‘Legends of Tomorrow’ episode 11 review: Did Jonah Hex make ‘The Magnificent Eight’ something special?
Last week, “Legends of Tomorrow” aired quite possibly its most disappointing episode to date in “Progeny,” mostly because it seemed to be almost entirely about its gimmick, and very little about producing a great story. Was “The Magnificent Eight” a step in right direction? Sure, but there were still problems that kept this from being the fun jaunt through the Wild West that we were hoping to see.
The biggest issue with the show, once again, seems to be them forcing elements on us that nobody really asked for, and really didn’t need to be there. Did we really need another update in the Ray Palmer / Kendra Saunders relationship? Also, how random is it that Kendra keeps getting to appear in places that have some sort of relevant tie to her past already? At this point we’d love a larger story for Jefferson or Sara Lance, and a little less of these two figuring out their feelings.
On the flip side, your enjoyment for the rest of the episode is probably dependent mostly on how much you were able to turn off your brain for a moment or two, and dive into some of the silliness that went along with bar fights, shootouts, and learning that Rip Hunter all of a sudden had some huge backstory where he met the fantastic Jonah Hex (pictured above) and fellow in love with the Old West way of life. This was all great popcorn entertainment, but of course you have to wonder why in the world it was suddenly okay for these people to be off risking being found by stirring up trouble so obviously and without regard to the mission or stakes.
Also, you’ve got Rip Hunter having no problem getting into a duel despite knowing that he is the only person with any real knowledge of what they’re doing in the quest to stop Vandal Savage. Sometimes, the show makes very little sense, but you just gotta keep rolling with it.
We were left tonight with the reveal that the Pilgrim, an assassin from the Time Masters, is now going back and trying to kill the Legends’ former selves. This is a cliffhanger we can get behind, since it really establishes some of the stakes that, regrettably, a part of this season has been missing besides Vandal. We had fun with seeing Jonah, but a whole lot of this episode still felt like fluff. Grade: C+.
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