Legends of Tomorrow: Aruba
April 5, 2017 4:10 AM - Season 2, Episode 17 - Subscribe

 
"Not 'that guy'... these guys!"

Man, is there any better Arrowverse villain than Eobard Thawne? I hope we haven't seen the last of him despite being erased from existence (again).

Bonus points to the Black Flash for snarling at Sara on his way out. Dude knows a time meddler when he sees one. You get one warning, Sara!
posted by Servo5678 at 9:51 AM on April 5, 2017 [3 favorites]


Man, is there any better Arrowverse villain than Eobard Thawne?

Not that I'm aware of. Eobard Thawne is the hero of his own story, every bit as layered, complicated, driven and capable as the protagonists are. I actually love the rest of the Legion of Doom, but he's my favorite. He's a rare case of, 'you know, I wouldn't mind if they went to that well again.'

As for the rest of this: yeah, this is what I tune in for. Did it make sense? No, not really. They could've picked another timeframe to get the blood in particular, if they were already breaking time. The rules of time travel are rubbish. The fights are silly - no way does an arrow drop Firestorm, but no way does Jax get the better of Malcolm, but... you know, I could go on.

Did I care? Not in the least. This was a fun romp, from them confronting themselves to the Black Racer to Sarah owning her choices and doing the right thing in the end. Rip leaving was a beautiful moment, meaning Rip 'formerly the worst' Hunter was involved in a beautiful moment.

The only thing that dragged was Nate - the CW guys need to stay away from romance with one special exemption for Maggie/Alex on Supergirl. That said, even Nate was less bad than usual: making Nate 1's final words to Nate 2 be "Don't be a douche" did make me laugh.

So... good show, Legends, I'll be looking forward to next season.
posted by mordax at 10:06 AM on April 5, 2017 [3 favorites]


Also, if there had been a betting pool about 'which CW DC show will I enjoy the most this season?' I never would've bet on LoT. I would've put my shiny nickel on Supergirl, and been completely wrong.
posted by mordax at 10:07 AM on April 5, 2017 [1 favorite]


He's a rare case of, 'you know, I wouldn't mind if they went to that well again.'

Legends only produces 17 episodes a season while the other Arrowverse shows do 23. Maybe they should fill the gap with a Thawne mini-series. It wouldn't have to be expensive. I imagine an episode where Thawne spends the whole hour setting up event after event across time in what is clearly an impending chain reaction of history. Then, at the very end, we see it was all leading up to Barry Allen opening his front door one day and a bucket of paint falls on him, splashing him in a familiar yellow shade. "I win again, Flash!" Thawne shouts out from the sidewalk, then speeds away, laughing.
posted by Servo5678 at 10:12 AM on April 5, 2017 [5 favorites]


Ha! I would absolutely watch that show. :)

(I also think the shorter run helps LoT both in terms of budget and reducing filler, but I've long been a fan of the British model of 'fuck it, sure, 6 episodes is a season if that's all it takes to tell this story.')
posted by mordax at 10:28 AM on April 5, 2017 [1 favorite]


I liked this ending. I feel like most of the CW DC shows screw with your expectations so much that by comparison the ending usually feel like a good wrap up (although I'm dreading how unimaginative Flash's ending this season will be). Arrow will have a decent ending too, I'm sure.

When you throw all the rules the show itself set up out the window for a good ending, it works if you consciously ignore those rules and just enjoy the campiness and touching-if-you-don't-think-about-it-too-much moments.
posted by numaner at 10:32 AM on April 5, 2017


Actually, the mini-series idea is pretty great. Shorten the regular shows seasons down to 17-18 episodes (which will let them tighten up the writing and arcs), and then do a 6-7 episode miniseries focusing on a villain. Use the miniseries like a mid-season break, similar to how Agent Carter worked between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A Thawne miniseries would be nice, but I'd really like a Captain Cold (with Heatwave?) miniseries.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 10:33 AM on April 5, 2017 [2 favorites]


When you throw all the rules the show itself set up out the window for a good ending, it works if you consciously ignore those rules and just enjoy the campiness and touching-if-you-don't-think-about-it-too-much moments.

Yep. The worst storytelling isn't dumb or campy, it's boring. If a story can avoid being boring, it doesn't necessarily have to make sense.

Shorten the regular shows seasons down to 17-18 episodes (which will let them tighten up the writing and arcs), and then do a 6-7 episode miniseries focusing on a villain.

That seriously needs pitched. The biggest killer for shows like this really is filler and wheel spinning, IMO. Tightening seasons up and adding some interesting side stories would be pretty awesome, plus allow them more opportunities to see which characters might warrant spinoffs or other properties.
posted by mordax at 10:49 AM on April 5, 2017


Villain hiatus series pitches:

Sneering with Snart: We follow Central City's own Captain Cold around as he freezes things and hams it up with ice-related puns. Mick Rory guest stars.

Malcolm Merlyn Theater 3000: Sitting alone in his crappy apartment, the former head of the League of Assassins gets drunk and riffs on reruns of the other Arrowverse shows.

In Grodd We Trust: Grodd moves in with his new human girlfriend and her three kids and helps solve their problems with gorilla wisdom in this traditional family sitcom.
posted by Servo5678 at 11:02 AM on April 5, 2017 [7 favorites]


Grodd moves in with his new human girlfriend and her three kids and helps solve their problems with gorilla wisdom in this traditional family sitcom.

Billy: *crying on the couch*
Grodd: Tell me what troubles you. Do not make me wrest it from your fragile human brain. Your screams would disturb your mother, and she is sleeping from a double shift at the coffee shop.
Billy: *sniffs* Andy and Chris were picking on me again! They put me in a trash can after school!
Grodd: Civilization is a lie, a pointless veneer over the law of the jungle. Follow one of them home, and when the moment is right, strike them on the back of the head with a sharp rock. Prove yourself the stronger with your muscle and guile. Then the other must serve you.
Billy: I'm not sure -
Grodd: THERE IS ONLY KILL OR BE KILLED!
posted by mordax at 11:59 AM on April 5, 2017 [12 favorites]


It would be really easy to shorten The Flash and give us a mini series on earth 2 or earth 3. Something where we can see the characters we like without all of the speedsters tripping over each other. Actually, I would watch an episode that was just Jay and Barry sitting in that one diner and Jay telling stories about how he beat his villains back in the day.
posted by eckeric at 12:43 PM on April 5, 2017 [2 favorites]


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