Some of the first season's stronger episodes were the one-off episodes that really had nothing to do with the ongoing story arc about stopping Savage. As this episode falls into that category, it would seem to bode well. It doesn't quite hit the heights of "Star City 2046" or "The Magnificent Eight", but this episode manages to hold its own.
A lot of that is due to strong character writing. I got a kick out of seeing Nate geeking out over the fact that he now has superpowers. It feels natural and the viewers can easily put themselves in Nate's shoes. Seeing the others "test" his ability was also fun. It showed that he was starting to integrate with the team and develop stronger bonds. Said test becomes the plot's impetus as a mishap ends up with Nate and Ray ending up outside of the ship and crashing in feudal Japan. It's a moment that reinforces the idea that the group is a ragtag group of misfits who only get by by the skin of their teeth, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like anybody is grabbing the idiot ball in order to get things moving.
Even when Nate later challenges a samurai to a fight, you can't really blame him for being cocky. Not only is his self assurance and antagonistic rhetoric fueled by the idea that he can't be hurt, but his sheltered upbringing fuels his desire to fight for what's right. It only makes his ensuing curb stomp that much more brutal to watch.
Even New/Old Vixen gets a strong showing. Not only does she get to show her skills in combat, but she also presents a much more heroic front here. The last episode didn't paint the heroes of the JSA as particularly heroic, but this episode shows that Amaya is very much a protector at heart. I'm not sure how she could try to argue against the idea of ninjas, but that was largely played for comic relief as she developed a quasi-vitriolic best buds dynamic with Mick. I did also like the nod to the current plot of the 'Vixen' animated series, with Amaya mentioning the multiple totems. I doubt the timing was intentional, but it was still fairly fortuitous.
Mick himself doesn't have a whole lot to do, but his scenes still manage to be a lot of fun. Dominic Purcell is clearly enjoying it and we got to see him hold his own in a fight against a group of ninjas. I can't knock that.
I'm torn on Ray's arc. The possibility of having to destroy his suit after the villain du jour purloins it gave him some nice brooding introspection, but it seems like he's been told plenty of times that he's more than just a big guy in a suit of armor. They try to reinforce this in the 'previously on' segment, using Sara and Amaya's dialogue, but both later admitted that they were wrong about that, so it just comes off as bizarre.
Ray notes that he spent billions on the first suit, but there was a lot of trial and error there that shouldn't be necessary with an ATOM suit Mk II. Besides, he has access to future tech, so building a new suit shouldn't be nearly as much a hassle as he's making it out to be.
The two halves of Firestorm remain on the ship, but the episode keeps them busy by giving them a mysterious section of the ship, that Rip kept secret, to investigate. The cache of weapons isn't particularly notable, but they do stumble on a recorded message from a future Barry Allen meant for Hunter himself. I'm not sure why the writers bothered keeping the message a secret. It's safe to say that it concerns Eobard, so why bother leaving that thread hanging? Just let the audience hear the warning and let the plot go from there.
While Sara gets some good banter in here and there, she is largely present to act as melee fighter extraordinaire. I do wonder if the shogun warriors fared better against her than they should have. They're formidable, sure, and it's nice to see that they aren't just incompetent mooks who don't present a credible challenge, but I remember when league training put you in a class that put long time marines to shame in terms of capabilities in combat. It does give her and Vixen a chance to be back to back badasses, though, so it isn't a total bust.
One downside to the episode is the fact that, with so much going on, more pressing matters are pushed to the back burner. While Vixen is initially focused on finding Rex's killer, it's more or less forgotten until the episode's final scene. Rip's fate is also left up in the air, though Sara says they'll find him too.
They try to handwave why they aren't going back to stop Rex's death, with Sara saying that the time traveller would just go further back and so on and so forth. It makes sense at first, but then you remember that it was already established with the Pilgrim that time travelers couldn't do that. They needed something, I guess.
The whole romance with Nate was also kind of phoned in. Both characters are amicable enough, but the relationship doesn't get a real chance to develop.
I'm torn on the reveal that this family is Tatsu's ancestor. Like the time travel caveat above, it worked at the time, though in hindsight, you could argue that it was a bit too coincidental. It was still a nice nod to the character and it showed that she hasn't been forgotten, even if the show can't use her anymore. Thanks, DCEU.
All in all, this is very much a "popcorn" episode. There's action and humor aplenty. The character dynamics are strong, though I don't know if it' going to leave too much of a lasting impact in the grand scheme of things. It has its shortcomings, to be sure, but the pros do outweigh the cons and allow for it to stand as a fairly solid and entertaining hour of television.
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