DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV Series) White Knights (2016) User Reviews

In circles

[tenshi_ippikiookami · 7/10 · 9 July 2016]

"Legends of Tomorrow" is suffering from not much plot development, and an unclear focus of where it wants to go. In this episode, the "legends" jump ten years into the future with the objective of breaking into the Pentagon and steal some information that will help them stop Savage. Why and how, and all those minor details that make a show have any kind of logic don't matter much.

Nonetheless, the show keeps doing a good job in the way it uses its characters (even if some are underused), and in fleshing them out and making them fun to the viewer, and the pace is fast enough that it doesn't become boring. But those two aspects will wear thin if the show doesn't offer much more in the plot department, as there doesn't seem to be much meaning in these legends' adventures. The show is still on its first steps, though, so it have lots of time to improve.

Disbanded

[ThomasDrufke · 7/10 · 12 February 2016]

After what has been an up and down few weeks for Legends in my opinion, this episode really didn't do anything to get me more or less excited for the prospects of this show. It had promise though. The opening scene in which they are about to break into the Pentagon felt like a great way to make the episode its own little heist one- off, only for them to fail at that and turn it into another generic night for Legends. Even if breaking into the Pentagon seemed like X-Men Days of Future Past rip-off, I welcome the idea of having some of these 16 episodes switch up the formula. Having the 8 of them tasked with different jobs in a heist would have felt so refreshing. Oh well.

The episode ended up being just another narrative structured upon making the big decision to see if time traveling to kill Savage was really worth it all along. Seriously? We're in the 4th episode, aren't we over that by now? Kronos is back though, in some capacity, once again hunting down the team Boba Fett Style. Only this time, Zaman Druce shows up to offer Rip Hunter a proposal about their mission. If only it wasn't obvious they weren't going to deny the proposal anyway, this would have been a bigger moment.

As the team inevitably went their separate ways as they have done every episode so far, we got to see bit of Kendra and Sara training and learning from each other. I have to admit, from Thea on Arrow and then Sara and now apparently Kendra, I'm tired of the blood lust/losing control aspect of these subplots. It's just been an easy ploy for the writers to use to create conflict. With that said, the action between Kendra and Sara was quite good, as it usually is with Caity Lotz involved.

A similar conflict rose as Stein and Jax also shared their trust issues with one another. Although Stein came off a little strong and annoying to a certain extent, I liked that we got to hear a little bit from where Jax' mind is at right now. His worries about his mother being alone seemed appropriate and gives his character some of the depth he needs. I would just like to see more of that depth, from everyone.

We didn't see Savage in the episode but we did get a lot of Soviets who were guarding a facility hoping to create a bunch of Firestorms. This led to Stein, Ray, and Heatwave all being captured seemingly setting up the next episodes plot. The final 10 minutes or so at the Soviet facility was handled well and I enjoyed the performances of Heatwave, Ray, Stein, and even Snart in this sequence which brought some of the only real tension the show has given us thus far. I just want to see more of that consistently. It has to be fun but also tell a good story cohesively and not just a few good scenes here and there.

+Heatwave

+Jax

+First 5 minutes and closing 10 minutes were very good

+Showed some tension

-Dragging and reusing plot points

-No real focus or identity

-Stop with the blood lust

7.2/10

Solid Continuation

[veikkohoffman · 10 April 2016]

Breaking into the Pentagon. If that were to happen in any other series I know about, they would devote an entire episode to it (perhaps even a few episodes or an entire season). But that's where Legends Of Tomorrow is different from other shows. It showcases its signature extreme fast pace by writing a break-in to the Pentagon - into the opening sequence. The team plans the heist and performs it, getting it over with by the five-minute mark. I understand that moments like this turn a lot of people off, but for a viewer like myself, there's nothing wrong with it. It gives a good example of the writers' creativity, as they can afford to use so many high- concept ideas in each episode, and also provides some spectacular entertainment. One minute the heroes are in the middle of a quick heist into an impenetrable headquarters, the next they're whisked away to Soviet Russia for their next crazy adventure. Sure, none of this is realistic or credible - but after all, it's important to remember that this is a sci-fi series based on time-travelling comic book heroes.

Although the rest of the episode doesn't quite live up to its monumental opening scene, it still manages to be a solid chapter in this evolving and unpredictable story. In the main plot of the episode, we are introduced to Valentina Vostok. She makes an impression as a passable villain on the way to the larger threat, Vandal Savage, who we don't see in this episode. Valentina is working on a Soviet version of Firestorm, which could have terrible consequences on the future. The episode ends with a massive cliffhanger, as Stein, Palmer and Rory are imprisoned in a gulag.

The subplots in the episode are decent as well. Having Sara and Kendra train (and fight) each other gave their characters more depth and a good role for the episode, while the story with Rip and Heatwave almost getting trapped by Chronos was intense. The colorful cast of characters is finally settling in by the fourth episode, and now we really get to see them evolve. The introduction to all of the Legends (with the possible exception of Rip) in the first episode felt a little bit rushed, but now the show is at a point where the viewers are getting to know them better - just like they're getting more familiar with each other. Some kind of a connection between the audience and the characters is important for any show, and this one is starting to succeed on that front.

All in all, White Knights was another awesome episode of this underrated series. Sure, the dialogue may not be the world's finest and the story doesn't have the depth of the many quality dramas out there, but that's not what the series is based on. By every episode it's becoming more clear that the reason why Legends Of Tomorrow is isolating so many viewers is simply because it doesn't try to achieve more than what it is: an entertaining show with intriguing time travel, compelling characters and a comic-book atmosphere. And that right there makes it a great show in its own league.

Annoying characters

[scramblewithme · 1/10 · 22 September 2019]

Jackson is obnoxious, like an entitled teenager. And how can Firestorm survive a nuclear bomb intact, yet be separated by much smaller, comparably insignificant blasts? Ray is a stupid pansy. Does he not realize that Cold can take care of himself? I love when the White Canary calls Kendra Big Bird. That's hilarious. So far I like this series. It's funny, especially Captain Cold. I do not like the homosexual references, but so far there has been only one of those in a previous episode. Rip is kind of annoying too. His plans never really work.

Ingestible Translators WTF

[nebohr · 4/10 · 2 November 2021]

For me to be able to enjoy a show it's the suspension of disbelief that's most important and this MAJOR PLOT HOLE was tough to forget. Swallowing a pill to give the team the ability to both speak and understand any language. Yeah. Right. On top of that every team member has to make some stupid decision in order to create a small story arc that results in another member making another stupid decision.