Warning: there are spoilers. I tried to not but… I couldn’t not.
Ridiculousness
This season in particular, they’ve taken their ridiculousness to the next level. They even have these little meta moments that poke fun at the other DC shows, like when Legends just didn’t show up or get affected by the Crossover Event in December. They had a little scene where a legend sees a missed call from Supergirl or Green Arrow and is just like, “Oh, whoops.” ¯ _(ツ)_/¯
But it was the finale of season 3, when I was basically done with CW shows due to how over the top they’d become, when Legends of Tomorrow took it to next level ridic and gave us this:
Like what even is this?! It’s so Ghostbusters that I just died laughing. I knew then and there I was all in for Legends to come. They understood their audience, and they were committed to pleasing us.
The next season came and with it even more ridiculousness. Magic. Not just that, but Woodstock era unicorn that eats virgin’s hearts. How can one NOT want to see that?!
It was hilariously perfect and I was reaffirmed that the show was 100% on track. Sure we get some emo stuff and people are dating and there’s sociopolitical commentary yada yada, but unicorns that eat hearts! Sign me up.
New Core Purpose Each Season
When the show kicked off, I thought it was just Rory (er, whatever Arthur Darvill’s character’s name is) grabbing this team and taking them on a series of time adventures. He was vague in his mission, and then Vandal Savage and the most dumb character arc to ever exist with Hawkgirl and Douchebag Egyptian hijacked the show. I actually quit watching season after Hawkgirl did something another time and I was just done. Then Emily A. was all, “Oh no, they die.” (spoilers, sorry? Not sorry because you’d be annoyed enough to quit watching too). So then I started on season 2 and everything was great again.
Why though? Because they invent an entirely new purpose for the show each season. Sure, they’re still on their space-time machine, the Wave Rider, and there’s still a crew with some form of a captain. And yes, “saving time” is the core purpose of the series. But HOW they must go about saving time, that’s constantly changing. It keeps it fresh and allows for new silliness. It’s like a superhero version of Doctor Who, except now with magic.
Changing Ensemble Cast
Similar to the changing plot, the cast changes with some frequency as well. The original core cast only has three remaining members and no one is sad for it. They do an amazing job of transitioning new Legends onto the show and then finding creative and meaningful ways to transition old Legends off. No Cousin Matthew deaths here!
And let’s just say, the cast (now that the whole Hawkgirl plotline is no more) is always good. Everyone earns their place on the Wave Rider in some form or another, and everyone has their purpose. I will say though, if Sara Lance leaves the show, I will be rather sad. She’s my girl. It’s rare I get to cosplay someone with freckles like me!
My only complaint is that they kept reusing villains for a couple seasons, which was tedious and boring. But since seasons are shorter than the other DC shows, it’s less of a headache. And really, everyone else is so fun it makes up for it. This season, they’ve gone a new direction thankfully, so they finally retired their old villain. Let’s hope he stays gone. (What is dead may never die!!!)
