Fair warning, I use the “f” word a lot in this.
What I need to be doing right now is thinking about what I want to do for my November story that is due in about a week (where THE FUCK did November go??). What am I doing right now? Mostly thinking about John Constantine and Mick Rory and FUCK ME if I’m not currently an emotional wreck about tonight’s episode of Legends of Tomorrow. Good. God. Almighty.
I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone because well that’s not nice. But Good Lord, if there was anything that could get my mind of the 8,039,233,846,208,655 things I have going on at work and in my head right now as well as Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (which you will absolutely understand if you’ve seen it, but I’m not explaining in case you haven’t), it’s this episode of Legends of Tomorrow.
Look, I know these plots are freaking ridiculous, but HONESTLY, this episode. There were so many things going on with it.
In my opinion, most shows struggle with having a cast of major characters as large as what Legends has. NCIS LA does pretty well and there are a few others that can tell that many stories in one show, but in my mind that’s pretty rare. And to have unique, well written characters with depth and growth who can interact with each other in different ways and with nuance, in my opinion, just doesn’t happen very often. For all that I joke about Legends being a garbage show, I really do think they tell some great emotional stories.
This episode tore me up, and we haven’t even gotten to the point where Nate finds out about Charlie/Not-Amaya joining the team. And she has decided to join the team BECAUSE OF MICK. Like. Mick Rory growing. Mick Rory is such a great character. He’s smart in a savvy way, and he actually does often times “get” people. He may not be interested in them, but he does “get” them.
I loved the friendship between him and Amaya, and I loved how it developed and what’s so interesting to me right now is that he’s almost being what Amaya was to him to Charlie—who looks just like Amaya. It’s this wonderful turnaround storytelling wise, in my opinion.
But his BOOK. GUYS, HIS BOOK. That he is this artistic soul deep underneath the “I will light you on fire while I drink my beer” attitude. MY HEART. Guuuuuuyyyssss. The last line of his book! I’m going to cry about that forever. Forever.
And John Constantine.
John Constantine was awake for approximately two minutes of this past episode and he still managed to totally wreck me, deep down into my soul. As if everything else about this episode wasn’t enough. As if him, in mortal peril, after using his own fucking life force at the end of the last episode to save a kid’s life didn’t leave me fucked up enough, he had to go and have these moments with Nora Darhk.
And Nora Darhk. And Ray. And fuck me sideways.
I can’t count all the ways this episode messed with me.
That doesn’t even touch the Nate and his dad (I can’t y’all, I can’t) or Gary and the food girl or Charlie and Sarah, or Zari and Mick or the Hiroshima discussion, or…
I think you get the picture.
I can’t wait to rewatch that episode, I really can’t because there’s a gold mine there and it is—in my opinion—one of the absolute best ones they’ve ever done. They managed to blend sadness, angst, dealing with fear, growth, family drama, humor, grief and tragedy, faith and optimism, issues of identity, questions about good and evil and humanity, deceit and truth with monsters, magic, time travel, and their signature brand of madcap plans and plots. The episode doesn’t make a lot of sense outside of the context of the last season and a half (maybe two) of the show, but good gracious, it’s such a good episode. In some ways I wish people didn’t need the context to watch the episode, but they wouldn’t have been able to create that episode without having the context they do.
GIANT SIGH. It’s easily my favorite show of the moment and it’s contending for my all time faves. I think it might even be currently beating out Wynonna Earp right now, which is saying a lot. I wish more people watched it with me.