Legends of Tomorrow season 3, episode 17 recap: The scorpion and the frog
The penultimate episode of Legends of Tomorrow’s third season saw the team suffer a major loss due to some really stupid decision making.
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Following established tradition, the Legends faced off with the current Big Bad in the second to last episode of the season. And as with the series’ past two seasons, they failed spectacularly.
But this time around, their failure wasn’t due to a lack of information or an unexpected betrayal. The team choked because they put trust in the man who has become their nemesis. In fact, the way this episode turned out suggested the group would’ve been better off had they committed murder. And that’s really odd note to usher in the season finale on.
On the other hand, this episode featured a lot of quality character work and paid off a number of subplots. Rip (Arthur Darvill) and Ava (Jes Macallan) finally had it out, Mallus got out of his cage and Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) finally wised up. Many of the show’s key relationships were tested and the heroes were brought to their lowest point. All those development were good, it’s just that the Legends were made to look like fools to get there. Given how much of the season was dedicated to developing the group as a team and as individual personalities, that turn couldn’t help but feel like backsliding.
“Barrack Obama, it’ll almost be an honor to kill you.”
“Guest Starring John Noble” began with the Legends facing three serious problems. Gorilla Grodd was trying to kill Barrack Obama in 1972, Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) was in Zambesi 1992 to save her family and the combination of those two anachronisms was weakening Mallus’ time cage to the breaking point. However, in a nice subversion, the Legends quickly and easily captured Grodd and were subsequently approached by Damien. The arch villain was pushed to betray his master because he learned that its freedom would mean the death of his daughter Nora (Courtney Ford).
In 1992, Nate (Nick Vento) decided to help Amaya rescue her tribe in spite of the repercussions. On the Waverider, Sara (Caity Lotz) agreed to ally with Damien on the understanding that she would kill him when the crisis passed. With an assist from Mallus voice actor John Noble, the Legends trapped Nora. Rip confessed to Ava that he used 12 of her clones to staff the Time Bureau. This revelation caused Ava to lose faith in herself. Sara resolved to let Amaya save her tribe so that that the team could destroy Mallus once he got free. Unfortunately, the plan fell apart after Damien betrayed the group and Mallus escaped.
“There is no me to love.”
Before getting into the aspects of this episode if that didn’t work, I want to talk about something the dead. I enjoyed the Grodd cameo, even though the character was only there to make a nonsensical pun. Superhero shows I never better than when they embrace the absurd. I also like that Amaya finally dealt with the past she left behind in season two. Also, I liked that the group ultimately supported her decision to break the rules. This entire season has felt like it’s been building up to the Legends adopting a more proactive stance on heroism and her subplot embodied that idea.
I also appreciated the way the show’s writers dealt with Sara and Ava’s relationship. Of course, Ava is falling apart after learning that she’s a clone. And Rip’s admission that’s she’s the twelfth iteration of herself pushed her over the edge. My hope is that next week Sara will be able to pull her back. As she admitted tonight, she doesn’t love Ava, Agent of the Time Bureau. She loves Ava, the overly fussy professional who went against her core programming and fell for a criminal. I really hope the finale breaks with CW tradition and give a queer couple at least a brief happy ending.
Lastly, I liked Damien’s arc in this episode. For a few episodes now, he’s been questioning himself and Mallus’ vision and “John Noble” brought them to a head. Having finally found someone to care about, the thought of conquering the world no longer matters as much. Seeing as world domination has been his raison d’être since his introduction, that’s a big shift. But this episode really sold me on the change. I totally bought that Darhk would throw away everything he’s worked for to save his daughter.
“I do hope you all aren’t feeling killy killy, stabby stabby”
While this episode sold me on Damien’s change of heart, it didn’t sell me on Sara’s lapse of judgment. I just didn’t find her decision to work with Darhk credible given their history. As soon as the Legends managed to trap him, she should’ve just killed. He’s an incredibly powerful and sociopathic monster who’s nearly conquered the world several times. And he’s spent months aiding a demon that aims to subjugate all reality. Sara taking him off the board for good would’ve been justified.
I get that Sara was basically talked into working with Darhk. Rip, her team and her girlfriend all pressured her to enter into a temporary alliance with the man who murdered her sister. But at this point, Sara should have enough confidence to trust her instincts. She should’ve known that Damien would betray her. But while he’ll always be a conniving scorpion, she didn’t need to be a naïve frog. Killing Darhk early in the episode wouldn’t’ve been very heroic, but it would’ve been prudent. And that’s a quality Sara has shown in her past as assassin, hero, and leader.
Next: Legends of Tomorrow season 3, episode 16 recap: Consequences of time
I feel safe in predicting that Sara will make up for her mistake next week. She’ll most likely rally her team, defeat Mallus and put Damien in the ground. And while that’ll be a satisfying conclusion for the season, it will really hard to overlook all the contrivances that went into reaching it. As an Arrowverse fan, I’m really hoping the show gets renewed for a fourth season. But I’m also hoping Legends fourth year will bring an end to this kind of overly convoluted storytelling.
Legends of Tomorrow airs on The CW Mondays at 8 p.m.