Legends Of Tomorrow Tidbits – “Blood Ties”

This week, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow dove into some great background stories in “Blood Ties.”  With characters facing their fears and insecurities, this third episode of the season was, so far, the most emotional.

Quick Recap of “Blood Ties”

Since their plans to-date to kill Vandal Savage have failed, Rip and Sara decide to attack Vandal where it will hurt him the most — his money.  Kendra, still recovering from her stabbing, takes a turn for the worse.  Fragments of the dagger are now moving towards her heart.  Against Martin’s advisement, Ray wants to shrink to a microscopic size and vaporize the fragments before they can do more damage.  Jax is tasked with fixing a jumpship, but Leonard and Mick want him to use it to help them with an emerald heist in Central City.

At the bank, Rip and Sara get into a fight with Vandal’s followers, resulting in Sara almost giving in to her bloodlust.  Ray, while shrunk down in size and trying to treat Kendra, is hit by a dagger fragment, damaging his suit.  The whole experience shakes his confidence.  In Central City, Leonard successfully steals the emerald.  His next move is to go to a specific address — his childhood home.

Taking the bank manager prisoner, Rip and Sara question him and discover that Vandal has been keeping Carter’s body as a prized item.  Rip wants to give Carter a proper burial and stop Vandal from further desecrating the body of his comrade.  Rip and Sara, using the bank manager as a front, sneak into a party that’s held at a location housing Carter’s body.  The two are soon captured by Vandal’s followers, and they discover that Vandal is using Carter’s blood to give his followers extended lifespans.

In Central City, Leonard meets his younger self, but is quickly caught by a younger version of his father.  At gunpoint, Leonard gives his father the emerald, which was what he intended to do in the first place, and tells him that his planned robbery will be unsuccessful, resulting in his 5-year prison term.  Leonard tells his father that the only reason he hasn’t killed him is because Leonard’s sister hasn’t been born yet and, in this time period, he hasn’t started his lifelong abuse of his family.  Leonard later tells Jax and Mick that his father became abusive after being released from prison.

On the Waverider, Martin recollects a story about meeting Ray to give Ray more confidence.  Ray buys it and successfully eliminates all the dangerous fragments from Kendra’s body.  Afterwards, Ray catches on and discovers that Martin concocted the whole story, knowing that Ray had the talent and know-how already inside of him.  As Kendra starts to hallucinate, she calls out the location of Rip and Sara, who are both in trouble now.  Martin makes a quick call to Jax, Leonard, and Mick for support.

About to be killed, Rip and Sara are saved by Jax, Leonard, and Mick.  A fight ensues with Rip overpowering Vandal and slitting his throat.  As Vandal dies, Rip reveals the names of his wife and child.  This presents a question as to whether or not Rip may have indirectly caused the murder of his wife and child by exposing them years before Vandal even knew about them.

As the team gives Carter a proper burial, they tell Rip that they won’t abandon him and will finish the mission.  Leonard learns from Gideon that his timeline has not changed.  Leonard’s father attempted to sell the stolen emerald to an undercover cop, resulting in the same 5-year prison term.  Jax tries to comfort Leonard by telling him that he gave it a good shot.  Gideon calculates a high likelihood of Vandal reappearing in 1986.  And so, the team heads for that time period.

Character Highlights

For this week, “Blood Ties” focused on Rip Hunter, Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, and Leonard Snart.  Seriously, this was such a strong character-driven episode with so many characters having strong emotional throughlines.  But there was one clear winner though: Leonard Snart.  This episode basically solidifies Leonard as a very decent individual.  I’m not sure that I can believe his cold (pun intended) exterior anymore.

Leonard’s interaction with his younger child self was pure television gold.  I don’t think how it could’ve been played any better.  It also takes an actor as skilled as Wentworth Miller to really pull it off without making it seem out of character or cheesy.  I also give kudos to the writing.  Leonard as a hero is totally believable in my book now.

Rip, Sara, and Ray are definitely runner-ups in terms of character highlights, and I would rank them tied in that department.  Rip helping Sara by juxtaposing his lack of rage to her excess was also well-written.  I’m also really enjoying the pair-off of Martin with Ray and how Martin, though he doesn’t remember Ray as his student, is now becoming more of an emotional mentor.

Easter Eggs and References

• A couple of homages to classic DC characters.  And when I mean classic, I mean total old-school original granddaddy classic.  Superman and Batman were mentioned when Rip Hunter tells the team that he’s seen “men of steel die and dark knights fall.”  The emerald that Leonard Snart steals also suspiciously looks too much like kryptonite.
• A wanted poster of Jonah Hex can be seen on one of the walls of the Waverider.  Jonah Hex is scheduled to make an appearance soon.
• Vandal Savage’s Staff of Horus — first seen in The Flash episode “Legends of Today” in the Arrow / The Flash crossover — makes another appearance in the final battle scene.
• Another Titanic (1997) gag.  This was a film that Victor Garber had appeared in.  When Ray is flying through Kendra’s body, Martin tells Ray that a dagger fragment will be the size of an iceberg to him and that he won’t miss it.  Ray responds with “I bet that’s what they said on the Titanic.”  In The Flash episode “The Fury of Firestorm“, Jax tells Martin that he has a copy of the Titanic soundtrack after Martin criticizes Jax’s musical tastes.

Questions

• In the most recent Arrow episode, “Unchained“, Thea Queen is slowly dying because she resisted giving in to her bloodlust.  Malcolm Merlyn notes to Oliver that Sara doesn’t suffer from this because Constantine made her “whole.”  However, in “Blood Ties” Sara still has bloodlust.  Is this an inconsistency or will this unexpected phenomenon be explained?
• After Rip temporarily kills Vandal Savage, why doesn’t he just dismember him, bring him on board the Waverider, and keep him as a prisoner until Kendra comes back to full health?  I know it sounds grim and grotesque, but that seems to be the most logical thing to do versus chasing him across time.
• Does Rip create a self-fulfilling prophecy by chasing after Vandal Savage?  If Rip never appeared in the past, Vandal may have never got wind of him and known about his existence.  Thus, putting Rip’s family in potential harm.  Also, when Rip mentions the names of his wife and child, did he indirectly put a mark on their heads for Vandal?

Next: Catch up on Legends of Tomorrow with a recap of 'Blood Ties'

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs on The CW on Thursdays at 8:00PM EST.