high school reunion isn’t Freddy but Freddy’s mom back from hell!!

Yeah, in a twist that you should have seen coming, the mom is the truly encore. She reveals herself to Sara and Ava while in 1989 trying to kill Freddy, Tiffany and some friends of theirs. Freddy is able to confront her there which gives Behrad enough time to knock her out.

So with that, the old “go back and stop them before they become a monster” trick worked! 2004 has changed and now Freddy is just a normal dude with a bad haircut. Him and Tiffany are married, and the Legends get to celebrate as only the Legends can. Dancing and partying while “Heaven is a Place on Earth” plays in the background.

(Did the Arrowverse shows get a big music budget this season or is it just me? The Flash and Supergirl have been having songs on their shows a lot lately. Add to that now “Heaven is a Place on Earth” played twice in “Slay Anything” and Freddy’s big rap number was “Supersonic” for those keeping score.)

So if you love the slasher genre, “Slay Anything” is a wonderful tribute to those kinds of films that I grew up on. One of the reasons I love Legends of Tomorrow is that at the end of the day, this show is just fun. No matter if it’s romance, horror, noir, sci-fi, whatever class of film you like, Legends is able to make it work in their own unique way. They never sacrifice character for these nor should they ever. Legends of Tomorrow may not be the best show in the Arrowverse, but it definitely is the one that can have the most fun.

Legendary Thoughts

As for Zari, she is able to escape the Waverider thanks to a flashback of her old hacking past. She ends up trying to hitch a ride with Freddy and company, when Mommy Dearest shows up for her big reveal. Still not getting too much of a feel over the new Zari. She has some funny moments, but I still miss our Zari a lot. I think it doesn’t help that we haven’t been given enough time with Behrad either. I’d did like that Zari agreeing to stick around with the team. My theory is that she’s going to slowly get back those old memories of hers. What happens after that is anybody’s guess.
Constantine goes back to his old home and finds that Charlie has been squatting there. If I don’t have a lot to say about this, it’s because neither did the episode. Only a couple of scenes, which ends with John explaining why he’s there. Apparently he needs to confront a witch and with some encouragement from Charlie,he does. That’s it. That’s all we got of those two this week. A shame.
It was nice learning about Mick and his high school regrets. Ghosting someone at prom? Not cool, Mick.
Ava’s podcast makes me wonder what other Legends members would have one? Nate definitely would.
A couple weeks in — still not feeling the new intro.
Ray/Nate/Nora walking arm to arm to arm into prom was so damn adorable. I loved it.