DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’s“Freaks and Greeks” is a good time, we can’t help but feel like the show is dragging its feet until the inevitable use of the Loom of Fate.
After last week’s 45-minute waste of time titled “Ship Broken” that singlehandedly stopped all the momentum Legends of Tomorrow had going for it after the Loom of Fate was put together, we’re happy to say that this week’s entry, “Freaks and Greeks” is a return to the kind of thing we’ve grown to love from Legends.
As you may recall, two episodes ago, the Legends were finally able to put all three rings together to form the Loom of Fate, but before they could bring Behrad and Astra’s mother back, they realized that Charlie didn’t have the power to actually use the loom.
This episode picks up in the wake of those events (we’ll just pretend that “Ship Broken” didn’t happen, because it would just be better for all of us that way), and sees the Legends return to Nate’s old college campus to attempt to steal a chalice from Dionysus, the Greek god of festivities, who is masquerading as the president of a frat house.
This episode is also one of the rare occasions where the main plot and the secondary storyline take place in the same setting – and the convergence is well-executed, not to mention that the b plot is interesting enough that we don’t find ourselves itching to get back to what’s going on with the main cast. While the majority of the Legends (sans Constantine, who’s absent for the majority of the episode) grapple with Dionysus and the Greek system, Heat Wave takes his daughter on a college tour so she can decide if she’s interested in attending.
Written down it doesn’t sound nearly as thrilling as a typical Legends misadventure, but the stakes in this episode, on the whole, feel lower – and that’s not a bad thing. By keeping things as simple as “the Legends girls need to start a sorority” and “Mick needs to bond with his daughter”, the show gives itself room to breathe, and to really focus on the characters.
For the a-plot, we get to see a fun side of Nate – the college jock, “bro” version, whose hobbies begin and end with shotgunning beers and chugging kegs at parties. Nate fits the “himbo” mold to a ‘t’, so it’s fun to see him let loose and be a typical jock, especially after being paired with Ray as the nerd bros for so long.
Also shining in this episode are Astra and Charlie, who spend the runtime bickering about the right method to get the chalice, as well as whatever else they can think of to argue about. It’s nice that Legends is taking a break from making things the Ava & Sara show and giving other characters time to flesh out – Astra, in particular, really needed an episode like this, otherwise, she would’ve been both uninteresting and very difficult to root for.
However, offset from Charlie (the duo functions like two sides of the same coin), we learn a lot more about Astra as a person, and where her head is at – from the looks of things, she has genuinely bonded with the Legends and wants to become a good person. It’s a little surprising that this character growth has virtually nothing to do with Constantine, who is Astra’s link to Legends, but it is nice to see her get fleshed out, especially if she’s being subtly set up for a role on the team next season (unless that is, she makes a heroic sacrifice in this season’s finale, which is also entirely possible).
We’ve had our ups and downs with Mick Rory’s “plots” this season – which we put in quotes because sometimes it feels as if he has no reason to be on the show whatsoever – but between this week and last week, it’s clear that the show has finally settled on a strong arc for his character – his relationship with his teenage daughter, who we’ve found ourselves really growing to enjoy.
Initially we weren’t so sure if we were interested in seeing Heatwave’s daughter stick around, but actress Mina Sundwall brings Lina to life beautiful – she’s both relatable enough to root for, but also has just the right amount of her father’s attitude to keep her interesting.
We also quite enjoyed the encore/monster-of-the-week: Dionysus is an interesting pick, but since this season seems to be leaning fully into the Greek aspect (with the whole Charlie/Clotho business) he fits right in, and the guest actor was incredibly charming – we wouldn’t mind seeing him pop up in the finale, should the need arise for some extra magical reinforcements.
The sorority-forming plot is sweet, if not a little by-the-numbers, but (yet again) it’s enhanced by the three actresses who play the dejected wannabe girls who join the Legend’s made-up sorority. In the end, of course, the ladies win the day and get their hands on the chalice, and each member of the team (except Zari, who doesn’t drink alcohol) takes a sip from the goblet – making themselves immortal for the day.
It’s quite a cliffhanger to end the episode on, and a strong conclusion which was well-suited to an episode so strong it almost redeemed the atrocity that was last week’s entry. Heading into next week, we’re excited to see if the Legends (finally) use the loom, but with the pace the show seems to be setting, we doubt it’ll come to pass.
What did you think of “Freaks and Geeks”? Do you think the Legends will be able to use the Loom of Fate? Sound off in the comments below.