With Vandal Savage out of the way and the time masters out of commission, the team take it upon themselves to pursue a new mission: protect history. It gives them a lot more flexibility and allows the show to have a bit more fun with the concept. Surprisingly, the Thanagarian invasion is never brought up and even the big cliffhanger regarding the ominous warning from a member of the Justice Society is only alluded to (for the most part, but we'll get to that.)
This comes as a result of the episode's plot largely being told to newly introduced historian, Nate Heywood and Oliver Queen. It was nice to see Amell make an appearance, though all he really did was sit there and listen to other people. His gruff demeanor plays well off of Heywood, though, especially when Heywood reveals that he knows more about the superhero goings on than most.
I do find it surprising that he was able to deduce Oliver's identity. True, there was a small gap of time between Oliver's return and the arrival of the Arrow, but Oliver made a point to cover his tracks and address that very issue when he first started. On top of that, technically "the hood/arrow" and "Green Arrow" are supposed to be two different people. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes when they went with that narrative, so I suppose it's nice that people can and will see through the ruse.
More impressive, though, is Nate's ability to detect changes to the timeline. If history changed, he really should have no way of knowing it, right? Thankfully, the drawing of a knight who bears a striking resemblance to Ray helps better illustrate his point.
It's just setup to get Nate and Oliver to the wrecked Waverider, where Mick is brought out of stasis and allowed to tell them what happened.
It turns out that the warning was more specific and that the team was to avoid going to 1942. It seems a simple enough task. There are plenty of crises throughout time to keep them busy, but of course, fate forces their hand as history is changed rather dramatically as a result of an atomic bomb going off in New York courtesy of the Nazis.
The specifics of how this came to be are still a bit vague, but it does involve Damien Darhk. It was a nice touch featuring him. It makes sense given his quasi-immortality and it allows us to see that Sara is still intent on taking him out in order to save her sister. There's also all the other people he killed, especially in Havenrock, but that's never touched on. You'd think that this would help Sara's argument, as she's presented as being selfish for pursuing her own vendetta, understandable as it may be. Then again, her going off does cause problems on multiple occasions over the course of the episode, so Ray isn't exactly wrong when he calls her out on it.
Mcdonough is still having fun with it and he's shown to still be a formidable adversary. He easily bests Sara in combat, though with all of the ranged attackers the team has, you have to wonder why nobody thought to just shoot him or light him on fire.
It was nice to see him rely on legitimate combat skills, though, as opposed to using magic as a crutch as he did back in the present. I do wonder if seeing the team in action is going to be what prompts him to start seeking out such power. It makes sense and would be an interesting time loop.
We also see that Reverse Flash plays a role somehow. No, I'm not calling that a spoiler. It's true, he only shows up at the end as a big twist, but Letscher's name appears in the opening credits, so it wouldn't take a viewer long to deduce that he's involved. It is foreshadowed in the episode, though, as a time traveler is said to be responsible, but having it be a speedster is an interesting way to go.
Not only does bringing Thawne in help cement the shared universe, but it also adds depth to him. Up until now, his status as villain has largely centered on his hatred of Barry. As such, this not only adds a sense of mystery, as we don't know what his end game is, but it also raises his villain cred as he's setting his sights higher. The fact that he's likely going to challenge the team also helps re-establish his status as a Justice League level threat. While he can taunt Barry and screw with his head, he hasn't been able to really score a win since his return.
Speaking of speedsters and time travel, there is surprisingly no mention of the Flashpoint. With everything else this episode had to juggle, I can see why they didn't, and that whole mess kind of worked itself out (sort of) but at the same time, you'd think it would have drawn their attention.
Even as it is, some elements feel glossed over. Recollecting the team after Rip scatters them could have made for an interesting mini-arc that plays out over several episodes, but here it only takes a couple of minutes.
I do find it a little weird that the team is still as haphazard as they are. I know, part of the fun is seeing all these disparate heroes frantically try to save the day and creating all sorts of chaos, but they've been at this a while and their ability to work as a team seems to still be where it was last season. Between the Vandal conflict and the six months that are said to have past between the finale and the premiere, you'd think that they would be gelling much better than they are.
On the plus side, you do get the sense that they are all becoming closer friends. Characters get the chance to bounce decent banter off one another and make jokes. Even if you don't see it in the superhero portions, you do see some sense of camaraderie there. When the heroes are being recollected, they do seem genuinely happy to see each other, which is heartwarming in its own way.
For those who were excited to see the Justice Society, they do appear here...at the episode's end. There's no Alan Scott or Jay Garrick, but comic readers should recognize a majority of the team.
Interestingly, there's another Vixen. Nothing is made of it yet, and it was announced a while back, but it is still a peculiar way to go about it. I know that fans were clamoring for Vixen to be added to the lineup, but alas, Megalyn (the actress who voices Mari in the "Vixen" web mini-series and played her on "Arrow") was busy. It does seem like the best compromise that the producers could come up with, given the circumstances. How she compares to Mari, we'll have to see. Hopefully, she can avoid "replacement scrappy" status.
I'm guessing at some point, that Vixen 2..or is it 1?....That this new (or is it old? damn) Vixen will come to the present and meet her successor and perhaps team up at some point. Either that or one will get possessed by something and they'll have to fight. I'd say that could be fodder for the upcoming four way crossover, but I think that's already done shooting and I don't think Megalyn made mention of it. Maybe next year.
All in all, this was a solid opening. The action and humor were both solid, it set up the new story line and gave us villains, who while familiar are still formidable and popular with viewers. It does seem like the Arrowverse is becoming more cohesive. If you watch only one or two of the shows, it might become a hindrance later on down the line, but as someone who watches across the board, I'm really liking seeing it come together more fully.
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