It feels strange reviewing only one half of an episode, especially
for the pilot, but frankly there was so much content worth discussing that if I were to wait until the next episode then this review
would be an essay long. If you're not familiar with this series, Legends of
Tomorrow is another spin-off in the DC TV Universe consisting of Arrow, Flash
and Constantine, in this series a time travel named Rip Hunter recruits a small
team of superheroes and supervillains to help him take down Vandal Savage, an
immortal who by the year 2166 will have conquered the world. So with a
team consisting of Sara Lance as the White Canary, Ray Palmer as The Atom,
Leonard Snart as Captain Cold, Mick Rory as Heatwave, Kendra Saunders and Carter
Hall as Hawkgirl & Hawkman and Jefferson Jackson & Martin Stein as
Firestorm. They all begin their adventures travelling through time to find a
way to stop Savage to save the future.
Something worth of note is that this is actually quite an
interesting experiment by The CW, this show isn’t designed to be a continuous show
like Arrow or Flash, but instead a 16-episode long story arc involving
characters from both universes, not only does this allow the writers to tell a concise
and well developed story without needless filler, but it also gives a chance
for characters who don’t usually get the spotlight to receive extra development
and be put in a unique situation. Not to mention the time travel aspect allows
for plenty of creative scenarios, it’s already confirmed that there will be a
western episode featuring DC favourite Jonah Hex.
But even more so is the higher production quality, assuming this show has
relatively the same budget as Arrow and Flash, the fact that they only have to
produce half the amount of episodes means each episode has double the budget it
might have had if gone the traditional route, which is greatly needed for a
show this big in scope. So far it really shows, the CGI is above standards, the
sets and costumes are wonderful and the fight scenes already feel more epic.
But enough about production and concepts, how is the
show’s story in execution? Well so far it’s proving to be a success. One query
that I had going into the show was why exactly these people were picked above
others like Flash or-should the show ever make it this far-Superman, Wonder
Woman, etc. The explanation that they have no major effect on history thus
making it less risky to take them not only works great as an explanation but
also sets up the group’s arc of going from nobodies who don’t matter, to truly
becoming legends worthy of that title. As for individual character arcs, let’s
start with the newbie of the franchise, Rip Hunter, played by Arthur Darvill.
And no, they are yet to make a Doctor Who reference, come on it was practically
set up with the camouflaged time machine! So far Rip is proving to be a very
engaging character, he has a sense of humour, is a smart and skilled fighter
with a rebellious nature but actually receives a fair amount of depth in the
first episode, going on this mission makes him a wanted fugitive as he went
against his commanders but doing it because Savage killed his family makes this
much more personal for Rip and thus more engaging for the audience.
Kendra and Carter also receive a huge chunk of
development, which makes sense considering they’re the only members of the team
that have to be on this mission.
Learning about their son who they forgot existed and now he’s physically older
than them is all kinds of messed up and confusing so you can imagine what kind
of an impact that would have on them. Though did they really need extra
motivation for wanting to kill Savage? He’s murdered them 206 times, I think
that’s enough motivation as it is. Ray Palmer is the next one to be developed,
though just slightly, a man who was thought dead for months and learned that he
had no impact on the world wants to make a mark, do something good that he will
be remembered for, true a bit of a selfish motivation for wanting to save the
world but motivation nonetheless.
Jefferson, Leonard and Mick are the characters with
the least amount of development, yes it’s unfair to ask for all of the
characters to be developed in the span of an hour and we have a whole show for
them to get developed, but even still for the pilot it didn’t seem like they
had much to do. Also I don’t see why Leonard and Mick are still on the mission
when they know they can’t steal anything valuable, and Jefferson was forced
onto the mission, actually let’s talk about that. So, Martin Stein drugged and
kidnapped a person and forced them to go on a deadly mission…doesn’t look that
good for ya Marty. They did give an explanation suggesting he did it because he’s
so desperate to prove he’s still worth something, but dude you worked with The
Flash, you’ve already helped save the Earth, also I’m sorry, it’s hard for me
to support a superhero who drugs and kidnaps people! Finally, there is Sara,
who is it me or was she really out of character in this episode? She goes
against orders, goes out drinking when she’s supposed to be on a world saving
mission and gets in two bar fights
in one episode. I will admit the budding chemistry between her and Leonard is
fun but something about her felt really off in this episode.
So overall, this is a very promising show, I like all
of the characters, the story allows for a lot of creativity and the production
is top notch. I can’t wait to see more and I’m giving the pilot an 8/10.
-Danny
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