DC’s Legends of Tomorrow - S2E3 - Shogun

Previously on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, “The Justice Society of America”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow - S2E3 - “Shogun” | Starring: Victor Garber, Caity Lotz, Arthur Darvill, Franz Drameh, Brandon Routh, Dominic Purcell, Amy Pemberton, Nick Zano, Maisie Richardson-Sellers 

The Legends can be screw-ups sometimes, but they’re our screw-ups so we deal. As expected, Nate awakens with powers thanks to Ray’s serum: He can turn his entire body to steel. Left alone with Jax and Ray to test his new ability against Ray’s suit, the trio end up causing a hull breach which sends Nate out into the timeline with Ray trying to save him. They land in 17th century Japan, with each separately getting on the bad side of an evil warlord, Shogun (Stephen Oyoung). 

Sara, Mick, and the Waverider’s stowaway, Amaya (Richardson-Sellers) eventually track them down, but before they can leave they need to retrieve the ATOM suit from the warlord and protect a small village from his wrath. The only thing capable of defeating the ATOM suit is Nate, but he’s having issues getting his steel up. That’s not a euphemism.

Winning the day means destroying the one thing Ray has that makes him feel like a hero. Considering others have taken jabs at his “superpower” being tied to the suit (one per episode this season alone), it’s understandable on several levels why this is painful for him. Ray often comes off goofy and that’s fine, but it’s always nice when Routh is allowed to have serious moments. He’s good at both and it’s why I loved his portrayal of Superman so much.

Things did get a little White Savior-y at times and the love connection between Nate and Masako Yamashiro (Mei Melançon) felt unnecessary (also, I totally thought they were going to let her save herself, but no), but “Shogun” really delivered in the end. Sara and Amaya taking on Shogun’s men was amazing, Rory’s joy at finally seeing real ninjas was adorable, and Ray’s connection with Masako’s father, Ichiro (Sab Shimono), and his dead son was touching.

Ray being without his suit is huge, and even though he held his own fighting against his own suit (while wearing the late son’s armor), it’s not certain he can be an asset in the field against some of their more supernatural/superhuman foes.

As shocking as Ray losing the suit was, that wasn’t the biggest surprise of the week. While everyone else was having Japanese adventures, Jax and Stein stayed behind to repair the ship. They find a secret armory Rip failed to mention, and there they listen to a message for Rip from Barry Allen… 40 years in the future. Whatever they learned, they keep to themselves since Barry insisted Rip not tell his team. This is just another thread (like Darhk and Thawne) that will hopefully tie together in the upcoming crossover event.

Having Amaya travel with the Legends to chase down the time traveler responsible for Rex’s death feels like a natural fit, and her sparks with Mick Rory are going to be fun to watch.