Legends of Tomorrow: Pilot, Part 2

January 29, 2016 8:03 PM - Season 1, Episode 2

When a piece of Atom's suit falls into the wrong hands, professor Stein decides to turn to someone brilliant for help--his younger self; Carter helps Kendra recover an important memory.
posted by oh yeah! (27 comments total)

I just now watched this. Like ten minutes ago.

I'm pretty "meh" on the show. I want to like it -- I'm a big fan of this approach to The Flash and Supergirl -- but it's annoying me more than it's entertaining me. If the show were just White Canary, Captain Cold, and Heat Wave I'd be much happier. But it's not.

I sure hope Hawkbrah is gone forever.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 9:12 PM on January 29, 2016

I feel much the same way about Legends of Tomorrow so far as I did the first season of American Horror Story -- I'm not positive this is a good show, but I know for sure it's a great show.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:09 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]

You know what? I like this show. It is a ridiculous good time. Admittedly, not everyone is hitting their marks with me--looking at you, Vandal Savage, Hawkpeople (though glad you are dead, Hawkman; try dial back the misogyny and destiny schtick next time you reincarnate)--but I looked at Shepherd last night and was like, "This is banana-pants and I am having fun watching this."

LBR, though: Wentworth Miller is killing it as Captain Cold/Leonard Snart.

The Waverider is, uh, starting to sound suspiciously TARDIS-like, though, and not just in its time-traveling capacities.
posted by Kitteh at 3:30 AM on January 30, 2016 [3 favorites]

I keep waiting for Gideon to produce a sonic screwdriver for Rip at some point.
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:41 AM on January 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

Meh. I kind of felt like I was watching something cribbed-together from the deleted scenes of other shows. It's a pretty forgettable show, I'm afraid. And, I was pretty turned off by the double-stabby scene. So, I dunno. I might watch the next episode. But, if something else is on, probably not.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:01 AM on January 30, 2016

The only thing I didn't like was Hawkgirl complaining about not getting to tell Hawkman (which autocorrect wants to turn into Hackman, not wrong for once) that she loved him. Yeah, it's derivative as all get-out, but that's part of the fun. But I like all the characters and I like what my husband called the "JSA approach" to the team: put different people with each other every time to see what it brings out. Like Canary flirting with "Marty" and Ray vs Leonard in the cage.

But I, too, would take a show that's Captain Cold/Heatwave/White Canary because they are the best.
posted by immlass at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

I feel like part 2 of the pilot lived up to the "promise" of the first half which means this hot mess still somehow might be my favorite new show of the season.

"So it's like Classic Doctor Who crossed with Blake's 7 crossed with the Super Friends (not Justice League, but the 70s-80s ABC Cartoon) all performed by incredibly beautiful people making wonderful faces while reading ridiculous dialogue" -- somehow NOT something from my journal when I was 12 years old but an actual TV show that I get to enjoy as an adult.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:14 AM on January 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

If Stein loves his wife so much then where (when) is she while he's out on an adventure and how was it not brought up when he was leaving 2016 in the first place?
posted by ODiV at 9:43 AM on January 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

I think Wentworth Miller/Capt Cold is carrying the show and my interest in it, and the entire season should just be built around him. They should just give him his own show and cancel this one. The fire guy is a good sidekick in that he clearly doesn't give a shit about anything.

The fight scenes are just chaotic. I think they should be focusing on fight scenes with 1-2 people rather than these all out brawls. Maybe they are trying to draw in viewers with what's different here, but yes point taken and that's enough for now.

What made me most upset about Hawkmeh dying was when I immediately checked back with the network's little logo-like graphic for the show , I saw his face among all the heroes --- that is, he's clearly coming back next episode.

Someone or many people will die every episode and, given the timeline thing, they'll just keep bringing them back. In hawkdude's case, it'll be reincarnation, but for the other main characters, we'll revise the timeline again and again.

For now, I'm in for another episode or two.
posted by about_time at 12:39 PM on January 30, 2016

Too much Firestorm and the Hawklosers, not enough White Canary. I think they have too many people on this show.
posted by Justinian at 12:58 PM on January 30, 2016

The two episodes so far feel to me like they've suffered from trying to do too much too quickly, e.g., the gathering and departure of the heroes was super glib, the interpersonal interactions feel like things characters need to do to serve the narrative rather than the characters acting like real people, etc.

I want to love this show so much (time travel is a personal favorite) but it's a mess right now. I'm always willing to give a promising show at least half a season to find its feet, though, so am withholding judgment and will keep watching.

(I mean, think about how many first seasons of great shows really were pretty bad in most ways--ST:NG and Buffy come immediately to mind....)
posted by LooseFilter at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2016

Aside from the special effects work (which is really impressive on a CW budget), the show just feels like everyone involved is committed to doing the least amount necessary to finish have a viable television product. Both episodes have felt like the writers have zero interest in doing a second draft of the scripts and the actors have all agreed to do only one take before moving on.
posted by Ian A.T. at 4:42 PM on January 30, 2016

I wouldn't mind having Hawkmeh (I love that name!) return via reincarnation, if the show didn't use the old "each reincarnation body looks like the previous one". Then we could have Hawkman come back as a new actor and without his memories, and Hawkwoman could take a lead on the relationship and we might get tolerable character development.
posted by insert.witticism.here at 12:18 PM on January 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

If Stein loves his wife so much then where (when) is she while he's out on an adventure and how was it not brought up when he was leaving 2016 in the first place?

He's time travelling. He can come back to the day he left and she won't have missed him at all. Also, it's clear that they didn't think this was going to be a long term mission. Just pop out to 1975, kill the 4000 year old immortal mass murdering despot, home in time for din dins.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:24 PM on January 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Can we talk about how crappy Atom's discount Iron Man suit is, that some random mook can punch bits of it off with his bare hands?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:27 PM on January 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Can we talk about how perfect Mr Time Master's hair always is. It was my running bit that I would add to his commentary and dialogue that his hair remained perfect even after taking punches to the face.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:44 PM on January 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Still kinda annoyed they didn't put that professor's body in his office. It closes the loop on his involvement and ties nicely into what we had learned about him before.
posted by ODiV at 10:23 PM on January 31, 2016

Still kinda annoyed they didn't put that professor's body in his office. It closes the loop on his involvement and ties nicely into what we had learned about him before.

He's frozen and in storage. They can go back any time and put his corpse back in the office.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:24 PM on January 31, 2016

He's frozen and in storage. They can go back any time and put his corpse back in the office.

That would make a pretty neat gag for the series finale.

"Guys, hang on! I can't believe I nearly forgot to do this..."
posted by Mogur at 3:55 AM on February 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

LooseFilter: "The two episodes so far feel to me like they've suffered from trying to do too much too quickly, e.g., the gathering and departure of the heroes was super glib, the interpersonal interactions feel like things characters need to do to serve the narrative rather than the characters acting like real people, etc.

I want to love this show so much (time travel is a personal favorite) but it's a mess right now. I'm always willing to give a promising show at least half a season to find its feet, though, so am withholding judgment and will keep watching.

(I mean, think about how many first seasons of great shows really were pretty bad in most ways--ST:NG and Buffy come immediately to mind....)"

Exactly. You have to give the writers and showrunners a chance to figure out exactly what the show is going to grow up to be.
posted by Samizdata at 6:02 AM on February 1, 2016

His thoughts were red thoughts: "If Stein loves his wife so much then where (when) is she while he's out on an adventure and how was it not brought up when he was leaving 2016 in the first place?

He's time travelling. He can come back to the day he left and she won't have missed him at all. Also, it's clear that they didn't think this was going to be a long term mission. Just pop out to 1975, kill the 4000 year old immortal mass murdering despot, home in time for din dins."

Besides, what kind of loving husband would he be if he was all "Yeah, Rip, sorry your family died. Imma go home to my still living wife..."?
posted by Samizdata at 6:04 AM on February 1, 2016

I also thought it was interesting that apparently Stein's interaction with his younger self didn't generate new memories for the older one. Though based on these two episodes, there's apparently a big scrawled TBD in the section of the show bible concerning how time travel works in this universe.
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:10 AM on February 1, 2016

I'm not super into how time travel seems to work right now in the show. I have a feeling I'm going to get cranky every time they're in a hurry.

He's frozen and in storage. They can go back any time and put his corpse back in the office.

Yeah, I guess I'm being boring and figured they'd do it while they had the set and the actor. I'll be pleasantly surprised if they actually get around to it.
posted by ODiV at 8:25 AM on February 1, 2016

DING DONG HAWKDOUCHE IS DEAD

I'm absolutely certain that Young Stein (Marty!) chalked up the entire confusing adventure with Old Stein (Doc!) to a bowl of marijuana laced with something particularly vibrant. Team Legend can go back and screw with the timeline all they like as long as they make sure all civilians involved are very, very stoned.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:26 AM on February 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

Wentworth Miller is the MVP as Leonard Snart; he's always giving whoever he's in a scene with something interesting to play off, and he makes it look so fun. The showrunners have claimed that Legends will be an ensemble show without a clear lead, but I'm certain that Snart will end up with the first big emotional arc, simply because he's the most interesting person to give it to.

On a character/nerdery level, I really love Captain Cold's unexpectedly fierce loyalty. One reason the Flash's comic Rogues group is beloved by fans is their ride-or-die familial devotion to each other, in contrast to the backstabbing of most villain teams. In LoT Snart is openly out for the score and indifferent to Vandal Savage—until Savage holds a gun on Heatwave, at which point Snart vows to kill him. BFF4EVA. It was even better when Snart was like "Yeah I don't give a crap about Hawkblah, but ain't nobody fucking with my clique." I suspect Captain Cold's semi-redemption story will turn out to be less "I have discovered an inner desire to selflessly aid my fellow humans" and more "I've developed grudging affection for do-gooder idiots who keep jumping into burning buildings and I need to drag them out to safety so I can insult them."

Speaking of burning buildings, I'm so happy that Mick Rory is finally a getting a chance to shine. "You're welcome, Norway!" I do kinda wonder if Heatwave will end up (shock!) switching to Savage's side for the $$$. Mick's really just there for Len anyway, and Mick's only comment on Savage is something neutral like "Savage has attracted my interest."

Sara is so much more relaxed in this series. She's got the vibe of "Fuck it, I already died, everything is on the upswing from here!" So many superheroes come back from the dead traumatized and broody (hiya Buffy Summers), so this is a fun contrast.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:58 AM on February 1, 2016 [6 favorites]

DING DONG HAWKDOUCHE IS DEAD

Don't celebrate too much - they have a time machine. They'll probably just go pick up another incarnation of him.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:08 PM on February 1, 2016

I also thought it was interesting that apparently Stein's interaction with his younger self didn't generate new memories for the older one.

Even though it's 2016, the answer is still because weed.
posted by phearlez at 10:29 AM on February 5, 2016 [1 favorite]