Legends of Tomorrow, Season 2, Episode 11: Turncoat
I'm not sure if I'm the one who just didn't "get" the episode, or if it truly is a boring filler with random leaps and bounds in character development that doesn't particularly make sense. Which is a shame, because two episodes ago we had the perfect way to do filler, while the episode directly before this was basically a perfect villain episode... this one felt like we're suddenly back in formulaic season one territory.
I'm honestly not quite sure where it felt wrong. Maybe it's Evil Rip Hunter not at all being compelling, and just basically being a generic villain -- and the drama with snapping an unconscious Sara's neck was literally brushed aside in a matter of minutes. Maybe it's because I really didn't care at all for the historical drama of Mick trying to get a read on the very, very bland and generic George Washington. Maybe it's because of the sudden oddity that the interracial couple of Nate and Amaya is treated as 'oh, they do things differently in your state, eh?' instead of being treated with pitchforks like they would (didn't something more realistic happen in the Civil War episode?).
Rip's just nihilistic and just being a generic evil for no real good reason, honestly, and after seeing him for two episodes as a confused hippie and it being one of the most entertaining bits that Rip Hunter has ever been, this interpretation just felt... off somehow. I guess there is some weight to what he's saying if he truly believes it, but this is Legends -- if Rip had not gone all kill-happy on Jax and Sara, and instead just leaves them alive but is still convinced he has to destroy time to get his family back, then he would've been a compelling villain. Here he's just obviously brainwashed and we'll get him back at the end of the season.
Jax's brief stint as captain was well done, as is his raw rage against Rip killing Sara, but Ray spends the entire episode shrunken and having to run away from rats, Stein is basically stuck trying to operate on Sara, and neither of them got to interact with anyone. Mick got to be buddies with George Washington, but that's honestly nothing particularly special beyond the rather hilariously unpatriotic speech that Mick gave Washington about what it means to be an American -- apparently it means making ambushes, breaking deals and generally being an asshole. Well, Mick, you could make a great Captain America. Nate and Amaya randomly decide they like each other, talk about Tinder a bit, and bang each other (despite all the Mick/Amaya hinting throughout the season? I don't particularly ship that, but Nate/Amaya seems to be as random as they come). Did I miss anything? That felt weak. It's not as bad as Hawkgirl was in the first season, but the Nate/Amaya pairing, while not entirely without chemistry, was definitely without buildup.
Overall, a pretty weak episode. Definitely not one of my favourites. Hopefully they do better with Evil Rip in the future.
DC Easter Eggs Corner:
- Amaya going "I understood that reference" when Nate brings up Wizard of Oz brings to mind the Marvel movies version of Captain America, who is also a time-displaced superhero from World War II, and in The Avengers had a similar moment when someone referenced the Wizard of Oz.
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