Legends of Tomorrow's third episode created a good balance between a character arc and a fun historical showdown between the legends and the shogun.
The live action debut of Citizen Steel was a good character piece for Nate Haywood, developing his personality and his warmth. I say warmth because I'm holding out on the hope that the writers explore the comic story where Nate literally becomes living steel and loses his ability to feel touch, which could then plausibly be extended into a Dr Manhattan-style/emotional vacancy arc, which I think would be really great. Regardless, his heroism in trying to save the village was nice to see.
However for me, the most enjoyable aspect of tonight's episode was Brandon Routh's performance. I've always liked the actor but I've felt that he's been very underused, especially for someone with his acting calibre. Ray's arc this episode mixed a good amount of action sequences with serious scenes, and his decision to sacrifice the suit was a nice show of his character's selflessness. Sometimes with all the blind drama that superhero shows try to pull off, they miss out on creating the heroic aspect of the superhero, but this episode was a nice reminder of that idealism which pulled us all into the concept to begin with.
Sara's transition to team leader was a good call on behalf of the writers, and I find that I'm enjoying her strategic and no nonsense take on the position to be far more enjoyable that Rip as captain of the waverider. Speaking of the wave rider though, I'm still hoping that the art and vfx department (as well as the writers) can improve upon the current designs and approaches towards the time travel elements because the "green mystical time travel-y vortex" isn't really selling it for me.
But all up:
+ Seven Samurai style episode with a good evocation of setting
+ Ray and Citizen Steel story line
+ Action Sequences
+ Barry Allen mystery
+ Sara is a great leader
+ Mick's a goof and I like it
Cons:
-- Sci-fi aspects (CGI and writing approaches) are still a little iffy
8.4/10
The live action debut of Citizen Steel was a good character piece for Nate Haywood, developing his personality and his warmth. I say warmth because I'm holding out on the hope that the writers explore the comic story where Nate literally becomes living steel and loses his ability to feel touch, which could then plausibly be extended into a Dr Manhattan-style/emotional vacancy arc, which I think would be really great. Regardless, his heroism in trying to save the village was nice to see.
However for me, the most enjoyable aspect of tonight's episode was Brandon Routh's performance. I've always liked the actor but I've felt that he's been very underused, especially for someone with his acting calibre. Ray's arc this episode mixed a good amount of action sequences with serious scenes, and his decision to sacrifice the suit was a nice show of his character's selflessness. Sometimes with all the blind drama that superhero shows try to pull off, they miss out on creating the heroic aspect of the superhero, but this episode was a nice reminder of that idealism which pulled us all into the concept to begin with.
Sara's transition to team leader was a good call on behalf of the writers, and I find that I'm enjoying her strategic and no nonsense take on the position to be far more enjoyable that Rip as captain of the waverider. Speaking of the wave rider though, I'm still hoping that the art and vfx department (as well as the writers) can improve upon the current designs and approaches towards the time travel elements because the "green mystical time travel-y vortex" isn't really selling it for me.
But all up:
+ Seven Samurai style episode with a good evocation of setting
+ Ray and Citizen Steel story line
+ Action Sequences
+ Barry Allen mystery
+ Sara is a great leader
+ Mick's a goof and I like it
Cons:
-- Sci-fi aspects (CGI and writing approaches) are still a little iffy
8.4/10
