Monday, March 26, 2018

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 16 - I, Ava

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here




Plot

When Ava disappears, Sara and Ray set out to find her and discover a disturbing truth about her. Acting Captain Amaya puts Zari in charge of training Rory in the use of The Fire Totem, as Nate and Wally set out on a mission that goes awry when they pair with the most unlikely ally possibly.


Influences

The film version of I, Robot and the movie Blade Runner 


Goofs

Shouldn't Amaya be more worried about a fight between two totem bearers on-board The Waverider?


Performances

Neal McDonough manages to find just the right mixture of comedy and pathos during Darhk's breakdown.

Maisie Richardson-Sellers doesn't get a lot of screen time in this episode but she sells the hell out of Amay's conflict in the final segment regarding the man she loves, the guilt she feels over Kuasa and all the responsibility that comes with her powers.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The holographic commercial for the Ava Shape clone briefly includes a flash of the phrase "More Human Than Human." This was the motto of The Tyrell Corporation in the movie Blade Runner - the company that manufactured the super-realistic biological androids known as Replicants. The general theme regarding humanity existing within artificially created beings is also taken directly from the movie.

Damian Darhk says that watching the drama between Kuasa and Nate is better than "The Brave and The Bold." The Brave and The Bold, while sounding like the name of a soap opera (Darhk may have meant, The Bold And The Beautiful), is the name of a long-running DC Comics series that saw Batman teaming up with other superheroes. It was also the name of a long-running animated series devoted to Batman teaming with other superheroes.

Sara refers to the Ava clones as "fem-bots." This is a reference to the sexy female android assassins used by Doctor Evil in the first Austin Powers movie.


Technobabble

Ray Palmer is a capable enough hacker to break into The Time Bureau's computer.

Time Couriers keep a log of where they have been.

The Time Bureau has declared certain times and places to be "no fly" zones. Only The Time Bureau Director can sanction travel to one of these places. Time Couriers and The Waverider are programmed not to allow travel to time no-fly zones.  Vancouver in 2213 is one such no-fly zone.

Ava was apparently created from what were believed to be the best genes from around the world to make the perfect woman.

Bylaw 575 prohibits unauthorized personnel from being inside the AVA Corp. labs, The penalty is death.

The Totems allow the bearers to sense when another Totem Bearer has died. In this case, Zari and Rory are able to sense the death of Kuasa.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Gary tells Sara and Ray about Ava's disappearance.)
Gary: I've already been covering for her! I've forged her signature twice! What am I supposed to do next?! Put on a wig and pantsuit and pretend I'm her?!
(Ray gives Gary the biggest side-eye glance ever as he looks to Sara as if to say, "Is he serious?")
Sara: No. Don't do that.

Wally: You're sure you saw Kuasa?
Nate: Yeah. Just be on the lookout for a badass in a leather outfit. Or a suspicious puddle of water.

(Ava's "parents" confess to being paid actors.)
Ray: Why in the world would you ever agree to be part of such a charade?
"Pam Sharpe": Do you know how hard it is to get an acting job in Fresno?!

Nate: I thought you hated Mari?
Kuasa: She's still my sister. And even though I resented her for inheriting The Anansi Totem, I'd still rather see it around her neck than Nora Darhk's.

(Wally asks why he can't just run to where the Darhk' are and swipe The Anansi Totem)
Kuasa: You overplayed your hand. Now they know you have a... whatever you are on the team.
Wally: What I am is the "fastest man alive", thanks.
Nate: Second fastest.
Wally: Shhh! She didn't need to know that.

(Nora has just given Kuasa The Anansi Totem)
Nate: (quietly) The plan worked. Free me.
Kuasa: I once thought that losing this totem was the greatest threat to me and my family.  (looking down at Nate) But you are in love with my Nana Baa, and should she choose to love you in return, me and my sister will never even exist.
Nate: This is not the plan.
Kuasa: Plans change.
Damien Darhk: (whispering) This is better than The Brave and The Bold.
Kuasa: For a PhD, you're remarkably gullible.
Nate:
Oh, Kuasa... you're better than this. Be the woman your grandmother believes you to be!
Kuasa: I am being the woman she knows me to be.

Nate: Your daughter, she looks - um - she look different. No offense.
Damien Darhk: (sighs while picking up a cattle prod) None taken.
(Damien zaps Nate with the prod. Nate howls in pain but Damien pulls the prod away and sighs, clearly not into it.)
Damien Darhk:
Her face...
Nate: (choking) How long has that been a situation?
Damien Darhk: You know what? Since you're going to die, I may as well tell you. The-the closer that Mallus gets to escaping his prison, the worse the situation gets.
(Nate nods, looking up at Damien earnestly.)
Damien Darhk: It's... Don't. Stop looking... don't look at me! I'm just gonna... just gonna...
(Nate keeps looking at Damien and all but gives him puppy dog eyes. Damien sighs in frustration.)
Damien Darhk: I'm sorry!  It's - it's not you! It's- It's me! Torture just doesn't bring me the same joy anymore!
Nate: It's okay! You're distracted! I get it! You made a deal with the devil, and now he's come back to claim your little girl  Am I right?
Damien Darhk: Yes!  I mean, I want to burn the world down and rebuild it in my image! Not lose the person I was doing it for!
Nate: (reassuringly) Damien, this is deep stuff, man. Let's just keep digging, let's just keep digging. Just do me one favor?
Damien Darhk: (half-sobbing) Yes! What?!
Nate: Can you lose the cattle prod? I mean, I'm gonna die anyway. Let's make this a safe space.
Damien Darhk: (nodding as he puts the prod down) Safe space.
Nate: Safe space.
(Damien takes a deep breath to calm himself and smiles.)

Amaya: How can you be so selfish?
Kuasa: You are the selfish one. Our family's destruction looms in 1992. You promised you'd save us. And yet you continuously search for ways to abandon your family and Zambesi.
Amaya: I have done everything in my power to try and redeem you! And in doing so, Mari got hurt. She understands that being a Totem Bearer means protecting all people - not just our own. It's no wonder this totem ended up with Mari and not you. You are beyond redemption.
(Kuasa says nothing but walks away.)

Sara: Ava. You are real. You are as real as I feel about you.
Ava: How can you say that when I'm just like one of those things?
Sara: Because I know you. And I know that you are a badass. And you are different. (pauses) And now that we both know that, I need you to act exactly like one of those clones if we want to get out of here.

Nate: I got Kuasa killed.
Amaya: (shaking her head) I got my granddaughter killed.
Nate: You... how?
Amaya: By goading her to be more like her sister. Kuasa wanted to prove that she was worthy of this. (holds up the Anansi Totem) She died proving that I was wrong about her, by saving the life of aman who threatened her existence.
Nate: Exactly! And if I didn't get captured, then Kuasa-
Amaya: - was doomed either way! I mean, that's how Time works. Well, clearly Time wants my family to suffer.
Nate: Amaya, you have to believe that you are in charge of your own destiny.
Amaya: You know, there are times I wish I'd never set foot on this ship? If I'd never left 1942, I would have returned to Zambesi like I was suppose to. With no idea of the tragedy that awaited me. I would have died an old woman.
Nate: Murdered by warlords. And you and I never would have met. (pauses) Is that what you want, Amaya?
Amaya: I don't know, Nathaniel.
(Amaya takes The Anansi Totem and leaves the library.)


Dialogue Disasters

(Ray, Sara and Gary discover that Vancouver 2213 is full of Ava Shapre clones)
Ray: What kind of world is this?
Gary: Paradise?
Sara: I'm surrounded by my exes, Gary... this is Hell.

Ray: This is the second worst "attack of the clones" I've seen.


Continuity

Sara takes a day off from the team to get her head together after the incident with The Death Totem and her break-up with Ava in 315.

Sara appoints Amaya as acting Captain while she's gone.

Zari doesn't eat pork or bacon and is fasting during the day for Ramadan.

Mick has been "training" himself by using the Fire Totem to grill hot dogs and make popcorn. He has also mastered a trick that requires someone pulling his finger that we do not get to see demonstrated.

Nate and Wally leave for Detroit 2018 to talk to Mari McCabe, who was injured while trying to evacuate an apartment building on fire. Amaya reasons that with Nora Darhk having stolen The Anansi Totem from her, the timeline must be starting to adjust to the fact that it was never there for Amaya to pass on to her daughter, ensuring it eventually went to Mari.

Gary refers to the death of Director Bennett at the hands of Gorilla Grodd in 313.

Ray determines that someone erased Ava Sharpe's employee profile from The Waverider.

Ava's trash can in her office has a birthday card from her parents in Fresno, California in it.

Ava's "parents" are named Pam and Randy Sharpe.

Sara figures out that Ava's parents are fakes based on a photo they say was taken at a slumber party held on Ava's 15th birthday, when Sara recalls Ava telling her in 312 that she spent her 15th birthday playing paintball.

Mick Rory has the eating schedule of a Hobbit, having four lunches.

Kuasa has been watching over Mari ever since Nora Darhk stole The Anansi Totem from Amaya.

Kuasa agrees to help Nate and Wally steal The Anansi Totem back.

Gary Green has astigmatism and was never authorized to fly the Time Bureau mothership.

The Time Bureau's mothership has the ability to travel to temporal No-Fly Zones without the Time Bureau Director's direct approval.

Ava turns out to be a clone created by a company called The Advanced Variant Automation Corporation (AVA Corporation.)

Gary has a fear of things covered in sheets.

Ava does not know about the clones of her in the future and faints when she sees a clone of herself being made.

Kuasa gives Amaya back The Anansi Totem.

Ava called her ex in Las Vegas and created an UpSwipz profile after Sara dumped her. This is where she was when she claimed to be in Fresno visiting her parents.

Mallus is apparently capable of draining The Speed Force from a speedster's body and throwing it back at them as lightning.

Kuasa returns to free Nate during the fight with Nora/Mallus.

Nora kills Kuasa by pulling The Water Totem from her body.

Ray erases Gary's memory of the events of the trip to 2213

Zari admits that part of the reason she keeps to her Muslim upbringing regarding dietary restrictions and fasting during Ramadan and cooking iftar is because it reminds her of her family.

Sara guesses that Rip Hunter was the one responsible for declaring Vancouver 2213 off-limits, hacking Ava Sharpe's personnel records and recruiting the actors who played Ava's parents.

The episode ends with Amaya taking the jump-ship to the M'Changa province of Zambesi in 1992.


Location

Detroit, Michigan - 2018
Time Bureau - Star City - 2018
Fresno, California - 2018
Vancouver, British Columbia - 2213


The Bottom Line

A mixed bag, overall. While the script generally does a good job of balancing all of its subplots, the plain truth is that the Mick/Zari subplot only seems to exist because the writers suddenly decided they needed to be more overt about Zari's religion and needed to give her and Mick something to do while Sara chased after her ex and Nate fell into an obvious trap. Still, the moments that are good are incredibly good but the episode still feels like a bit of filler apart from everything involving Amaya's conflict.

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