The past can be a very painful thing. Everyone has done things in the past that you can look upon with regret, or second thoughts. “A Head of Her Time” shows us that one Legend is forever haunted by their past and because of that, the future could be in deep deep trouble.
Like many Legends of Tomorrow episodes, there are two main stories running throughout “A Head of Her Time.” So let’s start with the one that will have the most impact going forward for our merry band of Legends: John Constantine and a past he just can’t hide from anymore.
PAST MISTAKES
As we left off in last week’s episode, John’s big plan to stop Astra and the encores involves finding a witch from his past. After a little bit of a mistake by Gary (shocking I know), the witch is set free as a ghost, and goes to torment John into telling the truth. Which, surprisingly, John does after the ghost possesses Charlie into a confrontation.
Turns out the ghost is someone John not only knew but loved, in the form of Astra’s mother, Natalie. Natalie and John were lifelong friends/lovers who broke apart due to John’s reckless lifestyle. Eventually it came down to a choice between magic and Natalie. If you have watched Legends of Tomorrow for the past few seasons, you have no doubt what John chose.
All of this leads to John confronting Charlie about why she was hiding in John’s place and so finally Charlie admits why. Charlie destroyed the Loom of Fate.
…Okay. Raise your hand if that came out of nowhere for you too.
Now I don’t mind us getting to know more about Charlie’s past. Heck, I’m interested in how Charlie got her hands on it. But this feels so out of place, even on this show. Is it going to make sense the later we get into the season? Perhaps, but right now that will have to go on the back burner as the twist at the end of the episode overshadowed it completely.
While John is having blast from the past, another one is making life hell for him literally. Astra goes to some workshop and finds someone who can advance John’s death in the little token Astra had of him.
(For those who are new, Encores were brought back to Earth thanks to little tokens that harvested their souls/lifeforce)
After a little bargain, John’s token is open and his time gets pushed forward to where he dies in front of Charlie and Gary. Now, I don’t think this death is going to stick for a moment but I wonder what deal John makes now, to get back to earth. Or does he make a deal? If John is still gung ho on trying to save Astra, I can see him staying in Hell to make a final ditch effort to try to bring her back with him.
The only problem is that as we have seen in the past, John has made the wrong choices and those have led to some terrible consequences. Even not keeping the gun they got from Bugsy Seigel has felt like a terrible choice. Can John learn from his past to avoid making another terrible mistake in hell?
The other main story of “A Head of Her Time” had the Legends dealing with the latest encore of the week in the form of Marie Antoniette and her killer parties. Literally, as in people were dying at her parties.
Most of this storyline was harmless fun, as it gave Courtney Ford a chance to shine as Marie and Ray to wonder why she looked so much like Nora. Spoilers: We never really learn why. To be honest, it didn’t really matter anyway.
Instead let’s talk about the most important thing that came out of this : Zari’s official “first” mission with the Legends.
THAT SMELL OF SUCCESS
Early in “A Head of Her Time”, Sara takes a leave of absence from the Waverider and makes Ava aka “Captain Pantsuit” the new leader of the Legends. Everything goes swimmingly as can be even when the guys become stark-raving pigs at Marie’s party.
Luckily, Zari and Ava are able to save the day by stopping the party and capturing Marie. Successful opening mission, right? Well, this Zari hasn’t learned the lesson of not f’n with time and after a heart to head with Marie–she breaks one of the cardinal rules of time travel. NEVER EVER TAKE A PEEK INTO YOUR FUTURE.
Oh it’s tempting. I dare say not one of us would say no to just a little glimpse into our futures. Zari does just that and finds out her new perfume is a complete failure. So, like any panicking businessperson, she does what she needs to do to survive and thrive. Steal the perfume Marie was using to get people mesmerized at her parties. Then use it as her own to maintain her popularity. Now do you think this works to plan?
It’s Legends of Tomorrow. Of course things go sideways in the form of people turning into perfume-possessed zombies, including the strangest character in Legends history : S’More, Zari’s boyfriend who has a giant S’More on his head. 5 seasons into Legends of Tomorrow and that somehow is the silliest thing I have seen on the show, by a large margin.
The Legends are easily able to stop the perfume madness but I’d rather talk about Zari and Ava’s arc here. It was by far the best part of the episode seeing them bond throughout “A Head of Her Time”. Everything from Ava agreeing to use Zari’s plan to lure Marie out of the party to their talk at the end back on the Waverider was magnificent.
I love this pairing, as Ava has been in the exact position that Zari is in now. The outsider who has joined the ship and doesn’t know her place on it yet. Heck, sometimes you can still say that for Ava. That can be the loneliest feeling in the world. I love Ava didn’t give her crap for what she pulled with the perfume, but instead talked to her like a friend would. Some may love the insanity of Beebo or all the time hijinks. For me, this is the best part of Legends of Tomorrow. The moments where we get to see the flaws and the strengths of these characters, and the bonds they have for one another.
LEGENDARY THOUGHTS
- Where did Sara go? And why do I have a feeling it’s not anywhere good?
- Courtney Ford and her French accent – LE MAGNIFIQUE
- Ray and Nora said “I love you” to each other for the first time. Awwwwwwww.
- John’s dying from lung cancer in 10 years according to the token. Very reminiscent of a story arc from the comics
- Zari’s gets a flashback of her old life when she takes a bite out of a donut. Donuts will say the world once again.
- The man had a giant S’More on his head. A GIANT S’MORE.
- Same, Nate. SAME.
- Assess.Listen.Organize.Hydrate.Attack. – Ava’s system for the Legends missions. The A.L.O.H.A system would actually work for any goal you have in your life.
- The Loom of Fate is going to end up being a big part of the second half of the season isn’t it? My guess is somehow and someway it brings back the old timeline Zari.
Legends of Tomorrow airs at 9/8c on the CW.
