Superheros are frequently compared to knights and this episode really showcases why. The inherent nobility, courage, and sense of altruism are prominent in both, so this was a genre mash up that worked really well. The overlap is made most evident in Ray, who grew up reading the stories and has modeled his own ideals off of them. When Guinevere is giving her rousing speech, you almost feel Ray's enthusiasm from your seat on the couch.
His arc was probably the strongest. It had the most emotional weight and I imagine a lot of comic book fans can put themselves in his shoes and connect to that mentality on some level.
The episode also rather cleverly incorporated that artwork of Ray as a knight that we saw back in the season premiere into the narrative. It's largely used as a tension builder to showcase the fact that Ray's going to die (spoiler: he doesn't) but I thought it was a nice call back.
The return of Stargirl was a nice touch. Sadly, it didn't live up to its promise. Considering she was one of the more underdeveloped JSA members back when they first appeared, giving her more screen time should have been a good thing. This plot development about the team being spread throughout time to guard the fragments also allows for future appearances from other heroes without having to drag the Legends back to WW2.
The reveal that she was Merlin was interesting, though it didn't go anywhere. I'm also not sure how necessary it was. Yeah it's supposed to make the mythos more real and show that the stories are just that, but considering how magic is an established thing in this world, is an elderly wizard really that big a pill to swallow?
In any event, Stargirl didn't really have a whole lot to do. There is some tension with Amaya and a resolution meant to solidify her role on the new team, but it was a tad underwhelming.
Even her showing in the final fight seems like it should have been more than it was. For that matter, why does this team constantly avoid using their abilities? Ray goes out and engages in sword combat when it seems like he'd be much better off shrinking down, flying around, and zapping his foes. Admittedly, him creating a make shift "light saber" was cool and something he would do, but he's not the only one. Vixen should have cut loose with her animal spirit powers, but again, she chooses to ignore her extraordinary abilities. Firestorm is, once again, sidelined as well.
Vixen does get one nice moment when she pulls the sword from the stone. Having the theme from the animated series play while she did so worked rather well. It was a nice shout out and it gave the scene some extra umph. It does bring up the hope, though, that Mari can make a return to the live action series at some point. The animated micro-series is nice, but having her pop up on a more regular basis would definitely benefit the universe.
Once again, Rip as a villain was a highlight. He's not lurking around the ship's hallways hunting down Jax, but he's still cunning and carries the necessary sense of menace. True, he gets abandoned by Damien and taken captive, but the previews for the next episode show that that may be short lived.
All in all, this was another fun and entertaining one and done. It was able to pay homage to Arthurian lore while also putting its own spin on things. It even drives the season narrative forward a good deal to boot.
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