Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 6 - Helen Hunt

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





Plot

Their latest experiments to free Professor Stein from The Firestorm Matrix result in Stein and Jax switching bodies. Unfortunately, the team has no time to fix the problem. Tracking an anachronism to 1930s Hollywood, The Legends are surprised to find two film studios warring over the most beautiful woman in history, Helen of Troy! They are also surprised by the arrival of an old enemy...


Influences

Various body-swapping comedies, particularly Freaky Friday (which Ray mentions by name) and the legends of The Trojan War (Helen of Troy, Sara uses a Trojan Horse to enter the mansion were Helen is held)


Goofs

Given that Troy was located in what is today the nation of Turkey, it seems unlikely that Helen of Troy would be a pale, blond-haired woman.

No explanation is given for why a bisexual woman like Sara Lance isn't as taken aback by Helen of Troy's beauty as the heterosexual men around her. (Perhaps Helen truly is cursed and the curse is heteronormative?)

While it's possible that things are different on Earth One in The DCTVU, in our world Hedy Lamarr was signed to a contract with MGM in 1938 after being discovered by Louie B. Mayer in Paris in 1937. As such, she would not have been at liberty to film a Helen of Troy movie at Warner Brothers and would hardly have had to resort to working as a phone operator in the studio office!

Wonder Woman lore purists may complain that it should be impossible for The Waverider to fly to Themyscria as the whole island is meant to be magically enscrolled by The Greek Gods. (Given the role The Greek Gods had in messing with The Trojan War, however, it's likely they either looked the other way or Zari - being a woman - was allowed to breach the barriers.)


Performances

Franz Drameh and Victor Garber do a fine job playing one another's respective regular roles.


Artistry

The costumers and set designers did a great job capturing the feeling of 1930s Hollywood.

The editing between the twin battles of Darhk/Sara and Kuasa/Amaya is fantastic.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode opens with the usual narration being read by Amaya.

The series usual title-card is replaced with a black-and-white number.

The episode title is a play on the name of actress Helen Hunt, who is most famous for winning The Oscar for Best Actress in 1998 for the movie As Good As It Gets.

Legend has it that Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in history. Said to have "a face that launched a thousand ships", her abduction by Prince Paris of Troy from the home of her husband, the Spartan king Melenaus, sparked a ten-year conflict known as The Trojan War. This was due to a contest held by various rulers as to who would marry Helen and an agreement of all the participatory nation-states - The Oath of Tyndareus - that they would aid one another in battle.

Opinion is split between Historians as to whether or not there ever was a real battle that inspired the legends of The Trojan War. Indeed, until fairly recently, there was some argument as to whether or not The City of Troy ever existed. Some believe the Troy of legend was a town located in what is now modern Turkey.

The actress whom the real Helen of Troy replaces in the role of Helen of Troy is Hedy Lamarr. Once called "the most beautiful woman in film" (a title that was used for one 2012 biography), Lamarr had brains to match her beauty (as Stein notes) and invented the Spread Spectrum technology that led to the invention of modern wireless communications.

While Hedy Lamarr had not made any American films in 1937 (in our reality, her Hollywood premiere was the 1938 film Algiers), she was far from the desperate actress we see in this episode. After fleeing to Paris to escape her abusive husband in Austria, she was signed to a contract with MGM by Louis B. Mayer, who brought her to America in 1938. At the time she was still well known in Europe for her role in the 1933 German film Ecstasy, which is mostly remembered today for featuring a then 18-year old Lamarr swimming and running in the nude.

Hedy Lamarr did later play Helen of Troy (among other roles) in the 1954 Italian film The Loves of Three Queens.

The island of warrior woman Zari drops Helen of Troy off on is confirmed to be Themyscria. Also know as Paradise Island, Themyscria is the island home of the Amazons in the DC Comics Universe. This marks the first confirmation of Themyscria and The Amazons existing in The DCTVU.


Technobabble

Using Professor Stein's research, Ray develops nanites which should latch onto the Firestorm Matrix within Professor Stein. This, coupled with a polymer Ray constructed, should allow him to transfer that into Jefferson.

Hedy Lamarr theorizes that what has Jax and Stein mixed-up is a case of quantum entanglement, where the particles in one body are mirrored in an atomic companion.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Upon learning that Jax and Stein have switched bodies.)
Sara: Must be Tuesday.

(The team finds out they have to go to Hollywood in 1937.)
Jax: Maybe now I might actually get to meet some celebrities.
Stein: And how would you even know? The oldest movie you've ever watched is some ridiculous farce called Police Academy!

Nate: Helen, and her lover, Paris, set off a ten-year war that launched thousands of ships and sent tens of thousands of men off to their death. All in the name of her beauty.
Zari: You make it sound like it's her fault. Men always find a reason to fight. That's not on her.
Rory: Depends. How hot is she?
Nate: (trying to sound non-nonchalant) I mean, she's alright. (whispering) She's really hot!

(Sara finds out that Damien Darhk has positioned himself to become Helen of Troy's agent.)
Sara: What the hell are you doing here?
Darhk: (innocently) Aside from collecting my 15%?

Helen: Please don't take me away.
Sara: I'm sorry, but this isn't your home, Helen.
Helen: Do you have any idea what it's like on the plains of Troy? This land of Hollywood is far from perfect, but at least these men aren't killing one another in my name.
(Several cars pull up in the driveway as men emerge carrying guns.)
Amaya: Not yet, anyway.

Helen: I don't want to overstep, but may I ask what gods gave you such incredible powers?
Zari: Uh - the gods didn't give us powers. Well, they maybe kinda did for Amaya and me but the Captain is a self-made woman. Sara trains ever day. She's a total bad ass.
Helen: She's a captain too? It gives me hope knowing that you come from a time where women have the same opportunities as men.
Zari: Yeaaaaaah. I wouldn't say that.

(Sara challenges Damien Darhk to a duel)
Darhk: You do realize I don't need magic to kill you.
Sara: Funny. That's what Oliver Queen said right before he killed you.


Dialogue Disasters

Darkh: (To Hedy Lamarr) Oh, I assure you, I am something far more ruthless than a Hollywood agent. (grins and whispers) If that's possible.


Continuity

The two studios fighting over Helen of Troy are Warner Brothers and K&G Pictures.

Jax is a fan of the Police Academy movies. Stein is not.

In the altered timeline, Helen of Troy goes on to star in Casablanca and The Philadelphia Story.

Hedy Lamarr was Martin Stein's boyhood crush.

Kuasa reveals herself to Amaya as a totem barer. She says The Water Totem has now merged with her.

Upon hearing the name Kuasa, Ray seems to recall his encounter with her during Season 2 of the Vixen animated series.

Clarissa Stein and Martin Stein gave each other a "pass" on their marriage vows - i.e. one acceptable affair with one person of their choosing, in order to spice things up. Clarissa chose Jean Claude Van Damme. Martin, thinking the whole thing silly, chose Hedy Lamarr.

With her career path changed by the anachronism, Hedy Lamarr never develops the technology which goes on to inform the technologies that power The Waverider.

Madame Elanor - the psychic from 305 - is confirmed to be Nora Darhk, Damien's daughter. She is revealed to have the same death-touch power and telekinesis he exhibited during Season 4 of Arrow. She also has the ability to catch and redirect the energy of Mick Rory's flame-thrower and the blasts from The ATOM suit.

Kuasa reveals herself to Amaya as her granddaughter before being stabbed and driven off by Helen of Troy.

Sara is placed in a coma by Gideon following Nora Darhk's attack. She is expected to recover fully, however.

Ray tries to tell Amaya about Kuasa but she asks to remain ignorant of everything regarding her. She says she knew nothing about Kuasa's existence - not even that Mari had an older sister.

After reading that the historical record said that Helen disappeared halfway through The Trojan War but that it didn't change anything, Zari drops Helen of Troy off on Themyscria in the same time period.


Location

Hollywood - 1937 AD
Themyscira - 1253 BC


The Fridge Factor

Averted with style, as the ladies among The Legends do all the heavy-lifting to save the day.


The Bottom Line

Compared to last week's episode of The Flash, Helen Hunt delivers its feminist message with subtlety and grace. It's still hugely problematic, built as it is on stereotypes of men being unable to function around a pretty face, even with the suggestion (but no confirmation) that it is all due to a magical gods-given curse. The flubs regarding Hedy Lamarr's life in the script somewhat undercut the care taken elsewhere to get the period details right. Still, for the sake of confirmation that The Amazons exist in The DCTVU and a portrait of Hedy Lamarr that focuses on her importance as a scientist rather than merely being "The Most Beautiful Woman In The World", it suffices. 

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 1 - Aruba-Con

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


Plot

The Legends defeated The Legion of Doom, but their actions have caused a fracturing of the time-stream that has unleashed thousands of anachronisms and paradoxes. Before they can get to work on fixing the problem, Rip Hunter (who had just left them moments earlier from their perspective) returns with agents from a newly formed Time Bureau, who relieve them of The Waverider.

This suits Mick Rory just fine, as he finally gets to take his long-delayed trip to Aruba and forget about the whole "saving the timeline" thing... right up until the point that Julius Caesar shows up intent on conquering the beach!


Influences

Army of Darkness (the scene of Sara working retail is like Ash and his job at S-Mart), the Men In Black movies (the mind-erasing device and the general look of The Time Agents), the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (Caesar quotes a line from it during his speech to the toga party, Nate quotes it when questioning Sara) and the movie Back To The Future II (the heroes have to stop a villain who used a book from the future to change history after allowing said book to wind up in the hands of said villain in the first place.)


Goofs

It's hard to believe The Legends would just walk around a dinosaur-filled Los Angeles in their civies as nonchalantly as they do in the opening scene.

Funny as it is to see Sara working retail and granting that it's done entirely for comedic effect, it seems hard to believe she couldn't have gotten a better job, especially in Star City. Even if Oliver Queen or her dad couldn't get her a job on their security detail because of nepotism laws, surely they could pull some strings to get her work in a similar field!

If nothing else, you'd think Sara would be able to come up with a new identity for herself with her assassin training, particularly given how easily she's able to acquire the means of breaking into The Time Bureau.

It's also hard to believe that Ray Palmer, who built himself up from nothing with his tech company, has been reduced to doing grunt work with some dating app company.

Kid Flash unmasks in front of a bunch of criminals to talk with Nate?

Julius Caesar refers to Ate vexing him. Ate was the Greek goddess of ruin and folly - not Roman.

Why did The Time Bureau allow Amaya to stay in 2017 until she decided to return to 1942 on her own? Isn't she an anachronism?

It's highly coincidental that Sara just happened to steal a Time Bureau agent's badge for no real reason after a one night stand.

Given that The Time Bureau now have the technology to open direct portals between two points in time without the need for a ship, why did they need to take King Arthur back to Camelot from The Spanish Civil War through Star City in 2017?

You'd think Ray of all people would know better than to ask if Sara needs help in a fight. She kicked his ass handily in the last episode.


Performances

Once again, Caity Lotz steals the show and shows why this series has become her vehicle.

The interaction between Franz Drameh and Victor Garber is fantastic, with the two playing off the conflict between Stein and Jax perfectly.


Artistry

The fight scenes of Sharpe and Sara working to fight the Roman Centurions is nicely shot.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode opens with a quick recap of the last season. We are specifically reminded that Rip Hunter left the team, officially naming Sara Lance as Captain of The Waverider, that Amaya elected to stay on the team despite what recorded history says due to her love of Nate Heywood and that the team crash-landed in 2017 Los Angeles after a time-quake, at which point they discovered several buildings out of their proper place... and live dinosaurs roaming the streets. .

The episode title is a pun on The Rubicon - a shallow river in Northern Italy, which Julius Caesar famously crossed in 49 BC. Since then, the phrase "Crossing The Rubicon" has come to refer to "the point of no return" or any action that might be seen as risky or revolutionary with no alternatives but total defeat or complete victory possible as an outcome.

Roman law at the time prohibited any general from crossing into Roman territory at the head of an army. Julius Caesar defied this law by crossing The Rubicon, moving southward from Gaul and marching upon Rome. This started what is known as Caesar's Civil War and eventually led to the foundation of The Roman Empire with Julius Caesar as Dictator.

The Time Bureau is a unique organization, new to the DCTVU. In terms of focus, they seem similar to The Linear Men - a group which monitored the time-stream for paradoxes in the Post-Crisis DC Comics Universe, who recruited Rip Hunter in the wake of the destruction of The Time Masters.

When Sara is powering up The Waverider, she says "engines to power, batteries to speed." This is a nod to the phrase frequently said by Batman and Robin in the 1966 Batman TV show when starting The Batmobile, though there it was "atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed."

Professor Stein says "Great Caesar's Ghost!" upon seeing Julius Caesar in the flesh. This is a nod to the catch-phrase of Perry White, the editor of The Daily Planet in the Superman comics, who used "Great Caesar's Ghost!" as a polite exclamation whenever upset.

Julius Caesar's speech to rally a toga party to his cause features the line, "The cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste death but once!" This is a paraphrase of a line from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar - "A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once."

The photo that Gideon supplies for the mock dating profile Ray creates as a distraction is an actual photo of actress Amy Pemberton, who provides the voice of Gideon.

Ray and Nate pay homage to the original Ghosbusters, quoting Bill Murray's misquote of Julius Caesar - "We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!"

Nate quotes Shakespeare - Et tu, Sara?" - when Sara elects to return to The Time Bureau rather than put Caesar back where he belongs themselves. "Et tu" is Latin for "And you also?" The line "Et tu, Brute" is said when The Senators are killing Caesar on the floor of The Senate and the last to draw a sword is Brutus, whom Caesar considered one of his closest friends.

In the timeline formed when Caesar is not assassinated, The Roman Empire lasts another 2000 years and conquers The New World. What was the United States is labeled "Magna Hesperia" on the new map. In Latin, this means "Great Western Land". The map also identifies several areas with Latin names including Civitas Angeli (City of Angels) near Los Angeles, Flos (Flower) in Florida, Sola Stella (The Only Star) in Texas and Procidens Aqua (Falling Water) near Niagara Falls.

Nate says "dormi strictum amicus" before knocking out a guard. This means "Sleep clenched his friend." in Latin. Or, as Nate loosely translates it, "Sleep tight, buddy."

In the final scene of the episode, Amaya is seen using The Anansi Totem to summon several animal spirits at once, using them to attack a group of British soldiers. This is a new power for Vixen, who has previously only been depicted summoning one spirit at a time to draw upon their power.


Technobabble

An anachronism is a person, place or thing outside of it's natural place in time.

Ray Palmer has developed a new way of shrinking organic matter and streamlined the technology so that it can be worn more effectively.

Ray discovers that Gideon has been in sleep mode for five years when they steal The Waverider. He is able to revive her by diverting her power back to the core.

Temporal Linguistic Dysplasia is a condition where a time-traveler arrives in a time able to speak the native language. It's a frequent side-effect of historical displacement. This is why Julius Caesar is able to speak English.


Dialogue Triumphs

Sarah's daydream sequence where she fantasizes killing her boss.

Ray: My miniaturization technology has the potential to actually make the world a better place!
Alan: If that were true, it would be an app. If it doesn't live on a phone, it's not the future, Ray.
(Alan walks away from his desk. Ray just stands there, still in shock.)
Ray: (quietly) Well, I've actually been to the future.  Like, three times.

(Mick looks up to see who is blocking his light while tanning. He sees a Roman officer on horseback.)
Mick: And who the hell are you supposed to be?
Ceaser: I am Gaius Julius Caesar of Rome!
Mick: Ah. Thought I recognized you. Knocked-off one of your casinos in Vegas.

Nate: You sure this is where they're at?
Sara: I bumped into one of Rip's Time Agents a while back. He may have left his badge at my place.
Ray: He left it at your place?
Sara: All right. Maybe I lifted it off of him in the morning.

Nate: (to Time Bureau agents) I didn't know Men's Warehouse gave group discounts.
Ava Sharpe: What's wrong with you people?! Do you want to get shot?!
Nate: Totally rather get shot than look like a Sears model.

Sara's non-verbal reaction and hiding of her face when she sees King Arthur. (Remember how she was the inspiration for Sir Lancelot?)

Rip Hunter: All humility aside, we are the most important security organization that no one's ever heard of.

(Mick struggles with two suit-clad Time Agents)
Mick: Get off me you damn missionaries!

Gideon: Hello, Legends.. What did I miss?
Ray: Well, we're about to steal a ship, go grab Julius Caesar in Aruba - all before history completely collapses.
Gideon: So, it's business as usual, then?

Jax: Come on, Grey. A chance to meet Julius Caesar and fix history!
(Stein sighs cynically.)
Jax: Look, we have a time ship! We can get you home in time for dessert!
Stein: That's what I told Clarissa the last time I left...
Ray: (cheerfully) And when you came home you had a surprise daughter!
(Jax nods as if this proves his point.)
Stein: Your point?
Nate: The point is... sometimes we screw things up for the better.
Sara: (deadpan) That's a good motto. We should use that.

(As Sara is knocking-out Julius Caesar.)
Jax: Yep. I'd say our work here is done.
Stein: And to quote the great conqueror himself, "We came. We saw-"
Ray and Nate: "We kicked Caesar's ass!"
(Ray and Nate high-five.)

Jax: (quietly and jokingly, to Sara): Nice work. I'd have done it faster.

Rip: I trust you'll use your best judgement.
(Rip's hologram disappears.)
Jax: Ha! Does he not know this team?!

(Caesar steps forward, putting his hands on Sara's shoulders.)
Caesar: It cost me eight years and countless centurions to conquer Gaul. But with an Amazonian queen like you by my side, I could make short work of the rest of the world.
Sara: Conquering the world does sound nice...
(Sara places a hand on Caesar's chest and pushes him back.)
Sara: ... but I don't need you to do it.

(Stein announces his intention to remain among The Legends to Jax.)
Stein: I shanghaied you into our first voyage. I forced this life upon you. I can hardly ask you to give it up now.
Jax: But... your life?  Your family?
Stein: I'll make it home for the birth of my first grandchild. As for my family... they're on this ship as well.


Continuity

It has been five years since Rip Hunter last interacted with The Legends from his perspective. From their perspective, Rip left The Waverider 15 minutes ago.

During those five years, Rip Hunter has worked to establish The Time Bureau and their more advanced time-travel technology. He elected to disband The Legends personally since he was responsible for forming them.

Sara Lance has been declared legally dead twice.

According to Ray Palmer's new boss, Felicity Smoak ran Palmer Technologies into the ground.

Nate spent the last six months fighting crime as Steel in Central City, independent of Kid Flash and Vibe. He claims to be the second most popular superhero in Central City, behind The Flash.

Nate also broke up with Amaya, who was allowed to stay in 2017. Apparently she dumped him and decided to return to 1942 on her own following a conversation with Rip Hunter. According to Rip, going back to her proper time was her idea, not his.

The Time Bureau has an office in Star City in 2017.

King Arthur, last seen in 212, makes an appearance, being dragged through the Star City Time Bureau office in 2017 after having somehow made an appearance during The Spanish Civil War.

The Waverider has been re-purposed as a training simulator for newbie Time Agents. The simulation they are seen running is based on the events of 214, where The Legends had to save the Apollo 13 astronauts. They are told tomorrow's class will have them stopping a nuclear missile from attacking New York City - a disaster The Legends averted in 201.

Mick has apparently acquired several STDs recently. For some reason, The Time Bureau has sensors that can detect this.

The other Legends are convinced Mick is telling the truth about seeing the real Julius Caesar after Mick tries to use a golden Roman aureus from the first century B.C. in a vending machine.

Jax and Professor Stein still both live in Central City, though they haven't been socializing outside of a weekly bonding session required by their powers as Firestorm.

Jax has dropped out of college, despite being on his way to getting a Masters in Engineering in two years.

Lily Stein is pregnant. Apparently she had a boyfriend (now future husband) with whom she was on an academic sabbatical in Rome. She had just returned home to tell her parents in person.

Sara is capable enough a fighter to defeat Julius Caesar in single combat.

Julius Caesar was taken out of time the night before he crossed The Rubicon in 49 BC.

After reading Nate's history book on Rome, Caesar still moves to conquer Rome but declares the first thing he will do upon getting there is kill Brutus and Cassius - the two Senators who plotted his assassination years later. This eventually leads to Ceasar founding a Roman Empire that lasts over 2000 years and conquers The New World.

Mick steals a Time Courier (i.e. time portal generator), a communications device and a memory-eraser from Rip Hunter.

Rip explains to Agent Sharpe that he is allowing The Legends to retain The Waverider and to work for The Time Bureau because they may be the best weapon they have against Mallus - an unspecified threat that is coming at some point in the future, who apparently became a threat because of The Legends.

In the final scene, we see Amaya in Zambesi, using her necklace to summon several animal spirits, who maul Belgian Imperial soldiers intent on attacking her village.


Location

Los Angeles, California - 2017.
Star City - 2017.
Silicon Valley - 2017.
Central City - 2017.
Aruba - 2017.
Cisalpine Gaul - 49 BC.
Zambesi - 1942.


Untelevised Adventures

Apparently Ray, Sara and Nate have been continuing to work as vigilante heroes over the past six months.


The Crisis Factor

There are several moments of The Legends being played up as incompetent in order to make The Time Bureau look more efficient. Nothing quite tops Nate failing to notice Julius Caesar stealing his book, however.


The Bottom Line

Illogical and nonsensical as it is at times, this show is still just plain fun. The episode establishes the new status quo with only a few hiccups along the way, such as how quickly The Time Bureau is able to solve the massive cliff-hanger from the end of the last season. The cast still sells it all through sheer charisma and the show sets up enough solid mysteries to provide some forward momentum beyond the usual "crisis of the week" storylines.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 13 - Land Of The Lost

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

Plot

When a still-corrupted Rip Hunter forces The Waverider to crash, The Legends find themselves stranded in prehistoric times. As Ray, Nate and Amaya are forced into the wild to recover a vital piece of the ship, Sara and Jax must use the equipment in the med bay to enter Rip's mind and restore their friend to his true self. 

Influences

Land of the Lost (the title and the concept of people trapped in a prehistoric land), Jurassic Park (name-dropped by Rory, the encounter with Gertrude) Inception (technology being used to enter other people's minds) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Jax just shooting the Evil Sara as Sara engages her in a martial arts fight.).

Goofs

The last episode ended with Gideon addressing Rip Hunter as Captain and seemingly listening to him. In this episode, Rip Hunter tries to speak to Gideon but is informed that she was instructed to ignore anything he had to say.

The red-black flames for Evil Firestorm are a terrible bit of CGI.

Performances

The relationship between Jax and Sara continues to grow subtlety and Caity Lotz and Franz Drameh do a fantastic job portraying the new Captain and her new protege.

Artistry

It's a subtle touch but Sara's costume in this episode is practically a stealth Black Canary cosplay, with a blue-tinted leather jacket.

The fight between the two Saras is perfect. Well-choreographed. Well-shot. And edited in such a way that you almost swear they cloned Caity Lotz rather than making clever use of a double. 

Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode title (and base concept) come from a 1974 children's show which saw a park ranger and his two children stranded in a prehistoric land. In 2009, a movie was made that was also based on the show

The episode opens with Sara reading the show's standard opening narration.

After fighting the "evil Sara" in Rip's mind, Sara refers to her as "Bizzaro-me". In the DC Comics Universe, Bizzaros were evil or misguided versions of the various heroes native to the Bizzaro World. The most famous of the Bizzaros was Bizzaro Superman, who had all of the strength and invulnerability of Superman while also having freeze vision and heat breath, rather than Superman's heat vision and freeze breath.

Actress Amy Pemberton, who provides the voice for Gideon, appears in the flesh as Gideon with a physical form.

Technobabble

The sudden reconfiguration of Gideon's navigation system following her forced reboot also forced her to select the oldest destination in her logs as a destination when crash-landing.

The Waverider's primary temporal delineator was lost during the crash. Without it, the ship cannot travel.

Cognitive Intrusion is the process by which one consciousness enters another. The technology was developed in 2137 by The Time Masters and used as an extreme method of coercion. Before he went evil, Rip Hunter considered the process barbaric.

CI devices come standard with all Time Master vessels, including The Waverider.

One should not stay in a mindscape for longer than an hour. One risks becoming permanently stuck in another's mind if you do. The CI Devices are equipped with buttons that strap onto the wrist and allow the visitor to "shock" themselves awake.

Dialogue Triumphs

Jax: Hey, yo. I've got an idea.
Sara: If it's to try to get Evil Rip to tell us where and when Commander Steel is, I already tried.
Jax: And he didn't tell you nothing?
Sara: No, he told me a lot of things. All different variations of "go to hell".

Sara: (To Rory) Go stop him.
Rory: You mean kill him?
Sara: No. No killing.
Rory: No fun.

Sara: You two think you can figure this Cognitive Intrusion thing out?
Rory: With the professor as my assistant, yeah.
Stein: You can not be serious!
Rory: I'm very serious. Now, get me a beer.

Jax: Rip believed in me. There's a reason he made me Chief Engineer.
Rory: You're the only engineer.

(Sara and Jax raid the Waverider armory inside Rip's mind.)
Sara: You sure these guns are going to work in here?
Jax: I don't know. I ain't never been in nobody's mind before.
(Jax picks one of the guns up as a guard enters the room from behind them.)
Guard: Freeze!
(Jax whips around and shoots the guard, who goes flying into the wall.)
Jax: Yeah. Yeah, I think they'll work just fine.

(Sara and Jax look down at the defeated Evil Sara.)
Sara: God... I'm a bitch in Rip's mind.
Jax: If that's how he thinks of you in his subconscious-
Sara: - that explains why he wants to kill us in real life.
Jax: If that's right, then...
Sara: ... then there's more than just Bizzaro Me on this ship.
Jax: Like Evil Ray... Evil Stein...
Sara: Evil Mick. (pauses) I guess that's just regular Mick, but still.

(Nate and Amaya ask Ray to explain why this one dinosaur has a grudge against him.)
Ray: Well, it just so happens that lady dinosaurs are rather maternal.
Nate: And?
Ray: And... I may have eaten one of her eggs.
(Nate makes a disgusted noise.)
Ray: But I was starving!  I needed protein! (defensively) I mean, one egg made me like 70 omelettes! I regret nothing!

Ray: Do not leave the urine perimeter!

(Jax confronts a woman with Gideon's voice who says that she is Rip's vision of Gideon.)
Jax: Wait, wait... How can you be Gideon? I mean -
Gideon: Am I not what you imagined?
Jax: Well, I always pictured you as a redhead, myself, but ah- This is Rip's world. I guess we're just living in it, right? I have to find him. I need to ask him where Nate's grandfather is.
Gideon: It won't be easy getting that information.
Jax: What do you mean?
Gideon: Eobard Thawne twisted his consciousness. Turned friends into foes.
Jax: But you're still a friend. Why aren't you corrupted?
Gideon: It did not occur to Mr. Thawne that the AI inside the Waverider needed corrupting.

Ray: You can't date Amaya.
Nate: (sighs) Ray, I'm not dating Amaya.
Ray: Well, you're doing something with her. Why do you think I yelled "yoo-hooooo!" when I came back to camp?
Nate: Because you're the type of guy who still says "in a jiffy"?
Ray: Because I didn't want to interrupt any... shenanigans.
Nate: And still says "shenanigans".

Rip: Gideon?
Gideon: Yes Captain?
Rip: I'm uh... I'm really sorry for everything I put you through.
Gideon: Forcing me to disable the ship? Or the kiss?
Rip: How did-
Gideon: If it's the later, I rather enjoyed it.
Rip: ... as did I, Gideon. As did I. 

Continuity

"Spaniel. Broad. Tricycle." is the override command Rip Hunter programmed into Gideon to allow him to reassert control of the ship, unlocking the brig and sealing all the doors within the ship except for those leading to the armory and the Jump Ship. It also disable Gideon's ability to respond to commands to override the original override unless the entire ship is rebooted.

Nate is strong enough, in his steel form, to open the sealed doors of The Waverider by force.

The Spectrum Protocol is The Waverider's self-destruct sequence.

Rip Hunter destroys The Longinus Medallion.

Ray identifies 69,997,983 BC as the precise year that he was stranded in following Rip's TimeScatter in 201. Gideon says this was not a coincidence, as that date was the oldest one in Gideon's logs and the sudden reboot made her automatically choose the oldest location as a destination.

The Time Masters created devices which allowed one person to enter another's mind in 2137.

Gertrude is the name Ray gave to the female Tyrannosaurus Rex with whom he fought for territory.

Nate is more comfortable indoors than outside and is afraid of snakes.

Amaya's medallion allows her to communicate with animals as well as replicating their abilities. She later uses her powers to speak to Gertrude and convince her to leave them alone.

Amaya says she has reconsidered her rules on dating teammates in the wake of her and Nate's having sex in 211.

Mick Rory has seen others use Cognitive Intrusion technology and had his mind invaded but he's never entered into another person's mind himself

Ray confirms that he spent six months living in the Cretaceous period waiting for rescue.

Ray used male Tyrannosaurus Rex urine to drive Gertrude away from his home. How he got the male Tyrannosaurus Rex urine is not explained.

Ray made little dolls of his crew-mates when he got lonely.

Jax knows Morse Code. The Gideon in Rip's mind uses this knowledge to contact him with an SOS.

In Rip's mind, Gideon appears to be a stunningly gorgeous brunette woman. The two kiss as Rip's mindscape of the Evil Waverider is destroyed. Somehow - presumably through the Cognitive Intrusion technology's link to the ship - the real Gideon knows about this kiss later.

Rip's true self is locked in The Waverider's brig in his mindscape.

Ray refers to his dating Hawkgirl in Season One.

Ray refers to the events of the second season of the Vixen animated series and how he met Amaya's granddaughter, Mari. He tells Nate that he can't date Amaya because she is destined to go back to 1942, return to her village and have a daughter before her village is destroyed and Mari winds up in foster care in Detroit.

Rip Hunter's memories are restored and he is back to his normal self. It is unclear if he is taking back his position as Captain of the Waverider.

As the episode concludes, we see Eobard Thawne, posing as a doctor, treating an astronaut.

Location

The Temporal Zone.
Somewhere in South Dakota. - 69,997,983 B.C.
Nasa Flight Operations Base - 1970

The Bottom Line

A wonderful, smartly-written and well-presented episode that gives everyone in the ensemble a chance to shine. 

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 11 - Turncoat

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



Plot

The Legends must travel back in time to 1776 to prevent the assassination of General George Washington from starting a massive Time Aberration. Nate and Amaya will be forced to take a more direct hand in things as Jax is forced into the role of acting Captain, Ray is trapped in his miniaturized form and the team must contend with The Legion of Doom's latest recruit ... a brainwashed Rip Hunter!


Influences

Star Trek (Stein references McCoy's "Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor." grousing, the plot of being trapped on a space-ship without power.),the movies Home Alone and Die Hard (Jax's booby-traps invoke the spirit of both films, with one lone hero trying to evade the villains in an enclosed space at Christmas), countless Silver Age comics and science-fiction stories regarding time travelers stopping the foundation of The United States of America and The Atom comics of Gardner Fox and Gil Kane (the sequences of a shrunk Ray running around, dodging giant feet and rats).


Goofs

The New Jersey of 1776 looks surprisingly free of snow for December.This is particularly noteworthy as Washington's famous crossing of The Delaware was hampered by icy waters.

Surely having Nate and Amaya posing as a mixed-race married couple among the upper class of 18th century New England is the worst possible way to remain inconspicuous?

That's not quite as bad a bit of planning, however, as Sara not having a cover-story planned for who she is supposed to be while she's in the middle of an infiltration mission or her not being on guard when Rip Hunter shows up out of the blue in a British soldier uniform.

Why does Rip leave Sara behind? Granted, dragging a wounded woman is going to slow him down a bit, he has plenty of soldiers to handle the job and it is less risky than leaving her behind to warn the rest of The Legends as to his presence.

For that matter, why not just shoot Rory if he has no intention of trying to recruit him to his team?

The Hessians attacking Amaya and Nate is horribly random.

Amaya's off-camera rescue of Nate when he is knocked into the river is the epitome of cheapness.

Amaya's discovery of an unattended camp with a tent and a roaring fire? Welcome to Plot Convenience Playhouse.

Granting that Professor Stein is the squeamish sort, you'd think removing a bullet from Sara wouldn't phase him much considering he was performing amateur brain surgery on Mick Rory two weeks ago.

So the possibility of shooting to wound and capturing Evil Rip doesn't occur to either Jax or Sara?


Performances

Arthur Darvill is clearly enjoying himself as an evil Rip Hunter and it's a neat twist on the character that gives him a chance to flex his acting muscles once again.

Franz Drameh gets to show a different side of Jax in this episode as Jax discovers his inner John McClane.


Artistry

The special effects when Ray is stuck in his shrunken size and forced to run on the ground dodging the "giants" around him are well-executed.

The visual direction, lighting and cinematography of the shut-down Waverider are fantastic. The visual of a torch-wielding Rip Hunter wandering the halls of his ship is particularly striking.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode opens with an entirely new narration - this time given by Mick Rory.


Technobabble

Gideon says The Longinus Medallion contains 1.2 zettabytes of data. 1 zettabyte is the equivalent of one billion terabytes.

Gideon can reroute power to her sub-neural processing unit by shutting off The Waverider's life support.

Rip makes use of an EMP generator disguised as a lantern. This shorts out the advanced electronics of The Waverider, The ATOM Suit and Heatwave's gun.

Jax says they can use Firestorm's nuclear energy to repair the time drive and reboot Gideon.

Jax and Stein are unable to merge due to the EMP frying their quantum splicer.


Dialogue Triumphs

Rory: (voice-over) Seriously? You idiots haven't figured this out by now? It all started when we blew up the time pigs - The Time Masters. Now history is all screwed up. And it's up to us to unscrew-it-up. But half the time we screw things up even worse. So don't call us heroes. We're something else. We're Legends. (pauses) Who writes this crap, anyway?!

Rory: Washington's a punk.
Stein: He led America to independence and became it's first President.
Ray: Without Washington, America wouldn't have democracy. Or Hamilton.
Rory: If Washington's so cool, why is he on the $1 bill and Franklin's on the $100 bill? Now he's cool!

Stein: Our mission remains clear - we must save Washington!
Sara: And Rory!
Stein: That was implied.

Nate: Saving a President, a nation and Christmas.
Amaya: And Rory!
Nate: That was implied.

Gen. Washington: There are rules to war.
Rory: Yeah. Kill or be killed.
Gen. Washington: British High Command will treat us honorably just as I treat prisoners with honor.
Rory: Now I know why Franklin's on the $100 bill.  I'll bet you 100 yous you're wrong!
Gen. Washington: Excuse me?
Rory: Eh, forget it!  I hate Christmas!

Jax: I'll handle Rip. You operate on Sara.
Stein: Damn it, Jefferson, I'm a physicist, not a doctor!
Jax: And I'm a mechanic, not a Captain! So I guess we're both trying out new things today.

(Gen. Cornwallis has just declared his intention to hang both Washington and Rory at dawn.)
Gen. Washington: You mustn't punish him! This man is only guilty of following orders!
Rory: (cheerfully) I'm guilty of a lot more than that!

(Rip is trying to persuade Jax to join him.)
Rip: Now if you were to help me, your father no longer has to ship off to battle. He'd no longer have to die in that ambush. Your mother would no longer be a widow. And you-
Jax: The only way you're getting that spear is by prying it from my cold dead hands!
Rip: (nonchalantly) Oh, well, that works too.

Gen. Washington: We must prove to the world that you don't need a title to be a gentleman. The British may be dishonorable but I am not. By my death I shall prove to The Crown what it means to be an American.
Rory: You don't know the first thing about being an American! We're misfits, outcasts and we're proud of it. If they attack in formation, we pop them off from the trees. If they challenge you to a duel, you raid their camp at night. And if they're going to hang you, you fight dirty, but you never, ever give up. That's The American Way. What's it going to be, George?

Sara: Now, I know that it may seem like we don't have anything to celebrate. Rip's been brainwashed and took our piece of The Spear of Destiny. There's a monument in Washington D.C. to Rory. But we saved America. And we're going to save Rip. And get back the rest of The Spear. Because as powerful as The Legion may be, they don't have this. (gestures around to the team) Family. And we all know nobody fights like family!


Dialogue Disasters

Gen. Washington: Now tell me, from which of our 13 fair colonies do you hail?
Sara: ... the first one?

Nate: Hitler ruins everything!

Ray: I get that Rip is now somehow evil but does he really have to try to kill Washington on Christmas?


Continuity

Rip Hunter triggers an aberration by assassinating George Washington before his famous crossing of The Delaware and by providing the British forces with 21st century rifles.

Ray develops a chore wheel for various duties for the crew of The Waverider.

Amaya says that she used to go camping every weekend right after she moved to Washington DC.

Nate is a self-described city-guy who hates camping.

Shockingly, Mick Rory is well versed enough in history to think Benjamin Franklin was a cool guy. He also considers George Washington a punk.

Sara refers to the events of 208 and the trap The Legion of Doom set for them in Chicago.

Sara is now referring to Merlyn, Darhk and Thawne as "The Legion".

Sara puts Jax in charge while she is incapacitated.

Nate was scared of the flying monkeys in the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie and ran from the room when they appeared watching the movie as a kid.

Amaya saw the first part of The Wizard of Oz in the theater with a man named Bobby Padusky, who was a perfect gentleman. She didn't see the end of the movie, however, as Hitler invaded Poland and the JSA was shipped out on a mission in response.

Nate and Amaya kiss and make love for the first time. She later tells him that it was fun but she still doesn't believe teammates should fraternize. Nate says he agrees, but is clearly harboring romantic feelings for her.

Ray was Captain of the Varsity diving team at his high school.

Rip escapes with his piece of The Spear of Destiny.

Rory apparently gave General Washington the inspiration for his famous Christmas sneak attack.

The timeline is restored, though there is now a statue that bares a striking resemblance to Mick Rory in the garb of a Minute Man in Washington DC.

Ray gives Rory the captured rat as a pet.

Nate gives Amaya a pair of shoes decorated to look like The Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz.


Location

New Jersey - December 25, 1776.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania - December 24, 1776


Untelevised Adventures

We don't get to see how Amaya saved Nate from drowning.


The Fridge Factor

Honestly, it's like they purposely wrote this entire episode to make Sara look incompetent as a leader and a fighter right before they fridge her to give Jax and Stein a bit of angst.

Amaya doesn't come off much better, the duty-driven heroine suddenly forgetting all about her mission in the face of some cuddling for warmth to stave off hypothermia with Nate.


The Bottom Line

A half-hearted episode with a half-assed script that leaves most of the cast acting out-of-character. The only reason the episode works as well as it does because the most poorly written characters are given the least to do and the ensemble cast of actors give the material far better performances than it deserves. Shame the direction and production values don't quite match up.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 9 - Raiders Of The Lost Art

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




Plot

When Merlyn, Darhk and Thawne move to abduct a time-drifted Rip Hunter - who currently believes himself to be a film student in 1967- it creates an Aberration big enough to attract the attention of The Legends... and disrupt Ray and Nathan's lives. As the rest of the team move to rescue Rip and recover The Spear of Destiny that somehow wound up in his hands, Mick Rory asks Professor Stein for a private favor.


Influences

The films of George Lucas, particularly Raiders Of The Lost Ark (the title, name-dropped by Nate, Sara says the story of Longinus sounds like it came from an Indiana Jones movie.) and Star Wars (Ray says he'll channel his inner Han Solo to pilot The Waverider, the team's escape on The Waverider while Darkh and Merlyn shoot at them with laser pistols, the team being dropped into a garbage disposal death-trap)


Goofs

Given Sara was resurrected by something called The Lazarus Pit, you'd expect her to be the least skeptical person when it comes to a story involving mystic artifacts with magical healing properties!

Ray and Nate's memory loss based on the effects of the aberration caused by George Lucas quitting film-making occur far faster than any previous changes to the time-line in any other episode. Stein erasing his marriage from history, for instance, did not cause him to instantly lose all his memories of his marriage!

The only thing faster than Ray and Nate's being changed by George Lucas quitting film-making is how quickly they're returned to normal after George Lucas voices his desire to direct out-loud.


Performances

Arthur Darvill turns in a great performance here as Phil Gasner, seemingly like an entirely different actor - never mind another character!

It's understated, but there's quite a few good bonding scenes here between Sara and Jax - more than in any previous episode - and Caity Lotz and Franz Drameh play them beautifully.


Artistry

There are some subtle visual tributes to the direction of George Lucas throughout the episode. One of the better ones is Darhk and Merlyn standing on the elevator, mirroring Han and Luke in Star Wars.



Trivia Of Tomorrow

The title is a nod to the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. The plot is also similar, involving the hunt for a holy artifact (The Spear of Destiny vs. The Ark of the Covenant).

The opening narration is done by Profesor Stein.

Nate refers to Merlyn, Darhk and Thawne collectively as The Legion of Doom. He says the name came from an old Hanna-Barbera cartoon. This is a nod to Challenge of The Super-Friends, where the villainous team led by Lex Luthor was The Legion of Doom.

Longinus is the name of the Centurion said to have been responsible for piercing the side of Jesus Christ with his spear during The Crucifixion. Not mentioned in the Biblical Gospels, the first record of his story and name are found in several books of The Apocrypha.

Also referred to as The Holy Lance, Holy Spear, Lance Of Longinus and Spear of Longinus, The Spear of Destiny is the spear that was used to pierce the side of Jesus Christ during the crucifixion. Many holy sites claim to have the Spear of Destiny in the real world and a number of legends - comparable to those regarding The Holy Grail - have sprung up around the spear and it's mystic powers. One of the more popular legends is that Adolf Hitler was obsessed with the spear and started World War II in an effort to reclaim it.

In the DC Comics Universe, this was literally true and Hitler's possession of the spear prevented the Allies-aligned superheroes from being able to take action against him, due to the spear's power giving Hitler the ability to control the mind of anyone who stood against him.

Ray and Nate, despite their love of George Lucas movies, both object to watching Howard The Duck. Not only is this a jab at George Lucas' most infamous bomb but it's also a nod to the fact that the movie was based on a Marvel Comic series. (Nate and Ray are loyal company men, after all.)


Technobabble

Nate carbon-dated the amulet Sara took from Darhk in 1987. Gideon put its date of origin at around 30 AD.

The amulet contained high concentrations of copper, manganese and zinc - all the ingredients of bronze.

Roman Centurions used bronze for most of their metalwork circa 30 AD.

The Longinus Medallion acts as a compass to The Spear of Destiny.

There is a difference between altering time and altering reality, according to Nate. Changes to reality are permanent whereas changes to the time can be altered and reset. This makes The Spear of Destiny far more dangerous than even a rogue speedster time-traveling.

Cal DeVito was suppose to event a new carburetor for shovel-head motorcycles, before he was killed by Darkh and Merlyn.

DeVito and his friend were killed by sezuki strikes to the xiphoid processes - a close-quarters killing technique used by The League of Assassins.

Jax says it wouldn't have been possible for Rip to use The Waverider's emergency protocols to randomly teleport himself after using them to send the rest of the team away.

Rip Hunter's neural architecture was completely restructured, his limbic system reprogrammed with a new identity.  This is a different phenomena than time drift, requiring technology that doesn't exist.

Ray suggests that Rip's brain could have been altered by impulses coming from the ship's time drive. This "temporal electrocution" as Stein calls it, would be near suicidal as a method of time-travel.

Stein detects a receiver that is sensitive to gravitation-wave transmissions implanted inside of Rory's head. In short, there's an antenna in his head.

Stein theorizes that when Snart was killed by a blast of temporal energy, he might have bonded with the blast and the version of him that Rory is seeing is effectively a "time ghost".

A McGuffin is the generic term for the thing in a movie that everyone is trying to get.

Cognitive dissonance is the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.


Dialogue Triumphs

Merlyn: When we're done here, we need to go to the 1600 block of Vine Street.
Darhk: Why, pray tell?
Merlyn: It's where Frank Sinatra's star is on the Walk of Fame. I have always wanted to see it.
Darhk: I'm not sure if that's part of our little trinket's itinerary.
Merlyn: I said "when we're done". As far as magical artifacts go, this one is frustratingly unspecific.
Darhk: Actually, like most magical artifacts, its ways are nuanced.
Merlyn: That's just a fancy word for vague.

Sara: They must be getting closer to The Holy Lance.
Nate: I'm leaning toward Spear of Destiny.
Sara: I prefer Holy Lance.
Nate: Can't imagine why.

(Gideon has just explained what effect the loss of George Lucas' movies had on Ray and Nate.)
Sara: Wait - so you're telling me that because some film geek drops out of school, my inventor and my historian are now essential useless?
Nate: Yes.
Ray: Hey!

(Sara and Jax turn the corner into the med bay. They find Stein, scalpel in hand, standing over an unconscious Rory.)
Sara: What do you think you're doing?
Stein: Brain surgery. What does it look like?
(Sara and Jax just turn around and walk out of the med bay.)

(The Reverse Flash arrives and knocks down all The Legends, pulling Merlyn and Darkh from the middle of the rapidly turning fight.)
Merlyn: About time you showed.
Darhk: Where were you?
Thawne: Always busy, gentlemen, and yet never late. So... who do we kill first?

Jax: Look. Sara... you can't beat yourself up about this.
Sara: It was my responsibility as Captain to make sure that everyone gets back on this ship. Everyone. And I failed...
Jax: You call getting a piece of the Spear of Destiny and the medallion a failure? The Legion have nothing!
Sara: They have Rip! We lost him, Jax. Again!
Jax: But they won't have him for long. If I know one thing about you, it's that you don't give up. When you really want something, you are unstoppable, and God help anybody that tries to get in your way. We are going to find him. And we are going to bring him home.
Sara: Is that a promise?
Jax: That's a prophecy.



Dialogue Disasters

Sara: Hey, hold on - this all sounds like an Indiana Jones movie.

George Lucas: What I really want... is to direct!


Continuity

"Shogun Ballistic" is the shutdown code for Gideon's primary systems.

Stein learns about Rory's hallucinations of Snart, which began in 208.

Nate listens to rap music to help himself concentrate.

Together, the two amulets Thawne sought form one artifact called The Longinus Medallion.

Jax regularly attended Sunday School and knows the story of Longinus from memory - how his sight was restored by the blood of Christ and his medallion and spear were empowered.

Nate became a historian because of the movie Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

The film Rip is working on in 1967 is called Legends, stars a hero called Rip Hunter and has a villain clearly modeled on Vandal Savage.

Ray refers to Time Drift - the psychological condition where a time-traveler spends too long in an alien time-period, losing all sense of self and memory of who they were - first encountered in 109. He suggests that might explain for Rip's apparent amnesia.

Rip's alias in 1967 is Phillip Gasmer.  George Lucas is the prop master on his film school thesis project.

In the altered timeline, the attack on Phil Gasmer's set causes George Lucas to quit film school. This indirectly causes Ray and Nate to lose all their professional training, as Lucas' films inspired them to their respective careers. Instead, Nate becomes a yoga instructor and Ray becomes a heart surgeon.

Rory remembers having an implant put in his brain by The Time Masters during his time as Chronos.

Phil's movie script tells the story of The Legends. Jax is a character named Max and Sara is a woman named Sandra. It also talks about The Spear of Destiny.

It turns out that what Rip had was a fragment of The Spear of Destiny.

Thawne abducts Rip Hunter before The Legends can get away with him.

Sara recovers the piece of The Spear of Destiny and The Longinus Medallion.

Stein is able to remove the transmitter from Rory's brain but discovers it wasn't working.


Location

New York - Six Months Ago (relative time)
Los Angeles - 1967


The Crisis Factor

The episode seems to break the series' rules regarding the effects of changes to the time line for the sake of comedic effect.


The Bottom Line

A weak script based around a weak idea that is saved only by the strength of the ensemble's performances. Merlyn and Darhk are reduced to the role of laser gun-totting thugs and the rules of how quickly aberrations affect people are tossed out the window for the sake of some cheap jokes. It's telling that the best bits are the dialogues between two characters independent of the central plot.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 4 - Abominations

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




Plot

When the trail of a Time Abberation leads The Legends to the time of the American Civil War, they will find themselves fighting an army of Confederate zombies. In order to restore the timeline, Jax and Vixen must go undercover as slaves on a Southern plantation as Sara starts to struggle with the burden of command, Nate proves more hindrance than help in dealing with General Grant and Ray and Martin must contend with a zombified Mick Rory on-board The Waverider.


Influences

Weird Western Tales (while mostly set in the Wild West era, a story involving Confederate zombies would not have been out of place in this series) the mini-series Roots (detailed examination of the cruel treatment of slaves in American South), The Evil Dead films (behavior of the zombies and general cinematography during the fight scenes) and various zombie movies dealing with zombies in a Civil War setting.


Goofs

Why does Martin ask Jax if he told anyone else on the team about the message from Future Barry? Ignoring that they probably would have been confronted about it, wouldn't their empathic bond cause Martin to sense Jax's emotions about breaking their promise?  The two have exhibited the ability to know when the other was hiding something or feeling guilt before and indeed Stein senses Jax's anger and fear at being chained up as a slave later in the episode.

It's a little odd that Rory doesn't reach for his flame-thrower pistol but instead charges in to start punching the zombies. If ever there was a time for his weapon of choice, this would be it!

Nate claims that of the three million people who fought in the American Civil War, 300 of them were women posing as men. This is a rather conservative estimate, and most Civil War experts mark the number as being somewhere between 450-700.

You'd think Nate, being an expert on The American Civil War, could have thought of a real officer he could have impersonated instead of Colonel Sanders. (Nate is still inexperienced and not good at coming up with information on the fly.)

There's no way Jax throwing the oil lamp should have started that big a fire that quickly unless the zombies were soaked in kerosene.

How does Nate's clothing survive the nitroglycerine explosion unscathed?


Performances

This is Franz Drameh's episode, through and through.

It's a subtle thing, but Caity Lotz's reactions as she almost but not quite hugs the zombie-gut soaked Nate are a fine bit of acting.


Artistry

Good use of shaky-cam and other horror-movie filming techniques during the fights with the zombies.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

While it is impossible to cite anything as a direct influence, there have been a surprising number of stories based around the general idea of Confederate soldier zombies. Among the more famous (or infamous) films are Grey Knight, The Curse Of The Screaming Dead, Confederate Zombie Massacre, Exit Humanity, The Supernaturals and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies.

The episode opens with another new introductory voice-over. This one is delivered by Martin Stein.

According to Ray Palmer, 1863 was the bloodiest year in American history. This matches the historical record, as The American Civil War is the war that has seen the greatest number of American casualties and the two bloodiest battles of the American Civil War - Gettysburg and Chickamunga - took place in 1863.

Hinds County, Mississippi was named in honor of General Thomas Hinds - a hero of the Battle of Orleans during The War of 1812. The state capitol of Mississippi, Jackson (named in honor of General Andrew Jackson, who later became President), is located there.

Dispatches were former slaves and free blacks who acted as spies in the American South, providing information to The Union Army.

The Battle of Champion Hill was the pivotal battle of General Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. Fought on May 16, 1863, the battle saw high casualties on both sides but is considered a decisive victory for Grant's forces.  The historical record says nothing, however, about him receiving advanced notice of the Confederate movements from a Union spy.

Nate claims that 300 women posed as men to fight on both sides of The American Civil War. While real-world historians quibble on the exact number (The Smithsonian estimates the number was around 400 while The Civil War Trust estimates it may have been as many as 750), female soldiers were a reality.

Nate says that General Grant appears taller than he expected. General Grant was 5'8".

Nate claims to be Colonel Sanders of the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry. While The 31st Pennsylvania Infantry was a real unit, they never went anywhere close to Mississippi during their American Civil War.

Colonel Sanders, of course, is a reference to Colonel Harland David Sanders - the founder and mascot of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain of restaurants.

Nate says that the idea of zombies doesn't become well-known until 70 years after The American Civil War. The first known horror movie involving zombies - the Bela Lugosi vehicle White Zombie - was released in 1932.


Technobabble

The Time Bandit who crash-lands in 1863 says that he stole TX-90 from the year 2235.

TX-90 is a futuristic bio-weapon. Those infected by it experience symptoms that cause them to strongly resemble what are commonly known, in horror movie fandom circles, as "fast zombies".

Jax determines that the crashed escape pod has an exposed power core.

Ray guesses that the reason his vaccine didn't work on Rory is because subcutaneous delivery requires more than one dose.

Ray guesses that the reason the lights went out in part of the ship were due to Rory destroying a conduit.

Ray theorizes he can make the vaccine work by turning it into an aerosol and then spraying it through a fire extinguisher.


Dialogue Triumphs

Stein (voice-over): Time travel is real. And all of history is vulnerable to attack. Which is why we must travel through time to stop the spread of these so-called Time Aberrations and to erase their damage to history. We are a team of outcasts and misfits. So please, don't call us heroes. We are Legends.

(Jax and Stein are discussing Ray Palmer being left behind on The Waverider.)
Stein: Perhaps.. it might be easier if you were to remain behind and keep Dr. Palmer company?
Jax: Perhaps... YOU should remain behind?
(Stein glances to one side nervously.)
Jax: No? Because you're not black? Because you think that me going back to 1863, I can't handle it?
Stein: That doesn't mean there's a need for you to subject yourself to the horrors that await you in that era!
(Jax sighs and puts a hand on Stein's shoulder.)
Jax: Okay. Now, I get that it might be difficult for you to understand this... but I have been black my entire life, Grey. And honestly, I can't think of a time period we could go to where I wouldn't face some sort of racism. So don't worry. Okay?

(Mick Rory starts burning the escape pod. )
Rory: (excitedly) Ahhhhh - what next?!
Stein: Don't you think that's enough incineration for one day, Mr. Rory?
Rory: No, I do not, Professor!

(Nate, Jax and Sara have just discovered the events of The Civil War were changed.)
Nate: Okay. So... how do we fix it?
Jax: We don't. I do.
Sara: Jax...
Jax: There's a reason black people were used as spies - because we were invisible! That's why I'm going in there. Don't worry! If anything happens, it's on me.
Sara: No, Jax, it's on me! Look, Mick is already hurt and I don't like the idea of putting anyone else in harm's way.
Jax: And I don't like the idea of having a flag that has 20 stars on it.

Nate: When we get to wherever we're going, maybe I should be the one that breaks the zombie news to General Grant? I'm someone he'll listen to.
Sara: Because you're a man?
Nate: We're a couple of hundred years away from gender equality.
Sara: Only a couple of hundred?
Nate: Look, all I'm saying is maybe - just maybe - when we get to the Union Army, you let me do the talking.
(Suddenly, the two are surrounded by Union soldiers.)
Sara: Okay. You do the talking.

Vixen: So... what's our plan?
Jax: Well, if things go easy, we sneak in while everybody is asleep, find the Confderate plans and grab them.
Vixen: (sighs) Are things ever easy with your group?
Jax: Eh - good point.

General Grant: And I keep asking, what - in perdition's flames - is a zombie?
Sara: This!
(Sara walks into the tent clutching a severed head by the hair. She plants it on the table, where it starts biting at open air.)

(Vixen has just broken Jax free of his chains.)
Jax: Okay. Good. (nods to the other chained people in the barn) Now let's free them.
Vixen: I thought you said if we didn't do our job, we could end up doing more harm than good.
Jax: Yeah. That's still a risk.
Vixen: So what's changed?
Jax: The way these people are being treated? That's the real Abberation. I can see that now. This is the history that needs to be fixed.
(Vixen nods and moves to break one man's chains.)
Man: No, no, I'm much obliged ma'am, but I told you what happens if they catch us.
Jax: Don't worry. We're going to protect you. I know you're scared. I get it! Don't ask me how I know this but... it gets better. Not perfect. Nowhere near close but... better than this! But it starts right now. With us not giving up!

Sara: Run fast. Run hard. Don't die.
Nate: I can promise you two of those things.

(Professor Stein finds Ray sprawled out on the floor.)
Stein: Oh, no! Raymond, don't be dead. (pauses to consider this) On the other hand, if you ARE dead, please stay dead.

(Zombie Rory has Professor Stein pinned. Stein has turned his head and squeezed his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable. Suddenly, he realizes the inevitable isn't coming and opens his eyes to look up at a very confused and worried looking Mick Rory.)
Rory: Professor? What's going on? Was I just trying to kiss you?
Stein: Uh - I can only hope, Mr. Rory. I can only hope...

(Nate emerges from the pile of blown-up zombies.)
Nate: I am covered in zombie guts.
Sara: But you're alive!
(Sara smiles and grabs Nate as if she's about to hug him and then thinks better of it.)
Nate: I think I'm gonna be sick.


Ray: I don't think it's any secret that... without my suit, I've been wondering what my place in the team is. If... (chuckles nervously) I even have a place, you know?
Rory: Being an outsider is a good thing. It's a great thing. I've been an outsider my whole life. You get to tell people to go... shove it!
(Rory chuckles and sits up, opening up the case his feet had been propped up on. He pulls out Captain Cold's gun and powers it up, pointing it at Ray.)
Ray: What are you doing?
Rory: Something I hope I don't regret.
(Rory depowers the gun and stands, walking over to Ray.)
Rory: This belonged to the greatest outsider I ever knew. (pauses) I'm looking for a partner.
(Rory hands the cold gun to Ray.  Ray looks down at it and powers it on.)
Ray: Cool.

Stein: You've just witnessed the very worst of humanity. We share a psychic connection but I... I still can't begin to fathom what you must be feeling. It must be... like your heart is broken.
Jax: Yeah. It is. But I saw something in those people's eyes... I didn't expect to see. I saw hope. I saw dignity. Those men and women? They were treated worse than animals, but they never let anyone stop them from being people, you know?
Stein: I suppose there will always be those who will seek to dehuamize us. But I believe there are more that cling to hope, despite the darkness.
Jax: Yeah. That is exactly how they were.
Stein: I was actually thinking of you, Jefferson.


Continuity

The time pirate who crashes in 1863 was part of the crew of a ship called The Dauntless.

We here more of the message from the Barry Allen of 2056 to Rip Hunter. The message warns that a war is coming.

Professor Stein never addresses Sara by her first name. It's always Ms. Lance.

Stein has an irrational fear of zombies.

According to Gideon, thanks to the zombie plague and the death of the dispatch The Legends failed to save, The Union forces surrendered to The Confederacy on August 15, 1865.

In the original timeline, Henry Scott had a school named after him for his heroic actions.

According to Nate, mankind is still a couple of centuries away from gender equality in 1863. This suggests he has some knowledge of future events beyond 2016.

Nate did his sophomore thesis on The American Civil War.

One of the slaves recognizes Vixen's amulet as being of Zambesi origin.

Nate's "Steel" form is strong enough to withstand the explosion of a crate full of nitroglycerine at point-blank range.

Mick Rory gives Ray Palmer Len Snart's cold gun.

Jax learned how to do scrimshaw from his mother.


Location

Hinds County, Mississippi - 1863


The Bottom Line

It says a lot about the strength of an ensemble when the portion of an episode dealing with zombie Confederate soldiers is the least interesting aspect of it! The cast is on fire as a whole, but it is Jax's subplot as he puts himself into the shoes of a Civil War era spy that carries the show and shows off Franz Drameh's acting chops to the fullest. The zombie stuff gets a little silly at times but the cast and crew carries it off in a way to do Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell proud. This might have been an ordinary filler episode but it proved to be so much more.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 1, Episode 12 - Last Refuge

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



Plot

The Time Masters' best assassin - a woman called The Pilgrim - has been dispatched to kill all of The Legends before they joined the crew of The Waverider.. A race begins as our heroes move to save their past selves, with Rip offering the young counterparts safety in the Time Master orphanage where he grew up - The Refuge.


Influences

Geoff Johns's runs on The Flash (Mick Rory's background in this episode) and JSA (Kendra's storyline here mirrors the conflict of Hawkgirl in the comics had regarding her own romantic life, one storyline focused on several JSA members, led by Rip Hunter, traveling in time to save their past selves and their teammates from a time-traveling assassin),  Superman: The Movie (the opening trial of the time pirate resembles Zod's trial before the High Council of Krypton stylistically) and the movie The Terminator (base concept of an cybernetic assassin being sent from the future to alter a future timeline, Ray quotes the movie when saving a young Rory)


Goofs

We're told that The Omega Protocal requires a certain degree of precision and subtlety. Given that, how does storming a police station in broad daylight and killing several police officers - as the Orphan does in her attempt to kill a teenage Sarah Lance - qualify as precise and subtle?

Granting that Rip probably did have Gideon check to make sure that Martin Stein's mother would be okay first, it still seems incredibly foolish for Rip and Rory to snatch baby Martin as he is literally fresh out of the womb and leave his mother behind without seeing her safely to a hospital after she gave birth in the backseat of a car with only her husband assisting her with the birth.

Jefferson Jackson's birthday is said to be sometime in 1993. However, he was a high-school football star when the Particle Accelerator Explosion occurred in Central City on December 11, 2013. While it isn't impossible for Jax to have been held back a few years, it still seems unlikely.that he was still in high school at the age of twenty. Particularly since he's been depicted as being too young to drink legally in 2016. (21 being the drinking age in the USA).

Again, regarding the precision required of The Omega Protocol - how does kidnapping and threatening to kill six innocent people in order to bring about the deaths of six other people count as precise?

If The Omega Protocol can't be applied to Time Masters, how can the The Pilgrim agree to killing a young Rip Hunter instead of her targets? I had thought it was going to be a trick but it turns out she really did capture all those loved ones and was ready to bargain in good faith.

How can The Orphan shrug off bullets but be incapacitated by a knife slash administered by a ten year old street kid?

Considering that Ray lost his fiancee to violence, you'd expect him to be a little more conflicted than he seems to be here about seeing her alive and well again, regardless of his feelings for Kendra.


Performances

Ciara Renee gets a nice moment of non-verbal acting in her reaction to Ray's proposal. She's smiling but her eyes betray her fear that the universe really IS trying to stop her from being with a man besides Carter Hall/Prince Khufu given how Ray's proposal attempts have been thwarted twice now.

Caity Lotz does a fantastic job playing the younger Sara Lance. For a while I wasn't certain if it was her in a wig or just a very well cast younger actress.

It's always nice to see Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance, however briefly. His scene at the end with Sara is a sweet one.

Franz Drameh hasn't been given a lot of moments to show his dramatic chops The scene where Jax meets his father, for the first time, however, is a great scene that shows he should be given the center stage more often.

Dominic Purcell has often been relegated to being the comic relief or the heavy on this show. And while he does get a number of funny moments in this episode, he also gets two wonderful dramatic scenes trying to scare his past self straight.


Artistry

The team's combined attack on The Pilgrim - while probably the show's cheapest use of CGI to date - is very well shot.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

In the opening sequence, we find out that Mick Rory's parents died in a house fire. In the origin for Heatwave written by Geoff Johns during his run on The Flash, Mick Rory's entire family died in a fire he started as a child.

It is revealed in this episode that Rip Hunter's birth-name was Michael. In the comics, Rip Hunter is the son of the superhero Booster Gold, whose real name was Michael Jon Carter.


Technobabble

The Omega Protocol calls for a certain degree of precision. This means that if the assassin carrying out the hit fails, they cannot go back and try it again a week earlier for fear of damaging the timeline.

Gideon is able to track The Pilgrim by monitoring the temporal wake of her ship.

Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a time ship to hide its temporal wake. The Time Masters, however, have ways of hiding a time ship's passage under extreme duress.

Temporal Micro Manipulation is the ability to control time in one's immediate vicinity. This includes slowing time's passage, stopping it completely and causing it to run in reverse.

When history is altered by a person's past-self being taken out of the normal flow of time for too long, that person's future self disappears from the minds of everyone who ever knew them.

The Refuge is a secret orphanage located at an unknown point and location in history. The Time Masters use it to raise children with no connections who can be trained as future Time Masters.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ray: (To a young Mick Rory) Come with me if you want to live! (aside) I always wanted to say that!

Sara: So it seems like you decided to ignore the advice from Old West you about not being with Ray.
Kendra: Ignoring her advice about Ray was your advice. Remember?
Sara: Don't listen to my advice. (putting her staff down to pick up a water bottle) So did you tell him what she said?
Kendra: Oh, sure! (mock-cheerful) "Hey, Ray, by the way? The woman I met in 1871 was me and she told me our love was doomed to fail because you're not Carter."
Sara: (deadpan) So is that a no?
Kendra: Look, Ray and I are happy together. We should be able to enjoy that before i have to drop the whole doomed love-affair thing on his head.
Sara: (sarcastically) Yeah, I mean who wants a relationship based on honesty and communication? (gags and pretends to vomit)
Kendra: Believe me - a relationship based on an ancient Egyptian curse doesn't work much better.

(Sara fights The Orphan as her younger self watches. Suddenly, Young Sara seems to recognize her older self.)
Young Sara: My God, she's-
Rory: - quite the badass!

Young Mick: She slapped me!
Young Sara: The little weirdo said that he liked the way I smelled!
Young Mick: I'm usually a lot smoother but I'm kinda freaking out right now.
Sara: (pointing to her younger self) You! Hands to yourself! (whispers) And the next time, hit him with a flat palm. (looking to Young Mick) And you... you're not her type.

(Rip explains that they run the risk or making their future selves be forgotten by the people they love by kidnapping themselves as infants.)
Jax: You mean my own mom won't even know me?
Stein: My wife...
Rory: Yeah, and my... my uh.... I don't have anyone.

Sara: All right. This is just like any other mission. The mark may be a newborn but it might as well be a diamond or a microchip.
Kendra: You know what? You're starting to sound like Snart.
(Sara makes a disgusted noise.)

Rory: You guys asked for a doctor, right?
Mr. Stein: (confused) How would we?
Rip: Ah - he means that we were on our way to the hospital and we saw your automobile.
Rory: Yeah! And this little munchkin needs a checkup.
(Rory takes the baby Martin away from Mr. Stein.)
Rory: Pre-natal care! It's very important.
Rip: (quietly and quickly) He means post-natal. We'll take him straight to the hospital. We'll meet you there.
(Rip and Rory walk off.)
Mr. Stein: What about my wife!?

Stein: It is somewhat disconcerting that my father would give me up so willingly to two complete strangers.
Ray: Well, the 1950s was a much more trusting time. Trust me - I lived then!

Jax: You were supposed to be shipping out.
James Jackson: How do you know that?
(Jax just nods to the kit bag on the ground.)
James Jackson: Ah! Right. My transport's been delayed. I told my CO my wife's giving birth. He gave me a pass. And a Jeep. And I made it. I saw him. (points to a baby through the glass) My boy. Which one's yours?
Jax: Oh, ah-no. I'm - I'm - I'm not a dad. I'm just... I'm here for my family.
James Jackson: Well, I hope you get to experience this for yourself one day. Imagining all the things my boy's gonna be when he grows up.
Jax: How do you know?
James Jackson: He's my son. Jefferson Jackson. Remember that name.
(Jax chuckles.) 
James Jackson: He's destined for great things. (glancing at his watch) I've got to go. Will you give the nurse a message for my wife?
Jax: You're leaving already?
James Jackson: I'm AWOL if I don't. I just want her to know that I saw my son. And that I couldn't be more proud and happy. And, uh tell her that I'll be home as soon as I can. Can you do that for me?
(Jax just nods as his dad picks up his bag and moves down the hall.)
Jax: Wait!
(James Jackson turns around.)
Jax: I got to tell you something.
(Jax tries to speak and winds up chuckling again.)
Jax: Congratulations.
James Jackson: Thanks. Appreciate that.
(Jax just watches his dad walk off this time.) 

Stein: If all goes according to plan we'll only be here for a a few minutes and then presumably never remember.
Ray: When's the last time anything went according to plan?
Kendra: I don't think there was a last time.

(Rory rounds a corner and finds his younger self staring at a lit match.)
Rory: Where'd you find the match?
Young Mick: You can always fine one.
Rory: Beautiful, isn't it? Not as beautiful as a whole house going up in flames though...
Young Mick: It was an accident...
Rory: Sure it was.
Young Mick: You don't know me. You think I wanted to kill my family?!
Rory: I think you fell in love with your dad's lighter fluid. I think you fell in love with flames dancing around. But then you realized you couldn't control them and you ran without waking your family. The only thing you were concerned about was saving your own skin. (getting up in his younger self's face) Now, while I'm gone there better not be any accidents. If there is, I'm gonna come looking for you. And I'm gonna kill you!
Young Mick: You sound just like my dad.
(Rory turns around and walks away, looking somewhat disturbed at that thought.)

Young Rip: Thought you could snuff me out? You don't know me at all, Miss.

Rory: (to his younger self) You can't change the things you did. But you can change what you become. Don't be like me. Be better.


Continuity

When a person's past self is murdered, their present self mirrors the damages they suffer in the past before dying. Their body then disintegrates into a pile of blue powder.

Mick Rory's parents died in a house fire in 1990. It is suggested that he started the fire by accident and watched it burn rather than try and save his family. It's also implied that his father was abusive.

Jax tells the young Rory that they're part of a secret group called ARGUS. ARGUS is, of course, the government espionage group run by Amanda Waller then Lyla Michaels on Arrow.

Sara refers to her and Kendra's encounter with Kendra's 1871 self in 111.

The Omega Protocol cannot be applied to rogue Time Masters, due to the potential side-effects on the time line. They also can't be applied to the continually reincarnated, like Kendra, because there's no real point to it.

Rip has a secret stash of vintage cereal on The Waverider.

Fruit Brute is Ray's favorite cereal.

The Pilgrim's powers include super-strength (throwing around fully-grown police officers with ease), super-endurance (She is able to survive blasts from both The ATOM suit and Mick Rory's flamethrower) and temporal micro-manipulation (slowing and then turning one of Firestorm's blasts back upon them).

Sara Lance made $5000 in one summer babysitting.

Ray proposes to Kendra. She accepts, but feels somewhat strange about it.

Jax's dad was a soldier, who died in Somalia two weeks after his Jax was born.

Jax was told that his dad was shipped out before his wife went into labor. The truth is that his father was granted a pass and a jeep to drive to the hospital to see his son before heading out.

Rip Hunter's birth name is Michael. He was raised in a Time-Master run orphanage called The Refuge.

The Time Masters pull orphans from around time and raise them in The Refuge to fill their ranks.

Rip was a cut-purse from the age of five onward. His ten year old self is a hardened enough youth to think nothing of stabbing a woman that tries to kill him.

Clarissa Stein no longer remembers her husband.

Quentin Lance recognizes his older daughter and says that he is proud of her.

Jax tells his father about the attack that takes his life in the hope that it might save him once he is returned to his proper place in time and space.


Location

Vanishing Point
Central City - 1990
The Temporal Zone
Starling City - 2007
Starling City - December 9, 2014
Central City - 1972
Ivy Town - 1950
Central City - 1993
The Refuge
Abandoned Time Masters Outpost


The Fridge Factor

Every conversation Kendra and Sara have in this episode is about Kendra's relationship with Ray.

Honestly, Kendra's entire character arc in the past few episodes is based around who she is dating rather than anything about her as a person.


The Bottom Line

A problematic episode, to say the least. There's some good character defining moments for characters like Jax and Heatwave who haven't gotten a lot of moments to shine so far. But the Kendra/Ray romance feels horribly rushed, the rules regarding what The Pilgrim can and can't do are inconsistent and a lot of the characters written horribly out of character for the sake of a few jokes. (Shouldn't Rory be past being dumb muscle now after all his time as Chronos?) The cast make MOST of these scenes work but a lot of them don't. You know it's going to be a bad time when Rory has more witty lines than Snart.