DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - Season 4.14

DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW – SEASON 4, EP. 14:  “Nip/Stuck”


Things have actually gotten VERY serious…and very WEIRD, for the Legends as their Magical Mystical Tour is coming to an end.  Neron has amped up his plans, now possessing Ray, a dragon egg, and Gary with his possessed nipple.  Yep…just another day at the Time Bureau….right?

We open up around the Donner Pass during the Ice Age, as Constantine wakes up, finding out he’s been nabbed by Neron, who is still in possession of Ray Palmer’s body.  He’s looking to convince John to open up a door way to Hell, and keep it open, so that he can release his beloved Tabitha.  John tells him to stick it, and Neron laughs---he’ll get his way.  Meanwhile, Gary is back at the Bureau handling affairs.
While Gary is doing HIS thing, we see Ava giving paperwork to Norah…since she can’t “officially” join the team and look for Ray until she’s filled out this paperwork, and gotten “legal”.  Ava leaves her to it, walks into her office, and sees Gary sitting at her desk, very confident and, if we might say, arrogant.

While on the Waverider, the team is putting their heads together to try and figure out just where Neron has taken Ray and John.  They’re not having any luck.

When next we see Ava back at the Bureau, she says that it’s time for Performance Reviews, and she says Gary will be conducting them.  Mona is very suspicious about Ava’s behavior.  Especially when she says “Gary is the man we all need”.  

Neron begins to taunt John some more, by threatening to slit Ray’s throat, John uses his magic to stop it.  Neron is trying to get John to use his powers in a different way.

Zari and Nate are in the lab on the ship, keeping tabs on the dragon egg and keeping it safe.  They actually nickname is “Wexy”.  Just then, Gidoen manages to get a bead on John through his magical signature, and the team is off to the past to track him down.  But they also know they have to be wary about Neron, and what to do with Ray, who’s possessed by him.  They arrive, but Neron has been expecting them.  John orders them to blast him, but Sara hesitates, knowing that if she does, she destroys Ray.  Nate and a couple of the others try to dissuade Sara from doing so, when Mick tells Gideon to fire, which she does.  Neron grabs John and teleports out of the way just in time for the shot to miss, but it creates an avalanche that buries the Waverider.  Now trapped, Sara tries to hail the Bureau to get help from Ava, but Ava passes by the distress signal back at the Bureau, and presses the ignore button, as the “Performance Reviews” continue under Gary’s watch.  Back on the ship, and argument breaks out between Nate and Mick, with Mick saying that there was no time for hesitation, and made the tough call no one else would.  Sara is also pissed off with him about it, and the two argue about Mick’s conduct.  The argument doesn’t end well, as both storm off in different directions.

Neron and John wind up in the Medieval past, as he tries to convince John that he can use his powers to do what he asks….to keep the portal open long enough to bring Tabitha out of Hell.  Neron has managed to bring John to one of his ancestors, who was King at this point in time.  

Back at the Bureau, Mona has urged Norah to find out what Gary’s up to…she’s finding these whole “Performance Reviews” weird at this point in time…especially since EVERYONE who’s had one has said that “Gary is the only guy we need”.  

In the wake of the blow up between Sara and Mick, both don’t pull punches about their activities OUTSIDE the team, and hit below the belt.  Sara just gives up, and says that if Mick wants to be in charge, fine by her., and she storms off.

We arrive in Stonehenge in the year 99 BCE, where John’s ancestor talks of vanquishing evil beings and people.  Neron goads John by telling him that his ancestor influences the people, and doesn’t care if the being is innocent or not, that the fear he instills in his people give him power.  John replies that if the creature is bound for Hell, it’s because it IS evil, and John’s ancestor isn’t wrong.  Neron then asks him does that mean that Dez, Ray, and Tabitha DESERVE to be in Hell?  John sees that his ancestor is about to kill an innocent beast.

We return to the Bureau, where the Performance Reviews has seemed to hypnotize the entire staff, and it’s got Mona’s nose on high alert.  Norah is hunting around, seeing just what in the hell is going on, while Mona almost gets caught snooping through the database to see what’s going on as well.  They try to connect with the Waverider, and find themselves unable to.

Nate and Zari continue to play den parents to the dragon egg.  They talk about all the fun stuff they CAN’T do because of what’s going on, but everyone ELSE has had their fun.  It’s not long before both get hot and bothered, and end up doing the Waverider Mambo.

We see Mick stroll in and do what he can to mend the bridge between him and Sara.  However, just before any formal apology can be made, the ACTUAL Mick shows up, and calls Charlie out for trying to bait the both of them.  Charlie tells them to put aside their differences because Ray, John, and the rest of the team depend on it.

Once more to the Bureau, and we see Mona explaining to Norah on how to trap Gary, and get to the bottom of this little mystery.  She is showing Norah about trapping him in one of the prison cells, when Norah actually shuts her in it, telling her that Gary is all the man they need---Gary got to her as well.  

To Stonehenge again, where Neron asks what John’s going to do, when John makes a fateful play, and exposes himself to his ancestor.  And, as much as he tries to explain to his ancestor what’s going on, and there’s a REAL evil for him to stop…he gets knocked out by his ancestor for his troubles.  Turns out, he’s now going to be demon bait in Hell along with the innocent creature.

Sara and Mick rummage through Ray’s quarters, in order to try and find an answer as to how to find him.  They talk about the team, and how it’s changed from the beginning when Rip pulled the team together.  They stumble upon Ray’s Survival Guide, with the note “Enjoy Each Other”.  Both say, what the hell, tell Gideon to fire up all the power…if they’re gonna go out…have a damn party for Ray’s sake.

Neron continues to needle John, while he’s captive with the creature.  Neron asks him if he’s ready for Hell, and John reminds him he’s got no fear of it, considering he figured he’d wind up there someday regardless.

Mona, having been trapped inside the cell, feels afraid and alone, when her hand acts up, and her wolf side comes out, scratching on the wall that she’s NOT alone.

John explains his fears that while HE is not afraid to spend eternity in Hell…it’s the likes of Astrid, Ray, and the others that will burn WITH him, because he couldn’t SAVE them.  The monster heals what wounds he has, and asks why.  The beast doesn’t answer.  Just then, he and the monster are hauled before his ancestor, as his ancestor uses his words of fear, to draw out the fear and anger of the crowd in order to feed his power, and open up the portal to Hell.

At the Bureau, Mona is taken out of her cell, and brought before Gary for her review.  Once there, Gary tells her what a bad employee she’s been, and that she’s been slipping.  He then exposes his possessed nipple to show a demon eye in it, freaking Mona out.  At first, she resisted using her powers, trying to hold the wolf at bay, but she couldn’t any longer.

We are back aboard the Waverider, where the team is at a table, playing one of Ray’s games, and enjoying each other’s company, as they prepare to have the last of their power and oxygen used up, and die.  However, Gideon informs them that the power usage has melted the ice, and it gives the team new life, as they prepare to break free.

John’s ancestor has used the power of the magical sword to open a portal to Hell, and banish both him and the creature to it. However, John realizes that the only option he has, is to use his power to stop his ancestor, which he does.  Neron says now he can use his magic to open the portal and allow Tabitha to return.  John has other ideas, and he picks up his ancestor’s sword, and they begin to do battle.

The team has managed to get the ship ready to blast out of the ice, and does so, also making sure they figure out just where Neron and John went…off they go!

As Gary and his demon nipple are running from Mona’s wolf-side, he begs for help as Ava and Norah storm in, ready to take her down.  However, wolfie manages to conk the two of them into each other, and down they go.  Wolfie then goes after Gary’s nipple to destroy it.  Ava and Norah manage to snap out of the trance.  

John and Neron continue the battle when the Waverider shows up just as he has Neron dead to rights.  John then makes a fateful call, and falls into the portal to Hell in order to save Ray.  Just then, Tabitha appears.  Turns out, Tabitha is the Fairy Godmother!  Neron asks her if she’s ready for a new body, and she says yes, and they teleport out.  They reappear at the Bureau, where Gary is still on the run from Wolfie, begging them to help him.  Neron neutralizes Mona’s powers, returning her to normal.  They manage to capture her, as Norah gives chase.  Ava meets up with the team to learn about Ray and John.

We see the end of the episode where John climbs out of a trash can in  some dingy looking city.  He looks around, says “Bollocks”, as he grabs a cigarette, and begins his hunt for Ray…he’s in Hell.

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What can I say?  We get a little bit of everything with this show.  We got action, drama, and outright silliness that makes “Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew” look like an issue of the Justice League.  The story has picked up pace, has a bit more drama woven in, and a good build up to a season finale where who KNOWS what will happen.

It’s come to my attention from having watched this season unfold, that it’s not so much about the team, and the various magical encounters they’ve had during this season, but the underlying tone of this kind of being a John Constantine story.  John’s issues have stemmed from last season with his failures of saving Norah Dhark, and the consequences of THAT have been carried over into THIS season, where Neron has beome the big baddie, having been taunting John, haunting his nightmares, possessing his boyfriend, and now taking over Ray Palmer.  It seems that all of John’s gruff, tough guy act has bitten him in the ass, caught up to him, and he is now on his redemption journey.  It’s been brilliant being able to give his story some depth and history, while being implemented into the insanity that is THIS crew of misfits.  It’s made for some solid storytelling, as well as some fun moments with the limey bastard.  But we are now finally seeing what good John can ACTUALLY do when he’s pressed up against it.  His choice to head into Hell to say Ray is heroic…for a man who refuses to believe himself one.  Matt Ryan has got this chap just right….and I enjoy it!

The team shows how dysfunctional it is, what with the various personalities, and those personalities clashing…A LOT.  This episode not only brings that to the forefront…especially with two of the three original members of the team---Sara and Mick---but it shows how the team AND its mission has grown in the last 4  years since Rip Hunter brought them together.  Now, here they are…a dysfunctional family.  But that is what the essence of Ray Palmer has been for this team—he’s been the glue to keep the team…and in its own wacky way…a family, together.  

Say what you will about Mona…love the girl or find her annoying as hell…but she provides not only solid comic relief…she has also added to the team’s depth in being able to solve problems.  She’s ditzy, eccentric, and now has lycanthropy like powers, but she’s doing what she can to fit in.  Honestly, she can’t be any MORE annoying than, say, Gary---who’s magic nipple managed to hypnotize EVERYONE in the building…INCLUDING Norah.  For someone with magical powers herself…you’d think she’d have been able to resist Gary.  Guess not.  

What can we expect from the final two episodes?  More magic, more mirth, more mayhem, and more bad one liners.  But hey…as I have stated countless times before---it’s the one DC show that doesn’t overdose on the drama to the point it’s stifling, nor does it really fall back on plot devices that tend to hinder other shows.  It’s the wink of the proverbial eye at the audience.  Out of all the shows in the CW’s lineup of DC characters---it’s the one show that actually FEELS like a comic book.  It’s got a story, tends to be a tad over the top, but doesn’t make us wretch or regret we saw it…it’s a good time.  And that’s all we can ask…right?

Okay, I know these reviews are LATER than what I wanted, but you’re getting them regardless!  Two more coming your way ASAP, as we wrap up the week, and get ready for the final stretch of this show and SUPERGIRL, while we send the Emerald Archer and the Scarlet Speedster off for the summer this coming week.  Please be sure to subscribe and leave a comment.  I’d love to hear from you guys!  

Until next time…