Plot
The Loom of Fate is reassembled, but everyone on the team is arguing over who gets to use it first, leaving Charlie to make a big choice. Meanwhile, as Ava and Constantine try to help Sara figure out what's happened to her in the wake of her near-death experience, Mick brings his daughter on-board in a desperate tip to bond with her, while Gary tries to acclimate his new emotional support dog to the ship.
Influences
The twist of this episode is based around the case of serial killer David Richard Berkowitz, aka The Son of Sam. Berkowitz was convicted of eight shootings over the course of one year, resulting in six deaths and seven wounded. Berkowitz blamed the killings on a demon that possessed his neighbor Sam's dog, who told him to kill people He later said that was a lie but did claim to be part of a Satanic cult that plotted the killings in the 1990s. Opinion is still divided as to whether or not Berkowitz ever was a Satan worshiper or a cultist or if he acted alone.
Astra: I'll bet you're the only one on this ship happy to see me.
John: Oh, nonsense. As far as this sorry lot is concerned, as soon as anyone stops trying to murder them on a weekly basis, they're best friends.
Astra is locked in the brig, despite John pointing out that he was with Astra the whole time and that she'd have no idea how to sabotage Gideon.
John uses a tracking spell to try and find the ring thief. It leads him to the room where the wires that disabled the security system were unplugged, as Sara and Ava are trying to fix things.
Location
Gremlins (Gary's joke about buying his pet bunny from a man who told him not to feed it after midnight), The Dead Zone (Sara can see how someone will die by touching theim), the trope of the blind seer, the trope of the blind warrior (ala Daredevil) and the classic "base under siege" trope where the characters are trapped in a base with an unknown enemy among them.
Artistry
The CGI as the Loom of Fate is worked is rather nice.
The CGI for the Hell-Hound is also impressive.
The CGI for the Hell-Hound is also impressive.
Trivia Of Tomorrow
The twist of this episode is based around the case of serial killer David Richard Berkowitz, aka The Son of Sam. Berkowitz was convicted of eight shootings over the course of one year, resulting in six deaths and seven wounded. Berkowitz blamed the killings on a demon that possessed his neighbor Sam's dog, who told him to kill people He later said that was a lie but did claim to be part of a Satanic cult that plotted the killings in the 1990s. Opinion is still divided as to whether or not Berkowitz ever was a Satan worshiper or a cultist or if he acted alone.
In the reality of the Arrowverse, Berkowitz apparently was influenced by a hell-hound that got loose on Earth.
The given name of the hell-hound in this episode is Marchosias. This is the name of an actual demon, who was a Marquis of Hell who commanded 30 legions of lesser demons in some real world Hermetic traditions.. He is described in the Ars Goethia as appearing to be a great wolf with an eagle's wings and a snake's tail.
Technobabble/Arcana
Mick has a key fob that unlocks the Waverider and drops its invisibility shield.
Everyone puts on goggles when Charlie tries to use the Loom of Fate. It's unclear if this is because seeing the Loom used has an effect similar to Atropos' death glare or just because it generates bright light when working.
Everyone puts on goggles when Charlie tries to use the Loom of Fate. It's unclear if this is because seeing the Loom used has an effect similar to Atropos' death glare or just because it generates bright light when working.
The energy burst unleashed by the Loom of Fate misfiring created an anti-chronotomic field. This means that nobody will be able to leave the Waverider via time travel.
Hell-hounds have the ability to command humans verbally. This ability is limited to one target at a time, however, and they seem to prefer targeting lone humans rather than one person in a group, as everyone else will just hear them as a regular dog barking. They can still do this, however, if pressed, as we see when Gary Junior commands Nate to kill Zari and Charlie.
Despite their power, Hell-hounds are like regular dogs in most respects and the ultra-high frequency of a dog whistle seems to disrupt their ability to control people. At the very least, the sound annoys them so much they can't maintain the focus needed to manipulate another person's mind.
Hell-hounds have the power to assume the form of non-threatening dogs. They typically appear to be wreathed in fire and the true form of Gary's hell-hound is a pit bull rather than the small terrier form he appeared as earlier.
Hell-hounds are born of flame and immune to fire damage - even the extreme heat of Mick Rory's heat gun.
In order to banish a demon back to Hell, you need to know their true name.
Dialogue Triumphs
Astra: I'll bet you're the only one on this ship happy to see me.
John: Oh, nonsense. As far as this sorry lot is concerned, as soon as anyone stops trying to murder them on a weekly basis, they're best friends.
(Sara has just revealed her visions of someone stabbing the Legends to death.)
Charlie: It's got to be Astra.
Ava: Charlie. would you stop with the Astra, thing?! She saved our lives in Hell, okay? I'm not going to just assume the worst. What, that she's some manipulative psychopath?
(Zari walks in.)
Zari: Well, she just tried to manipulate me into coming in here and begging Charlie to use the Loom again.
(Zari walks in.)
Zari: Well, she just tried to manipulate me into coming in here and begging Charlie to use the Loom again.
Ava: Okay, well, that's not a crime.
(Gary runs in holding the glass case that held the Loom Rings.)
Gary: Guys! The rings! They're gone! I found this in the trash chute.
Ava: (sighs) Okay. That IS a crime.
Zari: Gidget? Play back internal monitoring of the parlor, please?
(Gary runs in holding the glass case that held the Loom Rings.)
Gary: Guys! The rings! They're gone! I found this in the trash chute.
Ava: (sighs) Okay. That IS a crime.
Zari: Gidget? Play back internal monitoring of the parlor, please?
Gideon: My internal monitoring subsystems. I'm afraid we have a saboteur on-board.
Ava: Okay. Now I'm assuming the worst.
(Lita looks around Mick's treasure vault.)
(Lita looks around Mick's treasure vault.)
Lita: So I really dig the whole Scrooge McDuck aesthetic, but why not put your money in a bank?
Mick: A bank? Too easy to rob.
Mick: A bank? Too easy to rob.
(Ava and Gary are searching for Gary Junior)
Ava: Where the Hell did you get him?
Gary: (hesitantly) I don't want to say.
Gary: (hesitantly) I don't want to say.
Ava: Gary, my girlfriend's gone crazy and I'm looking for a dog to prove it. I'm beyond mad.
Gary: Fine.
Ava: Hmm?
Gary: I rescued him.
Ava: Oh.
Ava: Hmm?
Gary: I rescued him.
Ava: Oh.
Gary: ... from Hell.
Ava: You adopted a hell-hound?!
Gary: Well, when you say it like that...
(John and Sara run from the hell-hound)
Sara: What did you do?!
John: I told it to attack me. But at least I've got you to protect me.
John: I told it to attack me. But at least I've got you to protect me.
Sara: John, I'm blind!
John: But you're not deaf.
(The hell-hound growls as it comes up behind Sara. It snarls menacingly as Sara tilts her head to one side. As the hell-hound charges and leaps to pounce, she shoves John down and does a perfect backwards somersault over him, catching the hell-bound with her foot and sending it flying over her head to the ground.)
Continuity
Mick apologies to Lita for missing her soccer match as he was stuck in Hell. (510)
Mick got permission to take Lita for the weekend and has roller derby tickets. When that doesn't win her over and she says she has a history test to study for, he reveals the Waverider.
Mick says they could use the time machine to see Lita Ford and the Runaways, The Ramons or Black Sabbath play.
Mick says they could use the time machine to see Lita Ford and the Runaways, The Ramons or Black Sabbath play.
Astra is concerned that the rest of the Legends don't accept her. John points out that they recruit a lot of their former enemies and that they'll accept anyone as a friend who goes a week without trying to kill them.
Gary has rescued a dog, Gary Junior, who he has officially licensed as an emotional support animal.
Gary is seeing a therapist.
Gary is seeing a therapist.
Gary Junior is not housebroken (or ship broken) yet.
Sara is still in a coma.
John and Astra want Astra's mother brought back to life first.
Zari and Nate want Behrad brought back first.
Ava wants Sara to be healed first.
Zari and Nate want Behrad brought back first.
Ava wants Sara to be healed first.
Charlie decides to bring Behrad back first.
Charlie notes that the thread of Behrad's life is a tangled mess. She suspects this is due to his time traveling.
The Loom misfires and knocks out all power on the Waverider briefly. Gideon is fine, but the whole ship is running off of back-up power.
Charlie says she's never tried using the Loom of Fate without her sisters. She supposes it may take at least two immortals to use.
Astra says it probably takes three, since Lachesis intended for Astra to replace Charlie once they recovered the Loom of Fate.
Astra says it probably takes three, since Lachesis intended for Astra to replace Charlie once they recovered the Loom of Fate.
Sara wakes up from her coma but is now blind.
Sara has a vision of Ava being dead, apparently stabbed to death, in the fiery wreckage of the Waverider bridge.
Sara denies anything having happened despite Ava noting her reaction. She also refuses to rest since there's nobody left on the team who is as good at repairing the Waverider ad she is (She lists herself behind Jax, Ray, Rip, Professor Stein and Behrad, in that order.)
Sara meets Lita and takes her hand. She sees an image of Lita over Mick's dead body.
Astra goes to Zari and suggests that maybe the problem was Charlie needs to work up to something as complicated as Behrad's life and that maybe it would be easier to just prevent her mother's death with the Loom. The thing is, she doesn't want to suggest it herself, and wonders if Zari might be the one to suggest resurrecting Astra's mother first.
Lita's history test involves comparing and contrasting the American Declaration of Independence and he French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
Mick gets Nate to help Lita study for her test while he takes care of making her favorite snack - Ants on a Log.
When John touch's Sara's chin while looking at her eyes, she has a vision of him lying dead with a knife in his chest.
When John touch's Sara's chin while looking at her eyes, she has a vision of him lying dead with a knife in his chest.
John tells Sara that Astra is on the ship now.
Sara tells John to stay close to Astra.
The food replicator is not working, but the Waverider galley does have some pre-made food, which Mick tries to use to make Ants On A Log himself.
Gary sees something strange in one of the garbage disposal chutes as he is taking care of Gary Junior's leavings.
Charlie knows that Sara is hiding something, but doesn't know the details.
Sara finally admits that she's seeing people stabbed to death whenever she touches someone.
Zari tells everyone about Astra trying to manipulate her.
Gary reveals that someone stole the Loom Rings and threw away the case holding them.
Someone also sabotaged Gideon's internal cameras
Gary reveals that someone stole the Loom Rings and threw away the case holding them.
Someone also sabotaged Gideon's internal cameras
Astra is locked in the brig, despite John pointing out that he was with Astra the whole time and that she'd have no idea how to sabotage Gideon.
Lita marched in an anti-gun rally.
Mick is revealed to be financing the Legends through his thefts.
Mick is revealed to be financing the Legends through his thefts.
John uses a tracking spell to try and find the ring thief. It leads him to the room where the wires that disabled the security system were unplugged, as Sara and Ava are trying to fix things.
Sara touches John's hand. This time she sees his killer reflected in the knife blade... and it is Sara.
Sara asks Ava and John to lock her up in the medical bay and not let her out, no matter what.
Mick has a sealed room in the Waverider that holds all of his wealth.
Part of Mick's collection includes Marie Antoinette's coin purse.
Part of Mick's collection includes Marie Antoinette's coin purse.
Lita suggests Mick investing his wealth when the New York Stock Exchange first opened, buying Manhattan in the 1500s, inventing BitCoin and other ways they might be able to use his stealing to become truly rich.
Zari hacks the back-up feed of the Waverider security camera. This reveals Charlie stealing the Loom rings and flushing them down the toilet of the one bathroom of the Waverider, Zari disabling the security system and Nate disabling the food replicator.
Gary goes into the medbay and gives Gary Junior to Sara, thinking she needs the company more than he does right now.
As Sara touches Gary Junior, she hears him talking to her in English, commanding her to kill Gary and she does so, snapping his neck. This is quickly revealed to be a vision of the future.
Sara tells Ava and John about Gary Junior being a demon of some kind. They are skeptical, but Ava agrees to search for Gary Junior (who ran off after Sara scared him) with Gary while John stays with Sara.
Zari, Nate and Charlie look at the security footage and realize Gary Junior was barking at them when they were doing all the things they don't remember doing.
Ava identifies Gary Junior as the Son of Sam's dog, recalling an episode of StabCast she did on the Son of Sam killings.
Gary Junior tries to mind control Nate into killing Zari and Charlie. He is thwarted when Gary uses his dog whistle.
Gary, Nate, Ava, Astra, Zari and Charlie take shelter inside the brig to get away from Gary Junior.
John has encountered hell-hounds before and recognizes what Gary Junior is when he sees him in his true form.
Ava opens the brig only for Astra to lock everyone in an even tighter cell.
Lita locks herself in the library as the hell-hound starts traveling through the vents.
Lita locks herself in the library as the hell-hound starts traveling through the vents.
Sara gets the idea to use her visions to search the ship to find where Gary Junior kills someone next and head him off. This causes her to see the hell-hound killing Mick in the library.
Marchosias is the true name of the hell-hound. Astra gives this information to John, which he uses to banish it to Hell.
Gary is forced to decontaminate the Waverider's septic tank and search for the rings as punishment for bringing a hell-hound on board the ship.
Gary adopts a new emotional support animal - a bunny he named Gary Junior II. He says he got him from a mysterious carnie who told him to never feed him past midnight. It's unclear if he's joking or not.
Mick writes out a speech about what he was trying to tell Lita but she get it; he doesn't want her to suffer the same ways he did by becoming a criminal, even if he is good at it.
Lita calls Mick "Dad" for the first time.
Zari tries to befriend Astra. Astra blows her off but tells her she gets points for trying.
Gideon runs a full diagnostic on Sara and doesn't find any abnormalities in her eyes. She says there's nothing she can do to return Sara' s sight.
Location
Central City - 2020
The Bottom Line
Get past the conceit that even Gary is as stupid as depicted here and this is an uproariously funny filler episode which also does a fair job of setting up Sara's new superpower and introducing Astra to the team.
No comments:
Post a Comment