The Centurion Circle Catch-up Part 4: "Legends of Tomorrow" (Season 1, Episodes 9-12)

(NOTE: Last night's episode, "Leviathan," will be part of this week's "Flash/Arrow/Legends Triple Feature.")

Legends of Tomorrow had a lot of good fun with its last few episodes. We got some Ra's al Ghul, Jonah Hex, some "Genesis of the Daleks"type shenanigans, and just general timey-wimeyness.

"Left Behind" (Season 1, Episode 9)

"Left Behind" had the stuff that I wanted to see from the show since it was first announced. Action, heart, great character moments, tom-foolery in this DC TV universe and some time travel goodness. 

Ray and Kendra's arc made me accept their romance a lot more, and I liked the understandable struggle Ray had with leaving his 60's life behind. Things were looking up for this romance...until the next three episodes made it annoying again. Sara rejoining the League was a fun way to go, and it was a treat to see Matt Nable back as Ra's Al Ghul, but I thought her decision to spare Kendra and return to the crew was resolved too easily.

AND MICK IS KRONUS. Though, it was easy to see it coming after the episode's "Previously" bit and finding out Kronus took Snart. The "reunion" between the two former friends was pretty intense, and Miller and Purcell were great. The action bit with the crew against Kronus was also great.

Rating: 8.7/10 lucky vases

"Progeny" (Season 1, Episode 10)

Just two men kidnapping a child. Nothing to see here.

"Progeny" decided to ask a question Doctor Who famously asked 41 years ago: Could you kill a child who you knew would kill millions in the future? It's an always interesting question to debate, but I don't think Legends did it justice.

First off, a shout-out to this show's production designers, who are doing a great job at bringing every time period the crew visits to life. Just felt like that needed to be said.

Anyway, the struggle over whether or not to kill Per Degaton, Savage's student and soon-to-be right hand man, had its moments. I liked the scene where the crew debated the idea, and the proposition that they attempt to reform him instead (which tied in nicely with Rory's arc). But , even though it looked like Rip got him to think clearly, the ending makes it apparent their attempts did nothing but advance Savage's plans, which kind of made this whole outing and the big ethical debate pointless.

Speaking of pointless, did we need all that Ray and Kendra stuff? Having Carter pop up again in Kendra;s flashback was cool, but everything else seemed rather melodramatic. "Did Ray have a child he didn't know about?" "Will Kendra choose Ray over Carter?" Ray's arc at least was made a tad more entertaining with the time travel aspect, but all the relationship drama really bogged things down. It was also a waste of Kaylee Frye herself, Jewel Staite. Not shiny.

Rating: 7.3/10 Palmer busts

"The Magnificent Eight" (Season 1, Episode 11)

This was an obvious filler episode. But it was a fun filler. You can't have a time travel show and not go to the Wild West at least once. 

Let's talk about Jonah Hex. I liked him and the actor who played him, but he didn't add much to the story. It felt like he was there for fan-service, which isn't entirely bad. Sure, his history with Rip added some interesting elements, but I wish he would've been given a more sensible role. Also he looked pretty killer. Jonah Hex must always look killer.

Most of what I liked about "Magnificent Eight" were smaller moments with the characters. As I've said before, this show's greatest strength is its characters and their interactions with each other. I liked seeing Ray and Stein putting their best efforts into saving the townsfolk. As annoying as Kendra's arc was (We get it. You love Ray, but you also loved Carter. MOVE ON.), I liked seeing her and Sara together on a side quest. Kendra meeting a past version of herself wasn't a bad idea either. And Mick. Mick's awesome. He's so much more interesting now! Look at him kicking butt, spewing time travel knowledge, and losing drinking contests to Sara! 

Another gripe, though. Those "Hunters" were hyped up to be so threatening...then killed within three minutes. Nice.

Rating: 7.7/10 Wells fake-outs

"Last Refuge" (Season 1, Episode 12)

"Last Refuge" was a blast. Pure and Simple.

It was a ton of fun seeing the crew hunt down, kidnap and (in Mick, Sara and Rip's cases) interact with their younger selves. This also led to some very funny moments, like Sara and Kendra cooing over baby Snart, and the friction between Young Sara and Young Mick. Also Mick's line to his younger self, "You'd better not drop my future criminal partner," was golden. There were some emotional beats too. Jax's reunion with his late father, I'll admit, tugged very hard on my heartstrings. Mick coming to terms with what he did as a teen was also interesting, but I don't think Young Mick was in the clear because he was "just a kid." 

Hey! Do you know what my least favourite part of the episode was? You guessed it! Kendra and Ray drama! Seriously, they retread the same dilemma for three straight weeks. In fact, I'm pretty sure the past three episodes have ended with Kendra making the same declaration of love to Ray and then they kiss in the same corridor. What the heck?! Also, Ray gets to reunite with Anna in this episode, but they gloss over it completely! An emotional gold mine, ignored. Not cool.

But that freeze frame of all the heroes during the climax was pretty awesome, huh?

Rating: 8.9/10 serving plates

Noah