'Legends of Tomorrow' Recap: Vandal Savage on the Loose
Warning: This recap for the “River of Time” episode of Legends of Tomorrow contains spoilers.
Well, we all knew that was going to go wrong — it was just a matter of how wrong. By not killing Vandal Savage when they had the chance, things have become much, much worse for the Legends.
The Plot
The Legends celebrate now that they have Vandal Savage in the brig and Carter Hall in chains. Rip blows out the Waverider’s drive trying to get back to the Time Masters so that Savage can stand trial. He sends Jax to repair it, who gets blasted by time energy, aging him prematurely. Snart and Rory prepare to return to 2016 via the jumpship, but Stein unwittingly sends Jax back without them in an attempt to reverse the time damage. While Kendra tries to bring back Carter’s memory, Savage goes to work on the crew — telling Sara that Rip is lying to them all and telling Ray that the two of them are just both jilted lovers. He goads Ray into a fight and escapes. The team recaptures him just in time to bring him before the Time Council where it is revealed that Savage has been working for them all along.
Dumb and Dumber and Dumber Still
“This has been my ship for the last 13 years. No one knows its limits better than I do.” That’s basically like saying, “What else could go wrong?” Of course the time drive is going to break immediately after. Rip’s dumbness can be chalked up to arrogance, but what about Ray? Did he really think he was going to knock out the immortal Vandal Savage? Not even Rory’s that dumb.
Related: Catch Up on ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ With Our Recaps
Speaking of Rory, the only two people demonstrating a shred of intelligence this episode is Rory and Snart — who are smart enough to realize that the mission was a bust as soon as they brought Savage on board — and they can’t act on it because Stein is too dumb to ask anybody else if they wanted to go back home too. How do these people manage to dress themselves in the morning?
Flashbacks
We had some great quiet moments with Jax, Stein, Ray, and Sara — taken from their last visit before getting onboard the Waverider. We see that both halves of Firestorm are driven by love of their family while Ray and Sara are both driven simply by love. It gives a little insight into why Ray tried to Chuck Liddell poor Savage. It also is a reminder that they need to go back to 1957 and pick up that nurse that Sara was sweet on. Why should Ray and Kendra be the only ones gettin’ some on the Waverider?
Savage and the Council: BFFs
A lot of us have had the sneaking suspicion that the Time Council is at least somewhat in cahoots with Vandal Savage. The question is why? Has he subverted the Council itself? He could have paid off the leaders with… whatever they use for money at the end of time. Or, it’s more likely he’s holding their children hostage. Is he an agent? Maybe he was recruited to unite the world and fight off an alien invasion. That would be a hugely ironic twist, but the Council would have to overlook an awfully wide trail of bloodshed.
Inside Comics Moment
Jurgens Ridge is a reference to Dan Jurgens, writer of Time Masters: Vanishing Point, which Arthur Darvill has used as source material for the role of Rip Hunter. Jurgens is also the creator of Booster Gold, who is Hunter’s father in DC continuity. Executive producer Phil Klemmer told The Hollywood Reporter, “You might have to wait a good long while,” to see Booster, though. Or is it an intentional misdirect? Are they Jon Snowing us?
Legendary Thoughts
* This show needs a third season just so we can cement “Alexa” in the pop culture consciousness as a term for a situation gone wrong.
* Was anybody else waiting for a glass door to seal Jax in with the cracked time drive so he and Martin could recreated that scene from Star Trek?
* Line of the Night: “Who are you to stand up against me, Vandal Savage, Destroyer of Empires?” “Leonard Snart: Robber of ATMs!” Even for Captain Cold, who routinely gets LotN honors, this is an amazing comeback.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
