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DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Ep 1.13 “Leviathan”: Plot Paints by the Numbers

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Ep 1.13 “Leviathan”: Plot Paints by the Numbers

DC's Legends of Tomorrow -- "Leviathan"-- Image LGN113a_0228b.jpg

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Season 1, Episode 13: “Leviathan”
Written by Sarah Nicole Jones & Ray Utarnachitt
Directed by Gregory Smith
Airs Thursdays at 7pm ET on The CW

A spate of strong episodes ends with this week’s “Leviathan”, a shambling hour that signals every event and line of dialogue before it happens. Perhaps it’s part of the Savage curse, that (almost) every time an episode centers on him, there’s a loss of creative energy.

Let’s get the silliest plotline out of the way first: Savage’s “secret weapon” in the year 2166 is giant robot Leviathan. Which the team figures out by finding giant, Bigfoot-esque footprints on the ground. It’s hard to take Legends seriously sometimes, and this is very decidedly one of those times. It does produce some action scenes that are mildly exciting on a visual level however, as Ray grows to giant size in order to fight the robot.

The second silliest scene is the team’s initial attempt to take down Savage, in which Mick and Leonard appear to forget any possible competency, and the teamwork they’ve established with the rest of the Legends, and impulsively attempt to take down the heavily guarded Savage on their own. The assassination attempt is so perfunctory on the writers’ part that it’s over in mere minutes and Rip is announcing, with the disgust we all feel at this moment, that the crew is returning the ship.

Legends 13

It all paves the way for the deus ex machine however, or Kendra using Carter’s mace, which actually fits in well with the show’s mythology, even if it is introduced out of nowhere. Kendra is a frustrating character in action scenes because she fails in every single one, and that’s the case here, as she falters and fails to kill Savage despite the chance. She’s much more interesting in interpersonal interactions, but my prediction of her romance with Ray ending looks to come true even sooner than expected, with the return of Carter to the scene. (If they add him back as a regular character I will shoot something).

The episode does introduce several major plots: the return of Carter, Kendra’s potential ability to kill Savage with the mace, and the existence of Savage’s daughter, Cassandra. She, played by UnReal’s Jessica Sipos, is a compelling figure, though she switches sides with an ease unjustified by the writing. There’s also some strong, baffling hints of a romance, or at least attraction, between she and Leonard.

The episode does end on a strong note, as Savage dials down the posturing and goes for quietly, psychotically threatening in a face-off with a grieving, determined Rip. With Savage captured, the weight of the next episode will presumably involve him escaping, since there’s 3 episodes to go in the series. The pacing of “Leviathan” was choppy and all over the place, and plot events felt paint-by-numbers. Legends remains somewhat uneven, despite its great promise.

Favorite line:

“I’ll require the services of…”

“Killer Klepto and Pyro!”

[wpchatai]