With Ava a wreck, the Legends make a last-ditch effort to keep Sara from being abducted in the first place, even knowing that it will alter the timeline. Sara grapples with what she has just discovered about herself but is also shocked when Rory finds her on the mystery planet. Sara, Rory and Gary devise a plan to help defeat Bishop. Spooner envisions what her life would be like if she hadn't joined the Legends.
In 2020, the television industry aired 493 scripted shows across numerous outlets. The way people consume content now is different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, it's less necessary to provide ample coverage of each episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site provides shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of The CW's Legends of Tomorrow.
"Back to the Finale: Part II" was written by Morgan Faust & Mark Bruner and directed by Glen Winter
The Legends believe that Sara is dead. That isn't the whole truth. Yes, her human body was killed by aliens. However, Bishop downloaded her essence into a clone. It's not the same as the Ava clones though. This new body is exactly what Bishop is hoping to create by merging human and alien DNA. As such, Sara now has regenerative abilities. All the scars that tell the story of her life have disappeared as well. This isn't something she wants. She doesn't want to be an experiment for some madman. She has allies willing to save her. She can inspire others to find the agency in their own lives too. Sara is an inspiration no matter where or when she is. She is still forced to make many impossible choices though. That too is the burden she carries as a captain. Meanwhile, the Legends are trying to save her from this tragic fate with aliens by potentially messing with the timeline. This isn't the first time that the Legends have interacted with past versions of themselves. They broke time when they did that before. This instance isn't like that though. Sure, it still has the weight of the world on the team's shoulders. They return to the events of the finale hoping to provide salvation for numerous people spread out across time and space. It's incredibly personal though because they want to save Sara. They believe that if she can just propose to Ava during this night that will dramatically change everything. Any small action can have numerous ripple effects throughout time. Behrad hopes this action can make things for the better. The Legends are better with Sara as their captain. That's the role she is meant to play. Ava can certainly lead the team as well. She has done so with remarkable command. And yet, she is devastated by the news that Sara is dead. She can't get out of bed anymore. And so, the Legends go rogue without her. That reckless spirit is always at the heart of their missions. As such, it's easy to understand why everyone believes this mission can possibly work. Constantine is invested because he is desperate to have his magic back. Spooner goes along with it because she believes she was more safe in her isolated existence before meeting the Legends. She doesn't want to hurt them or have them have to kill her to protect countless lives. These are selfish choices. They reveal what truly matters to these characters. They want to protect their team too though. They are willing to bend or even break the rules to do so. They influence the timeline. Hopefully, it's always for the better. That is never guaranteed though. They go on this mission. They fail too. Nothing can change this specific moment. Nor would their intervention deter the aliens hellbent on abducting Sara. That means agency is still apparent as Sara, Gary and Rory work to stop Bishop and escape his toxic planet. They succeed in doing so. Again, hard choices have to be made. The Ava clones find agency within themselves. Sara inspires them to believe that they are more than the disposable servants Bishop relies on. Rory believes that Kayla will wait on the ship for him and his friends to return even past the deadline she set for them to follow. She does so only to vanish by the vicious alien inhabitants of this planet once she steps off the ship. And finally, Sara is still faced with a choice. She can either let Bishop's existence escape to elsewhere in the universe or she can be stuck in this new hybrid body. Rory still sees her as the friend and captain she has always been to him. That hasn't changed. The team still cares about her no matter what happened to her during this traumatic experience. They celebrate when she finally gets to propose to Ava. It's a perfect and romantic moment with Ava getting ahead of herself and the fireworks still being set to detonate at the right time. Sure, it's unlikely that Bishop is gone for good. This new body will probably still have complications for Sara. However, the Legends are together once more. That's worth celebrating even as they venture into the great unknown dealing with more alien threats throughout the timeline. All of this remains a lot of fun. Now, the pacing has been a bit more questionable this season. Urgency and purpose was eventually found with everything happening with Sara on an alien planet. Bishop has some promise as a villain. He still mostly came across as one-note. A person to influence events that will be consequential to the character development of the people the audience cares about. That's apparent. Hopefully, what comes next allows the show to allow those character moments to shine without getting bogged down by ill-defined narrative constructs.
The Legends believe that Sara is dead. That isn't the whole truth. Yes, her human body was killed by aliens. However, Bishop downloaded her essence into a clone. It's not the same as the Ava clones though. This new body is exactly what Bishop is hoping to create by merging human and alien DNA. As such, Sara now has regenerative abilities. All the scars that tell the story of her life have disappeared as well. This isn't something she wants. She doesn't want to be an experiment for some madman. She has allies willing to save her. She can inspire others to find the agency in their own lives too. Sara is an inspiration no matter where or when she is. She is still forced to make many impossible choices though. That too is the burden she carries as a captain. Meanwhile, the Legends are trying to save her from this tragic fate with aliens by potentially messing with the timeline. This isn't the first time that the Legends have interacted with past versions of themselves. They broke time when they did that before. This instance isn't like that though. Sure, it still has the weight of the world on the team's shoulders. They return to the events of the finale hoping to provide salvation for numerous people spread out across time and space. It's incredibly personal though because they want to save Sara. They believe that if she can just propose to Ava during this night that will dramatically change everything. Any small action can have numerous ripple effects throughout time. Behrad hopes this action can make things for the better. The Legends are better with Sara as their captain. That's the role she is meant to play. Ava can certainly lead the team as well. She has done so with remarkable command. And yet, she is devastated by the news that Sara is dead. She can't get out of bed anymore. And so, the Legends go rogue without her. That reckless spirit is always at the heart of their missions. As such, it's easy to understand why everyone believes this mission can possibly work. Constantine is invested because he is desperate to have his magic back. Spooner goes along with it because she believes she was more safe in her isolated existence before meeting the Legends. She doesn't want to hurt them or have them have to kill her to protect countless lives. These are selfish choices. They reveal what truly matters to these characters. They want to protect their team too though. They are willing to bend or even break the rules to do so. They influence the timeline. Hopefully, it's always for the better. That is never guaranteed though. They go on this mission. They fail too. Nothing can change this specific moment. Nor would their intervention deter the aliens hellbent on abducting Sara. That means agency is still apparent as Sara, Gary and Rory work to stop Bishop and escape his toxic planet. They succeed in doing so. Again, hard choices have to be made. The Ava clones find agency within themselves. Sara inspires them to believe that they are more than the disposable servants Bishop relies on. Rory believes that Kayla will wait on the ship for him and his friends to return even past the deadline she set for them to follow. She does so only to vanish by the vicious alien inhabitants of this planet once she steps off the ship. And finally, Sara is still faced with a choice. She can either let Bishop's existence escape to elsewhere in the universe or she can be stuck in this new hybrid body. Rory still sees her as the friend and captain she has always been to him. That hasn't changed. The team still cares about her no matter what happened to her during this traumatic experience. They celebrate when she finally gets to propose to Ava. It's a perfect and romantic moment with Ava getting ahead of herself and the fireworks still being set to detonate at the right time. Sure, it's unlikely that Bishop is gone for good. This new body will probably still have complications for Sara. However, the Legends are together once more. That's worth celebrating even as they venture into the great unknown dealing with more alien threats throughout the timeline. All of this remains a lot of fun. Now, the pacing has been a bit more questionable this season. Urgency and purpose was eventually found with everything happening with Sara on an alien planet. Bishop has some promise as a villain. He still mostly came across as one-note. A person to influence events that will be consequential to the character development of the people the audience cares about. That's apparent. Hopefully, what comes next allows the show to allow those character moments to shine without getting bogged down by ill-defined narrative constructs.
