by Kbear! on March 29, 2017
Rip (Arthur Darvill) drops Henry Heywood (Matthew MacCaull) in Manhattan 1965 to hide his part of the Spear of Destiny. We are immediately back at the same location with Rip, Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), Nate (Nick Zano), and Sara (Caity Lotz). They just missed him. Knowing Henry the best, Amaya says that with Henry’s training, he’d know how to hide. Back on the Waverider, the Legends figure out that Henry would have gotten a job at NASA. They search through the historical records and find a picture of Henry working in Mission Control for NASA in 1970. Rip figures it out separately from the group and is surprised the team beat him to it. The team heads to Houston, Texas in April 1970. It is the Apollo 13 mission. When Henry sees Rip, he punches him. Rip is in handcuffs when Sara and Amaya walk in. Ray (Brandon Routh) is already there and he asks Henry why he hit Rip, Henry doesn’t give an answer. Henry hid the Spear of Destiny in the American flag that is on the moon. When Ray mentions problems on Apollo 13, Henry says it is a textbook flight. Aboard Apollo 13, John Swigert (Sean MacLean) knocks out the crew and changes into Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher).
Henry leaves Mick (Dominic Purcell), Martin (Victor Garber), and Jax (Franz Drameh) to monitor the mission at Mission Control. He introduces them as members of the British Space Agency. Jax tries to act as British as he can. Henry is not going to stay with them; he is going into space with the rest of the Legends. He still won’t talk to Rip, Nate asks him why. Henry is still mad at Rip for Henry having to abandon his family to hide the Spear of Destiny. He had to sacrifice his family while Rip has his. Henry feels terrible when Nate tells him Rip lost his family. Nate tells Henry about his bad relationship with his father Hank. Henry feels bad about this but he has an idea; when they are through with this mission, he will have Rip take him back to 1956 before he left his family. Now he can give young Hank the father he never had. Amaya interrupts the Heywood men to tell them they’ve located Apollo 13. Sara sends Ray in miniaturized form to get aboard the capsule. Once aboard he spots Thawne and Thawne spots him.
Ray and Thawne fight. To keep NASA from knowing what is going on in space, Jax has to cut the feed. Ray tells Thawne he doesn’t have super speed in zero gravity. Thawne is confident he can still beat Ray and pulls out a knife damaging Ray’s suit. Ray blasts Thawne. They hit some buttons and the capsule and LIM separate. Ray has to pilot the LIM to the moon surface. Jax needs a few more minutes to cut the feed; he needs a distraction. Martin starts singing the “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”. Everyone from the Legends to Mission Control look and listen in astonishment. Martin asks everyone to join him and Mick pipes in. It gives Jax time to cut the feed. Ray successfully makes a rough landing on the moon. He tells Sara that with his suit damaged and the LIM using too much fuel to land, he will need them to pick him up. With Thawne tied up, Ray will retrieve the Spear of Destiny.
The Waverider has to retrieve the Apollo capsule; it is heading towards meteorites. Amaya and Nate discuss Henry’s plan to go back to 1956. Nate is all for it. His father didn’t have Henry around, so when he had Nate he didn’t know how to be a father. He and his father had a cold and distant relationship as he grew up. If Henry raises Hank, maybe Hank will be a better father, making himself a better person. Amaya thinks he is fine as he is. Henry going back could affect the timeline. The Waverider is able to retrieve the capsule. Sara has to place the Waverider between the capsule and the meteorites. Rip complains about her plan, they argue about Rip leaving them in different historical times. Ray walks on the moon, he is happy as a lark. When he reports he has the piece of the Spear of Destiny, and just walked on the moon, Sara replies “Copy”. She isn’t more enthusiastic because the meteorites damaged the Waverider. Ray will have to figure out a way to get the LIM off the moon or he’ll be stuck there.
Ray records a message for posterity. Thawne looks at him as if he’s an idiot. Thawne offers to help Ray get them off the moon. Ray initially refuses Thawne’s offer, but when Thawne shows the flaw in his plan to use the dwarf star in his suit to power the LIM, he accepts it. Amaya points out to Henry that his plan to go back to 1956 could cause time aberrations. Henry understands and changes him mind about going back to 1956. Nate is angry with Amaya and tells her he and her don’t have a future together. He tells her about her destiny and hints at what will happen to her family. Henry walks over to Rip and clears the air about the anger he harbored for Rip after he had to abandon his family to protect the Spear of Destiny. They shake hands after expressing their regrets. Henry compliments Rip for turning the team around. When he first met them in 1942 they were a mess, but now they operate as a unit. Rip sadly says he doesn’t deserve the complement.
Ray and Thawne are busy making repairs on the LIM. Thawne admits he misses working with fellow scientist like Caitlin and Cisco. He tells Ray that as scientist they are much alike. Ray doesn’t agree with that assessment. Thawne points out that instead of using his dwarf star to power a city; he uses it to power his Atom suit. Thawne studied the Speedforce to become a speedster. There is no shame in wanting to be greater. Ray wonders why Thawne wants the Spear of Destiny so badly. Thawne wants to live. They finally finish their repairs and launch the LIM. The LIM reconnects with the capsule. Jax reconnects the feed and Mission Control doesn’t know what all happened in space. Mick asks Martin what is wrong, Martin is worried about the crew on the Waverider, with the damage, it sustained from the meteorites, returning home is a small possibility.
Thawne is welcomed aboard the Waverider at gunpoint. Martin suggests to the crew that they conserve all of the ship’s energy to land. Hank Heywood (Patrick Lubczyk) shows up at Mission Control. Henry had rigged a contest so he could meet Hank. Sara needs to know at what angle to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. Martin needs a super computer to make the calculations, Ray knows someone who could do it. Ray goes to Thawne’s cell and he says 38 degrees. He is helping because he wants to live too. The rest of the crew doesn’t trust this calculation, but they are running out of time so Sarah asks Ray if he trusts it, Ray does, Sara trusts Ray so it is good enough for her. The need to relieve some air pressure so someone has to open a bay door but the person who does it could be sucked out, before anyone else can move, Henry is already there. Nate tries to stop him, but even though he has powers, Henry doesn’t want Nate to risk his life. Henry has completed his mission and he needs Nate to make sure the Spear of Destiny doesn’t get in the wrong hands. He opens the door and the wind sucks him out. Amaya arrives and comforts Nate. Because of his bravery, they are able to land the ship.
Once they land, Thawne is able to use his speed. He can’t search the ship for the Spear of Destiny because the Black Flash is still after him, so he has to run. Nate goes in Henry’s place to greet his teenaged father. He sees Henry’s dog tags, the ones Hank gave him. They talk about their fathers. Sara and Rip have a drink. Rip admits that Sara is a better captain than he was. He is trying to figure his place on the ship. Sara tells him feeling like a misfit that doesn’t belong makes him a Legend. Nate apologizes for telling Amaya about her future. Amaya later goes to Gideon to get the historical record of what happened to her village and her family. She looks shocked.
***
Last year I could barely tolerate “The Legends of Tomorrow”. It was too hokey and dumb for my taste. There were two members of the Legends I hated, Hawkman and Hawkgirl. They could have hired plywood to play their parts and no one would have known the difference. The big bad, Vandal Savage was a big disappointment. He would have been all right for a villain of the week, but as a season long villain, he was terrible. The cast hadn’t jelled yet, and the writers didn’t seem to know what the tone of this show should be. In its second season, it has found itself. The additions of Amaya and Nate was great. They are such an improvement over the Hawks. Having the Legion of Doom be the big bad, and bringing on three villains who started on “Arrow” and the “Flash” was brilliant. These baddies are worthy of being season long villains. The cast has jelled and they have great chemistry with each other. In the back half of the season, the writing has caught up. This is my favorite episode of the series. It does everything you’d hope this show would eventually do. The story was interesting, using past events to great use. The acting was great, especially from Nate Heywood, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Brandon Routh. The scene with Martin singing “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” had me in stitches. The special effects were well done. I know not every episode can be this good, but I hope most are at least in quality in the same ballfield.
Grade: A
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