‘Legends of Tomorrow’ season 2, episode 10 review: Black Flash, the Reverse-Flash do a dance
Tonight, “Legends of Tomorrow” brought to the table an episode entitled “The Legion of Doom,” and it was one that can probably be best described using one single word: Crazy. Also, it probably would be confusing if you were not a regular viewer of “The Flash” before this. Luckily, we were, and this did a wonderful job of paying off so many loose ends established on that show.
Let’s not waste any time before getting to the main event: Why Eobard Thawne is going through this whole charade with the Spear of Destiny in the first place. After being previously deposited in time by Barry Allen through Flashpoint and eventually let go, what he’s realized is that because Eddie Thawne, his ancestor, died, someone is coming after him. That someone is Black Flash, the Grim Reaper previously known as Zoom (Teddy Sears) on the second season of the show. he’s now chasing him down in order to bring him into the Speed Force for good, but Eobard’s running. He doesn’t want to stay in one way at any point long enough to be found. This is why he needs the Spear of Destiny so bad, given that without it, he is eventually going to be wiped just like he’s been from the history books.
Unfortunately for him, he learned tonight that the Legion of Doom was incredibly dysfunctional when it comes to being a resource. Neither Damien Darhk nor Malcolm Merlyn liked being treated as pawns, so they challenged him on it as they worked to find a way to get Phil a.k.a. Rip Hunter his real memory back — and the Spear to go along with it. It may have taken many torture scenes and the Reverse-Flash coming clean, but the three are now officially on the same page. Not only that, but Eobard managed to reroute Rip Hunter’s brain so that he’s suddenly back to being the original version of himself — with a few adjustments. One of the biggest ones is that he’s now back in the American Revolution, and he may be fighting for the bad guys rather than the good.
The thrill of the chase – The problem with the Legion of Doom having such a great story was that it didn’t give the good guys all that much to do when it comes to interesting stuff. They did their best to travel around and find the bad guys, and borrowed for a little while Stein’s daughter Lily to make it happen. In the process, though, everyone learned that Stein had said daughter, and that she was a time aberration. When she learned that, let’s just say that she wasn’t that thrilled and it took a pep talk from her father to convince her that the love that he had for her was there and ran pretty deep.
Also, is a Ray Palmer / Lily romantic pairing going to happen? We sensed some sparks, and this would certain continue Ray’s tradition of seeking after women who are unavailable in one way or another. here, you have someone who should not technically exit.
The critical perspective – Most of this episode was tremendous fun. The Black Flash reveal was inspired, and while at times the villainy with Malcolm and Damien was a little too much like a cartoon, their banter together was glorious. We’re still waiting on a Damien origin story, though, to find out who he was before he became such a notorious villain.
As great as the stuff was for the villains this week, the story for the heroes felt more like they, like Black Flash, were just playing chase. It was great to see Martin back in Central City, but that may be the biggest story highlight of the hour. Grade: B.
Next week – We’re going to see everyone heading back to find Rip 3.0. Want to read more about this? Then be sure to head over here to check out our extensive preview piece. (Photo: The CW.)