Episode three is a very important episode for the new DC Legends of Tomorrow -and I’m not talking about it from a story perspective. I mean that from a pacing issue, it has to prove itself, as the broken up pilot had issues when looked at as individual episode; hence why I reviewed both together. Good news is things once again get started with a bang. While Rip Hunter has brought a team together to fight Vandal Savage before he rises to power, it also would seem that Hunter has already attempted to kill Savage himself back in ancient Egypt, mostly likely before he got his powers. It’s nice to see Hunter expanded upon now, as the previous episodes have focused on the team doing their own thing while Hunter hangs out on the ship doing… time stuff?
Anyways, the show jumps to the present, err, present episode timeline (1975) and we see Hawkgirl still in critical condition as a piece of the dagger that she was stabbed with is making its way to her heart, all the while she is calling out for Carter (the now dead Hawkman) in a possible foreshadowing. As the team comes together on the bridge we also get the now famous line from the series trailer when Hunter tells the team, “Iv’e seen Men of Steel die, and Dark Knights fall.” giving us the first real taste of this connected DC multiverse. Sure, we are never going to see either of those characters on the small screen, but acknowledging their existence without naming them is pretty big.
After Hunter gives his rousing speech, we find out that there is no way to kill Savage in 1975 without the dagger, and maybe not ever, as it seems that only Hawkgirl has the power to dish out the death blow. Instead Hunter gets a lesson from Canary about how to deal with people you can’t kill. She speaks of her training with Ra’s al ghul and tell hunter that if one can’t kill an enemy, then one finds a way to slow them down until they can. This in turn leads the pair to look for a way to cut of Savage’s money, thus buying the future extra time and the team the ability to find another way to stop him. It’s a pretty smart plan that makes logical sense and shows the writers keeping on their toes with all this time travel business.
With Hawkgirl still in critical condition, Dr. Palmer and Stein talk about trying to save her with the tech available to them. Turns out that even far future tech from hunter can’t help, but regular future tech might. I know, this show has a tendency to get messy, even on episode three. The idea is to use the Atom suit to enter her bloodstream, all Magic School Bus style, and destroy the fragments. Stein lectures Palmer on how pushing his suit at untested limits and places is dangerous, but Palmer says there is no time to test it, as Hawkgirl is dying. What is interesting in this scene isn’t the Atom bit, but instead Palmer once again mentions to Stein about once being his student. This time though, Stein forcefully tells Palmer that he was never his student and that he would have remembered him and taught him the value to proper scientific testing, and not the false bravado he is showing. Many may miss this but, but it looks as if the show is setting up some other time paradox with other versions of either Stein or Palmer, hence the not remembering bit. Interesting to see where they take this.
Also, I really need to mention the Titanic reference Atom makes once inside Hawkgirl. I know a few will miss this, but the actor that plays Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) was in the hit 1997 film. This show is doling out the fun nods, and since this is a multiverse, I guess it’s possible that Victor Garber actually exists and did star in the film, or at least was actually the Titanic ship builder. As Atom begins his work things go wrong (as they do) and he needs to get out in a hurry. In the meantime we jump over to Hunter and Canary doing their best Saturday Night Fever entrance into the bank where Savage keeps his money. This go bad (as they… oh, you understand) and Canary kicks everyone’s ass as they are all assassins or something like that. What is important here is that Canary almost loses herself to the madness thanks to her time in the Lazarus Pit, nearly killing their mark, but indeed killing everyone else. We get a scene betwen her and Hunter back on the ship that dives into her being a “monster” as she calls it, and this once again does a lot to build these characters.
Our little intro of Hunter nearly killing Savage comes back up, and we find out that he, in fact, could have killed Savage, but failed not because of ability, but because he hesitated. This is a weight that Hunter holds, as he failed to avenge his family, even when he had the opportunity. Canary consoles him, letting him know that killing is never easy, but the bigger issue is that Hunter has been made, all throughout time. The followers of Savage all know of the legend of Hunter, and are all trained to spot him and take him down, thanks in part to Hunter looking the same in all timelines. I don’t know about you, but I think it may be a good idea for him to change his appearance from time to time. Nailed it with that joke!
You may now be wondering what the heck is up with the brother bad. Well, as they are left unsupervised, they steal the Wave rider jump ship from the hangar and make their way to Central City to steal something shiny. Sure, they pocketed a key from Hunter early in the episode, but it’s all a bit too convenient for these knuckleheads to run off with a mini ship, even if they cajoled Jackson into going on this joy ride. We are in the point of the episode where we reach the crisis point where everyone (team) breaks through their barriers to rise to the occasion. The boys of bad steal an emerald that Cold’s father was going to steal (thus ending him in jail) but Cold runs into himself and dear daddy and looks to “change” things, Stein finally remembers Palmer (so much for the cool time bit I forecast) by letting him know he always did remember him, but just liked to keep him down, and we see Hunter get info on Carter’s body (the dead Hawkman) and finds out that Savage is going to use it in some ritual. There is some solid acting all around, but it’s clear that Routh (Atom) and Garber (Stein) really steal the show with their chops, especially in the dramatic scenes they are in.
Okay this review/recap is getting long-winded, so i’ll some things up. Turns of Stein lied and didn’t actually remember Palmer, but not because of a time thing, but because he had a lot of exceptional students. His speech to Palmer served to give him the push he needed to save Hawkgirl. Once she is free of the dagger bits she connects with the dead Carter and the team comes together to to save hunter and Canary. Hunter gets his one-on-one with Savage and slices his throat, temporarily killing him, but lets slip the names of his wife and son, with Savage vowing to remember them when he heals. After the fight ends (one with some wonky choreography at times) the team lays Carter to rest. Oh, and Cold’s dad still screws up and goes to jail, even if his future son got the emerald for him anyways.
It was a good episode that was paced well, especially with three teams out and bout. The only issue I have is that Hawkgirl was healed, and Savage was killed (temporarily), so why couldn’t they bring him back to the ship, keep him in stasis, and have Hawkgirl stab the shit out of him until he’s deader than dead. Oh, well, maybe the writers missed something, or I overlooked something; both likely stories. That brings this review/recap to an end, but not before we find out that the Savage next shows up in 1986, even though he’s dead right now and… You know what, fuck it, it’s time travel bullshit. See you next week!
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