Legends of Tomorrow - S1E12 - Last Refuge

Previously on Legends of Tomorrow, “The Magnificent Eight”

This show is pure fun. It’s not without its issues, and those were present in this week’s episode, but it’s still one of the more entertaining shows I watch each week - and I watch a lot of TV.

The Pilgrim (Faye Kingslee) wastes no time in attacking the Legends in the past. Even though they’re successful in saving teenage versions of Mick and Sara, Ray from a few years ago almost isn’t as lucky. He takes a pretty severe beating, which puts his present day life in danger. To play it safe, Rip decides they’ll kidnap themselves as infants and keep them in a safe place until they can figure out what to do.

This week hit all the right beats when it comes to time travelers encountering their younger selves. There were some humorous moments between young Mick and Heat Wave, and a genuine laugh-out-loud moment as Kendra and Sara coo over a newly born Leonard Snart. But the most poignant encounter was between Jax and his father, who died overseas while serving in the military just two weeks after Jax was born. Through their efforts to defeat The Pilgrim, Jax’s father is able to see the hero his son grew to be, with no idea that he’s not going to see him grow up and become that man.

Surprisingly, we also got a look at who raised Rip when he takes the babies to his mother’s home for safe keeping. The Time Masters were certainly serious about keeping their agents free of familial attachments by recruiting orphans who are placed in the care of people like Rip’s adoptive mother, Mary Xavier (Celia Imrie). Even though she works for the Time Masters, her first allegiance is to the children in her charge, and good thing that because she and a young, deadly Rip Hunter play crucial roles in defeating The Pilgrim.

Which brings me to one of the more annoying aspects of this episode. This is now the second week in a row where a villain who was hyped up the episode prior was defeated pretty quickly. While The Pilgrim put up more of a fight than The Hunters who came before her, it’s disappointing that the character is done. She was as formidable, emotionless, and deadly as The Terminator especially in the scene where she takes on the entire Starling City police force. Unless there are other versions of her from different points in the timeline also working for The Time Masters, it appears The Pilgrim is done and that’s a shame. However, the fact that the Legends removed their infants selves from their timelines has left the team with no choice but to speed up their efforts to kill Savage.

While Ray’s body was showing effects of the beating he was taking in the past, Kendra begged him not to leave her. This led to an awkward proposal, and yet another conversation between Kendra and Sara where Kendra talks about how unsure she is of her relationship with Ray. I’ve said before this romance wasn’t something I saw coming and didn’t think the show needed it, but if they’re going to do it, I wish they’d spend a few episodes of them actually being a couple - especially the good moments. The building of their relationship took place during the two-year time jump so we never witnessed it. Now it feels like two characters we didn’t even get to see fall in love are suddenly getting married. And that’s after 3-4 episodes where all they seem to do is doubt one another. I’m almost positive Carter is coming back in some capacity, and if that’s going to be the thing that tears this relationship apart, at least the show could allow us to see it be something we actually care about losing.

Other Highlights:

• It’s good to have Mick back. Watching him interact with his younger self and pretend to be a doctor were a treat.
• I could watch Caity Lotz fight all day. Sara is THE badass of this team.
• I wonder how many virgins were sacrificed to get Quentin Lance to look not just young, but realistically young.