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Midseason Recap: LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Season 3

When heroes alone are not enough…the world needs legends. After saving the timeline and all of reality from the Legion of Doom, the Legends returned to present-day to find dinosaurs roaming the streets of Los Angeles, suggesting that their work keeping the timeline intact is far from over.

[Warning: The Following Contains SPOILERS From This Season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.]

Welcome back to our midseason recap for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, where we review the first half of the show’s third season. As discussed in our premiere review, Rip Hunter has left the Legends and formed his own organization called the Time Bureau. The Bureau specializes in fixing anachronisms, aka people and things displaced across time. After retrieving Julies Caesar from Aruba, the Legends get the Waverider back and begin this season’s mission.

The biggest draw in Legends of Tomorrow has been its approach to different time periods every week, making each episode feel like its own thing. Season 2 was more much creative in this regard, and so far, Season 3 continues that. One episode focuses on the team meeting P.T. Barnum in 1870, while another one sees them prevent a war in 1930s Hollywood over Helen of Troy. My favorite episode so far have been “Phone Home,” an E.T. homage that sees a young Ray Palmer adopt a baby Dominator. The episode was full of heart and pop culture references, bringing out the best the show has to offer.

But perhaps the most bananas episode this season was the midseason finale, “Beebo the God of War.” Basically, a Beebo talking doll was displaced in the time of the Vikings, who worshipped Beebo as their god. The concept is so silly, but it works. That’s Legends of Tomorrow in a nutshell.

But it’s not all fun and games. The season continues the show’s focus on character-driven stories, offering interesting arcs for both the old characters and the new. Sara continues to evolve in her role as captain of the Waverider, Amaya is attempting to control the powers of her totem, Martin Stein and Jax (the two halves of Firestorm) embrace new destinies, and Mick continues to be the best comic relief. This is a likable, diverse cast of characters, and the show wouldn’t be half as good without them.

Like last season, Season 3 (which is featuring more magic/supernatural elements) has a team of villains instead of one big bad. Led by the mysterious ancient being known as Mallus, the team so far consists of Damien Darhk, who has been resurrected from his death in Arrow Season 4; Kuasa, Amaya’s other granddaughter; Eleanor, Darhk’s daughter; and Gorilla Grodd, who was displaced into the Vietnam War. It remains to be seen whether more will be added, but so far, the team has proven to be a worthy force for the Legends. Hopefully, it won’t be much longer before we learn more about Mallus.

Another draw for Legends of Tomorrow is its rotating cast of DC characters. Joining the team this season is Zari, a Muslim-American hacktivist from 2042. The biggest shakeup began in the “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover event, where Martin Stein was killed off. Stein’s death particularly had an impact on Jax, the other half of Firestorm. In the midseason finale, Jax left the team to pursue a new path. Both Jax and Stein were original members of the team, so their departures were big. The CW has already announced that Kid-Flash will join the team later this season, so that’s one seat filled. Additionally, Leonard Snart’s Earth-X doppelganger, Leo, is sticking around for a few episodes, but won’t be a permanent member.

In summary, Legends of Tomorrow‘s third season has been really good so far. It is a successful continuation of its wonderful second season, giving the team a new mission and shaking up the roster. Whether they’re fighting a giant gorilla in the Vietnam War or saving a doll from a group of Vikings, this season has been bananas, to put it plainly. While the tone has been wacky, the show takes the time to properly tell some serious stories; the emotional conclusion to Firestorm’s story is enough evidence of that. Hopefully, the second half of this season will be just as strong, resulting in yet another memorable year with this show.

9/10

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.