Legends of Tomorrow season 5, episode 15 review: Fates be praised

Legends of Tomorrow season 5 comes to a close in an unforgettable finale.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow season 5 has been a predictably unpredictable thrill-ride as the titular Arrowverse heroes hunted down the all-powerful Loom of Fate in a post-Crisis world. Their quest has taken them across time, alternate realities and even Hell itself, and it has all led to this moment as the Legends made one final stand against the Fates in the season finale.

Season 5 has been, for the most part, a major improvement over the fourth offering, with the show once again balancing the drama and the donuts for a funny, powerful and dramatic (but mostly funny) adventure that felt more in-line with the Legends that we know.

The question is: Could they cap it all off with an-icing-on-the-cake finale? Let’s find out if they did in the interestingly-titled  “Swan Thong”.

Screw the Fates

In a narrative thread not too dissimilar from the second season’s Spear of Destiny arc, the plot of the finale was quite simple: All the Legends had to do was retrieve the Loom of Fate and destroy it so that no villain could ever use it to control humanity. And they pulled it off… quite easily, in fact, as they managed to toss Atropos into it, corrupting it in the process and ultimately resulting in its destruction.

Admittedly it was a little underwhelming to see that they had disposed of both the most threatening Fate and the Loom within the first 10 minutes. It was a bold move, yes, but it removed some of the stakes and forced the episode to reset itself a third of the way in – something that it just about pulled off.

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The team’s discovery that, four months later, Lachesis used Gideon to control the population through her Fate watches was a pleasant subversion of our expectations, but even then, it still felt like most of the episode was spent attempting to recapture the high-stakes energy that it had in the beginning.

It did, however, lead to one very entertaining battle as the Legends faced off with the Encores in an epic showdown that was worth it alone for the return of Courtney Ford as Marie Antoinette.

History is repeating itself

Is it just me or does Nate Heywood seem doomed to bid the woman he loves farewell at least once in every Legends of Tomorrow season finale? He parted ways with Amaya in the conclusion of Season 3 after the pair spent two years attempting to overcome history that the latter hadn’t even lived yet, while he was forced to bid adieu to Zari last season when she left the temporal zone just as a new timeline was setting in. And now, here we are at the end of Season 5, and he’s forced to witness Zari exit all over again.

While the episode did have its issues with its primary narrative, its Zari/Behrad/Zari 2.0. subplot was perhaps its greatest asset. The original Zari’s realization that her return forced the two timelines together – a development that threatened to kill Behrad – ultimately resulted in her returning to the Air Totem. And with that, Behrad could carry on living with his version of Zari also remaining in existence.

Whether it was the interactions between both Zaris or the tender moments shared between the Zari that sacrificed everything to bring her brother back and that returning brother, this storyline provided the episode with some of its greatest moments, and it was hard not to be moved by the Tomaz/Tarazi siblings saga.

It came from… outer space?

The departure of the original Zari was a somewhat expected outcome of the episode (hey, it was either her or Behrad or new Zari), but Charlie’s decision to call an end to her superheroing days was an unforeseen development. And while both of those departures will greatly impact Legends of Tomorrow in its sixth season, it was the final scene that threatens to be the most pivotal.

A very drunk Sara Lance attempted to follow her fellow Legends back to the Waverider, only to be beamed up into the sky by what seems to be – kid you not – freakin’ aliens!

Yup, aliens on Legends of Tomorrow… just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder.

Legendary Leftovers

• Zari’s departure was really emotional and it made this writer very sad because she deserves so much better.
• Tala Ashe is super talented and the way she brought the differing Zari personalities to life is just one example of that.
• Does this mean that Behrad will be sticking around next season? Let’s hope so because Shayan Siobhan thoroughly deserves that series regular credit.
• Marie Antoinette, fed up, with her head removed from her body mumbled with a sigh of defeat: “Not again”. Mood.
• It was thrilling to see Courtney Ford back on the show. Can Ray and Nora come back next season please?
• Seeing Mick Rory grow attached to his daughter over the course of the season has been a rather heartwarming journey. He and Lita make a great team!
• Fun fact: This is actually the second time Sara has been beamed up into the sky by aliens. The first, of course, took place during the first four-show Arrowverse crossover “Invasion!”.
• Very excited to see how Legends tackles aliens next season. It’s sure to be fun.
• There you have it. My last review of Legends of Tomorrow this season is finished. It’s been a blast guys and I’m pleased to say that the show managed to maintain its upwards trajectory right to the end. Thanks for reading! Until next time…

Legends of Tomorrow will now take its annual summer hiatus and it isn’t expected to return until Spring 2021 at the earliest. Did you enjoy the finale? Let us know in the comments below!