Last episode of Legends of Tomorrow featured a crushing cliffhanger, with the team finding out that Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) had been poisoned and killed back in “Meat: The Legends.” And Sara also discovered this, as Bishop (Raffi Barsoumian) did not actually “save” Sara but instead clone a new-and-improved version of her.
But resilience is the whole reason Bishop selected Sara as his test subject, who tells him “I die once a year and my girlfriend is a clone.” “Back to the Finale: Part II” starts with starting at death but arrives at a joyous acceptance of life, being a thrilling and open-hearted installment of Legends along the way.
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After learning of Sara’s supposed demise, Ava (Jes Macallan) is stuck in bed watching Sara’s proposal video on loop. The other Legends are also having difficulty getting over her “death,” and Behrad (Shayan Sobhian) arrives at the obvious (and dangerous) shortcut of time-traveling before Sara’s abduction in last season’s finale and preventing it from happening. The rest of the Legends – except for Ava herself, who would not approve of such reckless meddling – re-don their ‘70s Punk outfits to intercept Behrad. Not to stop him, but to help him pull it off.
“Back to the Finale: Part II” is effective by tying the goofy unhinged antics of its reckless group with the genuine chemistry and comradery between them. Unlike previous episodes which have had to break them into smaller groups or focus upon individual characters, “Back to the Finale: Part II” gives basically every member space to work out personal issues while bouncing off one another. Constantine (Matt Ryan), for instance, can work through losing his magical powers in “The Satanist’s Apprentice” while also confessing to a “generous 20 minute” quickie with Zari (Tala Ashe) during the finale.
The Legends don’t really achieve much with their meddling. The “past Ava” quickly discovers their presence – annoyingly becoming blackout drunk to forget their interaction – and their knowledge of Sara’s upcoming proposal only makes her more nervous. One speedy joke is when Nate (Nick Zano) arrives with an eyepatch and Constantine’s coat, warning them of creating an alternative future with an exploding mannequin whilst also holding toilet paper for his past self. Legends of Tomorrow often walks a tightrope between self-aware humor and sincerity, and “Back to the Finale: Part II” balances that tone alongside their best episodes.
Really the “mission” is an exercise for the Legends to work through their grief, distracting themselves and binge-eating mushroom curry. It allows Spooner (Lisseth Chavez) to actually meet Sara (even if she isn’t supposed to), chatting about the fear of not knowing herself or her strange alien powers. Sara then confesses anxiety over her proposal, that since she’s gone through so many iterations and phases that she can’t be a reliable, evergreen presence for Ava. It’s a lovely, relatively subtle conversation that reminds viewers of Sara’s leadership amongst the team (even if she’s unaware Spooner is on it) and how identity need not be so strictly defined.
Meanwhile, the Captain that the Legends are trying to “save” is faring pretty well herself. Bishop explains his plan to fuse aliens and humans together (under his control, naturally) with Sara having the “resolve” to withstand the hybridization. She would be a template for the army Bishop uses to colonize the galaxy. Although after Bishop sends Sara outside to be incinerated, she is saved by Gary (Adam Tsekhman), the rallied Ava clones, and Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell). They hatch the fairly straightforward plan to blow up Bishop’s planetary generators before escaping on Kayla’s spaceship, which is waiting for Rory until the moons set.
However, as Sara is securing the explosives, she finds her cut is quickly regenerating. Returning to confront Bishop, she finds her body is not merely a “clone” but one spliced with alien DNA. After a brief and distinctly intense battle with Bishop – including quick zooms and Raffi Barsoumian’s slapstick performance as his muscles become disabled – Sara decides to “remake” herself in a new “normal” body.
She frantically tells Mick how she doesn’t “even know who [she is] anymore,” feeling that she is damaged and fake on the inside. She gives the same doubts her parallel self shared to Spooner. But Mick cuts through such existential crises; “I see Captain Lance. I see my oldest friend.” It's an effective emotional moment that accepts that no matter how people “shift” or what they go through, who they “are” is harder to change.
Bishop himself has uploaded his consciousness to a cloud server. Although he is seemingly destroyed when Sara abandons her rendering new/old body and destroys his base. With the generators down the local monsters start attacking Kayla’s ship, forcing the group to abandon her as the rest fly away to safety. Just as Ava has worn out the recording of Sara’s proposal, the real one appears behind her.
It’s almost too good to believe. Ava is scared to turn around, thinking it cannot be real, and viewers also may be suspicious we didn’t see Sara land the ship or arrive at the Waverider. “Back to the Finale: Part II” seems too early in the season for everything to be neatly resolved, bracing for a heart-breaking twist of Bishop stowing his consciousness in Sara’s “new” body or accidental complications with time.
Perhaps those dilemmas will come in future episodes. But “Back to the Finale: Part II” embraces the joy of love and life, having Sara fulfill her proposal to Ava in front of the reassembled Legends as fireworks explode in the background. Death and disaster will always be lurking ahead for the Legends, but for now, the show gives a funny, charming, heartfelt respite, this episode letting the Legends all reunite and share an unmitigated celebratory win.
Legends of Tomorrow airs on Sundays on the CW.
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