Legends of Tomorrow

Recap
It has been a quite few months for our team of Legends, as we open several months later but still, none of the freed monsters have appeared. After a short trip through time to stop a rogue Paul Revere from disrupting the arrivals of The Beatles into the United States, the team learns that they have finally stopped the last time anachronism and completely fixed the timeline. There is much rejoicing and everything seems to be going well for everybody.
Until John Constantine shows up bearing ominous warnings with his usual cheerful disposition.
Separately, various members of the team locate a time disturbance at Woodstock and investigate, only to find a murderous unicorn on the loose, eating hearts and spraying a love-inducing hallucinogen. Sara enlists the aid of Constantine and using a powerful spell consisting of Jerry Garcia's spit, Janis Joplin's hair, and a pendant from the great shaman Jimi Hendrix, as well as poor virgin Gary as bait, Constantine manages to dispel the unicorn back to whence it came.
A number of minor subplots are introduced and/or developed, such as the advancement of Sara and Ava's relationship, Ray's love for Nora Darhk, Zari's family history in Washington DC, and Nate's relationship with his father. None are central to the overarching plot to rid the timeline of the freed monsters, but they do help to provide some much-needed depth for several of the characters.
As the episode closes, Sara attempts to recruit Constantine as a full-time Legend and is flatly denied. As John wanders his apartment, drunk and alone, he is accosted by an unseen monster (I'm guessing a demon) who leaves John with the threat that, whatever it is, it's coming for our favorite con-man.
Review
Legends of Tomorrow is a rare show in that it knows exactly what it is and isn’t afraid to embrace its campy spirit despite sharing a universe with several much darker shows. The episode opens with a shtick about the crew’s Time Bureau “ratings” being low, although they have a few dedicated fans– a tongue-in-cheek bit of metanarrative.
Matt Ryan plays a picture-perfect John Constantine (as he always has) and his presence will likely be the main draw for many watchers, although I am slightly concerned that his darker tone could be problematic for the overall tone of the series. Time will tell as to whether Johnny darkens the Legends or is lightened by them.
After a season in which nearly every decision made by the team was the wrong one, this season appears to be starting strong.
Final Thoughts
If you're looking for standard superhero fare, Legends of Tomorrow is probably not for you. The show's lighter tone is wonderful if you simply embrace the camp, but it seems to have a tendency to turn off many viewers.
Legends of Tomorrow: Try, Try, Try to Understand… I’m a Magic Man
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 6/106/10
- Acting - 7/107/10
- Music - 10/1010/10
- Production - 6/106/10