Thankfully, the episode averts this on two fronts. For one thing, we do see that Gideon was told to ignore anything Rip said. Granted, it's moot as he has some override code that she can't ignore (Gideon is just a computer after all.) On top of that, said hijacking was merely the means to which the episode's real plots kick off.
As a result of Rip's actions, the ship crashes back in the cretaceous era. The ship crash made for a rather solid spectacle, but it also gives Ray, Nate, and Amaya a fetch quest as they have to go retrieve the technical mcguffin that allows the ship to travel through time. Given the crash, you'd think the damage would have been more extensive or that repairs would be more difficult, but they seem to have a rather easy go of it.
The episode did a good job of following up on the fact that Ray spent a good deal of time in this period earlier in the season. It was nice to see him show off some of his survival skills, but I do wonder why he didn't bring his suit with him. Not only would it have saved time, but it would have allowed him to better defend himself against the dinosaur that their group spend a majority of the episode evading.
The nature hike approach does allow for some nice character moments as Nate and Amaya continue to bond and Ray talks to the prior about the risks. It was nice to see Hawkgirl get a mention, but Ray bringing up Mari and Amaya's relation to her was the stronger nod. It's good to see that Mari hasn't been completely ignored. I think this is the first time the blood relation has come up. I'm not sure how Ray knows this, but it's now official canon as opposed to merely a "word of god" fact regarding the show's mythos, so that's a good thing.
Said relationship also brings up an interesting question regarding Amaya's long term position. Unlike the others, she has to eventually go back to her time in order to keep the timeline intact. She's not someone who can just go off and start protecting history with no consequences. Given that the Arrowverse has a pattern of having heroes operate for a short time and than ride off into the sunset, it isn't like she'd be the first, but it does make for a unique angle.
The second plot line followed Jax and Sara as they ventured into Rip's mind. Their mission was two-fold: restore his mind, but also discover the location of the final piece of the spear, as Rip had destroyed the amulet.
I found this to be the stronger of the two plots. It had more forward momentum and it felt more tense as the two faced evil versions of the team while racing against the clock.
The Sara vs. Sara fights were well done. Sadly, the CGI on evil Firestorm was beyond sub-par. It was a nice idea, as a powerless Jax has to face his own super powered iteration, but those graphics really ruined it. Jax gets a nice moment to show off his clever side, sending Evil Jax out into the time stream, but it ultimately proves to be moot.
As these scenes take place in Rip's mind, it does allow for some nice bits, such as Rip having powers. I was expecting Sara and Jax to do a similar "dream warrior" bit, but it's only Rip who appears to be capable. He doesn't even do as much as you'd expect. He just sort of shoots pressure waves, sort of akin to the canary cry. I guess they wanted to keep some tension and making Rip overpowered would have robbed the episode of that to an extent.
Having Gideon appear "in the flesh" was also a nice touch. The "romance" that seems to be brewing between Gideon and Rip is a bit strange, but we'll see where the show goes with that. Maybe nothing comes of it and it just shows how close the two are, but this could take the show in a weird direction.
It's nice to see Rip back as one of the team again. The team is surprisingly willing to let bygones be bygones. I mean, I know it was the Legion, but you'd think that there would be some tension there. Sara is especially willing to just hand command back to Rip. It's smart to avoid any power struggle, but it would have been nice to see him defer to her and operate as a non-captain member of the team. It seems like the team listens to her better anyway.
This episode passed the time well enough. There's quite a bit to like, but it did feel like it was lacking in some respects. Again, it seems like the team's heavy hitters are oddly sidelined. You'd think now would be the time to cut loose, but we don't get that. We do get some solid character development and the return of Rip, so it's hardly a bust.
Click here to join our Patreon campaign
No comments:
Post a Comment