The Magnificent 8
Well, those
new time master assassins showed up, they were entirely pointless and only
served as a segway to a hopefully much more interesting assassin, the Pilgrim,
but we’ll likely have something to say about her next week
This week
it’s Jonah Hex and the time travelling outlaws vs some random guys who are
really really not a threat to any of them, even without their powers. Jonah Hex
looks ok; his scarring looks decent-ish the problem is he really doesn’t have a
lot to do in this other than react off other characters and explore his
connection to Rip Hunter, and I’ll grant you it’s a nice idea.
So,
character bits… Captain Cold is criminally utilised and I guess Mick Rory’s on
the good guy’s side again now… because I guess survival tops any personal
vendettas he has against them, I guess…
Also we have
Kendra finding one of her past lives who tells her never to fall in love
because it will in tragedy, and thinking that BRACELET could kill Vandal
Savage. Actually, it’s a decent sub-plot, in fact pretty much all the sub-plots
and characters are well done, it’s a shame than that the threat they’re facing
is… Well not very interesting.
Back to
character moments we see Martin Stein be a moron for introducing a TB cure 70
years before it was invented and implying the HG Wells suffered from
Tuberculosis… Yeah, sure he did, you know you could have had any character here
you liked, why make it an important historical figure?
The we have
Rip Hunter who had visited another western town on a mission from the Time
Masters but ended up acclimatising to the environment to the point where he’d
have to give up being a time master if he ended up interfering with the town’s
destruction the next day. He’d lived with the guilt of that ever since. It’s
nice to get that as it helps establish a nice connection to Jonah Hex, who
shows up in most DC Westerns and also provides some nice interaction with Ray
Palmer, the champion of helping the town.
So we get a
fight between the team and those time master guys who serve only as cannon
fodder where everyone uses their powers in front of the villagers and
scepticism is the only reason this hasn’t completely mucked up the time stream.
Hey, you know who might think you’re telling the truth, Vandal Savage, just
saying.
Anyway,
despite a lacklustre main plot, this episode is pretty fun with a lot of good
character work, Jonah Hex is more the icing on the cake
Rating
7.5/10
Last Refuge
More
episodes like this please!
When it
comes to time travel rules, this episode makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
But who cares, we get to see the team take on someone who’s actually a threat
and there’s a sense of fun to it and oh my god that orphanage lady is awesome.
So yeah, the
Pilgrim gets one shot at killing their younger selves so it really makes no
sense for the crew to kidnap him also she won’t go after Rip Hunter because of
the damage it’d do to the timeline but is more than happy to accept him as an
offering. *sigh* I’m sorry, but no, no, no, that makes no sense, but that’s
been more or less the case in any episode that involves time based hijinks.
So, after
successfully kidnapping a young Mick Rory and Sara Lance (for some reason) and
rescuing Ray Palmer (but not kidnapping him) they decide to kidnap the others
as babies to prevent it happening to anyone else, they take them to a time
master orphanage and their awesome carer.
The Pilgrim
can slow down time in her immediate vicinity so they’ve got a real challenge on
them, thank god. No single villain, Savage included, poses a physical threat to
any of them. We also get a hint about Rip Hunter’s past (which he was less than
willing to share with Captain Cold) which was nice, he was a bit of a survivor,
he was, he really didn’t get enough screen time for any real
Oh and
speaking of not enough screen time. Jefferson gets to meet his father, who died
when he was very young in what’s screaming out as an attempt to bring spotlight
to him way too late on in the series really, especially since it looks like the
final 4 episodes are going to be set in one-time period. They really could’ve
gone with anyone here but it’s worth noting that Jefferson did face an
interesting dilemma in which he makes an interesting choice which may or may
not have consequences later on.
It was nice
to see Mick Rory, a much wiser one than we were used to, converse with his
younger self who’d already set his parents’ house on fire, killing them. He has
regrets but Mick fights a battle to try and make himself better, perhaps even
avoid his cruel fate.
This episode
makes absolutely no sense, but it’s probably my favourite episode thus far this
season. God knows how stopping Savage can save their past selves but time is
now against them and their only choice is to fight him at the height of his
power.
Rating 8/10
Leviathan
Well, this
episode at least started moving pieces in the right direction. But it featured
a battle worthy of this clip
So, they’re
in 2166, 3 days before Rip Hunter’s wife and child bit the dust and when Vandal
Savage pretty much has absolute power over the world, and a daughter named
Cassandra who’s going to be our main character arc for this episode.
But it’s not
just her, it’s things to do with her, as Kendra grapples with the weight of
having to kill Vandal Savage, with a bracelet that Cassandra owned. The
solution? Melt it down and pour it on a giant mace… of course. I’m granny eye
to eye right now
We also get
Martin Stein taken out of the plot thanks to vague injury that I have no idea
what happened, so Jefferson is a minor bit-player in the episode.
They
definitely made the right call having Captain Cold be the one to talk to
Cassandra, and he played his cards nicely, using references to his own father
to taint her view before showing her the final proof of Vandal Savage’s deceit
of her, evidence that he unleashed the Armageddon virus from a few episodes
back.
Speaking of
Vandal Savage, I’ve hated on the character’s portrayal and motivations not
lining up with my expectations for the character but at the very least there
are legitimate stakes with him now. Every other time they’ve confronted him,
win or lose, little seems to change but now he has an army to back him up,
including a brainwashed Carter (which I’ll get to) and I giant robot
Now the
effects for the giant robot…. They weren’t very good, not that I’d expect it on
a TV show’s budget, especially since they have to do a lot of shooting in different
locations to match the show’s premise. Also, Ray reversed the polarity of the
neutron flow of his suit and ended up growing to Giant Man size (Hank Pym, sue
something!) and man did it look hilarious. I don’t mind this so much, I only
bring it up because it was so damn funny.
And then we
have the ultimate intrigue, the return of Carter into the plot. I don’t
particularly care for his acting in normal mode, so maybe having him be
brainwashed might actually be an improvement. And she lets Savage live to try
and free him. It’s good to see that Savage has an ace up his sleeve at the very
least, one that will likely come back to bite them next week.
This is one
of my favourite episodes of the season, whilst not flawless, it’s very good and
I hope the rest of the finale builds on this momentum
Rating
8.5/10
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