In season two of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the team has had to deal with two major things: the Legion of Doom and the return of Rip Hunter as an evil Legion-serving betrayer. “Land of the Lost” looks to rectify the latter. The episode had some great character beats, lots of action, and more in-depth conversations about the relationship status of a few of the members. Whereas season one was kind of all over the place, the latter half of season two has been much stronger, enjoyable, and has managed to find its groove in a way that works for the show.
The last episode found Rip being left behind by Damien Dahrk in Camelot. The team takes him back to the ship, but they still don’t trust him so into the brig he goes. Using his official captain status, he overrides the controls on the Waverider and attempts to steal the medallion. The rest of the Legends fight back and Jax reboots the ship, but it crash lands in the Cretaceous period. Amaya, Ray, and Nate are tasked with finding an integral part of the ship’s functioning pieces while at the same time trying not to be eaten by Gertrude the dinosaur; on the ship, Sara and Jax, through the use of cognitive disruption techniques learned from the time masters, enter Rip’s subconscious in an attempt to fix his warped mind.
I’m always fascinated with the creative interpretations of the inner workings of the mind. And “Land of the Lost” kind of reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who, in which the Doctor and Clara enter the mind of a Dalek to get to the root of its change. Jax and Sara’s trip to Rip-world had them dealing with his subconscious and the parts of his mind that had been affected, which included evil versions of themselves who were constantly attacking, as well as Gideon’s human form.
There was some forward character growth as well, which doesn’t come around very often on this show. After a couple of episodes of being put on hold, Amaya and Nate’s blossoming romance comes back into play. Amaya is willing to move forward with “fraternizing” with her team member after having spoken to Stargirl the episode prior. Nate is all for it, but before anything can really happen, he’s given some advice from Ray regarding how any romantic entanglement with Amaya might jeopardize her future granddaughter’s existence. This brings up some interesting and potential problems for why Amaya and Nate might not be able to move forward.
Unlike the rest of the team, Amaya’s future is known. Coming from the past and, with some of the team already having met her granddaughter, Vixen, Amaya’s future seems to already be set in stone. So will she have to return to the 1940s? Does staying on the Waverider for too long run the risk of changing the course of her and her future lineage? And what of her and Nate? The end of the episode certainly implies that, while Nate considered Ray’s advice, he does want to be with Amaya on more than a casual basis. This situation does pose some interesting questions, but I sincerely hope that it won’t see the end of Amaya’s run on the show. Her character is wonderful and adds a nice dynamic to the show. I’d really like to see her stick around for a long period of time.
Elsewhere, Stein is protective and extremely concerned for Jax, whose heart rate seems to remain high while inside Rip’s head. Mick, who is a strange voice of reason on occasion, tells him that while his protective nature toward the younger man is understandable, Stein has to start treating Jax like an equal and not like a child. And it’s true. Their relationship, while one of the strongest on the show, is sometimes undermined by Stein’s lack of faith in Jax as a fully realized partner. It was a needed conversation and one that really affected Stein’s perspective and perhaps how he’ll react to and treat Jax moving forward.
If Legends of Tomorrow continues to deliver the way it has for the last few episodes, then its season finale will be well worth it. The show has settled for less forced darkness and more of some zany fun, which has worked for it on many levels. “Land of the Lost” was another fun episode with great character moments. I don’t know how Rip’s reinstated memories will affect the team dynamic now (I will miss evil Rip Hunter), but I look forward to seeing how it’ll all progress.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW and stars Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Franz Drameh, Dominic Purcell, Arthur Darvill, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Nick Zano.
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