“I’m trying to listen to this guy... he gives a hell of a speech.”
Only three episodes left in the freshman season of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. We’ve had our ups and downs. So why not go out with a bang for the last few moments of Rip Hunter and Co. journey? I think that bang may have started with Episode 13.
In a nutshell the story seemed pretty simple. The team heads back to 2166 to try and put a stop to the post omega virus Savage three days before he kills Rip’s family. But what happened from point A to point B and the characters we met along the way made this episode one of the best yet.
One of the biggest things that really popped for me in this episode was the visual storytelling. If we’re grading in that aspect alone, this may be the best episode of the season. The use of the red lighting back dropped with Savage was fantastic. It gave a good connection to his evil he gives off. Things just really seem to be better when he’s on screen.
The story itself also had a lot of strong visuals to it. The refugee camp and the side vs side warfare gave a lot of emotional weight to the story through the images it presented on screen. The images and visuals we were presented with really made the “time wants to happen” dialogue that Rip gave seem believable.
If we’re going to keep talking visuals, something needs to be said about The Leviathan. Now I really did like it. It was fun and compared to the Megazord Power Ranger battles of my youth, the presentation of it and the effects were great. But it all seemed rather safe. I really expected something a little more sinister from Savage then just a giant robot. Although the scene really gave Ray a chance to shine. His growing was extremely entertaining and showed advancements in his character. He’s going to continue to grow (literally and emotionally) to accomplish the mission and be a valuable member of this team.
Jumping back to dissecting the story, I think a lot of the stuff with Kendra and the bracelet was really just messy. I think I may be coming to the conclusion that connecting Savage with Kendra and Carter was really just a mistake. Yes, they did introduce Hawkgirl’s classic mace but it still just doesn’t seem natural, especially when Kendra exposed her own selfishness as a character when she chose to not kill Savage.
The bracelet being a key to killing Savage just really seemed sloppy. To me it existed to do nothing but make Kendra relevant to the story. Just like everything else she has been involved in this season. But the silver lining in this whole scenario was that it introduced us to a slightly tweaked version of Savage’s daughter. The actress behind the character carried her own weight in the episode greatly, especially with the scenes involving her father and Leonard Snart... who in his own right displayed some of his best delivery all season. It was a big decision to include Savage’s daughter. And that big decision gave a very big payoff, a chance I think this show needs to take more often.
Some freestyle thoughts from this episode:
- Heatwave... that is all.
- Everything happening with Kendra seems like it’s only happening to connect things together.
- This is an edited version of the actual cannon character of the daughter of Vandal Savage, yes?
- Snart’s speech to Cassie had so much morality in it that I think he may become a full time good guy.
- The relationship with Ray and Kendra is a complete and epic fail.
- That ending shot with Savage’s face mixed in the reflection with Ray was one of the best images DC television has ever created.
- I hope from next weeks preview the last few episodes go heavy into the Savage vs Rip arc.
Written by Mark Storey, LoT Beat Writer -- Click here to read Mark's posts
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