This Legends of Tomorrow episode review contains spoilers.
Legends of Tomorrow Season 4 Episode 3
I adore Legends of Tomorrow and even I was caught off guard this week. For the first half of the episode I really thought we were just in for some mindless fun. Ray hangs out with some punks! It was cute but nothing to write home about. Seriously, I didn’t take any notes for the first twenty minutes. Oh Legends, I should never underestimate you.
In a quick series of scenes ‘Dancing Queen’ shows it isn’t just here for silly antics, it has some very important character work to do. Ray is at the forefront, with his first focus episode in awhile. While it’s fun that Ray is the “golly gee” one of the team I’m glad we got a little more depth here. He’s learning the value of not always playing by the rulebook.
His experience with the punks, Charlie in particular, gave him a whole new outlook. Sometimes, you have to do bad things for good reasons. I’m going to read super deeply into this and say it’s some killer commentary that the straight (or is he?) white male character who always plays by the rules has to learn you have to do “bad things” sometimes to make the world more accepting. Compare that with the people who locked Charlie away that “turned to law and order to make themselves seem big.” For an episode that seemed like it was using punks mostly as a joke, Legends has something to say about fighting back against the establishment.
Seeing Ray go up against the team also brought a new shade of conflict to the now chummy team. Oh sure, they always yell and get on each others nerves but it’s been a minute since we’ve seen the team actively fight against one another. Of course I love seeing the team get along and be jokey but a good dose of conflict helps keep things interesting.
Speaking of, Constantine is still shaking the team up. He’s still trying to play the sad loner but we get some insight as to why. In a really touching scene, Zari learns Constantine’s mother died in childbirth and his father blamed him for it. Doesn’t that say EVERYTHING you need to know about Constantine? That he blames himself for all the horrible things in his life? I love him 10000% more than I already did. Plus the ball kick paradox is the funniest and freshest take on time travel paradox’s I’ve seen in decades.
Legends always finds new ways to play with its ensemble. Whether it’s adding new characters or shipping others off, I’ve gotta say that trapping a shape shifter in the guise of Amaya is the best cast shake up yet. It’s a way to get a brand new character without losing a great actress! More sci-fi shows should think about this the next time they think a character gets stale and want to write them out. Just introduce shape shifters and disco!
Finally, Gary and Nate. Nothing super deep here but I did love Gary trying to have a heart to heart with Nate about love. He’s doing super well with Constantine “dumping” him, which is the kind of queer male content I need in my life. Just little things like this and Sara and Ava at the end of the episode proves how committed and effortless Legends of Tomorrow handles its inclusion. Will I point this out every chance I can? You bet, because it’s worthy of praise every time I see it!
Legends is still sticking to its fun side this season but it’s quietly delivering some important messages. The idea people would rather “do what’s easy rather than what’s right” seems simple but in the times with live in it’s something we all need to reflect on.
No matter how deep Legends gets though, it still has time for killer one liners. “Squad save the queen!” indeed.
Legends of Tomorrow is back and we are all the better for it. Keep up with all our Legends of Tomorrow news and reviews here!
Shamus Kelley is a pop culture/television writer and official Power Rangers expert. Follow him on Twitter! Read more articles by him here!
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