Jessie Robertson reviews the twelfth episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow season 2…
If a fan of niche, cult DC Comics titles of the 80’s, tonight’s episode title will intrigue you…..
…but that’s where it ends as the title is just a clever play on grammar usage. This episode does not reference that specific book’s events, but instead visits 2 separate timelines as the search for the Spear pieces continues. It seems when Rip originally hid the pieces, he gave them to members of the Justice Society of America and scattered them through time, which begs the question why Amaya made such a big deal about abandoning her team when apparently THE WHOLE TEAM abandoned the team. Anyways, a quick stop in the year 3000 sets off this episode as Dr. Mid-Nite was left there and was able to make a device that can link to other’s brains and be able to quell the violent tendencies they may have…or as Rip discovered, enhance them. The good Dr. is killed and his piece taken, as well as the hardware. In a funny bit, as the Legends investigate the scene, Martin makes off with a headset himself, which makes Mick very proud of his thieving skills.
This became a big Amaya episode; we get just a bit of tension between her and Nate after their torrid night together, but that’s it. She’s more focused on retrieving the spear pieces and telling Sara how to properly run a team, unlike when she let the compromised member (Rip) go last week. That opportunity arises when they arrive on “an unknown Island in Britannia in 507” which becomes Camelot and the Legend of King Arthur. Much like Ray, I’ve been obsessed with these stories myself, but if this is a show about time travel, how can this be? Nate continues to ask that and pick apart the idea that they are now outside of history, but in legend. That’s all fine and good but it seems King Arthur was shoehorned in because he’s cool and it’s a great tale instead of them actually traveling to a real time and occurrence. Oh well. There is word of a Black Knight preparing an army to march against Arthur and after requesting the aid of his advisor, Merlin, it turns out Merlin is actually Stargirl. Amaya knows she has to retrieve the spear piece and make haste especially after Arthur and a group of soldiers are captured and turned into slaves essentially through Rip’s headpiece device. It’s a sad scene of Arthur being basically a puppet; almost as sad as it was for all Hawkeye fans during the first Avengers movie.
Once the Legends retrieve the piece, they are back on the ship and away…except Ray is once again caught up in his own machinations and is dead set on becoming a knight in this fantastical time. Never mind , as Darhk later puts it, you’re a nerd with a sword, not a knight. How did he learn how to use that? Anyways, a battle looms and after Arthur is taken, Guinevere must step into a leadership role. She doesn’t want to, but after some coaxing from Sara (and some flirtation) she leads her army into battle. The Legends won’t leave Ray, excuse me, Sir Raymond of the Palms (never has a dumber title for a knight been crafted) so they join the fray as Martin, Jax and Mick try to use the headset he stole to fry the brains of the Arthurian posse. The Legends are victorious and capture Rip but not before Ray believes his own hype and tries to defeat Darhk in one on one combat; he’s shot with a laser pistol and left for dead but he survives. The episode ends on a brilliant bit where Rip is locked away but they forgot to turn off his captain’s access to Gideon, so he won’t be long for that cell.
7.5/10- My excitement level was high for an Arthur episode but much didn’t live up to my own hype although I continue to adore Ray and Nate’s bromance and including the JSA back in the fold
Other Notes:
– Ray does take up Galahad’s sword when he falls and yes, he does add his own Atom twist to it; just don’t call it a Lightsaber, you know, trademark infringement
– I loved that Sara immediately pegged Guinevere as a potential crush just because she looked badass on a horse, she does have a type
– Darhk’s one-off line about The King has left the building shows you just how far this show will go to make him the king of Dad jokes and slaying people unmercilessly; what a combination!
Jessie Robertson
