By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
* Spoiler Alert
You have to love Ray’s optimism and technical genius in “Left Behind.” He believes DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will return to pick him, Kendra and Sara up after the time ship seemingly took off. They had no idea in what happened (inside, there was a fight going on). His tenacity for keeping hope alive is what makes him charming. But he does not know when rescue will happen and, in the meantime, he uses ancient technology (by his standards) to build a beacon for that day to come. I’m wondering if he needed vacuum tubes since they were the precursor to memory chips.
Chronos sabotaged the Waverider and the amount of damage incurred can leave this ship lost in space and time forever. Rip, Stein and Jackson are in for a wild ride until Gideon’s self-repair mechanisms can reverse the damage and until they can stop to think, nobody immediately wonders why Chronos took Snart. The reason is obvious although it does not jive with his earlier efforts where he’s after Rip more. I still think there is more than one. This Rory version of the bounty hunter did say he’s been remade more than a few times, so perhaps the versions bouncing about include a past and future version with different memories.
I love the double-entendre in this episode’s title because it looks at how several members of this team have adapted when divided. Four people were affected instead of three. Yes, this includes Rory. His subplot can benefit from more exploration as we finally see some complexity to Rory’s behaviour. He has his own code that nobody understands and maybe he will come to realize he was never fully abandoned. He was cast aside when he was deemed unstable. Even Snart admits to eventually coming back to get him. But I have to wonder if he was dropped off on Earth or some random planet. Mick said he was at the brink of madness when the Time Masters finally found him. In a galaxy consisting of trillions of planets, the odds of just finding each other have to be infinitesimally small unless the lords had a clue. They sought him out because he has the perfect motive to hunt the Legends team down.
With this episode taking its cue on refining the crew dynamics by leaping two years ahead, I’m glad to see the relationship between Ray and Kendra have more substance. Instead of an awkward blossoming romance, they are a couple about to formalize their affair. Ray wants to propose marriage. This reveal will make Carter Hall’s eventual return all the more difficult. This moment might take place in the series finale but I suspect he’s being saved for another season when the big showdown takes place.
I was laughing to find Kendra compare herself to a librarian instead of a barista since this new life she and Ray made seemed fixed. As much as I adore this character in the simple life she leads, some added layers of complexity are needed. A detail like seeing moments of her past lives resurface like déjà vu can make her needing to firm up who she is. To see her recall her past like Evie did in The Mummy Returns and remember that identity instead of simply “hawking out” can help lead to her realizing her fighting potential.
With the team reassembled, the question of what’s next is not going to be easy. Rip thinks they have to make an attack on the front lines. This will not bode well, since no danger room exercises have taken place to firm up how they should function as a unit. Only time will tell. As the next episode, “Progeny,” looks like a one-off visit back to the future and the next, “The Magnificent Eight,” be a visit to the past, to the Wild West. If I was to guess at what the premise will entail based on these titles, perhaps Rip is going to save his son and will flee to the past to have him protected by Jonah Hex. Hunter will no doubt be torn at watching his boy die again. If he alters the timeline, there’s a very good chance the time wraiths (introduced in this week’s The Flash episode) will notice and want to chase him down. “The Last Refuge” suggests that there’s only so many places to hide from anyone, whether that would be Savage or entities who protect the cosmic order of how time and space works. The Doctor never had to deal with consequences, even if that includes a madman who looks like Darth Vader bent on taking him and his crew down. This episode seems to be the best example so far to show how Chronos looks up close.
