It's fitting that I finally get around to this episode so close to Valentine's Day, as there is a heavy romantic element. The thought occurred to me that this did air around Valentine's Day, but that did not turn out to be the case, so there went that theory.
In any event, a lot of emphasis is put on love. It is only fitting, then, that the historical figure du jour is none other than Jane Austen. She's not put in any mortal danger like so many others, but the works of a mystical fugitive do cause her to forego her writing career, prompting the Legends to go back and set things right like they do.
Interestingly enough, said fugitive isn't malicious in nature. He's a (sort of) manifestation of the Hindu god of love, who is using his abilities to allow people to pursue their passions regardless of inhibitions. It does have negative consequences at times, but his intent is well meaning enough. He also has enough charm to win Zari over.
Given the hinting of a brewing relationship with Nate, you'd think that this would create a love triangle, but Nate has his own things going on, and Zari breaks things off with the god before things get too far. Now, if she had gone through with the wedding, that could have made things more interesting long term, but the resolution works well enough.
The influence of the god goes beyond that, as he is able to influence Ray and Nora and their growing romance.
To Nora's credit, she actually tries to make her case by talking to Ray via magical spell and explaining that she didn't kill Hank. Why she didn't do it when everything first went down is a mystery, but at least she's trying to communicate and clear things up. It also puts her on the Waverider, as Ray agrees to hide her, and this is where things start to go down. She's still in seclusion by episode's end, but it's only a matter of time before the rest of the team finds out.
Nate's aforementioned things mostly revolve around his dad's funeral. He struggles to come up with a fitting eulogy given what he had learned. The fact that Hank's ghost is lingering around doesn't faze Nate as much as you'd think (same goes for Jane Austen who doesn't even flinch when an enraged and wolfed out Mona attacks her.) While he has no interest in what Hank has to say, John goes and does it anyway.
This does allow John to learn that Neron is tied to what's been happening and gives more context to how their arrangement was meant to work.
It also gives a twist regarding Hank's motives. Up until now, it seemed like Hank wanted the creatures to be used as weapons. I, myself, thought this, assuming that he was trying to use them in a defensive capacity, given the growing threats in the Arrowverse. It turns out that he wanted to tame them so he could feature them in an amusement park.
I get what they were trying to do, send him off in a more positive light and show that he was a flawed but loving father, but this really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You could have played up Hank's nobility and well intentions, but still remained consistent with what we had seen prior. On top of that, did he not read or watch "Jurassic Park"? C'mon man.
Now, from what I read, the original idea was to have him be straight up evil and willingly in league with Neron. I don't think that would have worked either, to be honest. It's a little too one note. Playing him as a sort of anti-hero (something akin to Amanda Waller or Nick Fury, which is what I had envisioned at the start of the arc) probably would have been the way to go. Show a shade of grey. This is, of course, moot hindsight. Still, every so often, you can't help but armchair quarterback.
Overall, I'd say this was an average episode. There've been funnier episodes, ones with stronger character arcs, and bigger action. I think the only two things that stand out here are Zari's threesome dream and the Bollywood number. Even that will probably blend in, as the show has done zanier. Also, the lampshade hanging was starting to get to be a bit much. The dream did it, the dance number did it, and the forced inclusion of the Bechdel test did it. Some self-awareness can work, and has worked for the show on several occasions, but when used repeatedly in a short time span, it loses some of its spark.
We're actually a lot closer to the end of the season than I thought. There's only five episodes to go. It should be interesting to see how things play out in the time that's left.
Click here to become a Swagbucks member
Click here to become an E-Poll member
No comments:
Post a Comment