‘Legends of Tomorrow’ episode 10 review: The future is bleak

We’re now ten episodes into “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” and our sentiment unfortunately remains very much the same: This is a show we really wish was far better than it is. There have been moments where we try to convince ourselves that things are going better, but then an installment in “Progeny” comes along that throws much of that out the window.

The biggest problem here comes via the main story, which had a great premise that ultimately was completely wasted. In the year 2147, the team tracked down Vandal Savage and a 12-year old child who was thought of in some ways as a future dictator and Hitler-like figure. They had a chance to kill him in order to keep this future from happening, but the ethics of such a move were too much for the team. We get that, but why was it that removing him from the timeline and planting him somewhere else made no impact? Wouldn’t it amount to more or less the same thing? That was one of many things about this episode that didn’t quite make sense, as we also saw nothing really happen with the kid at all. Eventually he was traded for Sara once Savage figured out what was going on, and they weren’t able to change anything. As a matter of fact, they only accelerated the rise to power and destruction of the world.

Aesthetically, we actually liked the vision of the future itself; it’s just a bummer that we didn’t get to see more of it, and that Jewel Staite (“Firefly”) didn’t have more to do in her guest-starring role.

Now, we turn to Ray Palmer and Kendra Saunders, which continues to be the worst part of the show overall. The issue with Kendra is that we’ve barely seen her on her own, and as a result of that we have almost no investment of her in a relationship. There’s also no real chemistry here, and spending so much time tonight on Hawkman flashbacks and debates over destiny really did not get us anywhere at all. The only fascinating part of this story was Ray learning that his brother Sydney apparently goes to work for Felicity and ends up building robots who serve as the police of the future.

The best part of the show right now is without doubt Leonard Snart and Mick Rory, who finally got on the same page this week after they had it out physically. Yet, wasn’t it a little sudden for the guy otherwise known as Chronos to be on the same page as the Legends, and giving them information about how much danger they’re in? It certainly was to us, since a fistfight seemed to magically turn him around.

Sure, “Legends of Tomorrow” has fun characters, some great action, and some funny lines; but if it never manages to get a cohesive narrative around them, none of this really matters in the end. Grade: C.

You can preview the next episode of “Legends of Tomorrow” by heading over to this link; also, sign up here to secure some more TV scoop on almost all we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: The CW.)