REVIEW: DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 5.14: "Swan Thong"
Here we are, ladies and gents! It's the Season 5 finale of Legends of Tomorrow, and when we last left our time travellers, they had been trapped in television land, courtesy of Charlie, who had made a deal with her sisters to save them, for her helping them reshape the world they way they originally saw fit. However, thanks to original Zari, with the help of Gary and Mona, to escape the realm. Charlie, however, offered to keep them there to keep them safe, but they said they'd take their chances with her sisters. And now, the final battle will begin, as Charlie cannot help nor stop the conflict between her sisters and her teammates. Let's see how this all goes down...
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Wow! That certainly was a pretty interesting way to end a season! We got some beats of drama, some cute humorous moments, and a surprise ending that had me going "WTF?!" at the end of it. Season 5 took us on quite a ride, and we'll reflect back on it, but before we do, here was some of the hits of the season finale that we got this week:
Sara's team gets past security, and the find the Loom, and has John and Astra use their magic to destroy it. John has Astra focus on her mother Natalie, and draw from her mother for her power. It seems to be working a bit, but then Astra's memories get replaced by that of Lechesis, and the task fails. She can't concentrate, because she feels like betrayed her own mother by listening to Lechesis. John tries to sway her, but Astra cannot refocus.
At the church, Charlie feigns to her sisters that all is okay, and they start listening to the wishes of the people. One of them wants their TV shows back on, and discusses a "crossover". It's here that Lechesis wonders what's going on, and Charlie tries to explain, but she sees people in the crowd dressed as the Legends. Before invading the temple, the team had switched clothes with fans of the show in order to sneak it. The ruse all gone, Lechesis blames Charlie, and sends Atropose to deal with the problem. Atropose takes on Sara's team, and she and Sara fight, with Sara still having her powers. They battle until Sara manages to pull on Atropose's thread, and send her into the Loom itself, with the help of Bherad and Zari's wind blast. She ends up getting consumed by the Loom and is gone. A little chaos breaks out, and the team beats a hasty retreat, hopping on the Waverider, and jumping time with it.
The team returns to the city, only to find out it's 4 months later...and while Sara's powers are gone, she got her sight back. And even though they thought they destroyed the Loom, everyone is walking around with watches that make their decisions for them. Turns out, that Lechesis had set up Gideon as the new source of the Loom, and has everyone wearing the watches in order to keep them docile. Mick and Lita return to the ship, with Mick upset that they had left him for a few months. Gary and Mona also return, and they have to come up with a plan to get Gideon back by shutting her down. They also need to rescue Charlie, who was put into their Museum of Villains and Bad Ideas for her transgression against her sister. They enter there, and manage to get Charlie out. But Charlie's beat beaten into submission mentally and emotionally. She feels that all the chaos is her fault, and had she not split the Loom, none of this would be happening. The team does their best to try and convince her that there is some good that has come out of the chaos and disorder, but she's defeated, and walks off dejected. John also tries to give Astra a boost up, but Astra still can't reconcile that she allowed Lechesis to control her, and make her forget her mother. The team DOES manage to come up with a plan to stop Lechesis, and that's by having both Zaris find Gideon and shut her down, meanwhile, the rest of the team will deal with Lechesis.
Back at the museum, Lechesis is giving a tour, showing off all the bad ideas (like games, machines, etc..), and the Villains (which includes Charles Manson and guest star Courtney Ford reprising her role as Marie Antoinette). She talks about how horrible the Legends are, and he sister. But when the spotlight is on her sister, it turns out to be Astra, who dares a shocked Lechesis to stop her, as she tells the public that everything Lechesis is saying is wrong. Lechesis then uses the coins of the encores, and revives them, sending them after the Legends. Meanwhile, on board the Waverider, Lita talks to Charlie, and tells her about how her life is a result of chaos, and that no matter how much bad there is, there's some good as well. It seems to help, because Charlie meets up with the team, as they try to stop the encores, but can't kill them. Charlie shows up with demon killing weapons, and the team finishes them off, with Marie getting decapitated again. While they're taking care of the encores, Charlie tracks her sister down to finish her off, but instead, her sister is defeated, because she says that she was a God...and now she's mortal, and nothing. Charlie explains to her sister that yes, she is mortal, but it's what you DO with your life that matters....hence why it's worth living. Charlie says she won't kill her sister, because she used to be afraid of her...but she forgives her. Now, the rest is up to Lechesis as to what she does with her life.
One of the things I hadn't brought up was the issue with Behrad this episode. During the course of their plan to shut down Lechesis, Behrad began having chest pains, and memories of his alternate future, where he sacrificed himself for Zari. She had brought that up to him, and later on, the attack happened again, but he managed to hold it off until after the battle was over. On board the ship, it happened a third time, and this time, his version of Zari was worried. It was then that Zari #1 realized that there's a flux in the time stream, and it's effecting him. She is the problem, and she can't stay. Only one Zari is to remain, but he doesn't want to lose her. She says she needs to do this for him, and she's got to go back into the totem. Nate and her spend one final moment in time with each other, professing their love, and Nate happy that he got his memories back of her. He knows where she'll be, and he has no regrets. They both make that promise, and, the totem calls, and our original Zari is gone. With the team in need of some down time, Charlie knows just a place.
The team is back in England, as Charlies' punk band plays, and she's singing her heart out. The team is decked out for the occasion, and enjoying themselves. Astra and John talk about her next move, and she's thinking she'll stay at his house in London. She also gives him his lifecoin, and they celebrate. As the team decides they need a vacation, Charlie says she's gonna stick around and lay some roots down, so she's leaving the team. The team is sad to see her go, but she knows she can always come back. The team then gets ready to go their separate ways for time off, when they head back to the Waverider, Sara is suddenly caught in a beam, and lifted away, without the team being any wiser as the episode ends.
Well...a few things to unpack from this season finale:
- We had to say goodbye to our original Zari again. As we witnessed in Batwoman, this new universe has rules that apply: namely, two of the same person cannot occupy the same place in space. Interestingly enough though, NEITHER Zari was effected, but it was Behrad. He was the anomaly that tied both Zari's together,and Nate's Zari made the sacrifice to go back into the totem, to not only save HIM, but to make sure her counterpart got to keep her brother. It was obviously noble on Zari's part, but I'll always prefer HER to her counterpart, who...while making strides this season to be more of a help to the team...still is a pain in the ass. Also...not digging her and John together. But, it is what it is. I just feel for Nate. All season long, trying to find HIS Zari...get her back...only to lose her again. I had honestly thought that we'd lose Behrad this season, because he really wasn't supposed to be there, and we'd have this kind of amalgamation of Zari...but that's not the case. So...John gets the girl, and Nate comes up empty handed. I guess that he'll have to take Ray's place next season, and he'll be womanless from here on out. Unless they find somebody on the level of Zari...she's going to be the ONLY one for Nate. And if that's the case...i'd rather he fly solo.
- Charlie finally stood her ground with her sister, and proved her worth this season as a true Legend. She grew from the opening of the season until the finale, and I think that if she makes any guest appearances, she'll be more badass than ever. Charlie had many fears coming into this season, and we finally got to hear HER story---it was pretty much about her the entire time. So, to see her face down her sister, and not kill her, but leave her sister to her own fate, shows tremendous character development. Sadly, with Maisie Richardson-Sellars leaving the show to pursue other projects, we have to bid Charlie farewell for now.
- Astra and John. Quite a bit of growth from Constantine this season as well. He kept his promise to Astra---sort of. He made a deal that he'd get her mother back, but in the end---he didn't. Not really. Admittedly, Charlie was a help to Astra in that department, but Astra came to realize that her mother was inside her and with her all along. She just had to remember the memories. And her mother's powers, which John explained to her, flows through her. And because of what time Astra got with Natalie...it was enough to allow Astra to come to terms with her mother gone, and make peace with it. Also with John. As for John, we saw him about as noble as he can be, while being stuck in situations that were way out of his element...including lung cancer. But, he managed to gain some redemption along the way, and got a new girlfriend in the process...Zari. This will be something to watch next season, as their relationship progresses.
- Gary was....Gary this season. While it's done some good for him to learn under John's tutelage, he's also still annoying. Thankfully, he wasn't overused this season. Mona, while we only got her in patches this season as well, was refreshing everytime she hit the screen. I miss Mona, and with Charlie gone, will she rejoin the group, or will she continue to pump out books as Rebecca Silver?
- Mick. What can we say about Mick? He's got a KID! And she is every bit like him...but that's what makes the father/daughter dynamic work. And it was cool that she eventually came around, and saw that...despite the bad apple that he has made every effort to come off as...he's a loving father...and a softie.
- Ava & Sara. Ava herself went on her own journey this season, having joined the team on board the ship, and effectively being a co-captain. She was so unsure in her role, and uneasy about taking over for Sara, she did an admirable job. She's still working her way through her own personal issues with sill being a clone, but her and Sara are still rock solid. But Ava also showed that she's a geeky goofball like the rest of the team.
Sara had the roughest road this season. She was a part of CRISIS, she had to watch her best friend Oliver Queen die---twice. She had to take time off to reconcile with that, almost took a job in Star City with Mayor Rene Ramirez. She also got nailed by one of Charlie's sisters, inherited powers, and was blind for a short period of time. But through is all, Sara Lance did what she always did---tough it out and lead. And now? With this kidnapping of sorts...where in the hell did she go?!! We're in for a LOOOOONG wait before we find out what happens.
Overall, it was a very good episode, that tied up some loose storylines, and set up a cliffhanger for next season. As a whole, it was another fun season...one we could expect from this ragtag crew. We said farewell to Ray and Nora Palmer (though it was AWESOME to have Courtney Ford back for the finale...even though it was a short bit as Marie Antoinette, which she was HILARIOUS in), and also farewell to our original Zari (yet again), and Charlie, as she's going to stay behind and start a life. The team's core is still intact, and not sure whether or not Astra will join them, and whether or not Mona will return. Gary is hanging on the fringes, so he'll be back. But change is yet again the theme of the show, and it's going to be fun to see how it shapes up next season.
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Well, kiddies...that's it for Seaon 5 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow! Thanks for hanging in for this run, and look forward to havin' you all back for Season 6. It's gonna be awhile, but make sure you subscribe to the page anyway, because we still have our ongoing Stargirl review, plus other stuff that you will see featured here. Plus...leave some comments...I wanna know what YOU thought of this season.
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