The episode opens with Darhk doing the intro. One of the things I love about Legends is that it mixes up who gets to do the intro, which adds a little personal spin to each episode, letting us know who we’re going to focus on. As a lover of villains, it was awesome to know we were obviously going to be Team Doom for the majority of the episode. Or at least sharing equal time.
After we get a recap of how Thawne recruited Darhk and Merlyn we flash to the past where the three are discussing how torture isn’t unlocking Rip’s memories. Merlyn explains that cracking people’s minds is part of why they called him the Magician. Of course he fails, and it’s back to Darhk’s more aggressive approach. Darhk pulls a tooth out of Rip’s mouth that has an electronic imprint of a security box inside a bank in Switzerland. The trio assumes that this is where they will find the Spear of Destiny and make plans (with very, very different approaches) to apprehend it. Thawne takes off leaving the other two to bicker over how to get the job done before he returns (because obviously Thawne’s the boss).
Which finally leads Merlyn to ask the important questions: Why would a speedster need them? Where is Thawne going when he takes off? Why can’t he stay in one place for more than two seconds?
All of these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to division in their ranks. But they aren’t the only ones having trouble with the basics of their limitations.
The crew of the Waverider has decided to figure out what the medallion is (took them long enough, but what do we expect from a team that doesn’t just ask Barry who the Speedster is). In order to do this Stein calls in an expert. Read…his time aberration daughter, Lily. So, turns out bringing a time aberration onto your time-travelling ship is against the rules, and Stein faces a lecture (for once). He asks that no one tell Lily how she came to exist, which means he has to tell them how, which also means someone is definitely going to tell her. One guess who that will be.
While the crew has Lily build a way for Gideon to interface with the medallion, Merlyn, Darhk, and Rip decide to follow Merlyn’s plan to get into the safe (much to Darhk’s heavy disagreement). Merlyn continues to get annoyed with Darhk’s shoot first, think about it later approach (and when Merlyn is the voice of logic you know it’s bad). He also continues to push the “there is no way Thawne needs us” argument, swearing they shouldn’t trust him. Darhk, of course, assumes Merlyn is trying to turn the tide to become the Legion’s leader (because why else would a villain argue such rational thought). Their squabble is cut short when Rip doesn’t know the necessary password to get into his safe, and they have to get out the old fashion way (fight their way out).
Speaking of fighting…Rory tells Lily she’s an aberration (surprise! You totally guessed it was him, didn’t you? Of course you did, because Rory doesn’t ever do what he’s told). When Lily confronts Stein he says he would never refer to her that way, but she points out that he obviously never wanted kids and now he is stuck with her. While it’s a sad way to get there, it sort of helps the crew come up with the idea that Thawne may be a temporal aberration who erased himself from history and that’s why they can’t figure out who he is and also why he can’t stay in one place. Which makes Stein think NOW is a good time to explain to them about Thawne and what happened with Eddie back in Season 1 of The Flash (these people really have to learn to put all the cards on the table from go, it would save them so much stress).
While the crew figures out how they will get Thawne trapped in one place, a recently manipulated (by Rip) into teaming up against Thawne, Darhk and Merlyn set their own plan into motion. They head back to the bank (with the Bank Manager’s password that Merlyn acquired…legally and passively of course, ha!). Once in the vault, Thawne shows up and they retrieve not the Spear but Rip’s memories. That’s when they spring their trap. They trap Thawne in the safe with them and explain they won’t let him out until he agrees to not treat them like lackeys. Thawne tries to explain that they don’t know what they’re messing with, but they assure him they do and as his alarm goes off signaling he has to move Thawne agrees to their terms.
The three leave the safe to find a Time Wraith dressed like a Speedster outside of it. Darhk and Merlyn convince him if it’s hunting the Speed Force then Thawne shouldn’t run. As the Wraith approaches him, Merlyn shoots an arrow at it and Thawne shoves it into the safe. At that he decides they will be partners. An equal team in the mission. For how long, who knows? I assume they’ve got at least half an episode before someone vies for power.
Lily and Stein also work out their differences, proving that you can perfectly balance the telling of a villain and hero story at the same time. Stein tells Lily, “Time doesn’t always provide us what we want, but it’s quite adept at giving us what we need. And I needed you in my life in ways I never could have imagined.” Guess you could say the same for Thawne and the gang, aka The Three Best Friends That Anyone Can Have. Sort of.
Although looks like next week three becomes four, after Thawne alters Rip’s memories, reprogramming his general makeup towards his mission. With Rip going back in time to kill George Washington you have to wonder: will the crew of the Waverider sense the aberration and meet him there? Will they be able to break through the memory altercations Thawne’s done? Will we see Alexander Hamilton and will there be rapping?
One thing we know for certain is that now that the Legion has Rip on their side, the team is going to have to work extra hard to keep time from being rewritten. And while we still don’t really have any clue what’s going on with the medallion and the Spear, at least the crew knows there is possibly a way to stop Thawne (not Barry, that makes too much sense). Can the crew save Rip in time to stop the Legion from getting the spear, or is it not just Rip’s memories that are about to get rewritten?
Written by Shannon Brewer, LoT Beat Writer -- Click to read Shannon's posts
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