Instead of giving a full review as I'd usually do on this blog, I'll instead focus on my top moments of the episode that stood out to me. Overall, this episode was definitely my favorite so far delivering on the action elements as well as a few individual character highlights. I'm hoping that we've only been given a taste of what's to come as far character moments go as there is a great deal of potential within the idea of time traveling in itself. So, with all said and done, let's get into the top moments of this week's episode that really stood out to me (in no specific order).
1. Battle At The Arm's Dealing
There are so many things to seek out during this scene as far as individual character moments go, but the A.T.O.M. is definitely the scene stealer here in my opinion. Watching him take out a bunch of soldiers in his miniature form after leaping out of the professor's pocket then transforming into his normal size continuing to wipe out a bunch of armed guards was a spectacle in of itself.
We're also treated to some great action scenes from everyone here including our dynamic criminal duo with their ice and fire guns (loved the 360 degree shot of them in that scene), the White Canary in all of her combat skilled badassery taking out guards left and right, the quick moment where Hawkman and Hawkgirl confronts Savage, and F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. who grabs a nuke and absorbs its explosion via his powers which was visually amazing on its own. This is exactly the type of scene that I was hoping to see when they first announced the series in which case I can finally say "They definitely delivered the goods".
2. Damien Darhk's Cameo
There are so many things worth picking at in this scene which is one of the reasons I had to add it on the list here. Not only do we see a familiar face during this trip to the past, but it so happens to also be the current season villain of Arrow which perfectly adds an extra layer to that show in its current run (despite how minor it may be). It's such a brilliant use of the character here especially given his position on that show that I hope gets referenced to some degree during Arrow. Maybe he can mention an arm's dealing that went interestingly wrong in his past to another character on the show (sounds awesome just thinking about it).
One thing that I will point out is the way Damien is presented here almost like a 007 villain (Blofeld to be more specific) as well as his age perhaps alluding to his immortality as well. I do wonder if Vandal Savage is actually aware of Darhk's abilities in this scene or perhaps if Darhk has even dipped into the realm of the supernatural during this point in time. Lots of speculations to throw at the screen here for such a quick cameo which makes this cameo all the more amazing.
3. Battle At The Savage Residence
Another action scene worth talking about as we see our ensemble crew taking out Savage's men yet again (only now in a nighttime setting). Visually, this scene is just as amazing as the first big battle sequence and the direction of the action is just as spectacular to take in. However, there is a key moment here that involves a significant character dying off which makes this scene even more impactful as a battle. While our rag tag team of "superheroes" take on Vandal's security force, we see our Hawk couple take on Savage himself which only leads to the tragic death of Hawkman. I was actually surprised by how impacted I was with this scene as I never really felt that interested in those characters until this scene almost fully sold me on the tragic story that surrounds them.
It also helps that the performance by Ciara Renée (Hawkgirl) during the scene when she's laying on the medical table trying to speak about her untold feelings towards Carter was the strongest that she has ever delivered so far on both The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. It also shows how powerful Vandal Savage is in almost killing both characters as well as Kendra's position now in having to be the one that delivers the final blow to the series' main villain. Overall, not only was this a highly entertaining action scene to get engaged by, but there's also a sense of weight to the character moments as well giving purpose to the future of the series.
4. Ray & Snart Finds A Mutual Understanding
This is one of those character bonding scenes that I was hoping to see just as much as the more action heavy fight scenes. Starting off with a rocky relationship and introduction is Ray and Snart who after coming to a physical confrontation with each other during a heist mission, actually finds some line of respect for each other (though a very thin and blurred line). I really enjoyed the idea of Ray telling Snart how he could've been an electrical engineer in another life after Leonard talks about his dad sending him on robberies as a young kid to utilize his small hands for wiring. It's a great inside look into Snart's character even though we've seen quite a bit during this season of The Flash.
This was also a nice moment for Ray to shine as he helps Snart in disabling the wiring of the trap that triggered over them especially after his history threatening accident earlier. You can see through this discussion between the two that although they may not see eye to eye as far as moralities go, there is a moment of understanding between the two especially when Snart tells him that his reasoning for becoming a criminal centers around the theme of survival in which he warns Ray that is future may involve a similiar situation.
This may just be my favorite character to character exchange that I've seen on the show so far and I hope to see lots more down the line. These type of unexpected character pairings is what makes these stories so interesting to check out (The Avengers for example), so let's hope that the writers take full advantage with the components that they're given to work with.
5. Professor Stein Meets...Professor Stein
Speaking of character confrontations, we're finally given a bit of time traveling character fun here as Prof. Stein attempts to steal a piece of equipment from his 70's lab. After encountering himself and trying to disguise Sara and Jax as his lab assistants while changing his name, we're treated to some future/past advice giving fun as well as seeing another side to the character that we've never seen before. It was fun watching this younger and more arrogant version of the professor in which Sara and Jax constantly makes fun of as Stein starts to realize how much he hasn't change as a person.
There was something captivating about watching him struggle to give advice to his younger self without revealing anything that could affect the timeline (which of course doesn't work out completely in the end). Although, I'm not expecting to see much timeline alterations of every character on the team, it would be nice to see more scenes with characters seeing either a future or past version of their lives which results in them discovering more about themselves.
5. The Legends Find Their Motive As A Team
Perhaps not the strongest part of the episode as it does further my personal issue with the show's pacing of these characters randomly deciding to work together. However, this is the first time in the series that an emotionally impactful reasoning has been introduced for these characters to actually come together as a team. With Hawkman's death and Hawkgirl's severely damaged state, everyone reacts like a team losing a valued member of their crew as they all hunger for revenge against a common enemy.
Before, we were made to believe that all of these characters would just throw themselves in this time hopping adventure simply because some guy and a hi-tech ship told them that it would save the world. Now, we're actually given a physical and visual motivation for them to consider during their future missions. To that I say "Well done writers", but I do hope that there's a little more introduced throughout the series to further individual character motives against Vandal Savage.
Episode Rating: 9/10
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