This week on Legends Of Tomorrow we get what should have been an incredibly fun little romp involving President Nixon, a magical bug that forces people to tell the truth, and a road trip in an RV. Sadly the execution doesn't live up to the premise, resulting in another lackluster episode.
I dunno, guys... I enjoyed the first half of the season immensely, but so far this back half has left me wanting. It feels disjointed and off somehow, in a way I can't quite define. These past two episodes have definitely felt different than the previous ones. Did the cast and crew take an actual break in the middle of the season, and had trouble getting back into the groove? Probably not, but it feels that way.
These past two episodes have also looked and felt incredibly cheap, as if the show's budget was suddenly slashed. Maybe they're saving up for an epic episode down the line?
Hey, at least we got to see the Legends use their powers this week, which is something that hasn't happened in a while. Wow, superheroes actually using their powers in a comic book show— what a concept!
I kind of wondered if there might be a racial prejudice going on with their hatred for Mona, but fans are just as venomous toward comedy relief character Gary Green, so... I don't thing that's it.
Whatever the reason, the Mona haters are gonna plotz when they see this episode, and find out she's become a permanent member of the team.
Lastly, this episode features more of the dreaded "fluid characterization" that plagued last week's show, as Hank suddenly goes against every personality trait that's ever been established about him. There's a reason for this, which I'll get to in detail below. Whatever the reason, it's not a good thing. This show's plots are practically non-existent, so characterization is all it has!
SPOILERS!
The Plot:
Gideon informs the Legends of a time anomaly in 1973, in which President Richard Nixon begins uncharacteristically telling the truth during his infamous "I Am Not A Crook" speech. Unfortunately his bout of candor throws the world into chaos. Charlie thinks magic is involved in Nixon's honest streak, so White Canary orders Gideon to head for 1973 and fix Nixon before he gives the speech.
At the Time Bureau, Hank Heywood's temporarily in charge while Agent Sharpe takes some time off (after her breakup with Canary). Steel's hired Zari as an agent (?) to help uncover Hank's wrongdoings. Hank informs Steel that now that he's in charge, he's gonna catch those ol' Legend boys (and gals) or die tryin.' He says he knows his son was friends with the Legends, and says it's OK if he sits out the mission. Steel and Zari insist on going along, in order to keep and eye on Hank and warn the Legends as well.
Steel tells Zari they can't dive into Hank's files while they're working under him, so they enlist Gary to help. Zari gives Gary a flash drive containing all of Hank's files, and tells him to start digging.
Meanwhile, the Legends are keeping Mona around, since she's now wanted by the Time Bureau. Mona nervously tries to tell Canary that she can now transform into a Kuape. Unfortunately Canary's too busy to listen, as she, Atom and Charlie are heading out to kidnap Nixon.
The Waverider arrives at Walter Reed Hospital in 1973, where the truth-telling Nixon's being kept under observation. Canary and Atom pose as doctors and enter the hospital, where they sedate Nixon and stuff him in a laundry hamper. Charlie then shapeshifts into Nixon to take his place until the mission's over.
Steel and Zari time-courier onto the Waverider, where they warn Constantine, Heat Wave and Mona that Hank's about to arrive. The three then open a portal to the hospital and join the rest of the Legends. Seconds later, Hank arrives on the Waverider and is disappointed to find the Legends are gone. He orders Gideon to find and pursue the Legends, but the ship sputters and dies (due to secret tampering by Zari). Hank says he doesn't need a futuristic timeship to capture them, and will do it the old fashioned way. He orders Steel to come with him and leaves.
At the hospital, Time Bureau agents spot the Legends and pursue. Constantine uses his magic to seal a door, allowing them to escape. Outside, the now shipless Legends try to find a way to get Nixon to his press conference in Florida. They spot a nearby RV and
Inside the RV, Mona tries again to tell Canary about her condition, but she's still too busy to listen and blows her off. Nixon wakes up, and Canary tells Constantine to figure out why he keeps telling the truth. He casts a spell on the President, who coughs up a large roach-like insect. Constantine says it's an Agent of Ma'at, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth. It feeds on its host's lies, leaving only the truth behind. Canary sedates Nixon again and stuffs him in the RV's closet. She then puts the bug in a jar and gives it to Mona for safe keeping.
Back at the Time Bureau, Gary searches through Hank's info and realizes he's in over his head. He visits Nora Darhk in her cell (I bet most viewers forgot she was still in Magic Jail) and says he needs her help uncovering Hank's conspiracy. Naturally she asks why she should help him. Gary tells her that Hank's abducting magical creatures from the Bureau for his own twisted purposes, and by helping him she'll be protecting herself. She agrees to help, and promises to behave if he lets her out.
On the RV, Mona punches a much-too-large air hole in the bug's jar. She drops it and it rolls under the brake pedal, causing Atom (who's driving) to inexplicably speed up. Sure enough, they're soon stopped by a local Sheriff. Atom tries to talk his way out of a ticket, but the Sheriff is suspicious. Just then the bug escapes its jar and flies down Atom's throat, causing him to tell the truth— that they're time travelers from the future who've kidnapped the President.
As the Sheriff walks back to his car to call in a report, Canary tells Atom to gun it. The RV lurches forward, completely flummoxing the Sheriff. Just then Hank and Steel courier to the scene. Hank berates the Sheriff for letting the Legends get away, and commandeers his hat and patrol car.
Constantine gets the bug out of Atom, as the Legends see Hank closing in on the slowly lumbering RV. Constantine performs a duplication spell, causing a phantom image of the RV to take off down the highway, while the real thing turns off onto a side road. Hank and Steel pursue the fake RV until it fades away. Zari takes over the FM dial and poses as a DJ, giving the Legends a coded message to lay low for a while.
Nora hacks into Hank's account, but needs a password to continue. Gary tries to change the password, but it asks for the name of Hank's childhood dog. They contact Zari, who tells Steel they need the dog's name (got all that?). Steel gets Hank to reminisce, and discovers his pet's name was Silver. Steel relays the info, but Hank opens up more than he expected, apologizing for not being a good father to him.
Nora and Gary use the name to access Hank's account. Inside they find he's been buying up old stocks and property— in essence using time travel for personal monetary gain, which is against the code of the Bureau. Suddenly someone enters the office, and Nora and Gary hide under the desk. We see it's the demon Neron, still in the form of Dez, Constantine's ex. As Neron approaches the desk, Nora's struck by psychic pain and it's all she can do to not scream. Eventually Neron leaves. Shaken, Nora tells Gary to stop digging, as he's in danger. She voluntarily returns to her cell, wanting nothing more to do with Neron.
Neron contacts Hank and says someone's accessing his secret files. Hank suspects his son Steel, and tells Neron it won't happen again.
In the RV, the bug gets loose again and begins flying in and out of the various Legends' mouths (ew), forcing them to say what they really think about one another. It gets into Canary's mouth, and she rips Mona a new one, blaming everything that's gone wrong on her. Devastated, Mona pulls a kid's bike off the back of the RV and rides off. Canary calls after her, but she won't listen. Canary tells Atom and Heat Wave to get Nixon to Florida, while she and Constantine chase after Mona.
Zari broadcasts to the RV again, telling the Legends to head down Highway 301. Unfortunately Hank picks up the message as well, and figures out what's happening when he recognizes Zari's voice. He radios the Bureau and tells them to set up a roadblock for the Legends on Highway 301.
Mona rides to a diner and goes in. A few minutes later a group of Time Bureau agents enter and order food. She tries to hide from them, but overhears one of them gloating about "the Wolf Bastard's" death. Mona flips out and confronts them, angrily telling them the Kuape they killed was named Konane and he did nothing wrong (well... I guess, if you call killing "nothing"). The Agents recognize her, and she begins changing into her Kuape form.
Meanwhile, Constantine asks Canary if she's OK. She says no, as her breakup with Sharpe has hit her hard. He says if the situation were reversed, she'd be giving him a Patented The CW Pep Talk®, but stops just short of doing so. They come to the diner, wondering why it looks deserted. Suddenly the door flies open and a crowd flees into the parking lot.
Canary and Constantine run into the diner and see Kuape Mona. Constantine tries to magically restrain her, but she knocks him across the room. Canary talks her down with— what else— an aforementioned Patented The CW Pep Talk®. Canary tells her she should have never blamed her for everything, and she was wrong to ignore her. She says from now on she'll always be there for her. Mona calms down and reverts back to her human form. She and Canary embrace.
Elsewhere, the RVs stopped by a police blockade. Before Atom and Heat Wave can react, Hank and Steel pull up behind them, blocking any chance of escape. Hank arrests Atom and Heat Wave for treason and conspiracy. Just then Nixon wanders out of the RV, and accuses the Legends of kidnapping him. Right at that moment, the bug somehow escapes and flies into Nixon's mouth. He begins telling the truth again.
The bug then flies into Steel's mouth, and he tells Hank he knows all about his conspiracy, and he's been keeping his own secrets from him as well. He says he loves Hank, but it's hard to work with him to take down the Legends. He stands with Atom and Heat Wave, and says if he arrests them, he'll have to arrest him too.
Hank uncharacteristically releases the Legends, and tells Steel that from now on there'll be no more lies. He says if Steel trusts the Legends, then so does he. Seriously? Who is this impostor? Nixon says all this truth-telling has made him a better man. Atom says history needs him to be an asshole, and he zaps him with a Men In Black memory flasher (where the hell'd he get that?).
Canary, Constantine and Mona pull up in another stolen vehicle. Just then the Waverider appears, and Canary tells Mona she can be part of the team if she wants. Suddenly everyone realizes they forgot Charlie back at the hospital.
On the Waverider, Zari tells Steel she found out that Hank has a black ops site in Baltimore, where he's experimenting on magical creatures. Steel looks sad, realizing his father's still a bastard. He time couriers back to the Bureau.
At the Bureau, Hank enters his temporary office, where he sees Neron waiting for him. He nervously tells the demon he's having second thoughts about their deal and wants out. He says he doesn't need Neron's help anymore. This angers Neron, as he transforms into his true form and begins draining Hank's soul from his body.
Nora senses the disturbance in her cell, and painfully powers through the forcefield surrounding it. She runs to Hank's office and finds him dead on the floor. Just then Steel enters and sees Nora crouched over Hank's lifeless body. Because this is a TV show he assumes she killed him. Before she can explain, a squad of Agents appear, their guns drawn on her. Nora tells Steel she's sorry, and knocks over everyone with a mystic blast as she disappears.
Thoughts:
• Last week I said it was obvious that Mona's Kuape form is played by someone other than actress Ramona Young. I thought that Were-Mona's facial structure looked a little like that of Vesna Ennis, who plays Garima on the show.
Welp, I was wrong. Were-Mona's actually played by Sisa Grey, a Samoan actress who studied theater in Hawaii and now lives in LA.
• In the "Previously On...:" recap, we can clearly see that Mona's sweater rips all to hell when she hulks out into a Kuape.
• Mona seems to have gotten over Konane's death in a big hurry. Last week she was so distraught she transformed into a murderous were-beast, wailing in fury. This week she's back to her old self, like nothing ever happened.
• Heat Wave warns Mona not to touch the big red button in the Waverider's futuristic bathroom. A few minutes later, Canary gravely does the same.
I'm assuming this is a riff on the "Three Seashells" gag from Demolition Man.
Wait, does Hank somehow not know Zari's a Legend? Surely he ran into her on his ride-along aboard the Waverider a few episodes back. If he considers the Legends to be traitorous fugitives and is trying to capture them at all costs, why the hell would he condone Zari's presence in the Bureau?
• A good part of this week's plot concerns President Nixon being cursed to tell the truth and reveal all his secrets— including Watergate. This causes an anachronism, as Gideon says without a Watergate conspiracy to uncover, there was no All The President's Men movie. The absence of that film then caused actor Robert Redford's career to flounder (much to Heat Wave's chagrin).
• A good part of this week's plot concerns President Nixon being cursed to tell the truth and reveal all his secrets— including Watergate. This causes an anachronism, as Gideon says without a Watergate conspiracy to uncover, there was no All The President's Men movie. The absence of that film then caused actor Robert Redford's career to flounder (much to Heat Wave's chagrin).
Eh, I don't think so. Redford was already a well-established and extremely popular actor long before All The President's Men, having starred in hit films like Barefoot In The Park, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Jeremiah Johnson, The Candidate, The Way We Were, The Sting and The Great Gatsby. Redford's career would have been just fine without it.
• Funniest moment in the episode: Hank commandeers the Waverider and tries to order Gideon to pursue the fugitive Legends. He says, "Siri, what... uh, Alexa... Gideon! Fire up the engine!"
HAW! I gotta admit, Hank getting his female A.I. interfaces mixed up made me laugh out loud. The only one he left out was Cortana!
Did the show's budget suddenly get cut? I can't help but notice that these last two episodes have looked exceptionally cheap.
Here's a question— Is the Agent of Ma'at an intelligent creature? Is it deliberately entering people's bodies and forcing them to tell the truth at the most inopportune times, or is it just a plain old insect, doing what comes naturally for bugs?
If it's not sentient, then why don't they just smash the goddamned thing and be done with it? I know that after encountering Charlie the Legends are all about protecting magical creatures rather than sending them to Hell. But if it's just a roach, who cares? Squash it!
• Constantine's spell for removing the truth bug is Vi veri universum vivus vici. That's Latin for "By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe."
The phrase was also used in V For Vendetta, which was based on a DC comic.
• The Legends steal an RV to transport Nixon to Florida, to make sure he gives his "I Am Not A Crook" speech on time. They keep Nixon knocked out for most of the trip, shooting him with tranq darts every time he wakes up.
I know it's silly to expect realism from a show like this, but how many times can you safely sedate a person before they die of an overdose?
— Bank Account Oct. 6th.
— Bookstore (How To Train Your Pet Minotaur).
(This is obviously is a reference to Tender Is The Nate, in which Hank put a Minotaur to sleep by singing to it.)
— Two cards labeled with question marks.
— Dry cleaning.
— American Hemophilia Foundation (Donation).
(A referecne to Lucha De Apuestas, reminding him to cough up a few bucks for the organization.)
— Golf Trip (most likely the one in Legends Of To-Meow-Meow, in which he played a few rounds with Neron).
— Bestflix.
(I'm assuming this is the Arrowverse version of Netflix?)
— Hamilton tickets.
(Looks like Hank's a fan of musical theater. Sorry about the dissolve here.)
— And lastly, we get Hank's most insidious activity of all: buying a garden gnome!
• Nora Darhk's reading Body Of Proof, by author Rebecca Silver, aka Mick Rory, aka Heat Wave. As we saw last week, somehow his clumsy fan fiction managed to actually get published, which may be the most unrealistic thing to ever happen on this show.
Eh, now that I think about it, I take that back. If Stephanie Meyer and E. L. James can get their "work" published, then anyone can.
Also at the left you can see she's been reading Lovers In Ruins by Tricia (or possibly PAtricia) Sycamore. I looked it up, and neither she nor the book appears to be real. I guess they needed a fake book, so the prop department mocked up a quick one for the shot?
• Gary seeks Nora's help to go through the data on Hank's phone and figure out his secrets.
Since when is Nora Darhk a talented computer hacker? Have we ever seen her demonstrate this ability before? I thought Zari was the show's resident computer expert. Did they graft this new talent onto Nora because they needed to justify her presence in the episode?
• At one point Atom fiddles with the RV's radio, and we hear a staticky promo say, "...Bob is struck with appendicitis on an all-new The Waltons."
For those of you born after 1985, The Waltons was a popular 1970s TV series about the trials and tribulations of a large family living during the Great Depression. Among the family's many kids was one named Jim-Bob. For some reason the promo here cuts off the "Jim."
I checked and sure enough, at one point Jim-Bob did indeed have appendicitis on The Waltons. Unfortunately that episode, titled The Literary Man, first aired on November 30, 1972. This episode takes place almost a full year later, on November 16, 1973— the day before Nixon's famous "I Am Not A Crook" speech.
Yes, The Walton's episode in the promo could be a rerun, but the radio specifically says it's "all-new." Whoops!
Yes, The Walton's episode in the promo could be a rerun, but the radio specifically says it's "all-new." Whoops!
Man, the things I do for you people. I just spent twenty minutes on the internet going down The Walton's rabbit hole, trying to determine if a character really did have appendicitis in an episode or not.
By the way, in the episode in question, Jim-Bob's operation costs a whopping $22! That's the equivalent of $430 today. Still a bargain!
By the way, in the episode in question, Jim-Bob's operation costs a whopping $22! That's the equivalent of $430 today. Still a bargain!
• Hank and Steel spend most of the episode pursuing the Legends while dressed as county sheriffs.
Hank and Steel were both wearing their standard Time Bureau suits when they commandeered the real sheriff's patrol car. Did he just happen to have TWO complete changes of clothes (in their sizes) stashed in his trunk? Or did they pop back to the Time Bureau long enough to dig up some sheriff's uniforms?
• Did the show fire its fight choreographer or something? If nothing else, Legends Of Tomorrow has always featured some amazingly awesome fight scenes. In particular you could always count on Canary to deliver to come through with some astounding moves.
Unfortunately it's been a long time since we've seen a really good hand-to-hand battle on the series. There's a lukewarm fight between Canary and Kuape Mona in the third act, but it's lame and halfhearted at best. Hey guys, whatever happened to your fight coordinator, get 'em back on the show! Stat!
• Once again, I'm betting Neron's true form probably triggered all the trypophobes in the audience. Doesn't bother me, but supposedly some people are irrationally creeped out by his face.
• Nora does the right thing and tries to save Hank, only to be wrongly blamed for his "death." She then fires a mystic blast at Steel and the Time Bureau agents and goes on the run.
It shouldn't be that tough to figure out that Nora had nothing to do with Hank's death. First of all there's Gary, who should be able to vouch for her innocence. If that's not enough, then just check the precious security footage. Everyone was putting such store in it last week— surely they could check it and see that Nora was trying to get out of her cell at the same time Hank was being killed.
• So at the end of the episode it appears that Neron killed Hank by siphoning his soul from his body.
Eh, I wouldn't start mourning just yet. I GUARANTEE that Hank's isn't really dead, and will be back sometime before the season finale. How do I know this? Welp, for one thing this is a comic book show. As we all know, no one ever stays dead in the comics. Secondly, although we saw Hank DYING, we didn't actually see him DIE. Whenever a death occurs off-camera, it never sticks.
Lastly I know he'll be back because the show's writers fell in love with Thomas F. Wilson, aka Hank. And how do I know that? Because they SAID so, that's how!
In an interview with TV line, Legends Of Tomorrow showrunner Phil Klemmer said the original plan was for Hank Heywood to be the Big Bad of Season 4. The idea was for Hank to abduct magical creatures from the Time Bureau and spirit them away to an even more top secret facility, where he'd turn them into an army of mystical super soldiers. Hank would then become an irredeemable supervillain, forcing his son Steel to choose between the Legends and turning to the dark side and joining his father.
According to Klemmer, that plan changed once they met Wilson. Said Klemmer, “Our notion of the Big Bad was always a military guy who works for the Pentagon, who is going to torture creatures and turn them into super soldiers. When we saw Tom Wilson in action, and got to know him as a person, immediately our plans were dashed. We were like, ‘He can’t just be the bad guy. There’s something deeply lovable about this human being.”
Klemmer said they didn't have the heart to turn Hank into a straight up villain, so they altered the storyline by turning him into an accomplice of the demon Neron, who's now become the season's Big Bad. Hank sees Neron for what he really is and realizes he's made a huge mistake. The additional plot about Steel turning evil to join his father seems to have been scrapped as well.
Hmm... OK, it's nice to know that Thomas F. Wilson's a wonderful human being and all, but that's no reason to change direction in the middle of a storyline. You can literally pinpoint just when they decided to alter course. I'll be honest, the original plan (Hank's magic soldier army and Steel turning bad) sounded way more intriguing than the revised arc.
In addition, this course correction pretty much throws Hank's characterization right out the window. If you need evidence of this, you need look no further than this episode. Hank spends 95% of The Getaway relentlessly hunting down the Legends, intent on capturing and imprisoning them for treason. Once he finally catches them, Steel says they're his friends and demands to be arrested along with them. This causes Hank to INSTANTLY change his mind about the Legends, and he actually lets them go! Are you fraking kidding me?
In addition, this course correction pretty much throws Hank's characterization right out the window. If you need evidence of this, you need look no further than this episode. Hank spends 95% of The Getaway relentlessly hunting down the Legends, intent on capturing and imprisoning them for treason. Once he finally catches them, Steel says they're his friends and demands to be arrested along with them. This causes Hank to INSTANTLY change his mind about the Legends, and he actually lets them go! Are you fraking kidding me?
I said it last week, but it bears repeating— what Legends Of Tomorrow lacks in logic and plausibility, it makes up for in believable and consistent characterization. If they throw that out the window too, then... there's nothing left.
Steel: (seeing Hank sitting at Sharpe's desk) "Director Sharpe. You look terrible. What happened?"
Hank: "Joke acknowledged, Nathaniel, but tighten up."
Zari: "Hank is causing total chaos here."
Zari: "Hank is causing total chaos here."
Gary: "Did you notice him using Director Sharpe's mug, too? You know, I was gonna say something."
Zari: "It goes much deeper than that."
Hank: "If the Legends so much as forget to signal, we'll hear about it.
They'll slip up eventually."
Steel: "That's probably accurate."
Constantine: "Now what are we gonna do?"
Constantine: "Now what are we gonna do?"
Canary: "We are going to Disney World!"
Heat Wave: "Yawnnn! Haven't we been tortured enough?"
Constantine: (noticing Nixon waking) "Hey, guys? Looks like Nixon over there is finally winning The War on Drugs."
Constantine: (noticing Nixon waking) "Hey, guys? Looks like Nixon over there is finally winning The War on Drugs."
Nixon: "Good God, I've been kidnapped by hippies.
What is it you want? Money? Power? I'll do anything."
Canary: "Look, we're We're here to help you."
Heat Wave: "Let's talk about money."
Canary: (after knocking out Nixon again) "Put him in the closet."
Constantine: "Come on, Dicky. Let's put Dick in a box."
(Looks like Constantine's an SNL fan.)
Atom: "Good afternoon, officer."
Atom: "Good afternoon, officer."
Sheriff: "By the looks of your driving, you're having a fine afternoon."
Atom: "Ah."
Atom: "Ah."
Sheriff: "What is it? Drinking? Drugs?"
Atom: "No, sir, no, sir, no, sir, we're just, uh, just driving and having a little steering wheel problems."
Sheriff: "Tell me some more about this steering wheel trouble."
Atom: "Oh, well, it's a real doozy.
So I'm here with my family and we're on our way to North Carolina to see the largest chest of drawers."
Canary: "Ray."
Atom: "Uh, uh, so the steering wheel was a little loose and so I turned to my wife, Claire, and, uh, I said..."
(The Agent Of Ma'at bug escapes and flies into Atom's mouth.)
Atom: "My friends and I here are time travelers.
We've kidnapped Nixon, and we're headed to Disney World."
Sheriff: "Like I thought.
You're high as a Goodyear blimp."
Nixon: "What the hell is going on here?"
Nixon: "What the hell is going on here?"
(Canary sedates him again.)
Nixon: (as he passes out) "Checkers."
(Nixon's White House dog was famously named "Checkers.")
(The Agent Of Ma'at bug gets loose and flies into the mouths of the various Legends, forcing them to tell the truth.)
(Nixon's White House dog was famously named "Checkers.")
(The Agent Of Ma'at bug gets loose and flies into the mouths of the various Legends, forcing them to tell the truth.)
Atom: (referring to Constantine) "Actually, ever since I met you, I sometimes lie awake at night, staring into the dark thinking I am it, and it is me.
Also, I don't think Han shot first."
Canary: "I'm gonna go sit up front."
Atom: "Also I used the strategy guide to beat the Water Temple in Legend of Zelda. Also, I really like gluten. (to Constantine again) Well, I think it's a cool look, but the whole loosened tie is a little try hard."
Constantine: "Yeah, well, you know, it's not like I went and loosened it myself."
(The bug flies out of Atom's mouth and into Constantine's.)
Constantine: "Yeah, well, at least I don't go make up my own silly superhero names like "Atom" and "Heat Wave."
Heat Wave: "Like I care what you think."
(The bug flies into Heat Wave's mouth.)
Heat Wave: "I want to grow my hair out and look like Fabio."
Atom: "Yeah, that I think that would be good."
Hank: (hearing Zari on the radio) "The voice sounds familiar."
Steel: "I don't recognize her or him.
I... I don't hear gender."
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