Written by: Kevin Berge
No matter how many seasons this show gets, it will always be one of the hardest shows to explain to a new viewer. (Image Courtesy of: denofgeek.com)
Quick Take: Legends of Tomorrow Season 3 completely embraces the insanity of its concept, throwing together a wide range of historical figures with an odd cast of superheroes. While the pacing is inconsistent throughout, the fun and heart of the show is still in full view.
Legends of Tomorrow Reviews: Season 1 | 2
***This review will focus on the entirety of the third season of Legends of Tomorrow with the expectation the reader has seen the season. There will be heavy spoilers including for the recently aired finale.***
I love Legends of Tomorrow. It's so unapologetically bizarre and silly in a way few things on television can be. It is both the Arrowverse's sci-fi adventure and its sketch comedy. It is remarkable to see how much the series has grown in a short time.
The first season was a mess as the series tried desperately to find its footing and get rid of dead weight. The second season though just nailed the balance the series needed by simply embracing the utter madness. This third season was even wackier still even if it could not remain as consistently strong.
After the Legends destroyed time at the end of season two, season three was about the fallout with the superheroes forced to try and fix reality as it crumbles under a host of anachronisms and stop a near invincible time demon from emerging and destroying the world.
Even writing it down now after seeing the whole season, the plot sounds ridiculous. This season had Blackbeard, Julius Caesar, Helen of Troy, Gorilla Grodd in Vietnam, Elvis Presley, Barrack Obama, and of course the greatest of all gods, the talking toy Beebo, to name a few.
Sometimes, these stories could feel a bit too ridiculous, sapping any tension from the episode, but enough landed to make the atmosphere work. This group is still as strong as ever even with multiple changes in the dynamic along the way.
In particular, it was disappointed to see Martin Stein fall in the Arrowverse crossover, leading to Firestorm as a whole leaving the team. In Stein and Jax's place, Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) joined the crew as the resident speedster alongside air totem bearer Zari Tomaz (Tala Ashe).
Wally was never allowed to stand out on Flash, but he came off better in the final act of this season. He still has time to grow. Zari has already become one of the best Legends just for the way she interacts with everyone. Her focus episode "Here I Go Again" was the best episode of the season.
***This review will focus on the entirety of the third season of Legends of Tomorrow with the expectation the reader has seen the season. There will be heavy spoilers including for the recently aired finale.***
I love Legends of Tomorrow. It's so unapologetically bizarre and silly in a way few things on television can be. It is both the Arrowverse's sci-fi adventure and its sketch comedy. It is remarkable to see how much the series has grown in a short time.
The first season was a mess as the series tried desperately to find its footing and get rid of dead weight. The second season though just nailed the balance the series needed by simply embracing the utter madness. This third season was even wackier still even if it could not remain as consistently strong.
After the Legends destroyed time at the end of season two, season three was about the fallout with the superheroes forced to try and fix reality as it crumbles under a host of anachronisms and stop a near invincible time demon from emerging and destroying the world.
Even writing it down now after seeing the whole season, the plot sounds ridiculous. This season had Blackbeard, Julius Caesar, Helen of Troy, Gorilla Grodd in Vietnam, Elvis Presley, Barrack Obama, and of course the greatest of all gods, the talking toy Beebo, to name a few.
Sometimes, these stories could feel a bit too ridiculous, sapping any tension from the episode, but enough landed to make the atmosphere work. This group is still as strong as ever even with multiple changes in the dynamic along the way.
In particular, it was disappointed to see Martin Stein fall in the Arrowverse crossover, leading to Firestorm as a whole leaving the team. In Stein and Jax's place, Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) joined the crew as the resident speedster alongside air totem bearer Zari Tomaz (Tala Ashe).
Wally was never allowed to stand out on Flash, but he came off better in the final act of this season. He still has time to grow. Zari has already become one of the best Legends just for the way she interacts with everyone. Her focus episode "Here I Go Again" was the best episode of the season.
We're so close to DC finally using one of their best characters. Only took them 2 years. (Image Courtesy of: thevideo.li)
The pacing of this season was what primarily held it back. Every season, Legends has been given one more episode to tell its story, but this was the first time that it was clear that the show needed more episodes, at least based on the way it all played out.
The third act of this season was juggling as many as three complete stories each episode. More than one episode even skipped over a story in a flash that felt like it should have been its own episode entirely. Without getting more episodes, the show should have moved much faster to start to tell its complete story.
The focus of this season began simply with dealing with random anachronisms just like last season, but it became much more story driven later with the rebirth of Damien Darkh and his team up with his daughter Nora and the demon that controlled her, Mallus.
The heroes went from a casual stroll through to a frantic race to get the necessary totems and defeat two magic beings, supported by a powerful deity and even Grodd on occasion. The weakest part of the story was the use of the totems in this season even as it gave Amaya and Zari a greater focus for their ancestral connections.
Half the totems used to defeat Mallus in the end became McGuffins with their connection to each Legends poorly developed. The water and earth totems were just thrown to whoever was nearest, and those chosen just had to accept they are heroes right at the end.
It is always great to have Neal McDonough around, and Darkh had his most complex arc of the Arrowverse shows this season as he wrestled with his desire for power and his love for his daughter. It was perhaps the biggest highlight of the final third even with his story seeming to move in fast forward at times.
The season finale perfectly showcased the best and weakest parts of this season. Many of the old anachronisms returned in a silly mess of a final action scene in the old west, adding in Jonah Hex. The heroes came together to slay poor CGI demon Malus as somewhat better CGI Beebo in a scene that went a bit too silly to capture the emotional resonance of the moment.
The third act of this season was juggling as many as three complete stories each episode. More than one episode even skipped over a story in a flash that felt like it should have been its own episode entirely. Without getting more episodes, the show should have moved much faster to start to tell its complete story.
The focus of this season began simply with dealing with random anachronisms just like last season, but it became much more story driven later with the rebirth of Damien Darkh and his team up with his daughter Nora and the demon that controlled her, Mallus.
The heroes went from a casual stroll through to a frantic race to get the necessary totems and defeat two magic beings, supported by a powerful deity and even Grodd on occasion. The weakest part of the story was the use of the totems in this season even as it gave Amaya and Zari a greater focus for their ancestral connections.
Half the totems used to defeat Mallus in the end became McGuffins with their connection to each Legends poorly developed. The water and earth totems were just thrown to whoever was nearest, and those chosen just had to accept they are heroes right at the end.
It is always great to have Neal McDonough around, and Darkh had his most complex arc of the Arrowverse shows this season as he wrestled with his desire for power and his love for his daughter. It was perhaps the biggest highlight of the final third even with his story seeming to move in fast forward at times.
The season finale perfectly showcased the best and weakest parts of this season. Many of the old anachronisms returned in a silly mess of a final action scene in the old west, adding in Jonah Hex. The heroes came together to slay poor CGI demon Malus as somewhat better CGI Beebo in a scene that went a bit too silly to capture the emotional resonance of the moment.
It was pretty convenient that the air totem user just happened to be a super intelligent hacker from the future. (Image Courtesy of: arrow.wikia.com)
When this show gets serious, it almost universally hits the mark. Amaya and Nathaniel's romance was always believably direct. Dominic Purcell nailed every little moment where Mick showed some emotion under his gruff exterior including briefly bringing back Wentworth Miller in a far too brief role as an Earth-X Snart.
However, nobody nails the emotion as consistently well as Caity Lotz who is now far and away the series' star. Sara Lance's romance with Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) was so natural that it was almost a shock the show waited as long as it did to take it beyond short flirting. Luckily, Ava should become a regular for the foreseeable future.
Lotz will be even more central with Arthur Darvill's Rip Hunter sacrificing himself in the season finale. Rip was a vital part of getting the show moving in the first place, and Darvill was great fun in the role. However, by the end of this season, it really was time for him to go as he was such a side note in the story.
I'll also put in a brief mention for how cool it was to see Matt Ryan's John Constantine take a solid role in the show. It looks like he will also become a regular for season four which is fantastic because he's made for this show's zany fun and has been used in too limited a role so far.
I would be in for so much more Legends of Tomorrow regardless of the flaws. Keep shifting the cast and changing the dynamic over time. As long as Sara and Mick are around, I'm on board. I just hope the writers take the time to better pace out the series.
As I have said of some of the other Arrowverse show, they should feel free to let the bigger series reach their conclusion and vulture the best talent. Even with Supergirl far better now than it has been, I am now just dreaming about Melissa Benoist as a part of this cast.
This third season revealed the legs this series has, but it also showed off flaws beyond growing pains. This science fiction comedy still has work to do to consistently deliver while not overstepping its grasp or letting the humor overshadow the dramatic moments that make the series special.
However, nobody nails the emotion as consistently well as Caity Lotz who is now far and away the series' star. Sara Lance's romance with Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) was so natural that it was almost a shock the show waited as long as it did to take it beyond short flirting. Luckily, Ava should become a regular for the foreseeable future.
Lotz will be even more central with Arthur Darvill's Rip Hunter sacrificing himself in the season finale. Rip was a vital part of getting the show moving in the first place, and Darvill was great fun in the role. However, by the end of this season, it really was time for him to go as he was such a side note in the story.
I'll also put in a brief mention for how cool it was to see Matt Ryan's John Constantine take a solid role in the show. It looks like he will also become a regular for season four which is fantastic because he's made for this show's zany fun and has been used in too limited a role so far.
I would be in for so much more Legends of Tomorrow regardless of the flaws. Keep shifting the cast and changing the dynamic over time. As long as Sara and Mick are around, I'm on board. I just hope the writers take the time to better pace out the series.
As I have said of some of the other Arrowverse show, they should feel free to let the bigger series reach their conclusion and vulture the best talent. Even with Supergirl far better now than it has been, I am now just dreaming about Melissa Benoist as a part of this cast.
This third season revealed the legs this series has, but it also showed off flaws beyond growing pains. This science fiction comedy still has work to do to consistently deliver while not overstepping its grasp or letting the humor overshadow the dramatic moments that make the series special.