‘DESTINY’ PLOT SUMMARY:
With Rip (Arthur Darvill) and company now in their clutches, the Time Masters explain why they are helping Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) and Rip’s place in their scheme. It’s up to Sara (Caity Lotz) and Snart (Wentworth Miller) to save them. Back in 2016, a revitalized Jax (Franz Drameh) devises his own plan.
It was aliens all along!
Forgive me if I sound like a deranged lunatic, but it was too good to pass up. Since it was revealed last week that Savage and the Time Masters are buddies, the question is why, and this is the answer. It’s a predictable one, perhaps even more predictable than their partnership, but it does give us a better understanding of what the Time Masters care about. They’re not just monks in an ivory tower focused on the purity of the timeline. They care if Thanagarians (hawk-people in the comics) wipe out the entire human race, and they’re willing to support an immortal dictator to stop it.
The Time Masters have gone a step further though. They can manipulate time at will through a device in the Vanishing Point known as the Oculus and have used it not just to assist Vandal but manipulate the team in doing so as well. For example, by thwarting his sale of a nuclear bomb, they inadvertently  prevented Savage from going to prison. The icing on the cake is that the Time Masters started this trickery by specifically ordering Vandal to kill Rip’s family, which was the main reason Rip started his crusade in the first place. These revelations don’t make a lot of sense when you think about them, but the series has played pretty loose with time travel logic, and logic in general, from the beginning. At least it fleshes out an otherwise cliché motivation for Rip and adds a bit of fatalistic paranoia to the mission.
After these developments and a little infighting, Sara and Snart manage to rescue the team. I was honestly expecting that one Waverider crew they saved to break them out or at least clear a path for them, but that doesn’t happen. Another missed opportunity. It’s unclear how much of the organization knows the truth. Given that Rip didn’t know about the Oculus, it’s not hard to imagine that most of the Time Masters are unaware of Druce (Martin Donovan) and the Council’s dealings with Savage and are simply following orders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ7kDwUBvyo
With the information about the Oculus, the gang decides that the only course of action is to destroy it. The question is whether or not the Time Masters want them to try. Yes, yes they do. It is indeed a trap. But then something happens: Jax returns. (Jax has actually matured since we first met him, enough that I kind of like him now.) Again, the time travel logic doesn’t make sense, but oh well. Afterwards, Firestorm is reunited and the good guys make it to the Oculus. Ray (Brandon Routh) goes to take it out, but Rip tells him not to because he saw of vision of Ray’s death. This doesn’t stop Ray, which is commendable and furthers his character growth. After returning from assumed death, Ray wasn’t sure what his purpose was and felt useless. Sacrificing himself would be a noble way of giving his life meaning. Alas, Ray does not die. Instead, we get a round of hot potato with the Oculus, first with Mick (Dominic Purcell) filling in, out of a desire for revenge, then Snart, out of what I suppose is loyalty to Mick and desire to assert his freedom from the Council. Ultimately, it’s Snart who bites the big one, after kissing Sara, of course.
Legends of Tomorrow already pulled this once, with Mick, and I’m betting Snart is more popular than him, so I highly doubt that Captain Cold is dead/will stay dead. But I’m surprised by the heroic turn he’s taken on the show. I guess there is honor among thieves after all. As for his relationship with Sara, I don’t expect it to last. Strong, independent characters coming together can work (Han Solo and Princess Leia, for example) but I just don’t see Snart being the person Sara ends up with. Snart’s only so affectionate.
Disregarding a lot of lapses in logic, this episode is a lot of fun, believe or not, and I really dug the fate vs. free will theme. I’m just curious how the Legends will stop the Thanagarian invasion if they kill Savage. Might that be the plot of next season?
Rating: 7 out of 10
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Aaron Sarnecky is Pop-Break’s television editor and covers Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, among other things. He is a graduate of Rowan University with a degree in television and film. He probably remembers that show you forgot existed. Follow him on Twitter: @AaronSarnecky
