LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Season 1 Episode 10: The Future Doesn't Always Equal Fun

“No street crime, no liter, no smog... how soon can we leave?”

Alright, here it goes. Now I’m just starting to get confused by the mission the team is really even on anymore. But using the phrase “completely letdown” to describe this episode of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW would be a bit of stretch. There were some really good moments, including fantastic acting by Arthur Darvill and a B-storyline with a nice little twist. But then there were things that were just not very good at all, like unnecessary flashbacks and a big whiff on potential scenes with Casper Crump and the fantastically maniacal young actor behind the character Per Degaton. So I might have to watch this episode one more time before I make my final judgment. 

At its core, I thought it was a really solid story. I thought the look of Kasnia was even pretty good. The controlled and eeriness future feel to the setting was excellent. There was a big problem at hand with the Armageddon virus and the supposed killing of Per Degaton. So when a big problem comes in conflict, I was expecting a big and rewarding resolution, but I think I might have been wrong. 

I think what this episode really missed on was a lot of potential for Vandal Savage molding Per Degaton into an evil leader, even though he was going to kill him in the future. This show needs to have character driven stories, not plot driven stories. In this episode, Vandal was a big character they missed out on. They could have easily used more of Per Degaton as well. I thought that kid really owned it, especially in his scenes with Rip. 

Side note, was I the only one that had a hard time understanding that character’s name? Just a little too difficult if you ask me. 

A good highlight to this episode was the B-storyline with Ray Palmer and his tech being used for the wrong reasons. It really was a nice way to include him in the story without making it bigger than the problem at hand. Points to the writers and Brandon Routh for the Hannibal Lector reference as well, good ways to keep a time travel show fun. I have to admit, I was even openly tricked with the twist of Ray’s supposed granddaughter revealing that her great (I’ll use one) grandfather was actually Sydney Palmer. Hopefully we meet Sydney and it sets up a future story for Ray down the road. 

Some other small notes and moments were I argued with my television set. 

• I didn’t really think the flashbacks with Kendra were really needed. And ugh, that god awful wig. Her character at the moment really seems like more of a liability than an asset to the team. Most episodes she just seems to be on her own agenda of dealing with her past and fighting the occasional battle. 
• I think we can all agree the team has been pretty much a failure at this point. Imagine if morals never got in the way! 
• 100-percent keep Rory in the story. His work with Snart is great. Probably my favorite thing about this show. But wasn't the ending of this episode a little easy? Just a quick brawl and a mention of the hunters then he’s free from his cage? Might just be me being picky. 
• One more shout out to Arthur Darvill and his acting. I thought those themes of being a parent were really strong in his work tonight. 

This show really needs to take a dip back into the DC world. They don’t have to use it like a crutch. But they need to stop trying to make this show its own thing. Like I said earlier, it should be a character driven show and not a plot driven show. There’s no better place to get richer characters than DC Comics. Hopefully that changes next episode when Jonah Hex comes to town.

Written by Mark Storey, LoT Beat Writer -- Click here to read Mark's posts

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