Constantine returns to his roots in a There Will Be Blood-inspired Legends Of Tomorrow
Spooner gets answers, the Legends get their hearts broken, and Kayla gets tagged on social media
TV Reviews Legends of Tomorrow
If we’ve learned one thing about the Legends Of Tomorrow writers’ room over the last several years, it’s that said room is filled with film geeks. If we’ve learned two things, it’s that said geeks enjoy giving a big ol’ thumbs down to capitalism.
In other words, “There Will Be Brood” was probably inevitable.
LoT is really feeling its Paul Thomas Anderson fantasy in this episode — and let’s pause for just a moment and thank the universe for giving us a CW show that gives us babies being born through a nose one week and a tragic PTA-inspired episode the next. That’s not to say that “There Will Be Brood” is 100-percent tragic, but by post-season-one Legends standards, it’s practically a dirge*. That it’s grim should come as no surprise. Things have to get rough before the finale; previous penultimate episodes have hinged on Mallus claiming Nora, the gang getting spear-of-destinied into Doomworld and stuck on TV, and, uh, NeRay.
But even compared to those installments, this one’s dark — but how else could this show ever say goodbye to John Constantine?
Not everyone gets a happy ending, and anyway, John Constantine isn’t the type. Folks can quibble with the buildup to “There Will Be Brood” — particularly when it comes to the ins and outs of Bishop’s “plan,” the big Fountain-of-Imperium reveals, and the effectiveness of all of the John vs. John stuff** — but there’s no denying that Constantine’s end was never likely to be one of gumdrops and rainbows. That John got to see Astra living her life out of hell, that he got to fall in love (again) and make friends — that’s his happy ending. And as any romance reader could tell you, sometimes happy endings aren’t happily-ever-afters. Sometimes they’re happy-for-nows.
No, what’s startling about “There Will Be Brood” isn’t that John Constantine dies of addiction/is murdered by Bishop (it’s both, and good on Legends for allowing that to be complicated). It’s that, in spite of the aforementioned hand-waving, this episode, from credited writers Ray Utarnachitt and Marcelena Campos Mayhorn, successfully links together some of this season’s most disparate storylines while retreading familiar territory that nevertheless feels fresh. What’s Spooner’s deal? Fountain of Imperium. What’s Bishop’s plan? Fountain of Imperium. What’s John’s undoing? Fountain of Imperium. Mick and Kayla’s brood? Okay, no fountain there, but given the ties to Bishop, it still works.
Bishop’s manipulation of Blood-Magic-John leads to most of the Legends being stranded at John’s place, while Bishop, Blood-John, and unwitting stowaways Spooner and Astra head to early 20th century Texas to find the fountain. It’s Odessa, Texas, to be precise, which is Spooner’s hometown, and as it turns out, that’s no coincidence. It seems that Spooner was abducted by aliens from earlier in the timeline, as she and Astra learn when they encounter Spooner’s mother Gloria (Alexandra Castillo) and Kid-Spooner (Dominique Lucky Martell). When John meets Kid-Spooner, he sees in a flash what’s about to happen: Some evil oil types, determined to take Gloria’s land, kill her, and when Kid- Spooner flees, she’s “abducted” by the fountain.
Oh, and by the way, the fountain is actually an alien entity — a mushroom, to be precise. Also, all mushrooms are aliens. (Very Doctor Who, that.)
What’s marvelous about that twist is that when you read the sentence “Spooner gets abducted by a mushroom that’s actually an alien,” it sounds ridiculous in typically Legends fashion, a true why-the-fuck-not moment. But it’s not. It’s moving and lovely, almost making it possible to forget that the show is just casually slipping in the fact that the fountain is a) an alien being that b) protects Earth from malevolent space invaders and c) is Bishop’s ultimate target because he d) wants to do a hard reboot on the planet, which humans seem determined to destroy.
That it works at all is a testament to the episode’s primary cast: Matt Ryan, Lisseth Chavez, Olivia Swann, Castillo, and Raffi Barsoumian, and particularly those first two. Ryan’s unsettlingly flat yet familiar take on Blood-John is incredibly effective; until the final moments, it’s as if the John we know died last week. Chavez, given some real material to play, doesn’t disappoint, giving Spooner more depth and complexity than she’s been allowed to thus far. (She is also aided by the writers’ decision to double down on the Astra/Spooner friendship, which pays off here big-time.
John’s poisoning (and subsequent tear-jerking farewell) and Spooner’s impassioned, grief-fueled defense of her mother give the episode most of its emotional heft, but it’s bolstered by the rest of the team’s efforts to save the Rory-Kayla brood; cheers to everyone, writers and cast alike, for not playing the wee lil’ eggs for laughs. Once-reluctant dad Mick braves Bishop’s explosives to retrieve one last egg, ultimately putting him face to face with the flames that have so shaped his life. That’s… probably not great.
Neither is the fact that we’re about to lose Legends again, at least for a bit; after next week’s finale, the show is off until it returns for season seven in October. When it comes back, Matt Ryan will be in tow, but unless something truly wild happens next week, we’ve reached the end of the road for a nasty piece of work, and for a marriage of actor and character that’s as good as any I can think of. He’s like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington or Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl —an actor playing the perfect role and obviously relishing every moment, one “special appearance” at a time.
* — Also, PTA can be really fucking funny.
** — Quibbles aside, the actual John vs. John fight at the end of the last episode was masterful, and Matt Ryan has been absolutely crushing it.
Stray observations
- For timeline reasons.
- No one, no one, can convince me that the decision to make the fountain a mushroom was not inspired by Phantom Thread.
- Psst, Legends: do Phantom Thread next. P
- So… no vampire-lawyer, huh? Surprised and a wee bit bummed, both by her failure to materialize and by the lack of non-painting Crowley.
- Does Nate use his extremely helpful superpower in this episode? Did you see that mushroom? No way they have the budget for Nate to steel up.
- Episode MVP: Lisseth Chavez and Matt Ryan, come on down.
- Why the fuck not?: Kayla-luring via social media.
- Line-reading of the week: “I don’t have a driver’s license.”
- Episode title ranking: 1. Stressed Western. 2. Bored On Board Onboard. 3. This Is Gus. 4. There Will Be Brood. 5. Meat: The Legends. 6. Ground Control To Sara Lance. 7. Back To The Finale: Pt. ii. 8. Bishop’s Gambit 9. Bay Of Squids. 10. Silence Of The Sonograms. 11. The Satanist’s Apprentice. 12. The Ex-Factor. 13. The Final Frame 14. Bad Blood.
102 Comments
I have to imagine that the destruction of the Fountain/Mushroom that was protecting the earth from Aliens will play into The Flash’s “Armageddon” season opener, yes?
Also, they may have to handwave why the Dominators and possibly Eradiator weren’t covered by mushroom magic.
I’m guessing they’re the last line of defense. No kryptonian level heroes in 1920s meant they were the only line of defense back then. Also (s/) crisis…i don’t got to explain s/=t (s/)
Yeah, my guess is that can be hand-waved away as being a pre/post Crisis detail.
I expect it to be resolved by the end of the next episode. You have to maintain continuity to allow Spooner to reappear in the future and maintain the time loop, otherwise she disappears and the entire season will be undone. The Fountain will be restored in some sense…perhaps final good deed in death by John.
Sure, they COULD do that in The Flash, but that’d kinda steal Legends’ thunder if that were the case.
This is true! Also, LoT returns in October and the Flash doesn’t premier until November, so it’s possible they could be setting stuff up in the new season? Who knows! I just hope to see more connection between Arrowverse shows next season since we kinda missed out on that this year.
Interviews seem to imply that the Legends will be largely separated from the rest of the Arrowverse next season because apparently they will end up stranded and unable to time travel…potentially for the entire season. That’s obviously not a problem for The Flash in particular, but I don’t think we’ve seen any Legend confirmed for the big Armageddon event.
Ray fills that position, unofficially of course.
Ooo interesting! I’ve not seen those interviews. I guess I’m just hopeful that they’ll announce more people for Armageddon as it gets closer, but who knows!
This is not a show to make one tear up, and yet dammit – Spooner & her mom really got me. Their scenes together were so lovely and had real emotional weight and I still miss my own mom who died 20 years ago now, so cue the waterworks.There was always some chance that Spooner was going to be Poochie when they introduced her, but she’s turned into one of my favorite characters on the show. And she’s even made me like Astra, who I mostly didn’t care about at all! OK, so John is dead. Is Mick dead? I kinda assumed so knowing that Dom was peacing out at some point, but maybe he’s not? And how crazy will Gideon be when she’s back online? I suspect that’s going to play into the finale a bit.I can’t believe we’re already to the end of this season. It has really flown by!
Interviews imply that Mick is NOT dead since they said they will always have a seat open for him should he wish to return. My guess is that the explosion just convinces him to give up being a Legend for all his kids.
Mick was alive and extremely fine-looking in the preview for the finale, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m guessing his kids gave him healing powers.
Hey, Kayla comes to the wedding… nice – Mick’s +1, no doubt.
I like her outfit
What a cast of beautiful, beautiful people. Look at Shayan’s hair. Damn.
Johnny C, now you are precious nutrient to the soil of the earth, RIP! That certainly was not the way I saw the nasty piece of work to go but his ego and stubbornness as well as not being at top form made him not see Bishop playing him at all! I will miss him A LOT, Matt Ryan was perfect in the role.
Spoons and Astra’s friendship is quickly becoming Nate and Ray levels, it’s as beautiful as Beebo. So with Astra actually being from the past, she is the first Legend joining from the past in a while since Amaya, right? I feel like Charlie wouldn’t count because she was old as time.So Johhny C is RIP, Mick will very likely sail off to the depths of space with Kayla and I kinda think Zari will ask Astra to do a memory-wipe spell for her so she wouldn’t be super sad all the time… and someone should pick up Behrad from his parents at some point.BTW Allison, thank you so so much for that title, I love it!
I just can’t get behind Spooner. I’ve never particularly enjoyed the actress, or either of her main storylines (either the anti-alien stuff early on in the season or the stuff tonight). If she’s back next season, hopefully she gets a better storyline (I remember that happening with Amaya in particular). Meanwhile, Constantine is going out in an amazing way—Matt Ryan is spectacular, and giving it his all in the final run. I don’t particularly want him to come back next season, because him as anyone other than Constantine doesn’t feel right, when Matt Ryan is John Constantine, you know?
They also teased Enchantress way back when. The show could build a whole other team with Enchantress, Vampire Lawyer, and Kayla.
R.i.p constantine. Making comebacks from NBC cancellations cool since 2016CXG send off for you
I think it would be cool if they rebooted the NBC time travel show Timeless by having Malcolm Barrett & Abigail Spencer join the Legends
Lucy Preston is legitimately one of my all-time female characters, she’d be an incredible edition to the team and be perfect with Nate!! Timeless and Legends did travel to very similar time periods (they both had episodes devoted to the wonder that is Hedy Lamarr).
It’s not hard to imagine a storyline where Constantine does bang his ex-boyfriend’s dad.
S1’s penultimate episode big setup was great too despite s1’s problems.
I think those last two episodes of season 1 were very good. Too bad most of that season was a damn dreg.
Snart has some of my favorite last words ever.
Also props to Masie Sellers on her great directing debut.
OH WOW! I had no idea about this! Good to see her back involved with the show, even behind the camera!
I am guessing the mushrooms were a Post-Crisis thing since I sure as hell didn’t see any of them during Invasion.While I don’t hate Bishop as much as some people do, I do wish John had been the final Big Bad of the season. Is the reason they dumped Behrad for these final few episodes to build up money for the finale? Or is he gone for good?
Behrad looks to be in that picture from the season finale that is posted upthread. It worries me a bit that I haven’t missed Behrad the last couple of episodes. I was really happy he joined the team this season, but his storylines have been underwhelming & his presence less vital than I expected. He did a good job calling attention to Constantine losing his marbles anyway & of course his crush on Astra is understandable
It’s probably because the cast has ballooned and most of the focus has been on everyone except him (and Nick). Since Mick actually got focus thanks to his relationship with Kayla and his pregnancy, Behrad has taken Mick’s role.
I am guessing the mushrooms were a Post-Crisis thing since I sure as hell didn’t see any of them during Invasion.That bugged me. I don’t mind when a long-running show does retcons, but mushrooms apparently didn’t do jack against the Dominators. And I’m kind of tried of using Crisis as an excuse, I’d rather the writers had added a line of dialogue or something.
The way i saw it the shrooms (the alien protector ones) existed earlier in the past, pre invasions. Me thinks there will be some pre destination paradox where they’re inert
The actor could just want a break. I think he’s only gone for 2 episodes, that really doesn’t seem out of the usual.
The Behrad thing bugged me until I remember he went to visit his parents. As I recall, he was going to finally tell them the truth about his life.
Bishop killed the mushroom back in the ‘20s, so, unless there’s some timey-wimey issues, it still works, I guess?
The Spooner backstory was shocking but effective & consistent with how the show has frequently had team members run into relatives or early versions of themselves when time traveling, which as Spooner’s mom suggests seems to be somehow meant to be. Spooner & Astra being best friends makes this episode work & I did not see that coming. But I loved how Astra convinced Spooner to preserve her personal timeline so Astra didn’t lose her friend & Spooner trusted Astra with her adorable young self. Why didn’t Spooner have her gun that shoots through metal for the showdown with the corrupt sheriff? She should have lit him up, not in the literal sense she did with the help of the fountain
Spoons has yet to break the timeline, I was hoping her meeting her mom would somehow do it, lol, which is truly a rite of passage to become a proper Legend.
I consider that Spoons did at least bend the timeline in this episode & certainly tried to break it for personal reasons (by giving John her blood), which as Charlie once told Zari is practically a requirement for becoming a team member
But I loved how Astra convinced Spooner to preserve her personal timeline so Astra didn’t lose her friend & Spooner trusted Astra with her adorable young self.I was trying to remember if Spooner had already learnt this lesson earlier in the season or I was confusing it with all the other times a Legend had altered their personal timeline. And then I realized Spooner did learn the lesson already, in a roundabout way during the “Back to the Finale” episode where the team discusses how saving Sara from abduction will result in multiple impacts including not meeting Spooner. I like how they found a loophole regardless in being able to save Spooner’s mom.
I know there’s the whole “preserve the timeline” thing to grapple with, buuuuuuut once they changed history anyway (by scaring off the oil tycoons and saving Spooner’s mom), wouldn’t it have made sense for somebody to chase after Astra and little Esperanza to tell her she didn’t have to go into the mushroom? I know this would have technically made Spooner into an anomaly/time variant/whatever you want to call it in the show’s mythology, but they’ve always been good about getting around such things. Getting hung up on rigid consequences of time travel is SO season 1…
It seemed like the logic was they could change the timeline a bit but not create an anomaly. So as look as little Spooner had the same experience as big Spooner (and thus would come back under the same circumstances) the Mum could liveLegends seems not to worry too much about the Butterfly Effect (which thinking about it is basically in the shows DNA, the original team “wasn’t important enough” that a time traveller could recruit them and if they died it wouldn’t be an issue)
It feels like this was Astra’s and Spooner’s plan/solution to how to both (a) prevent Spooner’s mother from being killed, and (b) preserving the existing timeline. Spooner originally was all-in for killing the miners and saving her mother, allowing her child-self to grow up with her mother. But Astra convinced her that would prevent Spooner from meeting the Legends in the future and becoming her friend. So this was a compromise, allowing her to save her mother but not alter the timeline as far as her child-self being abducted.
Astra and Spooner combo has helped both settle in to Legends. Found myself thinking awww look how far they have come.
I’m probably wrong about this, but I have a feeling Constantine’s death won’t stick. I know they’re done with the character on the show, but going out in the penultimate episode of the season seems a little weak for Johnny.
I hope you’re not wrong. I’m okay they no longer want the character on the show as he had a tendency to make it all about him. Him dying, and after being played by Bishop though? Well, that kinda insulting to the character and his decades worth of stories of always being just the one extra step ahead of the other guy no matter the cost. Someone else pays the often horrific price, and Constantine slips away into the shadows one more, a lit cigarette in hand.Leaving that aside, rest of the episode was so dang good.
I mean, the Fountain cannot be dead…at least not permanently…because without it Spooner would presumably remain lost to time, though I suppose she could have been sent forward in time instantly via alien magic. Regardless, I think John’s at least partially responsible for when Spooner is returned actually either directly or simply by the Fountain connecting to him and learning of his past and her future.
This. I’m not going to say 100% Constantine can’t die, but he’s the sort that goes out on his own terms while giving the finger (proverbial or otherwise). Getting played just seems so…wrong. But again, putting aside judgement until next week’s finale.
My guess is that he’ll remanifest in the next episode as some sort of mushroom being. That would be cool, and allow for some kind of nicer farewell scene. Zari especially was given no closure with him in this episode, which was fine because the main Spooner plot of this episode was so great, but I think giving her a moment in the finale could be really powerful.
Matt Ryan is supposedly playing a new character next season, but that might just be a red herring to make this death here look real.
Even though I’m watching these episodes months later, I’m pretty sure it was common knowledge at the time in entertainment news that the character of Constantine was leaving the show here, but that Matt Ryan was staying with the show and would continue as a new character in the next season. The show-runners were pretty open stating that the Constantine character was going to be “permanently retired” and replaced with a new character for Ryan.
I somewhat expect Constantine’s death to be undone, partly because this seems necessary to restore the fountain & Spooner’s personal timeline. I guess the team and Zari 2.0 are both not taking him back, though. Sad really but it does seem like the right ending for that character, who even on a team of misfits never really fit
TV line last year let people vote for their “dream team” of Legends team members. The winners were Sara, Ray, Mick, Snart, Constantine, Nate, Zari 1.0, and Stein. https://tvline.com/2020/05/19/legends-of-tomorrow-character-cast-exits-photos-list-ranked/My current “dream team” would be:Sara, Ray, Nate, Zari 1.0, Ava, Snart, Mick, Spooner, Astra
Which Snart?I personally would prefer the Earth X version if that was an option.
Good question! My personal lineup included original s1 Snart, but Leo Snart certainly deserves consideration
No limits team for me:Og team minus hawks, nate, charlie, gary, ava, wally, spooner, astra, Gideon, nora, s2/3 rip, beebo, ryan choi, and of course zari(s) and Behrad.
I still regret Wally’s time with the team was so short. He was really fun & had such a great power set obviously. I really love Gideon. Her being a regular in person next season should really give it life
this show should NEVER end and have a rotating cast until the end of time.
Also current show standings.
1) LoT (not one bad episode this season, not surprising)
2) Superman and Lois (super close to 1 but shaving a few points b/c of the initial issues in the writer’s room with the race issues, HOWEVER, they get points for the mid season retcon that saved the character and story)
3) Supergirl (so far so good and much improved from last season. I hope they stick the landing)
4) Flash (not including leftover scripts from last year) Really really sloppy but they did have some great eps and a good finale. They need to end it next season
5) Batwoman, Super sloppy. I get they got handed a bad hand when Ruby Rose left but their plotline and writing messed everything good that Javica brought.
Not including Stargirl? I would have that 2nd or 3rd
Stargirl is definitely in my top three:Superman and Lois
Legends of Tomorrow
Stargirl
the new season is still fresh so holding off on that. Will have to include it with the grades for next season.
oh forgot Black Lightning, tied with Flash. Lots of bungling with the writing but stuck the landing on the finale.
Have not seen Stargirl or Batwoman, and Superman & Lois is kind of in a tier by itself at this point. Of the remaining 3, I agree with that ranking. Legends and Supergirl have generally hung together well enough that I think someone watching this years or decades down the line might not be aware this was a COVID-impacted year. I have quibbles with some of the storytelling choices on Legends, but arguably the quality has remained consistent. Flash on the other hand has stumbled so badly it seems like a parody of itself at this point, and I don’t think it’s all due to COVID. Would love to know down the line what happened there.
So from what I read, the scripts for last season were all done and the cliffhanger was going to lead to something with Thawne. That was thrown out during the hiatus/season change and we got stuck with the forces storyline. Then there was the COVID case on set and Candice Patton needing to go home for a break during the final stretch. Yeah a mess, but IMO the Batwoman mess was worse. Javica needed a better intro.
What race issues were there with S&L? I’ve been so out of the loop.
What race issues were there with S&L? I’ve been so out of the loop.From writer Nadria Tucker, accusations that the cast of S&L lacked diversity and that the one black character on the series was the villain (which may or may not have factored into the mid-season twist that he’s actually a hero). Also that by raising this and other issues it led to her contract not being renewed for season 2.
Oh, that sucks. I know about the mid-season twist, but I thought it was something that’s always planned for the character, though now I’m not sure.
Yeah they admitted the steel twist was done midway through filming. The whole capt luthor ai screwup makes no sense when you watch the beginning episodes.
That absolutely had to have been the planned plot arc. Whoever lodged those initial complaints was not dialed into the full season plan.
Snart was by far the best character to be squandered by exiting the show before it got good. His arc and ultimate sacrifice is one of the few bright spots in season 1, as a matter of fact.
I agree with almost all of the above selections, but I don’t see Stein without Jax. Their relationship went from “honestly pretty fucked up” (what with the drugging of it all in the premiere) to one of genuine and heartfelt affection, and I find myself missing the dialogue between “Jefferson” and “Gray” which juxtaposed their differences even as it deepened and made their bond ring more true.
I also would include Charlie on my dream team, even though I was satisfied with the way her story concluded. Plus, I was one of the ones shipping Zarlie (Nate’s romances always fall flat for me, except of course the bro-mance with Ray), so in a purely hypothetical Legends season, I’d love to see all that flirting bear fruit.
Me, I’d go for Sara, Ava, Ray, Nate, OG Zari, Mick, Snart and Stein/Jason, with Constantine available on speed dial. But then, I liked the show best when it still had some DC superheroes.
Hmm. I’d say Sara, Ava, Ray, Nate, Zari 1.0, Mick, and Constantine
Oh man, tough call. I gotta go with Sara, Ava, Constantine, Snart, Zari 1.0, Zari 2.0, Ray and Nora.Wait, was that too many characters? Because I’d also like to add in David “Space Girl” Bowie, George Lucas, Lord Knoxicrillion, and Barry Obama as guest stars. Plus Gideon should always be a bonus freebie.
Both Zaris make strong cases for themselves. At this point other than Sara the ones I most can’t imagine the team without are Ava and Zari
I know that it would be way too much to make work for this show, but I can’t help but dream of a full “Oops! All Zaris” episode, where two or more Zaris have to team up to solve some big problem, bickering at first but ultimately coming to understand their differences and strengths. Zari-Cat would play a prominent role.It was really hard to get the list down to eight. Charlie was probably the toughest cut, followed by Spooner, Astra, Jax, Stein, and Behrad.
There were many difficult cuts for me I really wanted to keep new Zari and Amaya
No, no, no. ::stomps feet:: That’s not how Constantine leaves the show. Poisoned by Bishop and getting returned to the earth via some CGI vines is a pretty dumb way to go (unless the writers are turning him into a pseudo-Swamp Thing, but likely not). I guess we’ll wait to see if the writers turn this around next week, but of all the character exits the show has done over the years, this is by far the worst one.The plot mechanics of this episode bother me. Why does Kayla care about the eggs now if she randomly disappeared a few episodes back after giving Mick the death pinch? Why has Bishop’s plan gone from splicing alien-human DNA to paving the way for an alien invasion? Why are we getting a random dump of exposition now on what these mushrooms are? It feels sloppy, and I’d like to blame COVID but who knows.What did work: The Spooner stuff was fantastic, and the Lisseth Chavez/Olivia Swann pairing finally clicked into place for me. Between the sepia-toned nostalgic vibe, the 1920s period and the brutal murder of Spooner’s mom, the whole thing felt like a vintage Unsolved Mysteries episode.
Enjoying this season but this show really needs another comic book character with Constantine done after this year IMO. It’s barely a DC show at this point.
I think if DC were smart, they’d bring the Legends into the mainstream DCU. I’ve been sort of idly piecing together the headcanon that could make it possible. It could all revolve around Dinah Lance realizing that at one point she had a sister that she had been forced to forget, who of course would end up being Sara, who had been plucked from the timeline by Rip. I think a DCU based re-telling of the first season’s Vandal Savage arc, with the rough parts smoothed out and a bit of the anarchic energy that the show built over time, could be a really fun way to introduce the team to the comic book pages. To me, they’ve always captured a bit of the late 80s Keith Giffen/JM DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire Justice League International energy as the superhero community’s Bad News Bears.
I also think the idea of making Rip into a bit more of a nefarious character, plucking people from time but also covering up their existence entirely, would bring a bit more meaning to the team name being “Legends,” which to me has always come across a bit clunky when used in-universe. But for a team tasked with timeline-based missions whose interventions often cause big incidents whose existence is nevertheless supposed to be largely unknown to the world at large? It kinda works.
To be fair Villain Rip was the best Rip.
Oh yeah, the arc when he had his own memory wiped to keep the spear of destiny safe and then getting kidnapped and made evil by the Legion of the Doom was the most I ever liked Rip!!
That’s a pretty solid idea. But… it’s predicated on the whole “if DC were smart” thing, so…
-Aww, baby Spoons!-They’re calling Kayla with Xena’s chakram.-Did the mushrooms remind anybody else of the MFS finale?-Oh man are the Spooner scenes rough.-Awwww, Astra telling Baby Spoons they’ll even see each other again.-I love the cosmic mushroom protector nonsense. Will we see B and Nate on celebratory shrooms next year?
So seems like I fell of the face of the earth re: Matt Ryan after Constantine got cancelled. I never knew he was reprised as the same character. I really loved the original series – does LoT have the same tone and how prominently does John Constantine figure in the plots? Wondering whether to jump into the series. Thanks!
all of his arrowverse appearances are here:
https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/John_Constantine
He was softened considerably, though he retained some of his jerkiness and crankiness. But it was definitely a much more positive and light-hearted version of the character, at least until his last story arc here.As the show is an ensemble, he didn’t always stay in the spotlight, but he’s one of the more prominent characters. His slimy demeanor contrasted really well with the rest of the cast, and since his introductions he’s always had at least one subplot going through each season.
So that’s two more DC characters down from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, killed in the same episode no less! I really expected Spooner to be the daughter of Kayla by Heatwave or one of his eggs grown up. So she’s not Lita’s half-sister after all.
Land grab by murdering Texicans felt more like The Son than There Will Be Blood.
Heatwave is scared of ghosts! Why do they ever take off their time-couriers? Both this & Motherland: Fort Salem are doing magic mushrooms.
We ALL, as a community, must surely be in agreement that this was by far the best Spooner episode, right?! When it was tossed-off, “tell don’t show” references in dialogue to her mother’s abduction, it never really landed with me, but the scenes here between her and her mother in the flesh finally allowed her character and motivation to shine.
I’ve been dreading the ultimate John sendoff, for all the reasons Allison articulated above (particularly Matt Ryan being simply PERFECT in the role), but if he doesn’t at least appear in some form in the finale, well, then I’ll be forced to say that this character (and particularly this portrayal) deserve better. After battling demons and cosmic threats aplenty, he certainly deserves to be felled by a mightier villain than Bishop. I know addiction to blood magick could certainly qualify as that mightier villain, but I refuse to believe that Bishop deserves to be the one to truly get the best of the old sod. And the excellent work done along the way by Matt Ryan and Tala Ashe in selling the unlikely romance between JC & Zari 2.0 deserves emotionally satisfying closure, which we didn’t get at all here. BUT, we still have an episode left to go, and I’ll never second guess the trusty Legends writers before an arc is finished! If it does have to be the end for dear Constantine, let’s hope that next week’s finale is suitably epic!
Really liked the episode, even the John story which I haven’t been a fan of right up until he died a lame death tricked by the most obvious annoying villain ever. Johns arc ends worse than it started, ironically or by fate at the feet of Astra.
So long, Constantin from Legends. The way he went… I don’t buy him being permanently gone, just gone from the Legends. I mean, the way he went, Swamp Thing could have easily relocated him for any number of reasons. Plus, he’s supposed to have demon blood (from a transfusion), not to mention the pact he did with the three… I do agree it was time for him to move on.
I would have loved to see Manny, or the green bloke or some of that stuff show up. Who knows, that kind of show needs to be on something other than CW (or NBC).
I’d sell my soul to Mallus to have the Swamp Thing show back as it was and with Matt Ryan as Johnny C showing up in it.
Did Astra turn Spooner into a spoon this time or was she still a fork?
She looked like a fork to me. Glad to know what household item Astra would have turned into with Crowleytine’s spell, a snow globe apparently.
I loved the snow globe. Could anyone tell if there was anything importantly symbolic inside it when Bishop was shaking it?
I re-checked that scene again: inside the globe appeared to be a green glass figurine – a woman I believe – on a clam shell. Obviously you can interpret the figurine as Astra, but perhaps you can better decipher how it symbolizes her.
She was def a fork again. I giggled. Because that does imply that everyone has an inanimate object alter ego. Like a patronus, but a knickknack.
Even if our favorite Johnny-C ends up dead, he’s a character that’s ripe for a return sooner or later. I can already picture it. Years from now, be it either in a Legends Series Finale or in another movie or show much later down the road, we’ll see Matt Ryan back in the trench coat, John stuck in hell and whatever group of heroes reach out to him to help save the world one last time.And then he’ll pull off one more trick, by using that chance to finally escape hell. He’ll walk down a dark alley, lighting his cigarette, and that would be the last time we see Matt Ryan as John Constantine, and it would be hella dope.
Damn, this episode was a heavy-hitter. It is unfortunate that most of the cast gets sidelined to a decently funny and dramatic B-plot and John goes out in an inadequate, though shocking demise. If he were to be resurrected, he might become a fungal host.
But it makes room for newer Legends to shine. Spooner’s time-traveling backstory is, without a doubt, unexpected but damn is it sad. Despite all the weirdness of the alien mushrooms and interspecies eggs, the show can get genuinely emotional, like with Spooner and her mom. Likewise with the Astra and Spooner friendship, which is a good substitute for the defunct Ray-Nate pairing.
Big oof. Too many big reveals and big moments crammed into a single episode. At literally the same time we have more hand-wringing about not changing one’s own timeline, the timeline is already 100% getting changed, and then, wait for it… it’s getting changed again by Bishop in a major way.LoT has to walk a very thin tightrope to keep the audience invested. Tonight, it pushed way too hard. It wasn’t just one “don’t think about it” response to a reasonable question. It was a machine gun full of them, to many reasonable questions.
I guess we’ll see a new version of Constantine when we see HBO Max’s Justice League Dark so fare thee well Matt Ryan’s great version of the character.
Disappointed we didn’t get a Gideon, what’s the most meta moment? this week, because as soon as he said it, Nate’s “Why do we ever take those off?” was it for me.So, here’s my crazy theory about next season that just popped in my head. What if Matt Ryan comes back as – Charlie? Charlie could take his appearance as a tribute, and it’s a gender neutral name so that stays the same. I’d still miss Charlie 1.0, but it would be fun.
Can we be getting some form of Swamp Thing? Either they’re playing with the green guys origins (and remember, Constantine first appeared in Moore’s run on Swamp Thing) or Swamp Thing had something to do with saving Constantine so he can be “reborn” or explain whatever reason Matt Ryan is playing a different character.
Astra and Spoons’s friendship is one of my favorite things about this season (second perhaps only to Spoons generally). It was genuinely probably the most seamless way to get Astra on board with being on a team. And yes, Matt Ryan and Lisseth Chavez were fantastic this week, but so was Olivia Swann.