By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) is stealing the show in the fourth episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Although he never claims to be a “White Knight” he’s certainly a man of sophisticated colours; from deviously sweeping one lady off her feet, only to swipe her ID card to winning another’s heart in Moscow, Russia. Perhaps he can become the next James Bond. Miller relishes being a man with his own sense of justice and sadly, every one else is beginning to pale in comparison. Technically, the movie is titled “White Knights,” but this film is really emphasizing one future hero instead of a group.
Rip, the person who should be in charge, is really paling. He could be leading the charge ala King Arthur, but he has problems back in a future Camelot (that’s fallen to ruin). He has troubles of his own when the Time Masters catch up with him and say he can not continue on his vigilante mission. I’m wondering if they will put him on full trial, force him to regenerate and send him to remain trapped in one particular era on Earth when the season ends.
That can make dealing with Vandal Savage even more harder. He is like “The Master” from Doctor Who, a bringer of chaos who declared himself a god (as the previous episode revealed). Sadly, there’s no clear sight of where he is as the crew travels to 1986 in the height of the Cold War. First of all, they need to steal the records stored in the Pentagon that reveal where Savage has been lately. As soon as the team realizes he’s paying off scientists to develop project Firestorm, they have to stop it. Enter Snart and Palmer getting to play super spy. In the meantime, Jackson and Stein continue to have issues (to see them continue to bicker is starting to get tiring), Lance and Saunders try to deal with their Jekyll and Hyde issues (the contrasts are well-intentioned, but really? The White Canary has some development, but it’s nothing new when compared to what’s going on in the Arrowverse), and Rory is still not getting his fair shake in the team (poor guy, but Rocky Balboa he’s not).
This episode feels like the calm before the storm. Savage knows more about Project Firestorm than audiences are aware. He wants to create his own army of super soldiers able to harness nuclear energy. Audiences do not need to know when he reawakened again. He’s moved his base of operations and he’s being more careful in whom he invites home for dinner. That’s unless the individual is Stein. His knowledge is required to perfect the science and there’s the possibility of seeing another meta-human being created. Valentina Vostok will no doubt return. She’s clearly interested in Snart and as that scientist he won over on a cold Bolshevik night, just what kind of dynamics will get created will soon see him taking over the show instead of wondering how Savage will get defeated. The day that happens is the day the series might come to the end.
This series needs to pick up the pace. All the arcs are established and in this outing, nothing really new is offered concerning character development. All eyes are on Saunders getting her wings so she can be the warrior princess she once was. A bit of her dilemma gets addressed but just how it’s presented felt too matter of fact than succinctly aware. She’s unlikely to become the lean mean fighting machine anytime soon. Lance says she’s unable to train her because of her own problems. Maybe these two have to merge like Firestorm so the best of these two’s peaceful and fighting spirits can function as one. That’s how the team needs to operate too (it happens all too briefly before Saunders goes berserk in the intro) and the series really needs to start focusing in on that. In the few episodes that’s been made, Rip has been pulling the team out from more not so successful missions than perfect clandestine ones. The issue is not with who isn’t pulling their weight or who has gone berserk. It’s in trust.
Just when that will happen is what’s keeping me tuned in. However at the rate at how the series is constructed, I feel binge watching 2 or 3 episodes is better than catching the show every week. it’s not like I’m impatient, but the stories being constructed feel like movie length ideas with a common thread tying the arcs together. I’m hoping a full 26 episode series order will take place so I know how to plan my Thursday nights. DC wins out for great television programming (namely The Flash), but to forgo Deadpool in the cinema to watch two birds fight — that’s not too wrong is it?
