The Flash Episode Guide: Season 8, Episode 1 - Armageddon, Part 1

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

Plot

When a powerful alien arrives on Earth with dire warnings of the future, Barry Allen and the rest of Team Flash will find themselves tested as never before and call upon the help of their friends to save the world from Armageddon.

Influences

The Armageddon 2001 storyline.

Performances

Tony Curran gives a solid performance as Despero.

It's always good to see Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer. 


Artistry

The CGI for this episode is fantastic, from the effects for Despero's alien form to the CGI for the action scenes.

Flash Facts

The Armageddon event is loosely based on the 1991 comic book mini-series Armageddon 2001. The storyline introduced a new hero called Waverider, who traveled back in time from the year 2001 to stop one of Earth's greatest heroes from becoming a mysterious tyrant called Monarch. 

The Arrowverse Armageddon event uses Despero in place of Waverider and The Flash in place of Hawk (of Hawk and Dove) who was revealed to be the future Monarch.

Caitlin says that Barry can run at 4000 MPH. This seems to be seriously low-balling his top speed given some of his feats on the show, but may represent his usual cruising speed.

This episode introduces a new version of the Royal Flush Gang, who were reportedly the first metahuman criminals to appear in Central City following the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion in the new timeline of Earth-Prime. They are not affiliated with the family of bank robbers from A106 or the gang of motorcycle-riding thieves from 111.

In the comics, the Royal Flush Gang name has been used by various criminals who have fought the Justice League, first appearing in Justice League of America #43. Different incarnations of the team have been led by Amos Fortune, Hector Hammond and The Joker in various comics and cartoons. Some of the members have been metahumans or armed themselves with playing-card themed weapons. One incarnation was made up of multiple "packs" with 52 members per pack. Usually, however, the gang is limited to five members, who take on the aliases Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace.

The new Arrowverse Royal Flush Gang is made up of four metahumans. Ten appears to have enhanced agility and is an acrobatic fighter. Jack has laser vision. Queen is a telepath with mild precognitive abilities who can predict what the people around her will do. King has superhuman strength.

The article about the Royal Flush Gang's first robbery from Barry's flashback was written by Mason Bridge - the reporter whose investigation into the Reverse Flash got him killed in 116.

Chester mentions that Magnus Labs has a Saturn simulator at their booth at CCTC. In the comics, Magnus Labs' founder, Dr. Will Magnus, was responsible for creating the superheroes the Metal Men.

A number of familiar names appear on the banner of sponsors for CCTC. These include Star Labs, Ivo Labs (creators of the Amazo robot from 509), Tannhauser Industries (the company run by Caitlin and Frost's mother), Opal Thermo Labs (presumably based in Opal City), and Stagg Industries (referenced in 102)

Despero first appeared in Justice League of America #1 in October 1960 and was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky. Born on the planet Kalanor, which he ruled as a tyrant, Despero fought the Justice League after rebels from his planet made contact with the heroes and begged for their help. Possessing a powerful intellect as well as psychic powers and an enhanced physiology, Despero became one of the Justice League's greatest enemies.

The Arrowverse version of Despero looks like his comic book counterpart, but he takes on the form of a human for some unknown reason. He also claims to be from Earth originally. He shows the enhanced strength, vitality and telepathic powers he had in the comics and is capable of creating complex illusions.

When Ray goes to change into his Atom suit, he rips open his button-up shirt. This is a visual tribute to Superman, whom Brandon Routh played in the movie Superman Returns and in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

When Ray shrinks himself and Barry to go through the car Despero throws at them, Barry feels nauseous and says now he knows how Diggle feels. This is in reference to a running gag that John Diggle always threw up whenever he was moved at superspeed during his encounters with Barry.


Technobabble

Chester says he's been a fan of Ray Palmer since reading his papers on quantum qubits. 

Kristen Kramer says that her mimic powers only activate in times of stress when her adrenaline spikes and the effects are only temporary.

Barry determines that the char marks on the guards' weapons at the Mercury Labs heist match the marks on a piece of metal found at the train collision. This proves that Jack from the Royal Flush Gang was involved in causing the train collision. The burns were consistent with a pinpoint laser strike.

A beryllium-based detonation would level everything in a 10 mile radius. 

Chester uses some kind of scanner to determine that Despero is incredibly powerful and possesses advanced technology.


Dialogue Triumphs

Despero: (voice-over) Look at them - praying for a miracle that isn't coming. Who knows, maybe it's my curse to leave one betrayal behind, only to find a greater one here amongst the stars? They could've stopped this, but none of them had the strength to do what must be done... but I do.

(Caitlin and the other patrons of CC Jitters are watching the news in rapt attention.)
Reporter: Ladies and gentlemen, authorities are now confirming that despite a massive explosion, caused by today's railway accident, no lives were lost during this horrific event. It appears our city has the Flash to thank once more.
(There is a subtle flash of light and rush of wind. Suddenly Barry is sitting across from Caitlin. Nobody else has noticed his sudden arrival.)
Caitlin: That was amazing. You got everyone to safety in what, 20 seconds? 

Barry: (smiling modestly) 12, actually. Try your coffee.
(Caitlin sips her coffee. It has the oat milk she requested before Barry left)
Caitlin: Wow, you have seriously leveled up.

Iris: (looking at all of Ray Palmer's luggage) I thought he could shrink things?

(The Flash hurriedly runs Jared Heywood out of the warehouse where the Royal Flush Gang is about to kill him and runs back in.)
The Flash: It's over, people. Haywood's back in Iron Heights. Who wants to go next?
Queen: Ah, usually, I know when to fold them.
(The Royal Flush Gang begin to surround The Flash.)
Queen: You know 50 million... it's a lot to leave on the virtual table.
King: And since my Queen is a psychic who knows everything you're going to do before you do it... go ahead, Flash. We call.
Queen: Four to one, I like these odds. Go ahead, Flash-y, pick a card, any card. 

Queen: (thinking to the others) Execute a full house maneuver, all of you, now. 

(King grabs Ten and throws her at The Flash, as Jack's eyes begin to glow red. The Flash begins to move as the camera shifts to his perspective and we see Ten hanging in midair.  The Flash turns her so she's now facing King and then runs over to Jack, turning his head so that he's looking at King and Ten. Time shifts back to normal as Ten tackles King and Jack's laser vision hits them both. The Flash is now standing behind Jack.)

The Flash: Hey, bud.
(The Flash one-punches Jack and runs for the Queen. When she blinks, she is wearing power-dampening handcuffs, as are the rest of the gang.)
Queen: What? This is impossible. I read your mind. I saw what you were planning, and then I trumped your hand by going all in. How did you...?

The Flash: You can read minds. I can think at super speed. 

Queen: Your thoughts... after I read them, you reshuffled the deck! 

The Flash: I guess the house doesn't always win.

(Ray explains why Chester acted so strange around him.)
Ray: Chester surprised me earlier with a pitch fest to mentor aspiring scientists in the intention of forming a startup with one of them.
Barry: That sounds great.
Ray: And it would've been before, but I... I've grown a lot the last few months.
Barry: So you don't miss any of this?
Ray: I'm still a scientist, Barry. (chuckles) But, you know, if I start another big tech company, next thing I know, I get lost in all this again. This is all so intoxicating, and I... I don't want to fall back into the trap.
Barry: I get that, but, I mean, I'm not the same that I was the first time I put on the cowl either. You know I'm faster, more confident, more at ease with myself.
Ray: Yeah, you've grown too.
Barry: Yeah but one of the ways that's happened is learning to take time out to help Team Flash grow, too. Yeah, I've learned just as much from them as they've learned from me. It's like being a CSI, every day I work with all my fellow officers in all departments.
Ray: I mean, I do miss scientific collaboration. Just like I told Chester, I'm not a Legend anymore, and, uh, I don't have the CCPD.
Barry: So what? You're Ray Palmer, legacy honoree. If you want something that doesn't exist, invent it. 

(Chester consults some exotic device as The Flash fights Despero.)
Chester: Oh, I'm picking up some seriously advanced tech readings.
Iris: You just had that thing in your back pocket? 

Chester: Oh, no. I just picked it up from right there.
(Chester gestures to a booth where several of the scanners are set up for attendees to try out.)

Despero: Prepare to die, Flash.
The Flash: Every life ends sooner or later.
Despero: Wise words from a dead man.
The Flash: Despero, I'm not gonna fight you again.
Despero: Really? I'm disappointed. Striking down a defenseless foe? Well, there's no pleasure in that.
The Flash: So you enjoy killing?
Despero: Twist my words at you own risk.
The Flash: You wanted to kill me. I'm not running anywhere.
Despero: Then neither am I. In another time, on another world, we could've fought side by side, you and I. There's great strength in you, Flash, but I've seen your future. The lives you take, the betrayals you revel in. You're the most dangerous kind of killer because you hide in the body of a hero.
The Flash: I'm not a killer. I'm not whatever you think I am. I can prove it if you let me show you the truth. Or you can take an innocent life just to prove you're right.
Despero: You're either very stupid or very brave. I can't decide which.
The Flash: Well, find out. Scan my mind. See for yourself, then decide.
(Despero scans Barry's mind. He looks stunned at what he sees.)
Despero: I see no deception in your mind. But I do see truth. And honor. Flash, you're asking me to risk allowing the future I've already witnessed to unfold. I'm sorry. But there's too many lives at stake. Don't you see? This is why I came back. This is the purpose I swore to uphold.
The Flash: What if you're wrong about me? I've spent my entire life protecting this world. All I'm asking for is a chance to prove I'd never turn my back on it.
Despero: Why should I believe you?
(The Flash removes his mask.)
Barry: Because my name's Barry Allen, and I've nothing to hide.
Despero: Your boldness impresses me, Flash... and it's earned you a stay of execution. You now have seven Earth days to prove that you won't become the monster I've already witnessed in the future. If you can't convince me in that time, or if I find any trace of a darker nature, I will end your existence.


Continuity

This episode is presumed to take place in late 2021, six months after the events of 718. This is based on Allegra's comments regarding the last six months being intense and Caitlin saying Frost spent all summer and fall being angry at Chillblaine.

Barry and Caitlin meet for coffee to catch up on things.

Frost is on a two-week vacation and is still trying to get over Chillblaine, despite Caitlin insisting he's a bad guy who won't ever change.

Caitlin notes it has been seven years since Ronnie Raymond's death and she's ready to try dating again.

Caitlin takes oat milk with her coffee.

Barry is able to evacuate two trains in 12 seconds, 50 miles south of Keystone City, after getting a text alert while having coffee with Caitlin in Central City.

The Central City Citizen has officially become Central City Citizen Media and taken over an entire office building, which Sue Dearbon bought them. It is mentioned that they now have a full staff of three reporters (apart from Iris and Allegra), an IT intern and an office manager, which may explain a seeming plothole from S608 where CCC Media was identified as the #4 news outlet in the country by Andrea Rojas.

Iris interviews Kristen Kramer, who is still a Captain in the CCPD and is now an openly recognized metahuman.

Iris now runs a regular podcast called Citizentopia.

Sometime in the past six months, Kramer has disbanded the CCPD Metahuman Task Force, saying she felt it was unfairly targeting a marginalized group since most metahumans are not criminals.

Iris promotes Allegra to Supervising Editor of CCC Media. This puts her in charge of deciding what stories to cover, assigning jobs to the reporters and pre-editing the copy. Allegra protests that the new reporters are far more qualified for this work than she is, but Iris says Allegra knows the city and what the people need more.

One of the new reporters, Vanya, has 10 years of experience as a news reporter.

Another new reporter, Taylor, graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College.

The third new reporter, Aariz, was a war correspondent in Beirut. He is the same age as Iris.

Barry gets dinner from his and Iris' favorite pizza place in Milan.

Iris is still getting temporal sickness stabilization treatments from Deon.

Bart and Nora are apparently still coming back in time to visit them. However, Iris and Barry have both been so busy they haven't had time to think about actually conceiving the children they have in the future.

Ray Palmer is seen for the first time since L508.

Barry apparently gave Ray an open invitation to use their guest room anytime he needed a place to stay while in Central City.

Ray is in town for the Central City Tech Convention, where he's one of the guests of honor. Unfortunately, the hotel was overbooked, leaving him in need of a place to stay.

Barry and Iris are aware of Nora Darhk's work as a fairy godmother and ask about her. Ray says that she's busy and couldn't join him on this trip.

The Royal Flush Gang steal a microchip from Mercury Labs.

Ray says that he doesn't talk to Sara Lance or the other Legends of Tomorrow much anymore

Ray says he still met with Nate Heywood for drinks once a month, but that he hadn't heard from him in a while. This seems to be a reference to the events of Legends of Tomorrow Season 7, where the Legends became trapped in 1925 for a while.

Ray says leaving the Legends was hard, but he and Nora are closer than ever and he's been able to get back into pure scientific research, which he couldn't do as The Atom.

Chester is a Ray Palmer fanboy and was assigned to be his handler at CCTC, where he's a volunteer.

Iris plans to interview Ray at the convention at 4 PM that afternoon.

Barry never encountered the Royal Flush Gang before, as he was still in a coma at the time of their first heist in Central City. After that they moved on and hit casinos around the country. 

Barry notes that stealing a microchip doesn't fit the Royal Flush Gang's usual style as they rob casinos for cash and have never been noted tech thieves. 

Allegra wants to cover the Mercury Labs robbery, but the writers dismiss her orders since high-tech thefts where nobody dies aren't big news in Central City unless the Flash is involved.

The writers instead go off to work on investigating corruption in the mayor's office, a 1000 word article on the Central City Shark's new general manager and a follow-up piece on the train collision and the budget crisis that resulted from the train repairs.

Barry determines that the Royal Flush Gang caused the train derailment to cover the theft of a beryllium core power source.

Iron Heights lost power for three seconds, during which all the cell locks opened, leading to the release of 1000 inmates.

Barry is able to secure all the inmates he found outside of their cells and determines that the Royal Flush Gang was responsible for the attempted prison break.

Chester sets up a meet and greet for Ray and a dozen CCTC tech entrepreneurial hopefuls so they can try and sell him on their start-up ideas around 2:30 pm.

Ray tells Chester, tensely, that he doesn't want to start another tech business and hasn't worn his Atom suit in ages. He says he's happy focusing on his wife and his research.

Chester is crushed but says he understands. 

CCTC has been running for five years. It has a number of afterparties, one of which involves filk.

Allegra tracks down Iris at the convention and tells her she blew her first staff meeting.

Iris says she believes in Allegra and makes reference to when she gained greater control of her powers.

Barry figures out that one inmate escaped from Iron Heights - a computer hacker named Jared Haywood.

Chester says there are so many applications for the stolen chip its hard for him to begin to guess what the Royal Flush Gang is planning.

Chester says that he is dead to Ray after the fiasco with the event earlier and then immediately apologies to Cecile. This suggests that something is wrong with Joe West, who does not appear in this episode.

CCTC is paying their volunteers in cryptocurrency this year.

Barry asks Chester to see if any of the casinos in Star City take crypto currency. It turns out they all do and there's 50 million in their digital coffers.

Inspired, Barry asks Chester what it would take to rob a casino virtually. Chester says it would take a computer with a next-generation microchip, a massive power source and an expert in cyber espionage. 

Chester starts monitoring the casinos, waiting for the hack to start and traces it to the Royal Flush Gang's hideout.

The Flash easily takes out the Royal Flush gang, as his ability to think fast works faster than the Queen's telepathy.

Chester is still hosting his science podcast and does a livestream from the floor of CCTC.

Barry has never attended CCTC before.

Chester mentions that Magnus Labs has a Saturn simulator.

Ray meets up with Barry and Chester on the convention floor but Chester runs off before Ray can talk to him about what happened before.

Ray admits to Barry that he does miss scientific collaboration, but fears getting caught up in who he was and not who he is now. Barry suggests he might make something that suits his needs if it doesn't already exist.

Allegra lays down the law with the other reporters and makes it clear CCC media is about giving the people a voice - not just providing bare facts.

During his interview with Iris, Ray says he isn't sure what he's doing with his future but he hopes to figure it out in the next year.

After Ray's interview, Despero appears on the mainstage of CCTC and demands The Flash face him after telepathically forcing the audience to run away and clear the area.

Despero is able to survive in a vacuum and shrugs off Barry's attempt to rob him of breathable air.

Ray puts on his Atom costume to help Barry fight Despero.

Barry becomes nauseous after Ray shrinks him and comments that he now knows how Diggle feels.

Barry asks why Despero wants to kill him. Despero obligingly shows him visions of the future and how Barry is destined to become evil or mad and destroy the Earth.

Ray defeats Despero by shrinking down and activating his teleportation belt, but he has no idea where he sent him.

Caitlin says she gave Barry a full physical and he's physically and mentally healthy.

Cecile uses her powers to determine that the visions Barry saw are real, insofar as Despero really did see those events occur and believed The Flash was responsible. 

Knowing Despero is an alien, the team decide to call Alex Danvers to see if they can figure out what kind of alien he is and if his species has any special weaknesses. 

Allegra edits Iris' story about the battle with Despero and says she feels more confident in her new role.

Ray offers to stay in Central City until the Despero issue is addressed but Barry says they have it under control.

Ray tells Chester he plans to establish a non-profit organization to fund young scientists and asks if he can name it the Quincy P. Runk Foundation after Chester's father. Chester agrees.

Ray suggests that Barry should show Despero who he is and convince him there's no way he could become a villain.

Barry reveals his secret identity to Despero and offers to let him look through his memories and confirm he isn't planning to become a threat to the world.

Despero agrees to give Barry seven days to prove that he won't become the monster he saw in the future.


Location

Central City - 2031
The Calvert railway, on a section of train-track 50 miles south of Keystone City.
Iron Heights Prison


Untelevised Adventures

Despero speaks of the future of 2031 and how The Flash becomes a great menace that threatens the Earth.


The Bottom Line

A welcome return to form on every level. If this is a taste of what is to come, Armageddon may be the best crossover event the Arrowverse has seen and The Flash season 8 will be as good as its first.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 13 - No Country for Old Dads

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




Plot

When Ray's efforts at showing mercy to Nora Darhk end in his capture, he is put to work helping repair the broken Fire Totem. The two of them wind up traveling to 1960's East Germany, where the search for a scientist who discovered the secret of cold fusion leads them into an encounter with a younger version of Damien Darhk.


Influences

No Country For Old Men (the title of the episode, the general aesthetic, the hairstyle of a young Damien Darhk is modeled on Javier Bardem's haircut in the movie)


Goofs

It's a little hard to believe that Wally never saw a picture of Nate and Amaya or learned the name of the "basic bitch" that broke his friend's heart given how close he and Nate apparently were.

How could the Damien Darhk of 1962 be unaware of magic existing given that he was almost 200 years old at that point and using The Lazarus Pit of The League of Assassins? (Technically, The Pit in the comics was powered by alchemy - not magic. Also, Darhk's surprise at his older self's use of magic may be because he is aware of magic's existence but never had encountered it in person before 1962.)


Performances

While the novelty of Damien Darhk's character wore off for me about halfway through Season Four of Arrow, I'm still amused by Neal McDonough's nonchalant yawning as he's telekinetically throwing Alan around. And his telling dad jokes. I can't explain why beyond the fact that the tone of it works so much better on Legends than it did on Arrow.

The chemistry between Brandon Routh and Neal McDonough is fantastic.


Artistry

The transitions, camerawork and witty script do a perfect job of emulating a Coen brothers movie.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The one match that Damien Darhk keeps getting on his Upswipez Profile is a red-haired woman named Carrie C. This is Carrie Cutter a.k.a. Cupid - the obsessive Arrow fangirl, who was later recruited for Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. She was last seen in A514, teaming with Liza Warner and China White.


Technobabble

Cold fusion is a theoretical form of nuclear reaction that could take place at lower temperatures and levels of pressure than the standard hot fusion, which occurs naturally within stars. The term is a bit of a misnomer, however, as the only thing cold about cold fusion is that it takes place at a relatively much lower temperature than hot fusion and it is more properly called a "low energy nuclear reaction."

The Zambesi Totems can only be wielded by a person with a selfless reason for doing so. This is limited, however, in that an evil person can still use the totems if they have a good reason for needing the power. This is apparent as Kuasa was able to use the totems in the past, despite her own lust for power, as she was seeking justice for her murdered people. Likewise, Nora Darhk is able to use The Spirit Totem in order to save her father from his past self.

The bond between the Zambesi Totems and their current bearer is strong enough that, even across time itself, the Totems will refuse to work for someone wearing the Totem if the do not have the proper mindset to wield their power. This is why Nora Darhk is not able to tap the power of The Spirit Totem - it's bond with Amaya is too great and she only sees the Totem as a means of gaining power.

Despite this, the bond between the current bearer and their Totem is finite and the longer the Totem is in the possession of an evil being, the more corrupt it becomes. This corruption is reflected in The Zambesi Ancestral Plane, which goes from a beautiful jungle to a cold, dark hellscape the longer Nora Darhk possesses The Spirit Totem. It transforms completely into a dark place once Nora activates The Spirit Totem.

The Totems cannot be destroyed. Even the fragments have power.

Amaya is able to communicate with the Ancestral Plane and learn the location of The Spirit Totem by meditating, using Zari and The Air Totem as an anchor.

According to Ray, only cold fusion or the energy released by The Big Bang could generate the energy needed to reignite The Fire Totem.

Damien and Nora use magic devices called Time Stones to travel in time.

The ATOM suit has a voice-activation mode keyed to Ray Palmer's voice.


Dialogue Triumphs

(As they are watching the message that Ray left for them about how he's been kidnapped.)
Zari: Hey. When we see him, do we tell him we didn't even notice he was gone?
Sara: Yeah. Definitely not.

(Ray puts down his phone and turns to Damien Darhk, Nora Darhk and Kuasa. Kuasa is holding an electric cattle prod.)
Ray: Okay. I've done as you ask. So, no more torture today, right?
Damien Darhk: (laughing)  I really don't think you understand how this "torture" thing works.
(Kuasa slowly moves towards Ray with the prod raised.)

(Nate and Mick enter the bridge. They're both wearing tie-dyed shirts.)
Sara: Any sign of Ray?
Nate: Oh, no. Just another Grateful Dead end. (grins to Wally) I for sure got a contact high.
Mick: Yeah. And I managed to swipe Jerry Garcia's glasses.
(Mick holds up a pair of round-rimmed glasses with green-tinted lenses and puts them on. Wally is suddenly running across the room and back, taking them.)
Wally: One a thief. Always a thief.
(Nate clears his throat)
Nate: No, uh - we, we allow light to moderate theft on this ship. We like to call it souvenirs.
(Wally winces as Mick gives him a death glare.  He holds up the glasses apologetically and looks to Nate.)
Nate: It's ok. It's ok.
(Wally cautiously walks back over to Mick, who continues to glare at him, even as Wally places the glasses in his hand.) 

(Nora, Damien and Ray are confronted by Ray's old boss, Alan.)
Damien Darhk: Oh! You're the up-and-down guy? Me? I prefer side-to-side.
(Damien waves a finger and begins telekinetically throwing Alan against the walls, side to side.)
Alan: Our focus groups found up and down was more intuitive!
(Alan is thrown to the floor and then up against the ceiling. Then to the floor and the ceiling again.)
Damien Darhk: (grinning to Ray) You know, he might be right.
Alan: (in pain) We think it shifts the paradigm.
(Damien continues to amuse himself throwing Alan from the floor to the ceiling and vice versa. Ray winces as Nora hands him the broken pieces of the Fire Totem.) 
Nora: You have your lab. Now get to work. Nerd.
(Ray moves to a work station as Damien yawns, still raising and lowering his hand as we hear Alan's moans of pain.)

Damien Darhk: (looking at his phone) Sweetie, do you think it's too early for me to... you know... get back out there? I mean, how long should I mourn your mother?
Nora: (tired) It's been 23 years on my end, Dad. I say go for it.
Damien Darhk: Thank you. (looking back at his phone) Trouble is, I haven't had a single match yet. I think this thing is broken.
Alan: If I may?
(Damien and Nora look up. Alan is still pinned to the ceiling.)
Alan: You might have more luck if you talk about your hobbies...
Damien Darhk: I just said that I enjoy destroying the world to remake it in my image! Oh! And I like trying new restaurants! (starts typing onto his phone)
Alan: Also, your profile says you're 199 years old.
Damien Darhk: Yeah - it, it wouldn't go any higher? Can you fix that?
Alan: Well, everybody lies about their age, brah.
Nora: (annoyed) Can you please stop fooling around?!
Damien Darhk: Nora-doll, what's the point of living if you can't have a bit of fun?
Nora: Well, I'm not enjoying myself. I'm annoyed.
Damien Darhk: Hi Annoyed. I'm Dad! (laughs)

Damien Darhk: Well, I guess I'm off to East Berlin to stop myself from killing Vogal. Should be fun. (To Nora) You watch the prisoner, and I'll bring you back some chocolate. Oh, who am I kidding?! I'm probably going to get a hat for myself too.

(Wally has prepared a dimly lit room with incense and peaceful music for Zari and Amaya.)
Amaya: Thank you for helping us.
Wally: (shrugs) Yeah.
Amaya: So how do you know Nathaniel?
Wally: I was kind of like his wingman back in Central City. Just helped him get over a broken heart, actually,  because this basic bitch just dumped him on his birthday. (laughs) Can you believe that?!
Amaya: (cooly) Yeah... 'cause I was actually that basic bitch.
Zari: (dryly) Great vibe, Wally. I think we can take it from here.
Wally: (chuckling nervously) Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna go.
(Wally runs from the room at super speed.)

Ray: Torture is not the answer!
Nora: Yeah, but it's fun either way.

Ray: It's high time you showed your dad what's really inside you... besides a demon.

Damien Darhk: Don't you know that I've only ever had your best interests at heart?
Nora: Was it in my best interests or yours when you pushed a scared little girl into the arms of a demon?
Damien Darhk: Yeah! To bring us back together!
Nora: To bring you back to life!
Damien Darhk: What has gotten into you?! I sent you off on one lousy mission by yourself, and suddenly the -
(Damien stops and looks at Ray)
Damien Darhk: Ohhhhhhh. Of course. I should have known that Ray Palmer would be a good influence on you.
Ray Palmer: Perhaps I should give you two some priva-
(Ray is cut off as Damien begins to strangle him with one hand telekinetically.) 
Nora: You know what? I thought I raised my father from the dead but instead I see I just got a selfish man-child!
Damien Darhk: Man-child? Man-child?! Why don't you run along to your little hellscape and boo-hoo to Mallus? Because now that you're a demon's mouth-piece, it's obvious you don't need me!
(Nora just stares at him and storms off.)
Damien: Nora! I... Nora!
Nora: Leave me alone, Dad!
Ray: (choking) No, that's good! Just - just keep talking!
(Close-up on Damien as he makes his now familiar annoyed grunting noise and waves his hand as we hear Ray crash into the wall.)

Ray: If you really care that much about Nora, then maybe you shouldn't let her be a conduit for a primordial evil?
Damien Darhk: I admit, this isn't the life I wanted for her. World domination was supposed to be my gift to her - not her career path!
Ray: Then maybe you should tell her how you feel? She's under a lot of pressure, you know? And it's all to impress you.
Damien Darhk: Me?! I'm so proud of Nora. Obviously she knows that!
Ray: (incredulous) She only knows what you say to her, Damien! (pauses) Can I call you, Damien?
(Damien growls in annoyance and raises his hand to strangle Ray again when the phone rings.)

Nora: Give me the doll.
Ray: I'm sorry, Nora. I can't do that.
(Ray powers on his blaster.)
Nora: C'mon. You and I both know you're not going to shoot me.
(Ray stares her down... and then fires his blaster at The Berlin Wall in the distance, blowing up a small portion of it.)
Ray: You're right.
(Cut To: The Waverider Bridge. Sara and Rip grab at a console for support as Wally and Nate run in.)
Wally: What was that?!
Sara: It's a time-quake! Gideon, what's the source?
Gideon: An aberration has occurred in 1962. It appears that someone has blasted a hole in the Berlin Wall.
Sara: Ray!
Rip: (looking out the front window of The Waverider) Which appears to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
(The rest of them follow Rip's eye-line, seeing a crack forming among the rolling green waves that normally make-up the Time Stream) 
Wally: I'm guessing that's bad?
Rip: Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Those are tears in the fabric of time itself.
Sara: Gideon, plot a course for East Berlin - 1962.
(Sara turns to Wally.)
Sara: Allright, Kid. You're up. Let's see how fast you really are.
(Wally slowly smiles.)

Director Bennett: Make it fast, Agent Sharpe, because I have to stop Alexander Hamilton from seeing Hamilton: The Musical.
Ava Sharpe: How is it possible that everyone got tickets to that but me?

(Sara, Rip and Ava have just seen Director Bennett killed by Gorilla Grodd on a video link.)
Ava: Oh my God.
Rip: It's... Grodd, actually.
Sara: Ava, I'm so sorry. He was a good man. (pauses) I think.
Rip: Yes. Most unfortunate. (quickly) I believe that this tragedy makes you the highest ranking official at the Bureau. (pauses, looking up at a still stunned Ava) May I return to work... Director Sharpe?
Ava: (still in shock) Uhh.. yes.


Continuity

Ava Sharpe stayed the night with Sara on board The Waverider.

Zari wanted to go see the Mt. Saint Helens eruption in 1980, for some reason.

Ray loves doing dirty dishes.

Ray puts grass-fed butter and MCT oil in his coffee. He believes it has neurological benefits.

As Kuasa notes, she was killed by The Fire Totem.

Ray likes runny, poached eggs.

Sara remembers Wally from Barry and Iris' wedding in S308.

Rip Hunter had not heard about the events of Crisis on Earth X.

Damien Darhk does not like The Grateful Dead or jam bands in general.

Alan, Ray's annoying manager from Upwipz in 301, makes an appearance. He confirms that Ray officially quit his job.

The adult Nora Darhk is confirmed to be from 2039, saying that it's been 23 years, from her perspective, since her mother died. (This occurred in Star City - 2016, in A422.)

Damien Darhk kills Alan.

According to Damien Darhk, Cold Fusion was invented by an East German scientist named Bernhard Vogal in 1962. He knows because he was contracted to kill him.

Wally West knows a fair bit about meditation thanks to his travels in China.

Apparently, despite becoming good friends with Nate in 2017 Central City, Wally never found out the name of the woman who broke Nate's heart or saw a picture of her, as he doesn't know Amaya was the "basic bitch" who dumped Nate on his birthday.

Wally refers to the events of 301 and Amaya dumping Nate.

Sara has a picture of Damien Darhk that she uses as a target for knife throwing. She finally destroys the picture as Ava reports her failure to find Ray.

The Ancestral Plane of Zambesi - seen in 303 - has become dark and cold, resembling Mallus' realm with more vegetation. The Ancestral Spirit Amaya spoke with says that the longer an evil person possesses a Totem, the more it is corrupted.

The Ancestral Spirit says that retrieving The Spirit Totem is not enough - Amaya must win Kuasa's help as well. The spirit says that she and Amaya will both need each other shortly.

The Ancestral Spirit explains that the original Totem Bearers worked together to trap a great evil - Mallus.

The Ancestral Plane exists outside of time. As such, Mallus can influence it, since time itself is his prison. His name should not be said in The Ancestral Plane as he can sense it

The more time is broken, the weaker Mallus' prison becomes. This is the reason why Darhk and his allies are creating anachronisms - to free Mallus.

The Damien Darhk of 1962 was unaware that magic existed or had never seen it up close.

Nora is able to activate the Spirit Totem in order to use its power to fly so that she can save her father. This turns the Ancestral Realm completely dark.

Damien Darhk is 257 years old.

The older Damien Darhk kills Bernhard Vogal in order to keep his perfect record.

Ray's use of The ATOM Suit to blast a hole in the Berlin Wall proves to be the straw that broke the camel's back, starting a time quake that begins to crack the fabric of time itself.

Wally steals the pieces of the Fire Totem from Damien Darhk's pocket.

Director Bennett of the Time Bureau is killed by Gorilla Grodd.

Rip is reinstated with The Time Bureau as an agent.

Wally elects to stay with The Legends rather than follow Rip to The Time Bureau.

Before leaving The Waverider, Rip Hunter tells Gideon to delete File 354-Z, saying that Sara cannot find out the truth about Ava Sharpe, whom he describes as "special".

Gideon addresses Rip as "Director Hunter".

Damien remembers that Nora likes hot chocolate with whipped cream and caramel sauce. She hasn't had one since Ray and Zari took her for a drink as a teenager in 310.

The episode ends with Nora screaming and her eyes glowing red, as black cracks begin to form in her skin, mirroring the cracks seen earlier in the time stream.


Location

Upswipz HQ - Silicon Valley - 2018.
East Berlin - East Germany - 1962.


Untelevised Adventures

Nate and Mick go to a Grateful Dead concert in an effort to find Ray. They aren't successful, but Mick does steal Jerry Garcia's sunglasses.


The Bottom Line

A solid episode all around that give Nora Darhk some much needed definition and proves to be a wonderful comic turn while still pushing the plot forward.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 14 - Moonshot

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




Plot

The Legends travel to NASA's HQ in Houston in 1970, where Commander Steel - guardian of the last piece of The Spear of Destiny - served as part of Mission Control on the Apollo Space Program. Unfortunately, The Reverse Flash has beaten them to the punch and replaced one of the astronauts on the Apollo 13 mission.


Influences

The films Apollo 13 (setting and general aesthetic, particularly during the landing sequences), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (the "proper credentials" gag at the press conference.), Beetlejuice (the Day-O sequence), The Martian (Ray being left stranded on The Moon, his video diary sequences, Ray directly refers to the movie when he says now he knows how Matt Damon felt) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (the sequence with Nate and Henry facing each other as Henry sacrifices himself.)



Goofs

How is The Reverse Flash able to stay in one time period long enough to take part in a moon landing mission without The Black Flash catching up to him? (Presumably he can stay off the radar by not using his powers and the zero-gravity environment makes that easier.)


Performances

Honestly, the whole cast deserves a shout-out here.  There's not a single bum performance in the episode.

Matt Letscher gets to show off the playful side of Eobard Thawne here. You get the sense he's sincere about missing working with other scientists and enjoying working with Ray but then you're reminded that as charming as he is, he's still a killer who will cross anyone so long as he can get away with it.

The chemistry between Letscher and Brandon Routh is good with Routh finding a good balance between his usual comic relief role and playing the serious science hero in the face of a scientist villain.

Arthur Darvill gets a nice subtle performance here, broadcasting Rip's confusion at not being in charge without so much as one angry shouting match.


Artistry

The anti-gravity sequences are quite effective and the fight choreography between The Atom and The Reverse Flash is well-handled.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode opens with Mick Rory reading the opening narration. Unlike in 211 this time the speech does not end with him asking "Who writes this crap, anyway?"

Elvis Presley did perform at the Houston Astrodome a little over one month before The Apollo 13 Mission. (February 27-March 1 1970 vs. April 11, 1970).

What little we hear about Eobard Thawne's background here matches up with his backstory in the comics. There, Eobard Thawne was a scientist in the 25th century who was fascinated with The Flash and The Speed Force. His studies enabled him to tap into The Speed Force, which he used to travel back in time so he could meet his hero. His first jump took him into a museum devoted to The Flash, where he discovered that he was destined to become The Flash's greatest enemy. The revelation drove him mad and led him to try to destroy The Flash in an effort to avert his destiny, ironically becoming the villain the museum said he was.

The show's closing credits show Professor Stein singing Day-O.


Technobabble

Ray plans to use the dwarf star power source for his ATOM Suit to power the fuel cells of the LEM. Thawne concedes this might work assuming Ray takes the gas spectrometer into account. Unless adjusted for the relative volatility the LEM might explode in mid-launch sequence.

The Waverider uses gravitational inertia to float back to Earth.

38 degrees is the angle at which a spacecraft needs to reenter the Earth's atmosphere

The depressurization caused by blowing the cargo bay doors of The Waverider will correct the angel of descent. Unfortunately, this has to be done manually and whoever opens the doors will be sucked out into space.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Rip emerges from his study with a folder, just seconds after the rest of the team located Henry Heywood working at NASA in 1970.)
Rip: I think I may have found a way to track down Commander Heywood.
Stein: Don't worry, Mr. Hunter. We've already found him!
Rip: ... you did?
Jax: We're heading to Houston in 1970.
Rory: (raising his beer) Yeah! Elvis at the Astrodome!
Nate: And then we're going to rescue my grandfather.
Rory: Then Elvis.
(Rip moves past them to stand on the platform with the Captain's controls for The Waverrider.)
Rip: (flustered) We still need to figure out a way of contacting Commander Heywood without arousing suspicion. To that end that I suggest that we-
Sara: It's simple.
(Sara steps up on to the platform next to Rip.)
Sara: We infiltrate NASA.
(Sara slaps Rip on the back as he simmers silently, looking annoyed as only he can.)

(Rip approaches Henry Heywood at a NASA press conference.)
Rip: Henry. (extending a hand to shake) Great to see you.
(Henry suddenly lets loose with a haymaker that knocks Rip down to the ground. The reporters immediately begin taking pictures as Henry picks Rip up off the ground.)
Henry: (whispered in Rip's ear) You son of a bitch!
(Henry looks around as he pushes Rip toward two security guards and nods to the crowd.)
Henry: Sorry folks. He doesn't have the right credentials.
(All of the reporters wordlessly hold up their press badges as Rip is escorted out.)
Henry: We take press access very seriously around here.
(Henry looks over the crowd and then sees Ray Palmer, sticking out like a sore thumb and trying not to be seen. He glares at Ray.)
Ray: (weakly and quietly) Surprise. We're back.

Flight Coordinator: What's your area of expertise?
Jax: (British accent) I'm a booster systems engineer. They call me "The Rocket Man".

Ray: He doesn't have super-speed in zero gravity!
Thawne: Newsflash, Raymond - I don't need super-speed to kick your ass!
(Thawne pulls a knife from his sleeve and kicks against the wall to charge Ray.)

The whole of the Day-O sequence.

Rip: What about Mr. Thawne?
Ray: He's a little tied up at the moment.
(Ray walks past Thawne, who is indeed literally tied up.)
Thawne: (groaning) Puns. The lowest form of humor.

Ray: I'm Dr. Raymond Palmer. Time traveler, superhero and most recently - astronaut. It's April 13, 1970 at 2200 hours and I am stranded on the moon. Fuel on the LEM is close to zero. Food and water provisions were designed to last days - not months. So - yeah. I'm gonna have to science the crap out of this.
Thawne: What are you doing?!
(Ray turns the camera to where Thawne is tied up.)
Ray: I'm - uh - filming us for posterity. In case we don't... make it back?
Thawne: I am not dying on the moon!
Ray: Sign- Signing off.
(Ray switches the camera off.)

Henry: After five years I found myself blaming you for the choice I made. Turns out that abandoning my wife and son - even to save the world - was a mistake.
Rip: It's the great irony of time travel. That despite it we still find ourselves living with regret. One of mine was that I couldn't find a better way to protect The Spear. One that would have spared you such a personal sacrifice.
Henry: When you showed up, I thought maybe I could go back. Change history. But what's done is done. All I can do now is look forward.
(Henry offers Rip his hand. Rip shakes it.)

Thawne: I know it's easier for you to think of me as a monster but um - I've met some of history's monsters, Raymond, and believe me - I'm not one of them.
Ray: You killed Barry's mother. Twice! Rex Tyler?! Brainwashed Rip into killing Dr. Mid-Nite?!
Thawne: Time travel has a way of revealing the truth to you. And you and I have more in common than you think.
Ray: Pass me the pliers.
Thawne: We're both scientists. We're both obsessed with achieving the impossible. You dedicated your life to learning how to shrink yourself down to the size of an atom and - I spent mine learning the secrets of The Speed Force.
Ray: I became The Atom to help people!
Thawne: (pauses) You could use the dwarf star in your exo-suit to power an entire city but instead you chose to become The Atom because you weren't satisfied with your small, pathetic life. There is no shame in wanting to be greater! To reach higher! To... (smirking ) walk on the moon,
Ray: Is that why you want The Spear? Reach higher? Become greater? Run faster?
Thawne: No. I'm after something much more... elemental. I want to live. (pauses) Surely you can sympathize?

(Stein explains that the damage to The Waverider will make it reentering the atmosphere dangerous.)
Rory: What are you saying?
Stein: I'm saying that our crew has an infinitesimal chance of ever returning home. And by infinitesimal I mean -
Rory: A snowball's chance in hell?
Stein: That would look rosy in comparison.

(Sara walks into Rip's study. He's sitting there with a drink in his hand.)
Sara: Drinking alone?
Rip: Only as a metaphor.
(Sara walks past him to pour herself a drink.)
Sara: You're in here feeling sorry for yourself?
Rip: Oh, no. I've got more than one way of feeling sorry for myself, surely?
Sara: Thanks for backing my play earlier.
Rip: I wasn't... entirely supportive on this mission.
Sara; Indeed. But still... must be hard. Coming back to your ship and finding someone else in charge.
Rip: No. That was the easy part. The harder adjustment was seeing that you are a much better Captain than I ever was.
Sara: So that's why you're in here feeling sorry for yourself?
Rip: I'm in here trying to figure out what my place is if I'm not this team's Captain.
Sara: So you're saying you don't fit in? You're an outcast? A misfit?
Rip: Let's assume.
Sara: Sounds to me like you're a Legend.
(Rip snorts before looking at Sara. The two clink glasses.)


Continuity

Commander Steel was last seen in 202.

Rip dropped Commander Steel off in New York City in 1965.

Commander Steel gave Rip Hunter his dog tags, to deliver to his wife and one-month-old son, in 1947.

Commander Steel was an nicknamed The Chameleon in the JSA. He spoke seven languages like a local and mastered the arts of camouflage and concealment.

Commander Steel was a fighter pilot before joining the JSA.

The team find a picture of Commander Steel, working Mission Control at NASA on April 13, 1970 as part of the team trying to save the Apollo 13 mission.

Mick Rory is a fan of Elvis Presley and  knows enough about Elvis' most famous performances to know that he played at the Houston Astrodome in 1970. (February 27, 28 and March 1, to be exact.)

Commander Steel joined NASA so he could put his piece of The Spear of Destiny in the most remote place possible. It is hidden with the flagpole of the American flag that Neil Armstrong planted on The Moon during the Apollo 11 Mission in 1969.

Stein, Jax and Rory pose as Flight Controllers with the British Space Program.

Commander Steel knew that Rip Hunter had a wife and son but not that they had died. This indicates that Rip undertook his mission to hide The Spear of Destiny sometime before he went rogue and recruited The Legends.

The Reverse Flash can't use his powers in Zero-Gravity.

Stein knows all the lyrics to the Harry Belafonte song Day-O.

Nate tells Amaya what Ray told him about meeting her granddaughter in the early 21st century and how she has a destiny waiting for her in 1942.

We learn that this version of Eobard Thawne existed at some point after he worked with Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow while pretending to be Harrison Wells in the first season of The Flash. He speaks of missing the camaraderie of working with fellow scientists to Ray.

Command Steel rigged an essay contest so that he could get his son, Hank Heywood, to Houston to see NASA so that he could see his son at least once.

Astro-navigation is taught in grade schools in the 22nd century.

Commander Steel sacrifices himself to save The Waverider.

Thawne is able to phase through the cells of The Waverider brig once they are back in Earth's gravitational pull. Shortly after that, his warning alarm tells him that The Black Flash is approaching, leaving him with no time to search The Waverider for the two pieces of The Spear that The Legends have.

Nate delivers a message to his father as a teenager.

Rip officially offers up any claim on the position of Captain to Sara.

Amaya asks Gideon to show her the future of Zambesi starting with her return home. She sees pictures of her granddaughter, Mari, in her Vixen costume.


Location

Manhattan, New York - 1965.
NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas - April 13, 1970.
The Lunar Surface- April 13, 1970


The Bottom Line

One of the best episodes of the series to date.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 1, Episode 13 - Leviathan

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



Plot

Out of time and options, Rip Hunter plots a bold strike at the one place they know for certain Vandal Savage may be found - three days before the attack that killed Hunter's family and put Savage on the path to total world domination. Unfortunately, Savage is at the height of his power, but The Legends do have two advantages they might gain - an artifact from the night Kendra and Carter first died and the assistance of Vandal Savage's daughter!


Influences

Doctor Who (the theme of predestination versus free will), The Justice League animated series (Kendra arming herself with an Nth metal mace), Gail Simone's Secret Six (the character of Cassandra Savage seems loosely based on Simone's Scandal Savage character), Jurassic Park (Stein and Ray watching the liquid shake in a container as Leviathan approaches), various Godzilla movies and other movies inspired by them, particularly Pacific Rim (the Atom/Leviathan fight) and various WWII films set during The London Blitz (general tone, the setting of London under siege by fascist forces, Savage's forces wearing storm-trooper outfits and offering a Nazi-style salute).


Goofs

In the 1941 flashbacks, Carter makes reference to needing to train Kendra to fight with his weapons in case he isn't there to protect her. This neatly ignores that she was originally a warrior priestess and (until her most recent incarnation) was supposed to maintain the knowledge and memories of her past-lives, including her fighting skills.

Just what was Snart's plan for convincing Cassandra to turn on her father before they wound up with a ship full of unarmed refugees?


Performances

Arthur Darvill and Brandon Routh get a nice scene at the start which sets the tone for the theme of the episode and both their respective battles - Rip's belief that you can't fight Fate and Ray's belief that life is defined by choices. The heck of it is they're both right based on their respective lives but are both proven wrong by the events of the episode, with Rip finding a way to stop Savage and Ray's romance with Kendra seemingly imperiled by Savage's latest gambit involving the brainwashed Carter Hall.

Wentworth Miller has an interesting role this week as Snart. He's put in the unusual role as a persuader instead of a heavy, trying to convince Cassandra Savage of her father's treachery. Story-wise it's an interesting parallel to have Snart being the one trying to persuade someone that they can change for the better given his own slow journey towards heroism. And Miller plays it with his usual perfect level of dry snark.


Artistry

The script for this episode has even wittier dialogue than usual and a lot of good lines for the whole cast.

The fight choreography is outstanding throughout, with Cassandra's battle with Sara and Kendra's fight with Savage being the high-lights.

There's a nice use of sepia tint on the Carter/Kendra flashbacks.

The entire sequence of Ray fighting Leviathan is also worth mentioning for how well it replicates the giant monster fights of the B-movies of yore, right down to the slow-motion action to indicate huge figures and the used of forced perspective photography to make Ray look bigger.

The final shot of the episode - Savage's reflection on the glass as he stares at Rip - is a chilling one.

Trivia Of Tomorrow

The title of the episode comes from the Old Testament of The Bible. Leviathan is the Hebrew word for twisted, presumably referring to a large sea serpent. It has come to mean any large monster, particularly an aquatic one.

The title of the episode refers to Savage's ultimate weapon - a 200 foot tall humanoid robot.

There are several Leviathans in DC Comics folklore, but none of them are a giant robot.

Leviathan was one of the code names used by Legion of Superheroes member Gim Allon, who had the power to change his size. He also used the code-names Colossal Boy and Micro Lad.

Leviathan was also the name of the League of Assassins splinter group founded by Talia Al Ghul when she turned upon her father, Ra's Al Ghul, in Grant Morrison's Batman comics.

The Levithan robot bares a slight resemblance to some versions of the Metal Men enemy Chemo.

In the comics, Chemo was the creation of scientist Ramsey Norton. Originally the plastic vessel into which Norton emptied his failed experiments, the vessel achieved a limited form of sentience, killed its creator and went on a rampage until it was stopped by The Metal Men. Since that time, Chemo was revived by various characters (including Lex Luthor and Brainiac) for use as a weapon against their enemies. Chemo possessed limited intelligence, super-strength, size-changing abilities and the power to emit toxic waste.

In the comics, Vandal Savage had a daughter named Scandal Savage. The product of an affair between Savage and an unnamed Brazilian woman, Scandal was raised by her mother for most of her youth before she was tracked down by her father and trained in the arts of combat and groomed to provide him with a male heir. Unfortunately for Savage's plan, Scandal was a lesbian and had no interest in being a brood mare for his legend. She rebelled and eventually fell in with the mercenary group known as The Secret Six.

Apart from rebelling against her father in the end and being an accomplished fighter, there seems little relation between Scandal Savage and Cassandra Savage - the daughter of Vandal Savage featured in this episode. Nothing is said in the episode about her sexual orientation and she does not appear to be of Brazilian ancestry.

While renown for his shrinking powers, it was not unheard of for Ray Palmer to use his technology to increase his size in the comics as he does in this episode. Immediately after the Zero Hour storyline, Ray Palmer gained the ability to change his size without utilizing his technology and proved able to grow as well as shrink using his new powers.

It's worth mentioning that the growing-and-shrinking shtick is more frequently associated with Ray Palmer's Marvel Comics counterpart, Dr. Hank Pym (a.k.a. the original Ant Man/Giant Man)

To create a weapon that can hurt Savage, Kendra covers Carter's mace with melted Nth metal. In the comics, a mace of Nth Metal was Hawkman's signature weapon. It was also the preferred weapon of Hawkgirl in the Justice League animated series.


Technobabble

The rebels have retinal scanner technology. They have no record of Rip existing but do have records for Jax, Stein and Ray from 150 years in their past.

Ray suggests analyzing soils samples to determine the nature of Savage's ultimate weapon. Stein does this and confirms that the weapon is not an explosion - the same conclusion Ray comes to after having Gideon hack a defunct spy satellite and looking at the destroyed rebel camp and realizing the impact craters look like very large footprints.

Ray's plan is based upon the theoretical possibility that siphoning power from the auxiliary time drive of The Waverider should provide Ray with enough power to reverse the polarity of the dwarf-star matrix of the ATOM suit, allowing him to grow to superhuman size instead of shrinking.

The energy blasts emitted by the ATOM suit are compressed light beams - not lasers.


Dialogue Triumphs

Rip: In order to capture him (Savage), I require the services of -
Rory:  - a killer, klepto and pyro?
Rip: Bingo!

Rip: What exactly do you think you were doing back there?
Snart: Distracting Savage's pals. Which worked, by the way.
Rip: Yes, well... I could have been killed!
Rory: Never said it worked perfectly.

Sara: How am I supposed to teach someone to fight with a piece of jewelry?
Rip: Good question.
Sara: It wasn't rhetorical!

Rip: I watched my family die countless time at the hands of Savage and his forces before I realized that...
Ray: ... Time wants to happen.
Rip: It's a funny feeling knowing the universe itself doesn't want you to save your family.

Rip: Do we have a plan for stealing this bracelet?
Rory: We're on it!
Sara: Please don't tell me the plan is to walk into Savage's citadel and steal it off her wrist?
Snart: All right. I won't tell you that.

(Kendra walks in on Carter practicing with his mace. She is dressed to the nines.)
Carter: Wow. What's, ah... the occasion?
Kendra: I'll give you one guess.
Carter: ...our anniversary?
(Kendra puts her hands on her hips and gives him The Look used by all wives to signal to their husbands that they have screwed up in the worst way possible.)
Carter: Look, I'm sorry, but in my defense there's quite a few of them to remember.
Kendra: We were only married in... eight lifetimes.
Carter: That's a lot! But I do remember your Victorian England incarnation being particularly tough to be pinned down.

Rip: (upon entering the cell-block where Snart and Rory have stashed Cassandra) And there I was thinking we could go a whole week without kidnapping anyone.

Cassandra: No one dared to stand up to Degaton except my father. He may not be a kind man but he is the only one capable of putting this world back together. So you can torture me if you like. My suffering is a small price to pay.
Snart: Who said anything about torture?

Rory: You sure you can do this? Bash Savage's skull with Carter's mace?
Kendra: You got a better plan?
Rory: It's not the weapon I'm worried about. Thousands of years of reincarnation and I'm guessing you've killed a grand total of nobody. Yet here you are entering into the Olympics of Murder.
Kendra:What's your point?
Rory: Are you sure you can look Savage in the eye and kill him?
Kendra: I'm sure.
Rory: Well you'd better be. Otherwise you're going to end up like the last guy to swing that thing.

(Rip finds Stein ushering refugees into the halls of The Waverider)
Rip: What the hell do you think you're doing?!
Stein: Saving a township by the looks of it.
Rip: Since when did my vessel become a life raft?!
Stein: Since I decided we can't leave these people here to be slaughtered! You recruited us to save the world. That includes everyone here!

Snart: I know what you're thinking "My dad may not be perfect, but deep down he's not a bad guy."
(Snart opens the door to Cassandra's cell)
Cassandra: What are you doing?
Snart: Showing you that when it comes to crap fathers, there is no "deep down".

(Snart shows Cassandra the unarmed civilians her father nearly killed trying to save her.)
Snart: Look. It took me a long time to accept my old man was a monster. I'm betting you're smarter than I am.
Cassandra: At last - something we agree on!

Ray: How are repairs coming? (pauses) Are repairs coming?
Rip: Not in thirty minutes, which is about as much time as we have. (chuckling darkly) We brought all those people on board and all we've bought them is a few extra minutes to live in fear.
Ray: Well, I guess the question is what do we do with those minutes?
Rip: (exasperated) The ship is... crippled! Everyone aboard is as dead as my...
Ray: ...family? Look, I know you think the universe wants them dead. But I don't. I don't believe in Fate. I believe in choices. And we can choose - we can choose to fight! Even if that fight may be futile! We can save your family, Rip! It's not impossible! All we have to do-
Rip: - is kill Vandal Savage. The chances of which appear to be fading.
(Kendra and Snart enter the room.)
Kendra: Not anymore. I figured out how to do it.
Snart: And my new Bestie and I can get us in.
Ray: And I think I've got a way to stop the giant robot that's coming to kill us.
(Rip rubs his face as if steeling himself and turns to face them.)
Rip: Now, you may not believe in Fate, Raymond, but I certainly do. But perhaps it was Fate that compelled me to bring you seven together, so we can change this future, once and for all!

Jax: You know, if this doesn't work - 
Ray: - I'll turn every cell in my body inside out?
Jax: ... I was going to say "die", but yeah.

Ray: (upon enlarging himself to 200 feet tall) It worked! I'm not dead!

(Cassandra says she has to help undo the damage her father caused.)
Rebel Leader: Why the change of heart?
Cassandra: (looking to Snart) Ask him.

(Rip shines a light in Martin Stein's eyes as he wakes up.)
Rip: Welcome back. Well, the team managed to capture Savage, battle his army and a giant robot and you managed to sleep through all of it.
Stein: The refugees?
Rip: They're safe. Every one of them is alive and well.
Stein: But for how long? Apparently Time Wants To Happen.
Rip: Well, I think you'll find that Time - for once - is on our side.

Rip: Well, you seem quite happy for a man behind bars.
Savage: And why shouldn't I be happy? It seems that once again you have failed to kill me.
Rip: A momentary set-back, I assure you.
Savage: Assure yourself. Providence has allowed me to place Chay-Ara in an impossible situation. A choice between her own soul-mate... Carter... and yours.
Rip: You know, a friend recently suggested to me that there is no such thing as Fate. Destiny is nothing more than the sum of our own choices.
Savage: I see. So you still think that there is hope then? For your family? Time will tell, Captain. Time will tell.


Continuity

As the episode opens, it is three days before Rip Hunter's wife and son died.

Cassandra Savage wears the bracelet that Chay-Ara wore when she died.

Rip's family lives in the Whitechapel district of London's East End.

Rip admits to Ray that he made repeated attempts to rescue his wife and son after failing to kill Savage in Ancient Egypt. It was the second place he went. They died every time he jumped back a day to try again. This is what caused Rip to conclude that Time Wants To Happen.

London is the last free city in the world at this point in 2166. Tokyo fell the week before.

Carter had a habit of giving Kendra weapons as an anniversary present. In all their incarnations, they only married eight times.

Rip jokes about thinking they could go a week without kidnapping someone. The team did kidnap someone in the last three episodes before this one - Per Degaton in 110, Jeb Stillwater in 111 and their past selves in 112.

Reference is made to the events following 110 and how Per Degaton laid waste to the world until Vandal Savage killed him - first when Cassandra recalls the history she was taught then later when Snart shows her the footage of her father ordering the release of The Armageddon Virus.

Kendra melts the bracelet (with Rory's help) and uses it to coat Carter's mace.

At some point, Carter was reborn in the future and Savage found him before he recovered his memories of who he was. Savage was somehow able to brainwash Carter into forgetting those memories and he claims only he can restore them.

The episode ends with Cassandra Savage joining the resistance and Vandal Savage captured and held on The Waverider.


Location

London - 2166
Iowa City - 1941


Untelevised Adventures

Rip makes reference to repeated attempts to rescue his family, only for them to die at the hands of Savage's forces every single time.


The Fridge Factor

Once again, the only conversation between the show's two female leads regards a romantic relationship - this time Carter and Kendra rather than Ray and Kendra.

Kendra continues to be solely defined by her relationships to Carter and Ray. No mention is made of her wanting revenge on Savage for killing her or her children over the years - it's all about saving Carter.


The Bottom Line

A vast improvement on last week's episode.  Kendra continues to be the most problematic aspect of the show by her very nature. Apart from that, everything is damn near flawless for what it is. The whole ensemble gel together and everybody gets at least one moment to shine. The twist ending, for once, was an honest surprise and I'm anxious to see how things go bad next week. Because we know - even ignoring that there's three episodes left this season - that there's no way they're taking Savage without a fight.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 1, Episode 9 - Left Behind

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



Plot

Sara, Kendra and Ray are left stranded in 1958 after Chronos attacks and commandeers The Waverider. When they realize their teammates aren't coming back for them, Ray and Kendra pursue a relationship while Sara wanders off to find another place to belong.

Two years later - from Ray and Kendra's perspective - Rip Hunter, Martin Stein and Jax Jefferson return, having regained control of The Waverider but having lost Snart in the process. They theorize Sara has returned to her old life as a member of The League of Assassins, some 50 years before she originally joined.


Influences

The Geoff Johns run of JSA (Chronos' motivation here - to see his enemies suffer and die - is similar to that of the time-traveling villain Per Degaton, who took pleasure in watching the current deaths of his enemies when he could not work to bring them about by his own hand),  The Terminator (Snart refers to Chronos as this, ironically foreshadowing who he is; the plot of the movie details a circular time-loop, where the effort to prevent a disaster winds up creating it), the comics of Dennis O'Neil (the presence of Ra's Al Ghul), the comic series The Kingdom (a time traveling villain plans to go backward through time, killing one person repeatedly as part of a revenge scheme), Moby Dick (Chronos' desire for revenge mirrors that of Captain Ahab) and the film Somewhere In Time (a romance facilitated by time-travel, starring an actor who played Superman)


Goofs

How did Sara earn the same code-name with the League of Assassins in 1958 that she originally earned in 2008, given the circumstances regarding how she was dubbed The Canary (i.e. her musical laugh)?

If Heatwave is Chronos, why did he attempt to attack The Legends at points BEFORE he would have been abandoned by Snart? (Presumably, The Time Masters have some way of subverting the paradox.)


Performances

The romance between Kendra and Ray seemed fairly forced until this point. Somehow, despite the script fast-forwarding through the relationship, Ciara Renee and Brandon Routh do a good job selling the romance after two years pass. They also do a great job portraying the conflict between the two afterward when Kendra is anxious to get back to her former life and Ray fearing that she was just settling for him when she thought they were trapped forever.

Caity Lotz has a hard role this time, selling Sara's complete disillusion with the mission and her falling so readily into her old role as an assassin. Time Drift aside, it does make an odd sense given that Sara became the heart of the team because she needed something to focus her energies on so badly and a chance at honest heroism was just what she needed. With that gone, her falling back into something - anything - comfortable makes sense. And Lotz nails that confusion, as well as playing a truly scary Sara who has given herself over to the League of Assassins heart and soul.


Artistry

The fight scenes for this episode are great, particuarly the duel between Sara and Kendra and the battle between Chronos and the rest of the legends.

There's some very effective direction and editing during the Sara/Kendra duel and Snart's escape, alternating between the two scenes.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

After fleeing Harmony Falls, Kenra, Ray and Sara relocate to Hub City. In the DC Comics universe, Hub City is a fictional metropolis that was home to the vigilante The Question. It was said to be located in southern Illinois and has been alternatively said to have been based on East St. Louis and Chicago. Hub City is notorious as one of the most corrupt cities in the DC's USA - even worse than Gotham City!

Ray Palmer's takes on a job as a college physics professor in 1958.  In the original DC Comics, Ray Palmer was a college physics professor rather than the CEO of a technologies firm.

Ray Palmer wears fake glasses as part of his disguise in 1958. This may be a nod to Brandon Routh's performance as Clark Kent/Superman in the film Superman Returns.

Matt Nable reprises his role as Ra's Al Ghul from Season Three of Arrow.

Ra's Al Ghul points to Sara as a fine example to his young daughter, Talia. Talia Al Ghul, is, of course, a daughter of Ra's Al Ghul from the original comics who became a love interest of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. The Batman and the mother of his son, Damien Wayne.

It is worth noting that, in the original comics, Nyssa was the older sister of Talia. In the DCTVU, Talia would be the older sister and Nyssa the younger.

Nanda Parbat is the base of The League of Assassins in the DCTVU. In the original comics, Nanda Parbat was a mythical city (much like Shangri-La) that was home to a mystic order of do-gooding monks.

Chronos tells Snart of his intent to go back in time and kill Lisa Snart, over and over, and making Len watch as his sister dies horribly over and over. This is similar to what the villain Gog did in the comic series The Kingdom, where Gog went back in time, killed Superman, went back one day, killed Superman again, etc.

During the fight between the Legends and Chronos in Nanda Parbat, Ray gleefully picks up a sword and is ready to use it before Sara tosses him the container with the Atom suit. This may be a clever nod to the comic Sword Of The Atom, which focused upon the adventures of Ray Palmer as he became trapped in his shrunken size while on a trip to the Amazon rain forest and became the champion of a fantasy kingdom of miniature people living deep in the forest. The comics were adapted into a series of shorts for Cartoon Network's DC Nation.


Technobabble

Chronos is able to use superior (yet undefined) technology to breach the hull of The Waverider and override Gideon's control of the ship.

Jax is uncertain if The Jump Ship is capable of traveling through The Temporal Zone. Presumably Rip is certain it's safe, she he was trying to get there after The Waverider time-jumped.

Undoing the damage Chronos does to the navigation system of The Waverider requires rebooting Gideon. While this occurs, The Waverider is left freefalling through time.

Ray creates a time beacon - a transponder which matches the Waverider's quantum signature, basically creating a radio-wave firewall that only their team will be able to see.

Ray's lecture after the two-year time-change between scenes involves mesosopic polymer and bio-molecular simulations. This involves the softening of matter and means that, theoretically, one could miniaturize an atom.

Rip reminds Ray that they cannot travel back to events they participated in without time folding in on itself.

Time does not function in the Time Master's base Vanishing Point the way it does in the regular universe. Mick Rory was able to spend several lifetimes training before becoming Chronos.

Time Drift is a psychological condition that occurs when a time-traveler spends too long in an alien time-line. The victim lose ties with their former self and former identity. It is responsible for Sara being easily brainwashed by the League of Assasins conditioning as well as Kendra forgetting about her past lives and losing the ability to make her wings emerge.


Dialogue Triumphs

Rip: He's time-jumping the ship!
Snart: The ladies will be left in 1958!
Jax: What about Ray?
Snart: Like I said.

Jax: I don't know if the jump-ship will even fly through The Temporal Zone...
(Stein and Jax hear gunfire and shouting in the distance)
Stein: It doesn't matter. We're not leaving our team.
Jax: What happened to "we could destroy the whole ship"?
Stein: A preferable alternative to losing our friends. Don't you agree?
(The shouting continues)
Jax: Yeah.
(The two grip hands and change into Firestorm.)

Ray: Look. as a former Eagle Scout with over 100 merit badges - no big deal - the first rule of getting lost is stay in the same place. That way you can be found.
Sara: And as a former member of the League of Assassins, the first rule when you've been attacked is to keep moving.
Kendra: I sort of think League wisdom trumps the Eagle Scouts here.

Ray: You know, I never thought that I could build a life with anybody but Anna. But, um, that's exactly what we've done. In the most unlikely time and place imaginable. (chuckles)And I know it may sound strange but I'm glad we're stranded here.
Kendra: Me too.

Snart: So, uh.. what's so special about me? I mean, aside from my sparkling personality? Back on The Waverider, you could have taken your boy, Rip. But you took me instead. Why?!
(Chronos says nothing)
Snart: Hey. If you're going to kill me, you could at least tell me what's going on.
Chronos: You should have figured it out by now.
(Chronos takes off his helmet to reveal that he is Mick Rory.)
Chronos: After all, I am supposed to be the dumb one.

Snart: How? I think I deserve to know what the hell is going on here!
Chronos: You deserve nothing.
Snart: Says the man who sold us out to the pirates! When I dropped you off in that forest, I meant to kill you! That was the plan!
Chronos: You should have stuck with the plan and done me a favor.

Chronos: I used to think the most beautiful thing on the Earth was fire. Now I know - it's vengeance.

(Stein and Jax join hands to change into Firestorm. Ra's Al Ghul merely looks at Firestorm, barely raising an eyebrow in response.)
Firestorm: It's a long story, pal.

Sara: When I came to your doorstep, for the second time in my life, I thought that I could find a home here. That this was where I really belonged...
Ra's: But your soul is divided. By your ability to kill and your desire to show mercy.
(Sara nods)
Ra's: There is no place for one so conflicted in The League. (pauses) Ta-er al-Sahfer? I release you. You can reclaim your previous name and your past life.
Sara: Thank you.
(Sara turns around to leave, and then stops, and turns around.)
Sara: In October 2008, please see that your daughter is off the coast of an island in the North China Sea. Lian Yu.
Ra's: Why would I send Talia on such a journey?
Sara: Not Talia. Your daughter yet to be born. I'm pretty sure you'll call her Nyssa.

Chronos: You think this is all over?! I will kill every single one of you! I will watch you all burn! (To Snart) You! You should have killed me while you had the cha-
(Rip hits a button which mutes the microphone on the cell. He then turns to Snart.)
Rip: You owe us an explanation.
Stein: Yes. It's quite remarkable Mr. Rory is working for The Time Masters considering you killed him.
Snart: If you think back, I never actually said I killed him.
Jax: No, you just let us think you did.
Snart: I didn't have to try too hard, did I? Well, maybe I should have. And at least he wouldn't have wound up a chew toy for The Time Masters.
Rip: But if you did, we wouldn't have this opportunity.
Ray: An opportunity? To do what?
Rip: To reform Mr. Rory.
Kendra: He killed Aldus!
Rip: Under the influence of The Time Masters.
Stein: Chronos killed Aldus. Mr. Rory was fighting on our side that day.
Sara: I know what it's like to be trained by an organization for one purpose - to kill - and the kind of loyalty that can inspire. I need to know that we can reach Rory. For my own sake.
Stein: The Time Masters took one of our own and turned him against us. I say we undo their handy-work.
Ray: Rory saved my life, back in the gulag. He's more than just a criminal and an arsonist.
Jax:  (nodding) He's a member of our team.
Snart: He's a lost cause!
Rip: Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. You will see that miracles abound on this old timeship.
(Cut to The Medical Bay. Snart's arm with the severed hand is tied down to a bench.)
Rip: Gideon. Start the regeneration process.
Snart: What do you mean "regeneration"?
Rip: I took genetic samples from each of you at the start of our voyage for this exact eventuality.
Snart: Why am I only hearing about this now?!
Rip: Because none of you had lost a limb yet.
(Snart shrugs, seeming to concede the point.)

Continuity

Ray earned over 100 merit badges as an Eagle Scout.

Sara dated a log of juvenile delinquents as a teenager. One of them taught her how to hot-wire a car.

One of Ray Palmer's students in 1960 is the father of technology magnate Bill Gates.

During their two years in Hub City, Ray Palmer works as a college physics professor whereas Kendra works as a librarian.

Ray was planning to propose to Kendra just before The Waverider arrived to rescue them.

Two more side-effects of time-jumping are revealed: linguistic disorientation (i.e. mixed up speech) and deafness.

Ray and Kendra have a lucky water vase. Exactly what is so lucky about it is not explained.

Sara rejoins The League of Assassins with the same name she earned in 2008 - Ta-er al-Sahfer. Literally "yellow bird" in Arabic.

Ra's Al Ghul is seen for the first time since A323.

Sara is able to overcome her blood lust through meditation and herbs provided by Ra's Al Ghul.

Snart refers to the events of 107, Heatwave's betrayal and Snart knocking him out but leaving him alive.

Heatwave was nearly insane and forced to strangle rats to eat by the time he was found by The Time Masters and taken to The Vanishing Point. He was trained by them for several lifetimes and reborn as Chronos.

The Shadow Record is an list of every member of The League of Assassins dating back to 3200 BC. It is written on papyrus in invisible ink.

Rip Hunter wrote his graduate thesis on the history and lore of The League of Assassins.

Ray Palmer knows about the existence of The Lazarus Pit, describing it as a life-extending Jacuzzi.

Ray refers to the events of A322 and how he was a prisoner of the League of Assassins.

Rip Hunter can speak fluent Arabic.

Rip Hunter plans to win their freedom by demanding a trial by combat. The trial allows both the challenged and challenger to name a champion. In this case, Ra's chooses Sara and Rip chooses Kendra.

Ra's is able to figure out that Rip and Sara were from the future on his own, based upon Sara's advanced skills when she first came to Nanda Parbat and Rip's knowledge of League Law.

Ra's releases Sara from her vows to The League, due to her heart being divided. This would make Sara the first person to be allowed to leave The League in the revised timeline - the original first one being Malcolm Merlyn.

Chronos/Rory is a captive in The Waverider's brig as the episode ends.

Kendra refers to Chronos killing Aldus in 101.

Ray refers to Rory saving his life in the Russian prison in 105.

Rip is able to regrow Snart's lost hand.

At the episode's end, Kendra and Ray are now sharing quarters and are officially a couple. Ray still has the engagement ring he bought in 1960, but has not proposed.

As the episode closes, Rip is plotting a course to the Kasnian Congolerate in the year 2147.


Location

Harmony Falls, Oregon - 1958
Temporal Zone
Hub City - 1958
Hub City - 1960
Nanda Parbat - 1960


Untelevised Adventures

Two years pass in which Sara rejoins The League of Assassins and Kendra and Ray live together.

Mick Rory spends an unspecified amount of time being trained by The Time Masters before becoming Chronos.


The Crisis Factor

The whole team entering into Nanda Parbat when Rip doesn't return is incredibly foolish.

Rip forgetting about Time Drift until after he's been captured by Sara seems even more foolish.


The Bottom Line

A solid episode that develops a lot of the character's personal subplots and drops a hell of a twist in the middle of the episode, for once. There's not as much witty dialogue as usual but the action is solid and this show continues to impress and amaze on every front.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 6 - Lost Souls

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




Plot

The revelation that Ray Palmer is still alive (and now in the clutches of Damien Darhk) sends Felicity into a frenzy of guilt and stress, that will drive a wedge between herself and Oliver. A surprise visit from her mom doesn't help matters. Thankfully, the rest of Team Arrow - now bolstered by the return of The Canary - is ready to save Ray on their own. At least, until the side-effects of The Lazarus Pit endanger the mission...


Influences

The Atom comics of Gil Kane (The Atom shrinking and having to cope with unexpected troubles at that size) and Green Arrow: Year One (The Lian Yu sequences).


Goofs

Ray looks remarkably clean-cut for someone who hasn't been able to shave or get a haircut in six months.

Why do they send the whole of Team Arrow out for a burglary where a smaller group would be much more effective?  At the very least, why didn't someone act as a physical look-out?

The attitude toward our heroes killing is all over the place in this episode. Oliver seems to shoot down one guard, though it is possible he used a tranquilizer arrow. And Laurel gets shocked when Sara snaps the neck of one of Darhk's men... yet nobody seemed worried about giving the ex-assassin who is apparently having magical blood-lust issues a loaded gun. Or indeed using guns at all. Granting that Digg has probably shooting to wound all this time, it still seems foolish to trust Sara to have that kind of control.

The flashback sequences really need to stop depending on cliff-hangers where Oliver's life is in danger. We KNOW he survives, okay?  We know he's going to survive the drowning attempt. And it just seems like padding to pretend he's in danger.


Performances

The chemistry between Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards contiues to be the best aspect of the show.

Second only to that, however, is David Ramsey and Stephen Amell playing off of each other as they share a bottle of whiskey.

Caity Lotz is criminally wasted in this episode. You'd think there'd be a bigger deal made about Sara Lance coming back from the dead and some examination of that fact. But no - we're lucky to have her get two fight scenes and one bit where she tells about how Thea explained the Lazarus Pit inducing blood-lust at some point off-camera.  That's a scene I would much rather have seen - if only to see how weird things were between Thea and Sara - than another Felicity sniping at Ollie scene.


Trivia

The quantum manifold needed to restore Ray Palmer to normal size is made by Kord Industries. In the comics, Kord Industries is the business of Ted Kord a.k.a. The Blue Beetle.

Felicity refers to John Diggle by the code name Spartan when Curtis is with her. There is a DC Comics hero called Spartan, who was a member of the team Wild C.A.Ts. However, the character bares no apparent relation to Diggle, being a robot programmed with the personality of an alien warrior. Most likely it's a reference to the general design of Diggle's helmet/mask resembling that of a Spartan warrior.

Ray makes reference to fighting roaches the size of cocker spaniels while he was shrunk. The Atom fighting giant (from his perspective) insects was a frequent thing in the classic The Atom comics.

When told about HIVE, Ray compares them to SPECTRE - a similar evil organization from the James Bond novels.


Technobabble

Felicity creates a back-trace algorithm to find the point of origin of Ray's broadcasts.

Ray jerry-rigged his suit to broadcast a short-range message burst.

It is confirmed that Ray perfected miniaturization by finding a way to shrink the space between atoms shrink. Curtis says this feat is comparable to getting cold fusion to work or discovering the Ultimate Theory of Everything.

The one part Palmer Technologies doesn't have to build the device to enlarge Ray Palmer is a quantum manifold.

The Kord Industries building's interior is protected by pressure-sensitive flooring.

Felicity's program to control the traffic cameras around Star City takes a minute to upload.

The Latin Building was at one time totted as the most secure building on the west coast, with every access point requiring a retinal scan and voice print to enter.

The box holding Ray requires an asymmetric cipher to open. His best guess is that five years and an NSA grade computer might be able to open it.

Curtis says the quantum field won't be able to penetrate that polymer making up the cube containing Ray when Felicity asks why they don't just use the enlarging ray and Ray's increased size to break it. They're eventually able to bypass this complication when Ray siphons the energy powering the security cameras inside the cube into his suit, which shorts the containment field.

Apart from a noticeable iron deficiency, Ray did not suffer any adverse physical effects because of his shrinking.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Upon meeting Ollie for the first time, Curtis holds up his hand to focus on Ollie's jawline.)
Ollie: Curtis? Whatcha doing?
Curtis: The Green Arrow showed up right about the time that you came back into town.
(Curtis suddenly scoffs and shakes his head)
Curtis: Nah. It's not you though. Jaw's not right.
Ollie: That's what I keep telling people.

(After getting off the phone with her mother)
Quentin: How'd that go?
Sara: Easier than the last time Mom found out that I wasn't dead.
Quentin: Are you okay, honey?
Sara: Yeah. Fine. It was just something mom said about how I got lost when I was walking home from school once, and - and how I promised that I'd always come back. But I can't remember...

Ollie: Is there anything that I can do to help?
Felicity: Well, have you magically learned how to code in the last 72 hours?
Ollie: No.
Felicity: That was a rhetorical question.
Ollie: I know.
Felicity: I will, however, accept your undying support and back-rub.
Ollie: You can have both as soon as you -
Felicity: Shower.
Ollie: And take a nap.

Ollie: I thought it would be a good thing!
Felicity: A good thing? What on Earth made you agree to this?
Ollie: Well, you know your mom really doesn't take no for an answer...
Felicity: You've faced down Mirakuru soldiers and the League of Assassins. Are you honestly telling me that you couldn't say no to my mom?
Ollie: She said she missed you and then she texted me one of those emojis with the single tear...
Felicity: YOU HAVE BEEN TEXTING WITH MY MOTHER?! How long has THAT been going on?
John: You guys think we can find a better time to fight about this?
Felicity: John? I thought only Oliver's line was open.
John: Nope. Mine is open.
Laurel and Thea (in unison) And mine.
Sara: I don't remember there being so much chatter on these missions.
Laurel: Are you ok?
Sara: Yeah. I need a little normal. And for me, this is the kind of thing that passes.

(As Darhk threatens Felicity)
Ray: Don't you touch her!
Darhk: Don't make empty threats. It's so... small.

Felicity: Ray was sending distress signals for weeks after the accident. I wasn't here to receive them because I was too busy traveling the world with you. I took the voice's word for it that no body could be recovered because I was so swept up in being with you. I'm sorry. It was my choice to uproot my entire life, leave my home and my job - which it turns out I'm very good at. I lost myself in you. And I was never that girl. That girl who just loses herself in a guy. That is not who I am.

Oliver: It it just makes me wonder... why did she choose me?
John: Oliver. I've heard you say a lot of crazy things over the years, but that has to take the prize.
Oliver: You know what I mean. (gesturing to a computer) It takes me ten minutes to log into this thing. Felicity does it in two seconds. And Ray probably invented it.
John: Yeah, you're probably right. Except, Felicity didn't choose Ray. She chose you. Sure, she has a lot in common with Ray. But sometimes what looks good on paper isn't what works in real life.
Oliver; What if something happens to him?  We don't get him back?
John: Felicity Smoak is one of the smartest, most badass women on the planet. She comes through this, she'll get Ray back.
Oliver: You seem pretty sure.
John: I married a woman just like that. Twice, Oliver!  Twice!

Felicity: I didn't exactly grow up with the best example of a normal, healthy relationship,
Ollie: Line forms behind me.


Continuity

The episode opens with an extended sequence of the scene from 323 where Ray blows up his lab. This time, however, we see him shrink and fall among the wreckage.

The message Felicity decoded in the last episode was made on the day she received it. This episode takes place six days later.

Ollie refers to what Constantine said in 405 about the chamber inside the ruins having a barrier that prevented the impure of heart from passing.

Baron Reiter was interested in the ruins Constantine was looking for because of writings describing a greater treasure in a heart of water - a cove surrounded by mountains.

We see a black canary as a decoration in Laurel's apartment.

Ray modified his suit with the same nanites Felicity injected into him in 318.

Palmer Technologies main business competitor is Kord Industries.

Another note is made that Felicity dyes her hair blonde.

Sara has the same blood-lust that infects a non-dead person healed by The Lazarus Pit.

Ollie makes a great Chicken Cordon Bleu.

John prefers Tennessee whiskey to vodka.

Darhk's base of operations - at least the one where he held Ray Palmer - is The Latin Building.

Curtis Holt is an experienced base jumper.

We once again see Damien Darhk using telekenesis - both to catch Oliver's arrows and to strangle him with some handy chains.

Felicity hates snakes and spiders but not as much as she hates cockroaches.

Ray elects not to reveal that he isn't dead for the moment.

Sara leaves Star City at the end of the episode to visit her mom in Central City and wander around for a bit.

Quentin Lance and Donna Smoak just happen to meet at a bar.

Thea asks Ollie's campaign manager, Alex Davis, out for a drink.

Darhk's people were able to get a sample of the dwarf star alloy that powers Ray's ATOM suit and turn it into a power source. He tells them to test on the box we first saw in 405, which unfolds into board or map of some kind.


Untelevised Adventures

Ray makes reference to fighting giant roaches while he was shrunk.


The Bottom Line

Honestly, it wouild be rather dull if it weren't for the chemistry between Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards. The drama between Ollie and Felicity feels a little forced but we get enough distractions from it (Ollie talking about his romance troubles with John, Felicity talking with her mom) that it is manageable. Less forgivable, however is that very little is done with Sara's return apart from confirming that she has the same issues as Thea and sending her away until Legends of Tomorrow is ready to deal with her. This is a shame given how much drama between Thea and Sara is just waiting to be tapped and goes completely ignored. But hey - Quentin and Donna are hooking up!  Yay?