[Warning: Spoilers ahead]
Director: Ralph Hemecker
Writers: Sarah Nicole Jones and Ray Utarnachitt
Starring: Victor Garber, Arthur Darvill, Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Nick Zano, Matt Letscher and Dominic Purcell
Guest Starring: Wentworth Miller, Neal McDonough and John Barrowman
Summary
Darhk and Thawne head to 1927 Chicago to lure the Legends into a trap. They enlist the help of Al Capone and bring along Malcolm Merlyn. Mick is haunted by a memory spirit, but unlike his CW sisters on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, his memory spirit does not sing, he just says snarky, hurtful things. You know, because his memory spirit is none other than Captain Cold himself, Leonard Snart. Martin and Sara have a long talk about family. Nate and Ray struggle to figure out who is cooler. (Spoiler alert, it is neither of them, it is Mick.)
Positives
On a show where the main cast is so big, one would think that three heavy hitting guest stars would be a problem, but when your guest stars are Wentworth Miller, Neal McDonough and John Barrowman, there is no problem at all. All three of these men are such great actors and their characters bring just the right amount of angst and tension to the story. Because the rest of the characters have bonded, the tension between them does not feel worrisome. Sure, Martin has a secret, Nate and Ray have some issues with who is smarter and Mick is grouchy, but overall, they get along. Sara even calls them her family in this episode. Thus, to create the right amount of concern, we need good villains. Of course, we can not keep Miller on the show, but having him here as a memory spirit is a good move. I hope we can see more of that. Plus, it is a time travel show so bumping into a Snart from a different era should not be too hard.
The overarching story progressed nicely. Thawne has some big, bad plans in store for us. Unlike the other shows in the Arrowverse, the plans here literally are world changing. We find out what the Legends will be up against for the rest of the season. It is not good for them, but it will be excellent for the viewers. Sara has cemented herself as the leader just in time for Rip to show back up. That should cause some issues to the overarching story. I have been waiting for Rip. Now he is back (sort of).
Negatives
At some point, they team needs to be consistent. Laurel can not be brought back from the dead, but Lily Stein gets to live? Really? There better be a big payoff there. I just do not buy that part of the story. Stein is way too careful to get sucked into this.
This is a show about time travel. At this point, there are so many aberrations that they can not keep up with them. There needs to be some sort of reset button at the end of this season. It is one thing for the Legends to show up and stop some bad guys, in secret, but each week they run into someone really famous and they interact with that person. That is going to catch up to them or Nate’s knowledge of history will be meaningless. Each time they change history by turning to Steel or Firestorm in front of someone who is in the historical record, they change history forever. That needs to be addressed in the second half of the season.
Verdict
This is a funny, well paced, well acted show. I really like it. I am excited to see Rip Hunter back. That will be good. The fact that superpowers and magic were introduced to Al Capone was a bit over the top. Still, things are looking good for the move to Tuesdays in January.
Easter Eggs
The Legion of Doom is coming together. We can only hope for a weird, underwater head in a swamp.
The Spear of Destiny is the endgame here. Yikes. That is not good for the team.
Did we miss any Easter Eggs? Leave a comment below.
