Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 18 - The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly

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



Plot

With Mallus freed, Rip Hunter becomes determined to improvise a new plan that doesn't involve using the six Zambesi totems. Amaya, in turn, becomes more determined than ever to use the totems to destroy Mallus once and for all while Sara wants to seek out new bearers. It all leads down to a Legendary showdown in The Wild West... but not everyone may be making it out of this fight.


Influences

Weird Western Tales (the general theme), every cartoon that involves the themes of the heroes combining positive energy and elemental powers for an ultimate attack and the movie Ghostbusters (the team goofball causes an elemental being to manifest in a silly form.)


Goofs

With all the references to Care Bears and Voltron, they really should have dropped a reference to Captain Planet too. (Elemental jewelry being used to summon a perfect being?)


Performances

It's a brief thing, but the short scenes of Tala Ashe and Johnathon Schaech as Zari and Jonah Hex become friendly (despite Zari's obvious aversion to a man who wears a Confederate officer's hat) are magical.


Artistry

The final battle between The Legends and Malice's forces is perfect.

The CGI for the battle between Malice and The Perfect Being, while not wholly realistic, does work for what it is.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The title is a parody of the classic Western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

This episode reveals that Mallus' true name is Malice. Strangely enough, there is a long history of comic book villains named Malice, but only one of them is from DC Comics. These include two Black Panther villains, an evil secondary personality of The Invisible Woman, an alternate universe version of The Invisible Woman, a body-less X-Men villain who possessed others, a Ghost Rider enemy and two characters from two separate Image Comics series. The DC Comics Malice is the daughter of the New God Vermin Vundabar and a member of The Female Furies.

Ray identifies the town of Salvation as lying in North Dakota, though in 1874 it was still known as The Dakota Territory. North Dakota did not become ratified as a state until 1889.

Nate compares the original Totem Bearers unifying their powers to The Care Bear Stare - an attack used in The Care Bears cartoons where the titular animals would fight beings that thrived on negative by radiating their positive energy through focused blasts of light that emitted from their tummies.

Nate also compares using the Zambesi totems to create a perfect being of light to counter Malice to the cartoon character Voltron - Defender Of The Universe - who was formed by a combination of five robot lions.


Technobabble

By removing The Time Drive of The Waverider, Rip makes it unstable. He hopes to use its explosion to temporarily delay Malice, though it will likely kill him in the process.

Salvation is a temporal blind spot to those who have the ability to see through time. Sara presumes that this applies to a time demon like Malice as much as it did The Time Masters. This turns out to be dead wrong.

Zari creates a "temporal beacon" program to contact The Legends allies across time in order to find likely totem bearers.

Code 1-1-3 in Nate's system for PA announcements means "Everyone Report To The Bridge." It seems likely this is the code Nate meant to use in the last episode, when he usded Code 1-3-1, which means they're serving pancakes at breakfast.

The process for creating a perfect being of light using The Zambesi Totems is thus: Fire provides the spark of life. Air gives it breath. Water gives it blood. Earth gives it flesh. Spirit gives it a soul. Death gives it the power over Malice.


Dialogue Triumphs

Gideon: I believe I know what you are planning. It is extremely reckless with a low likelihood of success.
Rip: Well, then. It seems like I've finally learned how to think like a Legend.

Sara: Rip?!
Rip: I'm a little busy at the moment, Sara!
Sara: Look, you didn't tell us that you were buying us time with your life.
Rip: Listen carefully: this gambit will not kill Mallice. I'm only delaying him long enough for you to make an escape.
Sara: There has to be another way!
Rip: No. There isn't. (calmly) It's all right, Sara. I should very much like to see my wife and son again. I will miss you, Captain Lance. You and the rest of The Legends. My one hope is that you all live up to that name.

Rip: Goodbye.
Sara: (quietly) Goodbye, Captain. (shouting) Gideon, get us out of here!
(Malice approaches Rip, growling and throwing fireballs, but unable to reach him because of the force field. The Waverider flies past them and disappears. Malice growls in rage.)
Rip: Ironic, isn't it?! A time demon who has run out of time!
(The Drive explodes, creating a portal that pulls Malice into it.)
Damien: (depressed) Well, I hope you're here to make good on your promise and kill me. Which would work out for both of us. It would be a real win-win.
Sara: Mercy killing's not my style. Even if it were, you don't deserve my mercy. You deserve to live out the rest of your days knowing that you destroyed your own daughter.

Sara: Ray? Nothing stupid.
(Sara leaves the lab. Damien turns to Ray.)
Damien: Is she right? Are you really planning something stupid?
Ray: Maybe. Probably. (pauses) Most likely. But it could fix this whole thing. And get Nora back. 


Sara: So who died and made you Sheriff?
Jonah Hex: That would be the old Sheriff.

Sara: We are not here to cause trouble. We're here to avoid it.
(Suddenly, there is the sound of shooting out in the streets. Everyone runs out to see three riders approaching.)
Jonah Hex: This the trouble you aiming to avoid?
Sara: ... not exactly.
(The riders stop to reveal themselves as Blackbeard, Julius Caesar and Freydís Eiríksdóttir. Their eyes glow red, indicating their possession by Malice.)

(Ray punches Nate and runs onto the now activated jump-ship. Nate can be heard pounding on the side of the ship, asking Ray if he's gone crazy.)
Damien: You know, not that I couldn't watch Pompadour get punched out all day, but you could have just told him where we are going. (pauses) Where are we going?
Ray: To right before Mallus took over Nora. And I can't tell anybody because we're not supposed to travel to events in which we've participated in.
Damien: Hah. And no one on your team trusts -me-?
Ray: Well, that goes without saying.

Zari: Sara wants us to find new totem bearers but we're a little short on allies.
Jonah Hex: Well, The Legends, they may be... an unorthodox lot, but they got a knack for making friends. 
Zari: Like you?
Jonah Hex: (grunting) I don't take a shine for most folks.
Zari: (smirking) Me either.

(Amaya is running through how to use the totems to create their "perfect being".)
Amaya: Nate...
Nate: (firmly) I will use The Earth Totem to give Voltron flesh!
Sara: You've got to stop calling it that.
Nate: I will never stop calling it that!

(Sara is reluctant to wield The Death Totem)
Mick: (earnestly) Don't worry. If you turn into witch bitch, I'll kill you.
Sara: ... thank you.
Mick: You're welcome.

(The six totem bearers join hands and the totems light up. The following conversation takes place telepathically.)
Mick: Why does Pretty have such girly hands?
Nate: Damn... this Lyoga root is strong!  Concentrate Nate. Think about "Voltron: Defender of the Universe."
Wally: I kind of pictured myself wielding something cool. Like a lightning totem.
Zari: Am I crazy, or is Jonah Hex hot?
Sara: Eh. You could do worse than Hex.
Zari: Wait. You can hear me?
Amaya: We can all hear each other.
Mick: Even what I said about Pretty's girly hands?
Everyone Except Mick: YES!

Ava: I got your message. We all did.
(Helen and Kuasa nod to The Legends.)
Jax: You guys just can't seem to keep yourselves out of trouble, can you?

Sara: All right. We're facing an army of Romans, Vikings and Pirates. But you know what today is? Today is the day that we prove that Rip did not sacrifice his life in vain. And today is the day that we prove that we are not losers! And today is the day that we earn the name Legends!
(Everyone cheers as Sara slams back a shot of whiskey.)
Sara: Now... how do we sneak out the back?

(Amaya opens her eyes to look at the perfect being as it is forming.)
Amaya: Wait - Is somebody thinking of-?
Nate: I'm sorry! You said think of something pure and I thought -
Sara: (disgusted) No. You didn't...
Nate: Again, I said I'm sorry!
Zari: Yeah. I can't stop thinking about him either.
(The being continues forming as Jax backs into the saloon, gun in hand.)
Jax: Guys! Whatever you've got -
(Jax spins around and goes slack-jawed as he sees something astonishing. He then runs back out into the street because whatever he was running from is clearly not as bad as what the other Legends have unleashed. The ground begins to shake as the assembled hordes of Malice's troops and our heroes look around, united in terror.)
Jonah Hex: What the Sam Hill is going on?!
Ray: I think this is part of Sara's plan.
(The roof is blown off of the saloon. Everyone looks up in shock as a being lands on the ground before them. It is big, blue and cuddly with large eyes. It is a giant Beebo.)
Beebo: Mmmm!  I lo-lo-love you!
Freydís Eiríksdóttir: (horrified) The Blue God - he has returned!
(Ray's jaw drops as he tries to say something but instead laughs manically.)
Helen of Troy: That is your Captain's plan?!
Ava: Where in the hell are Sara and the others?
Jax: That is Sara and the others!
Ava: What?!
Beebo: Beebo hungry!
(Beebo runs off towards where Mallus stands in the distance.)
Jax: Man, have I missed you guys.

Beebo: Beebo want cuddle!

(The rest of the team run up to find the Totem Bearers in a crater as blue fur and stuffing rain down from the sky.)
Zari: Guys, we did it! Our totems united to create a single furry love child.
Mick: Worst. Orgy. Ever.
Nora: (looking around the scene, hoping to see her father) Dad?
Ray: I'm sorry, Nora. (pauses) He died a good man.
Jonah Hex: Damnation. Now I've just have seen 'bout everything.
Ava: (spitting fluff from her mouth) So, wait?  That's it? You destroyed the demon?
Amaya: I'm just glad the ancestors aren't here to see this.
Sara: Yeah, but Rip would be proud.
(Ray laughs again as everyone cheers.)
Nate: We did it, Mick!
(All the totem bearers run forward and group hug a clearly annoyed Mick.)
Mick: Get off of me!

Ray: (To Nora) He died to give you a second chance. Don't waste it.

Amaya: You guys are my family. Always will be. But I have another family waiting for me in the years to come. And they need me more.

Amaya (To Nate): I don't want to forget. Because if I do, I will have lost the only part of you that I'm allowed to keep.

(John Constantine has dropped a large sack onto the beach.)
John Constantine: Now...
(John pulls the sack away to reveal a dragon's head.)
John Constntine: Whose brilliant idea was it to let an ancient demon out of his bloody cage?
Nate: Sara's.
John Constantine: Well, you opened a door, love. And Mallus wasn't the only thing that got out.


Continuity

Mallus' true name is revealed to be Malice.

Rip removes The Time Drive from The Waverider.

Wally and Zari remove the Time Drive from The Waverider's jump ship and use it to fix Gideon's systems so the team can escape.

Rip is apparently killed blowing up the Time Drive in a bid to slow down Malice.

Ray doesn't drink alcohol, but makes an exception because of Rip's apparent death.

The Legends first traveled to Salvation in 111. They arrived there in 1871. This time they arrive in 1874.

Salvation is a temporal blind spot that The Time Masters were unable to see into. Sara believes Malice should be similarly blind to the events that take place there. She turns out to be wrong.

Sara theorizes that the reason why the totems were ineffective against Malice is because the people wielding the totems were not born to be the bearers, as Zari and Amaya were.

Jonah Hex makes his first appearance since 206. Since The Legends last encountered him, Jonah Hex has become Sheriff of Salvation.

Blackbeard (last seen in 312), Julius Ceaser (last seen in 301) and Freydís Eiríksdóttir (last seen in 309) appear as the leaders of Malice's new army.

Amaya journeys into the Zambesi Ancestral Realm for the first time since 313, in order to learn how the first Totem Bearers defeated Malice. Unlike Sara, she believes they can use the totems - they just need better instruction on how to use them properly.

It turns out that Nate has been drinking far too much of the Lyoga Root tea when he took it. One is supposed to take one sip of the tea - not drink the whole cup.

Amaya discovers that The Totems were meant to be used together, with five totems giving form to a perfect being of light and the Death Totem allowing Malice to be made mortal. Without the Death Totem, the other five totems could only imprison Malice.

Code 1-1-3 in Nate's system for PA announcements from 317 means "Everyone Report To The Bridge." The song Ray wrote to help everyone remember the codes actually got stuck in Mick's head, causing him to remember that one code. ("If the code is 1-1-3, it's off to the bridge, for you and me.")

Amaya refers to Mick running into his father in 307.

Amaya refers to Zari taking up the Air Totem in 303 and how their totems called to each other.

Wally says that maybe his joining The Legends in 313 wasn't a coincidence either.

Wally takes up The Water Totem in Ray's absence.

Sara takes up The Death Totem again.

The first effort to create a perfect being fails. Mick kills the resulting creature with his fire gun.

Damien and Ray travel back to Zambesi in 1992, hoping to knock Nora out before her body is destroyed to give Malice a physical form.

Helen of Troy, now trained as an Amazon warrior, makes her first appearance since 306.

Kuasa makes her first appearance since her death in 316.

Since the alteration of the past in 1992 and the salvation of Zambesi, Kuasa's fate has changed. Kuasa has now grown into a good soul, who is anxious to fight alongside her legendary grandmother. She describes Amaya as "The Woman Who Saved Zambesi." Kuasa and Mari also now share The Spirit Totem. This indirectly means that the events of the Vixen animated series never happened.

Jefferson "Jax" Jackson makes his first appearance since 309. While it has been a few months since The Legends have seen him, for Jax it has been five years since he flew on The Waverider, meaning this version of Jax was retrieved from 2023. During those five years, Jax has gotten married to an unnamed woman (Nate comments on how he is wearing a wedding band) and Jax has a daughter named Martinia.

Damien steals Ray's naninte gun and uses it to shoot Nora. This drives Malice into possessing him instead. Ray takes the wounded Nora and returns to Salvation as Damien.

Ava has never ridden a horse before.

When The Legends try to create a perfect being this time, they create a giant Beebo doll.

Kuasa is given the Death, Earth, Water and Fire totems to guard until they find new bearers.

Jonah Hex gives Zari his hat.

Ray gives Nora Darhk her father's time stone.

Amaya returns to Zambesi in 1942. Nate does not erase her memory.

The team now consists of Sara, Ray, Mick, Nate, Zari and Wally. They go on vacation in Aruba together, much to Mick's annoyance.

Ava and Sara have made plans to celebrate their victory later, but Ava is busy cleaning up all the anachronisms caused by the latest adventure.

Gary Green has been traveling with John Constantine and is wearing a John Constantine cosplay.

John shows The Legends the severed head of a dragon, informing them that other things escaped from Malice's prison when he was released.


Location

Salvation, Dakota Territory - 1874
Zambesi - 1992
Zambesi - 1942
Aruba - 2018



Untelevised Adventures

Apparently John Constantine and Gary Green fought a dragon.


The Fridge Factor

Averted hardcore. Indeed, after seeing how easily Helen of Troy is able to handle multiple enemies, the only real goof here is that Hippolyta didn't send a horde of Amazons to help Helen in this fight. Then again, given what one Amazon can do, there wouldn't be much of an episode of a score of them ended the fight in two minutes


The Bottom Line

Absolutely perfect. Does it always make sense? No. Is it goofy as all get out? Yes. But unlike every other CW Superhero show, Legends of Tomorrow has embraced its goofiness without making its characters into total idiots to make its stories work. In doing this, it has perfectly captured the spirit of the comic books that inspired it. And I can't wait for Season Four.

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

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




Plot

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


Influences

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


Goofs

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


Performances

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

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


Trivia Of Tomorrow

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

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

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


Technobabble

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

Time Couriers keep a log of where they have been.

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

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

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

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


Dialogue Triumphs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Dialogue Disasters

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

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


Continuity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gary has a fear of things covered in sheets.

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

Kuasa gives Amaya back The Anansi Totem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Location

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


The Bottom Line

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

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 3, Episode 10 - Daddy Darhkest

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

Plot

Exorcist and Demonoligist John Constantine approaches The Legends about help with his current client - one who has an odd connection to their team. As John, Sara and Leo wind up someplace else, it will fall to Ray and Zari to care for John's client as Nate and Amaya have another encounter with Kuasa.


Influences

The Swamp Thing comics of Alan Moore and the Hellblazer comics of Jaime Delano (asylum setting, presence of John Constantine, references to The Newcastle Incident) and the movie The Exorcist (the opening shot of John approaching the hospital is a visual nod to the movie poster, general theme of a young woman being demonically possessed, Nora does the head-spinning around trick from the same movie).


Goofs

Given her training as an assassin and infiltration specialist, it's hard to believe that Sara wouldn't have an alias picked out on the off chance she was stopped by a guard in the asylum.


Performances

Matt Ryan is so delightful as John Constantine it's bloody sinful. His chemistry with Caity Lotz is particularly impressive and it's a damn shame we couldn't keep him around for more than one episode.

On that note, Wentworth Miller, while not quite being given the chance to steal the show, does get a nice turn as "Fake Snart". Hopefully this won't be the last we see of him, though he's said he's done with the Arrowverse for a while.


Artistry

The direction is incredibly effective at establishing the appropriate creepy aura the episode requires.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The doctor treating "Emily" is credited as Ellen Moore. This seems to be an audio pun on the name of Alan Moore - the legendary comic writer who created John Constantine.

Mallus makes reference to a girl named Astra whom John Constantine failed to save. This is a nod to the Constantine series and the original Hellblazer comics, where John botched a magical ritual while trying to save a girl named Astra from a demon named Negral and the mistake cost John his soul and caused Astra to be dragged to Hell.

Instead of the usual Legends of Tomorrow logo, the title card for this episodefeatures the Legends logo over the burning mandala used to open the Constantine TV series.

John Constantine claims to be a Taurus. In the classic Hellblazer comics, John's birthday was May 10, 1953. This would indeed make him a Taurus in Western Astrology.

John Constantine is depicted as openly flirting with Leo Snart. In the comics, John Constantine is bisexual - a fact that was not overtly portrayed in the Constantine TV series.

The hospital where Emily is being held is called Sumner Asylum. This may be a nod to musician Gordon Sumner a.k.a. Sting, who famous offered the visual inspiration for John Constantine in the original Swamp Thing comics.

Emily's room number is 327. This is a nod to the Stephen King novel The Shinning.

John Constantine says "Allons-y, Alonso" at one point when the team needs to hurry. Allons-y was the catch-phrase of The Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who - another long-coat wearing Englishman. The Tenth Doctor once said his biggest wish was to meet someone named Alonso so he could say "Allons-y, Alonso!" He got his wish in the episode Voyage of The Damned.

Amusingly enough, the Alonso The Tenth Doctor got to say this to - Midshipman Alonso Frame - was played by actor Russell Tovey - who played The Ray in Crisis on Earth X. Alonso Frame would also go on to hook up with Captain Jack Harkness in the Doctor Who episode The End of Time. Captain Jack, of course, was played by John Barrowman, who also played Malcolm Merlyn on Arrow.

The running gag about John being unable to find a way to light his cigarette until the very end of the episode is a nod to how, due to the standards and practices of NBC, John was unable to be depicted lighting a cigarette and then smoking it on Constantine. The show found ways around this, depicting John's smoking habit by either showing John putting his cigarette out or drawing one and cutting away before he lit it.


Technobabble/Arcana

John uses a spell to confuse the nurse who challenges his entering the hospital after visiting hours.

John's exorcism ritual appears to be based on the Catholic exorcism tradition, requiring a Latin chant, a brandished cross and holy water.

John was able to find Sara by using a dowsing dagger that he attuned to her specific energy.

Ray and Zari work on creating a nanite pistol that can emulate the properties of both Heatwave's flamethrower and Captain Cold's cold gun crossing streams using nanotech.

The true names of demons can be used by a magician to command them.

Thiopental - the drug prescribed to Emily - is a barbiturate that is administered intravenously for the induction of general anesthesia. It can be counteracted by a shot of adrenaline.

Demons prey on the most vulnerable souls.

A victim of possession must be awake and alert for an exorcism to be performed.

John Constantine's custom-designed demon trap incorporates the Triangle of Solomon with some elder runes and Enochian script. It was first mentioned in C101.

Exorcism rituals can disrupt electronics.

Gideon identifies the symbol Nora Darhk drew as a rune used by dark magicians for temporal manipulation.

The touch of dark magic leaves the one touched vulnerable to further manipulation. In this case, Mallus is able to mess with Sara's head and scare her with visions of things that aren't real.

Demons attempt to weaken a person's resolve, priming them for possession by attacking them with visions that inspire negative emotions - usually fear and rage. John knows a ritual that can counter this sort of psychic attack, but it leaves both the magician and the victim feeling like they have the mother of all hangovers. A shot of pickle juice and a gin and tonic can cure that, however.

A magic circle made from the ashes of a slain phoenix can be used to hold even a demon as powerful as Mallus.

Extract of hawk week mixed with the saliva of a damned man can be used to make a potion that summons a demon into a person.


Dialogue Triumphs

John: You want to tag along for an exorcism?
Sara: Yep.
John: That's out of the bloody question, love.
Sara: Well, we gave you its name. So you owe us.
John: Well, I gave you your soul. So you owe me indefinitely.
Sara: (smugly) Hmmm. All the more reason for me to help you.

(Leo is trying to convince Sara that Ava Sharpe is clearly crushing on her.)
Sara: Even if it was - and it is not - we're completely different people.
Leo: I know. You're both strong women. You're both obsessed with repairing time. You're both super hot.
(Sara raises an eyebrow at that.)
Leo: Gay. Not blind.
Sara: Look, Ava is the kind of girl that you take home to your parents and I... am the kind of girl you take to an exorcist.

(Seeing one of the nurses take a drag on her cigarette, John hungrily grabs for a cigarette from his coat and fumbles for a match. Sara just glares at him disapprovingly.)
John: Well, we wouldn't want to stand out now, would we?
(John takes a match from a matchbox and tries to strike it. It breaks.)
John: Bollocks!

(Everyone is arguing while Mick is trying to watch a football game.)
Ray: (into the radio) Sara? It's Ray. Do you copy?
Nate: Zee, would you please tell her talking to Kuasa is a bad idea?
Zari: No.
Amaya: Thank you! I refuse to accept that my granddaughter is pure evil.
Nate: (sarcastically) Okay. She's 89% evil.
Ray: Guys, I think Sara is in trouble!
Mick: QUIET!
(Mick stands up and turns around to look at the rest of the team.)
Mick: Haircut!  Take the New Girl. Find Blondie, Fake Snart and Trenchcoat. Amaya? The med-bay. Pretty? The library. Water Bitch stays in the freezer.
(Everybody blinks and turns around to leave the room. Ray stops and then comes back, putting on a cheerful smile.)
Ray: You know, Mick - you're really showing some management potential.
Mick: (growling, not looking away from the screen) Get. Out.
(Ray loses his smile and leaves.)

Ray: We can't take her out of here. We're dealing with a... D-E-M-O-N.
Nora: (giggling) I'm not five. I know how to spell demon.
Zari: Places like this just make people crazier - more vulnerable. Isn't it best we keep an eye on her?
Ray: We can't take her on the ship.
Zari: No. No the ship. We need somewhere... sunny and boring. (smiles faintly) Oh. That's your jam, right?
Ray: That- (stammers a bit) is my jam.

Sara: I thought this was all over. The blood lust. The fight for my soul. All the crap that I had to endure.
John: Well, there's always more crap to endure. Take it from one whose damned his own soul to Hell.
(Sara looks at John questioningly.)
John: There was a... girl in Newcastle. Astra. I failed her.
Sara: Some might say you should forgive yourself..
John: (chuckles softly) Well, if I could, then perhaps I wouldn't have the need to save the likes of poor Nora. (looks at Sara) What about you? Have you forgiven yourself for your sins?
Sara: I don't deserve forgiveness.
(John sighs and stands up, offering Sara a hand up. Once she's standing he rubs his hands together, revealing a card. The design on the back shows two birds in flight - one black, one white.)
Sara: What is that?
John: It's a little reminder that you're a survivor. Strong enough even to keep the most powerful demons at bay.
(Sara moves to take the card from John's hand but her fingers play around the card a bit as she looks up at John, as if realizing how close they are standing to each other.)
John: A laundry room in a mental asylum in 1969. Might not be the worst place to be stuck.
(Sara smirks and looks to one side.) 
Sara: Are we really this damaged?
John: (returning the smirk) I certainly hope so.
(Sara kisses John furiously only to break the kiss. John looks at her and then kisses her, pressing her against the support beam they had been sitting against earlier. Sara breaks the kiss and looks at John hungrily as she spins him around and then pushes him into an alcove.)

Amaya: I can't interfere with our fate!
Kuasa: Then you are a coward. (scoffs) But you were a wonderful grandmother. I adored you, Nana Baa. I wanted to be just like you. Then one night, the men came-
Amaya: Please! I can't know this!
Kuasa: I watched the men murder you. Then they burned our village to the ground. Mother ran with Mari. She abandoned me.
Amaya: No! She thought you were dead.
Kuasa: I was alone. In a country ravaged by war.
Amaya: I'm sorry, Kuasa.
Kuasa: I learned to embrace the pain, using it to strike bargains with powerful beings.
Amaya: Like Damien Darhk? What has he promised you?
Kuasa: Something you've refused. A chance to protect our village. A chance to save your life.

(Sara suggests using her as a power source to Mallus to cast the same time travel spell Nora used.)
John: And what about when the demon is inside you, eh?
Sara: You said I was strong enough to hold my own self.
John: Yeah, well... I was trying to seduce you.
Sara: Oh please! I was seducing you!
Leo: I hope no one was trying to seduce anyone while I was about to be lobotomized!
John: You know - this is why I like to work alone!

Sara: Hey. Before you go, I ah... I just wanted to say thank you. For helping me with Mallus, that is.
John: (grinning slyly) Oh. Of course. Helping you with Mallus, was ah... good for me too. If you ever need me to... help you with Mallus again, just give us a call. I'll be right there. Although, ah, lots of people out there with... very weird demons and they all need my help.
Sara: Mmm. I understand.
John: Good.
Sara: And thanks for the shag too. That was great!
(Sara smiles and turns around, leaving a flabbergasted John who slowly smiles.)


Continuity

John Constantine is a Taurus.

John recognizes The Anansi Totem immediately upon seeing Amaya wearing it.

Leo Snart is in confirmed to be in a committed relationship with The Ray.

Ray refers to the events of 306 and the "Freaky Friday Firestorm".

Sara refers to the events of 309 and her encounter with Mallus, whom she calls a demon.

Sumner Asylum is a mental hospital in Star City.

Leo Snart confirms that he is gay, not bisexual.

"Emily" is confirmed to be a teenage Nora Darhk.

Nora Darhk was put into protective custody under the alias Emily after her father was killed by Green Arrow in A423 in May 2016.

The Cold Gun has an incredibly sensitive trigger.

Nora Darhk says the voices in her had kept talking about "The Six". John takes this to be a reference to The Devil (i.e. The Beast) as that is his number.

Mick has not watched a live football game in the three years since he joined the Waverider crew.

Mick's nickname for Zari is New Girl.

Mick's nickname for Leo is Fake Snart.

Mick's nickname for John Constantine is Trenchcoat.

Zari was once in a an insane asylum. Her roommate thought Zari was her pet cat Slinky.

The destruction of Amaya's village occurred in 1992.

Amaya tells Kuasa about her vision from 303 and that she believes that Kuasa is the heir to a totem necklace the ancestor spirits told her she must save.

Kuasa is strong enough to throw Nate around in his metal form.

Sara returns to Mallus' spirit realm, first seen in 309.

Zari's touch burns the possessed Nora Darhk.

Mallus identifies Zari as one of "The Six".

Dr. Moore is revealed to be part of The Order of The Shrouded Compass from 305. They take the teenage Nora back into their custody after Damien Darhk stops Ray and Zari from saving her.

Amaya says she only knows of five totems tied to Zambesi - Spirit, Water, Air, Fire and Earth. John says he'll look into the matter for them.

John warns Ray that despite his best efforts, Mallus will likely find a way to possess Sara again and he'll need to keep his anti-magic gun handy just in case.

Leo leaves The Waverider, saying that he's going to return to Earth X and propose to Ray.

Rip Hunter escaped The Time Bureau's custody


Location

Star City - 2017
Central City - 2017
Star City - January 16, 1969


Untelevised Adventures

John had a previous encounter with the possessed "Emily" before she was committed.

John Constantine apparently encountered Mari McCabe (the modern day Vixen) at some point, recognizing The Anansi Totem and telling Amaya that he was charmed to meet another member of their family.


The Bottom Line

Flawless. Absolutely flawless. A strong return for the series and further proof of how tragic Constantine's cancellation was. This show needs John Constantine as a regular fixture if only for more flirty John/Sara interactions. 

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 3 - Zari

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




Plot

When Sara receives a distress call from her "good friend" Gary, The Legends move in to help capture a time-traveling assassin. Unfortunately, their efforts to help her target - an outlaw named Zari - only makes the anachronism worse. At the same time, Stein tries to diagnosis Amaya's condition, which now has her summoning animal spirits in her sleep.


Influences

The comic X-Men: Days Of Future Past (a dark future where super-powers are illegal) and the movie The Terminator (idea of a time-traveling assassin, Nate quotes the movie)


Goofs

Sara Lance, Mick Rory and Ray Palmer are all listed on the metahuman registry despite not having superpowers. (Perhaps the registry also includes ordinary humans with extraordinary training or technology or any vigilante/criminal with a code-name regardless of whether or not they have powers?)


Artistry

The fight scene in which Nate, Sara and Ray take down a team of ARGUS agents - much to Mick's annoyance since he doesn't get time to shoot someone - is well-executed.



Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode title comes from the name of Zari Tomaz - the new Legend introduced in this episode.

Zari Tomaz is a character unique to the DCTVU, though her name is inspired by that of Adrianna Tomaz - the woman who became The Mighty Isis in the post-Crisis DC Comics Universe. She is armed with The Wind Totem, which gives her the power of flight and the ability to control the element of air.

The Mighty Isis was a heroine originally created for the 1970s children's program The Shazam/Isis Hour which also starred the Billy Batson version of Captain Marvel a.k.a. Shazam.

The Mighty Isis was introduced into the DC Comics universe formally during the mini-series 52. Here, she was an Egyptian woman named Adrianna Tomaz (an homage to the original heroine's secret identity of Andrea Thomas) who was rescued by Black Adam. She would befriend him and eventually the two would fall in love, with Black Adam giving her the Amulet of Isis that allowed her to transform in much the same manner that he did.

This episode is the first of the third season to feature a new introduction, delivered by Sara Lance.

Kuasa is a character unique to The DCTVU, who first appeared in the Vixen animated series. The older sister of Mari McCabe and granddaughter of Amaya Jibe, her battle with her sister for control of The Anansi Totem lay up the heart of the first season of the Vixen animated series.

In the second season of Vixen, the sisters were forced to team up when Mari returned to the land of her birth to fight Eshu - the warlord who had destroyed her home village - who was now armed with a magical Fire totem. Kuasa attempted to turn on her sister using the Water totem they had retrieved together, only to be killed by Eshu in the battle which followed. The Water totem gave Kuasa the power to transform her body into pure water and control water around her - a power she retains following her resurrection.

Based on Kuasa's fights with Ray and Sara in this episode, it appears that her water form has enhanced strength and durability as she is able to trade blows with Ray in The ATOM Suit. She is able to beat Sara handily in a fight, due to Sara's attacks not phasing her and her attacks hitting Sara much harder than they seem they should. She may also have some form of enhanced speed (but not on the level of a speedster) as she is able to dodge and block Sara's attacks with little effort and her background does not suggest much in the way of martial training - at least not on par with a member of the League of Assassins.

Gary - the Time Agent who Sara seduced - has his full name revealed in this episode as Gary Green. It's worth noting that comics have a tradition of alliterative names, which started with Clark Kent (Superman) and continued through Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) and all the way up to Jessica Jones in the modern day.

At one point, Jax comments that ARGUS - whom Ray identifies as a covert paramilitary organization - seems to have forgotten how to be covert as they are now driving around in large black military vehicles with their logo stamped on everything. This seems to be a mocking jibe at Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD, which centers upon a similar organization that features prominent branding on all of their vehicles and equipment despite supposedly being a covert organization few people know about.

Zari asks The Legends to help break her brother out of prison. Mick Rory says the words "Prison Break" ponderously before agreeing to help. Dominic Purcell - the actor who plays Mick Rory - is also one of the stars of the show Prison Break.


Technobabble

In The Time Bureau, a Code 99 is apparently the code for either a rogue metahuman attack or a request for back-up. Gary Green issues one when Kuasa kills the two ARGUS guards transporting Zari Tomaz.

Stein describes Amaya's sleepwalking while wall-crawling as "Acute Arachnid Somnambulism."

ARGUS drones are equipped with lasers.

Stein suggests testing Amaya for an overactive hippocampus, latent chromosomal imbalance and temporal dysplasia.

Lyoga Root is a Zambesi plant known for its spiritual healing properties. A powerful hallucinogen, it is used by Zambesi mystics to go on vision quests.

Jannah means 'sanctuary' in Arabic. Literally, it translates as "paradise". In Islamic tradition, it is also the name of the highest level of Heaven but is also used to refer to The Garden of Eden and any sort of symbolic paradise or haven.


Dialogue Triumphs

Sara: (voice-over) How will we be remembered? Will it be for saving the world twice? Nope! We're the team that broke Time. That's right! History has been torn to shreds. Which means it's up to us to put it back together again, piece-by-piece, fixing these so-called anachronisms before we get torn to shreds. So please, don't call us heroes - We're Legends.

Stein: You're not supposed to wake a sleepwalker! Especially when they're stuck to the ceiling!

Sara: The last time I checked, we help people who are in trouble.
Rory: I don't.

(As the team watches a large military vehicle drive past.)
Ray: (identifying the logo) That's ARGUS - covert paramilitary organization.
Jax: Yeah, but it seems they've forgotten how to be covert.

Nate: (To Zari) Come with us if you want to live.
Ray: Yeah, I used that one, once.

(Jax, Mick, Sara and Ray enter the bar. Ray is wearing a backwards black ball-cap, an eye-patch and a clearly glued-on soul-patch goatee and crossing his arms in an attempt to look tough.)
Sara: Too much, Ray. Too much.
Ray: What? I look like a just robbed a bank!
Jax: Or a costume store.

Zari: I can't believe it! You guys are time-traveling superheroes?!
Ray: Yeah! We've actually saved the world. Twice. Not that we're counting.
Zari: Really? You saved the world?
Ray: Twice!
Zari: Then why does it still suck?
Jax: Uh- just for the record, dealing with that messed up police-state of yours? That's on our to-do list.

Sara: Nate? How are we doing with that rescue?
Nate: (as Scotty from Star Trek) I'm giving her all she's got, Captain! The ship can't take much more of this!
Gideon: Actually, Dr. Heywood, the engines are still idling.
(Cut to outside The Waverider, where it is revealed the ship is hovering and birds are flying past it. It turns out that the visuals of the ship moving at great speed were part of Nate's hallucination.)
Nate: (intensely) Then why does it feel like my face is peeling off?
Jax: Dude, are you high or something?!
Nate: You have no idea...

Kuasa: So you do have it. But are you capable of using it?
Zari: What are you offering for the totem?
Kuasa: I can give you what you really want, Zari. What you want more than that little trinket. I can give you revenge.

(Rory draws his gun and sets himself between Ray and Kuasa)
Rory: If anyone's gonna kill Haircut, it's me, lady!
Ray: (genuinely touched) Awww. Thanks Mick.
Rory: Pleasure.

Kuasa: (To Amaya) I would kill you, but I'd just be killing myself.


Continuity

The Seattle of 2042 is a police state with an anti-metahuman curfew at night.

Kuasa frees an imprisoned woman in 2042 - later revealed to be Zari Tomaz.

Gary the Time Agent, first referred to in 301 and first seen in 302, is now identified with the full name Gary Green.

Ray Palmer refers to the events of Vixen: Season Two and how he once fought someone with water powers.

Nate quotes the movie The Terminator to Zari, when he says "Come with us if you want to live." Ray notes that he made the same quote. He did this in 112.

Metahumans were declared illegal by The Metahuman Act of 2021.

This future seems to contradict what we see of The Future in the pilot episode of The Flash, where a newspaper headline from 2024 seemed to depict The Flash still operating openly.

Zari is capable of hacking an ARGUS drone in seconds so it does not recognize her as a threat.

Gideon determines that there is nothing physically wrong with Amaya.

Zari Tomaz's rap sheet includes burglary, larceny, grand larceny, identity theft, trespassing, digital trespassing, metahuman smuggling, conspiracy and multiple religious infractions due to her being a devout Muslim.

Religion is illegal in 2042.

Mick Rory had a regular bar in Seattle, which is still around in 2042, though the decor is greatly changed.

Zari has no idea who Kuasa is but can think of several reasons why people would want her dead.

Zari agrees to help The Legends if they help break her brother out of an ARGUS holding facility

Ray has Gideon synthesize Lyoga Root extract so that Amaya can go on a spirit quest to find out what is wrong with her powers. He tests the extract on himself first.

Jax elects to free all the prisoners in the ARGUS Black Site after discovering that the metahumans are being tortured as part of some kind of experiment.

Zari lied about needing to rescue her brother. In truth, she needed to recover a necklace that belonged to him.

The necklace is revealed to be The Wind Totem, counterpart to the Fire Totem used by Eshu and the Water Totem used by Kuasa. Zari is able to use it to fly and create focused blasts of compressed air.

Mick's nickname for Nate is "Pretty" or "Prettyboy."

Amaya has a vision of "the world between worlds" and speaks to an ancestral spirit who informs her that her powers are growing stronger because a threat is coming that requires she become more powerful. It also says that she cannot fight this threat alone and must find and protect a girl who is destined to become a totem barer like her. It also advises her to trust her powers and not resist them.

Zari was captured the first time trying to recover the Wind Totem after her brother was killed and ARGUS took it. Ray follows her to a sanctuary where she and her parents were supposed to meet. Zari believes her parents to be dead, killed by ARGUS as well.

The Time Bureau also has access to large Time Ships.

Kuasa offers to help Zari get revenge on ARGUS for destroying her family in exchange for The Wind Totem. Zari rejects her help.

Kuasa has some form of runestone that allows her to teleport.

Ava Sharpe calls The Waverider to tell them that whatever leniency Rip Hunter gave them in the past is over and she intends to banish The Legends to the dawn of time if she sees them again.

Amaya has gotten control of The Anansi Totem again. She confirms that Zari is the "girl" in her vision that her fate is entwined with, whom she must protect.

Zari agrees to join The Legends.

The final scene of the episode, set in Ivy Town 1988, depicts a young Ray Palmer, hiding from some bullies in a sewer pipe and saying hello to some manner of creature.


Location

Seattle - 2042.
Ivy Town - 1988.


The Fridge Factor

Stein and Nate discussing Amaya's condition in front of her like she isn't there and "mansplaining" her own powers to her.


The Bottom Line

A solid introduction for Zari and easily the strongest episode of the show to date. While The Legends still indulge in some tremendously stupid behavior, at least this time it is being done for believable reasons (i.e. Sara butting heads with Ava Sharpe, Jax wanting to stop people being tortured leading to a bigger prison break than planned, Nate wanting to help Amaya out of love, etc.) and the execution of the story is far stronger. More episodes like this in Season Three, please!