REVIEW: DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 5.5: "Mortal Khanbat"
What can we say about our weird friends of space/time? They have gotten into some interesting scrapes to start this season off. With Astra unleashing the baddest of the baddies upon the world to have an "encore" presentation to the masses, she's keeping them busy, as well as making John Constantine's life a literal living hell. Now, she's upped the stakes by advancing John's lifespan by taking the coin she owns of his soul, and sped it up. Now, his lung cancer has come full boar, and he's on the brink of death, and our team will have to find a way to save him...IF he lets them.
______________________________________________________________________________
John is beeing wheeled into the medbay on the Waverider as we open things up. As stated, Astra has sped up his life clock, and he's dying due to his lung cancer. While the team is trying to get him set up, and run tests, he's looking at Charlie, wanting to know more about the Loom that she had destroyed, and scattered the remians across the multiverse. She says now is not the time, but he desperately needs to know. Gary is freaking out, and hugging Ava, and the prognosis from Gideon isn't good: he has terminal lung cancer. John gets sedated, and Charlie sees this as an opportunity to bail out on the team once again. Charlie is looking for a little time pod to bail on and beat a hasty retreat when she gets stopped by these voices that are chattering in her head, telling her she can't get away. She brushes them off, and continues on to get off the ship when Behrad interrupts her. Zari is also with him and he introduces Charlie to his sister. Ava then calls everyone in for a team meeting, and Charlie is dragged into it, against her wishes. Zari wonders if it includes her, and Ava says yes.
Once on the bridge, Ava goes over the new program she created to help them find all the encores. With Sara still in Star City, and Mick doing...whatever. Ava goes ahead and announces her program: A prognosticator, a name which bores the team. But the program is there to help them find the encores BEFORE they start doing anything bad, and change history. They have a new threat: there's a mysterious figure looking to take over the Triad in 1997 Hong Kong. Ava wants Zari and Ray to quarterback the mission, and Nate takes the time to show off his new set of wheels: a scooter called Scoots McGoots. Everyone seems stoked to see it, and Ava is in disbelief at the fact that her program isn't as impressive.
Once they get to 1997, Ava and Charlie are staking out a tea shop that's a front for the Triad. Nate is scooting around the perimeter, looking for this mysterious man. Aboard the ship, Zari is boning up on her history, and Constantine has left the med bay, looking to leave the ship, and find out why he's dying. Ray is adamant that he's not letting him go, and he and John have a staredown...and Ray agrees to let him go, but only if he and Gary go with him. Back in the tea shop, Charlie is fidgety, thinking this figure isn't showing up (and she still wants to get the hell outta Dodge), when Nate sees the mysterious figure pull up on a motorcycle. Once he removes his helmet, we see that it is Ghengis Khan. Khan enters the tea shop, and goes into the back office to meet the Triad.
Khan shows the Triad a briefcase that has drugs in it, and a cut off ear. The Triad wants to know what he wants, since he returned their product. He says that he wants to control the Triad, and retake control of Hong Kong. One of the members of the Triad wonder if they don't want to give him control. Khan says things will get ugly. Outside, Ava and Charlie see that this is their chance to get Khan before he changes history, and Charlie says she'll go in, and to give the knockout syringe to her, so she can do the job. She needs Behrad to create a distraction, and he wants her to hold up, it's too dangerous. But things go south in a hurry, as the Triad gang starts firing on him, and a gunfight ensues. And there are female undercover cops who join the fray. Ava then jumps in, and she helps one of the lady cops take down some of the members of the gang. However, they empty their clips, and are caught by the gang. Nate comes in as Steel on his scooter and saves the day by deflecting the bullets meant for Ava and the cop. Meanwhile, Charlie, Khan,and Behrad get into a mini mexican standoff. Charlie begs Khan to let Behrad go, and Behrad does...and he walks out.
John returns home, with Ray and Gary in tow, looking to help him out, as he continues to get weaker. He needs to head down to hell, and see who's the culprit behind his sudden illness. However, he collapses and passes out. He wakes up in Purgatory, which looks like the house, and there is Astra. She taunts John by telling him that he's on borrowed time...time SHE owns, and shows him his coin. She goes on to say that there are people in both Heaven AND Hell that would LOVE to watch this, and have a piece of him. He wonders why she's doing this, and she says he's bad for business. He goes on to warn her that the deal she made with the Council is going to backfire on her, and she says she's willing to risk it. She mocks his version of Purgatory, and he says that her mother sent him, and she can have a chance to have her family whole again. She says the offer is tempting, but the problem is...every person John helps, he ends up hurting. He says she's afraid of living a normal life. If she gave him more time, he can help her. She reminds him that time is the one thing he has very little of.
Ava is upset that the mission failed, and that they should've done more intel before making their move. She asks Charlie to go undercover, and Charlie isn't thrilled about it. Behrad and her argue about the mission, and then they both storm off...Charlie looking for Mick so she can get a drink, and Behrad needs to get stoned. The team notices the tension, and wonders WHY those two can't get along. Nate then suspects that the two did the deed, and it's now awkward. The team seems disgusted at the thought.
We see Khan is gathering his forces to begin taking back Hong Kong for himself. Charlie ends up taking the form of one of Khan's underlings, while Behrad and Nate hang back and have the real guy occupied. Khan as the female cop that Ava worked with at his mercy. He says that if she gives up the location of where Prince Charles motorcade will be, then he will spare her son. It turns out, as Zari researched, that Prince Charles was there to hand control of Hong Kong back to the Chinese people, and was doing it at this ceremony taking place later on. The lady cop has no choice but to thell him. She shows him the route the Prince will be taking.
While back at Constantine's, Ray has called Nora, and she brings a little girl with her, in hoping she can wish that John's illness can be wished away. John's a bit snappy with her, but she makes the wish. Nora uses her magic, but it seems to not do any good. John says thanks, but they'll have to try another way. Nora apologizes, and she and the kid disappear, but not before her and Ray exchange goodbyes for now.
We then see Nate and Behrad having a conversation about the tension between he and Charlie. Behrad admits to them doing the deed, but then she took off without even saying goodbye. Even the prisoner chimes in that he needs to talk with er about it. As Behrad and Nate discuss that, they turn back, only to discover their prisoner escaped.
Khan's ulitmate plan is to have Prince Charles turn control of Hong Kong over to him. He says it took him 700 years to dig himself out, and it won't take long for him to get control of Hong Kong again, and with that, he takes his now magically powered sword, and kills the female cop. Charlie, in disguise, is then asked by Khan about the status of his fleet. She then feigns any knowhow of it, and says it's coming along great, and he's going to check on it. She beats a hasty retreat, only to run into the actual person she's morphed into. She tries to explain, but he freaks out, calls her a ghost in Mandarin, and runs off. Charlie goes to bail, but once again, the voices attack her, and she's in pain. They're telling her she can't run now. In her distraction, she's almost hit by a truck, but Behrad saves her. He asks if she's okay, but she quickly shoves him off and rudely tells him that she's fine, and takes off.
John is looking through his spellbook, searching for another way to stop his death, which includes a knight. Thing is, Ray was actually knighted sometime back, and John says it'll do, and asks Ray if he's uncircumsized. Ray takes offense, and before John can say another word, Gary interrupts and says enough. There IS no cure, he IS dying, and he should just spend the time he has left with his friends. John chastises the both of them, tells them to bugger off, he'll find another way....he always does. He even offers himself to the angel Gabriel...but there's no response.
Charlie is searching around for the courier to get her off the ship, which Behrad has. He wants to discuss what happened between them. She says it was no big deal, they had sex, it wasn't that great, which offends him He feels there's more, she seems spooked. He felt hurt when she left. She shuts him down hardcore, and she wants the courier. He gives it to her and she leaves, but he ends up saying goodbye to her.
On the bridge, Ava tries to get the team to refocus on nabbing Khan, and stopping his plan. Zari lets them know about Prince Charles' motorcade for this ceremony is the target. The guy Charlie impersonated is an engineer, and they need to find out just what Khan is using has his "fleet" to attack the motorcade. Nate is there to find out the means of transportation for the fleet, and Behrad is there to run interference and let them know when Khan is coming. Feels it would be easier with Charlie, but he knows he's on his own.
John is having a one-on-one with the bulldog head top of his cane. The cane tells him that had Gabriel gotten ahold of John, he would've made him his slave. John tells the head that if he isn't quiet, he's going to shove him someplace the sun doesn't shine, but the head says that John would probably enjoy that...which cause John to pause. The head then tells him that if he had a brain in his head, he'd be spending what time he had left with the only friends he's got. Meanwhile, Gary is a blubbering mess, crying to Ray about John dying. John then reappears to them, and apologizes for being an ass. Ray's prepped a meal, and John says that the whole time he's lived there, he never remembers the kitchen ever being used for what it's purpose is for. But he sits down, and starts telling stories to the boys.
Nate has found the wherehouse where Khan had his shipment for his "fleet". When Nate discovers what it is, he screams Captian Kirk style, yelling "KHAAAAN!". As Behrad holds his position, he sees Khan and his army coming through the steam on the streets, and they're on the same scooters as Nate's. Behrad moves out of the way from being run over, and he says that's how they're attacking the Prince. They're using the scooters to work through the traffic jam that's piled up because of the Prince's visit. The British agents notice the attack coming, and take preventative measures, trying to escape Khan and his men. Nate is on his way to assist, but Khan manages to capture the Prince. Behrad tries to come to his rescue, but is also captured as well. He apologizes to the Prince for not getting there and reacting faster, but the Prince shapeshifts back into Charlie. Khan then grabs Behrad, and threatens him with his sword. He wants to know WHERE the real Prince is. At that moment, we are on board the Waverider, where the Prince is talking to Mick about Charlie, and Mick says he's on a break, and for the Prince to shut up.
Khan is impressed with Charlie, and feels her powers are useful. He wishes to take her for his 13th wife. She says that would be a bad idea, because she's terrible at relationships. Khan then realizes that she and Behrad slept together. He's disgusted, so he wants the both of them killed. Just as his underlings prepare to fire on Charlie, Bherad breakes free of his captor, takes him out, and races over to Charlie as the underlings fire their weapons. He uses his wind power to stop them. This allows Charlie to go after Khan, and ends up using his own sword to destroy him. They save the day, and another encore bites the dust.
Aboard the Waverider, the team feels it's time for Charlie to fess up. She finally admits that she's a Fate. That her real name is Clortho---a spinner. She used to be able to spin people's futures on the Loom. They ask what her true for is...and old lady. She says that if they saw her true form, it would destroy them, as well as if they heard her. Anyway, she felt that NO ONE should have that kind of power, and that people should think for themselves. Therefore, she destroyed the Loom about a thousand years ago, and spread the pieces across the multiverse. Unfortunately for her, because of Sara and the other Paragons saving the universe in Crisis, and re-creating the multiverse as just ONE universe. Now, her sister's are hunting her down, and are looking for the pieces of the loom as well. With the pieces all on one plane of existience, it's only a matter of time before they find them. So, that's why she says she's been on the run for the last thousand or so years. And if they catch her, they'll kill her, and anyone she loves. So, she says that's WHY she has to bail. Behrad says that he doesn't want her to go. She's a part of the team, and they have her back, no matter what. Just then, Sara finally arrives back at the Waverider, and trips over the plethora of scooters outside the bridge. She then asks what's been going on in her absence, and they all begin to fill her in at once.
John is finally ready to die, and before he goes, he wrote out his will. He gave the house to Gary, who will happily take care of the upkeep, but he also has a gift for Ray. He wonders why it is that Ray hasn't sealed the deal with Nora, and Ray comments that the last two relationships he had did NOT end well. John says that life is too short, live it up to the fullest, and ask her to marry him. John then takes a swig from the flask he pulled out of his coat pocket. He says that he prefers to go out on his own terms, and with that, he collapses on the table. Back in Purgatory, he sees Astra again, watching the last minute of his life tick away. He looks at his arm, and sees the timer running. He tries to convince her that he can fix things, but she said she isn't changing her mind. He says that Natalie never gave up on her...and he slides the flask over to Astra, and John says that it's the same poison that Natalie drank when she killed herself. He then breaks into Simon & Garfunkle's "Scarborough Faire", and she tells him to stop. That was her and her mother's song. John says yes, but it was HIS and Natalie's song FIRST. She then takes out the screwdriver to turn back the clock on his coin ,and asks him if he can really resurrect her mother. He says he can fix everything. With that, she turns the screw, and John is revived. Astra reminds him that he has a limited amount of time, and she can kill him anytime he wants. He then reappears in the real world, very much alive and reinvigorated. He hugs Ray and Gary....then burns the will, and says he's got a promise to keep...and needs to see a woman about a loom.
*******************************************************************************************************************
If it's one thing that's been slightly different about this season...it's got a real solid story behind it with John's somewhat "redemption" to save Astra from hell, and reunite her family, and this was part of the crux of this episode...what was the directorial debut of Sara Lance herself, Caity Lotz. She does a marvelous job of weaving John's stroy with Astra into this tale of John's downfall to save this young girl from evil, and the pain it caused her mother, who--in turned--killed herself. Astra's been pissed because she had the coins to all these VERY BAD famous people, and she's unleased them upon Earth. John and the Legends have been screweing up her plans left and right...and the Council has not been pleased. Therefore, Astra has decided to take John off the table. But the last few episodes, we've REALLY dug into his past, and motivations for wanting to save Astra. Her showing mercy to him means that he's going to have to get the loom---and that puts Charlie square in his crosshairs.
As for Charlie---we FINALLY get her backstory. She isn't just some shapeshifting "demon" as she professed. She's a FATE...who used to spin people's futures with that loom. But, she decided to break with the norm, and felt that people should have free will, and destroyed the damn thing...spread it across the multiverse, and ran like hell. But since Crisis, her past is now catching up with her. The voices in her head---her sisters---who're none too pleased with her. And try as she might---she wasn't going to be able to run far. Now, she has the team on her side. But---the burining question is this: does it now become a race to obtain the pieces of the loom between the Legends, and Charlie's sisters? And will John be able to get it to complete his mission to resurrect Natalie and give Astra her family back? This has now gotten to be VERY interesting. And it's a deep story, so it gives a little more weight to the show, than before.
But hey...we can't forget that this team STILL is a goofy bunch, and to have to deal with villain of the week Genghis Khan had its own share of humor. The fact that the scooter that Nate liked so much, was the means of Khan to move his "fleet" to attack the Prince. So, we got a Prince Charles sighting. Also, we found out that Behrad and Charlie did the nasty---and apparently Behrad sucks at it. THAT was painful to watch...even I felt THAT. We had yet another tiny cute moment with Nora and Ray---and we know their relationship HAS to take the next step...especially since BOTH will be GONE before this season ends. Gary was HIS usual mess...and, this episode, he was just GRATINGLY annoying. Normally, I can handle my dose of Gary...but this was TOO much this week. Mick was there all too briefly, and doesn't seem to do much these days, other than drink beer, and be belligerent. But, he's the TRUE comic relief of this show. One liners, and just tiny little moments where he just interjects himself keep us laughing. Sara's been in Star City on personal business (which is not explained in storyline, but it's because Caity Lotz took two weeks to prepare to direct this show). Ava has grown into her role as Sara's "lieutenant" and second-in-command...but they still find her boring. However, the gunfight scenes had an almost John Woo feel (if that's what Caity was shooting for, well done---especially the white dove when Khan got off his bike and entered the tea shop), Ava looked badass. And Zari---hey! She contributed! She's starting to fit in with these band of misfits. But we got nothing more on HER memory fully coming back. So, we took a week off on HER story, to focus on John and Charlie, who's stories now intertwine, and will be fascinating to see what happens from there.
Okay, kids...that wraps it up for THIS week! Hope you all enjoyed yourselves...I know I did! So, subscribe to me, spread the word about me...and TALK to me! Lemme feel the LOVE, people!
Until we meet again....Time Is On Our Side!
No comments:
Post a Comment