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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Legends of Tomorrow Season 01 Episode 08: Night of the Hawk

March 11th, 2016 by Todd Black Comments

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NightOTHawk

In what can easily be considered the first “one-off” episode in Legends of Tomorrow, “Night Of The Hawk” did indeed struggle to make the single episode story flow like the others. However, certain character stories did shine through.

What really made this episode overcome mediocrity was its use of its diverse team (both in race and in preference) and pitted them against the stereotypes of the 1950’s. It was funny to see Martin Stein (who grew up in this period) talk about how great this time period was, only for Sara and Jax to note how troubled it actually was.

Then you had Ray and Kendra, who were acting like a married couple, get criticized in not so subtle ways about their marriage. From the realtor offering to recommend more “open-minded” neighborhoods, to Savage’s wife asking Kendra to get her a drink, it was all very blunt. And it worked. Cause this, no matter what certain TV shows would have you think, was how it was. Jax getting ripped for talking to a white girl happened, a lot. And I’m glad this got brought to light.

Also, I’m glad last weeks cliffhanger (which has still been proven to be what we saw) was also not forgotten. As Cold was repeated called out for Mick’s disappearance. Now, the way it was done makes you think he may not have killed Mick, and it’s still very likely. The only question is then, “where is he?”

Sara had a very simple and unexpected storyline. Yes, it’s kind of sad how the one girl she truly talked to the whole episode just happened to be gay like her, but hey, it’s television. And seeing Sara be a role model of sorts for her, and telling her not to be ashamed was nice. As was Sara’s regret at having feelings, as that’s something she’s been taught to repress.

Sadly, the rest of the episode just didn’t feel worth it. The meteorite was a nice twist in the opening, but for Savage to (somehow) transform the kids into hawks via the meteorite just felt contrived in some way. And yet again, Kendra was put in a room with Savage without backup. It didn’t work when she had Carter by her side, why would it work now?

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Thankfully, there were some nice moments in between. From the crew bashing 50’s stereotypes, the final battle was a nice touch. And that ending was certainly surprising. Chronos may not be getting the best of attention in regards to his backstory, but he arrives, things happen. With Ray, Kendra, and Sara currently stranded in 1958, and the rest fighting Chronos, I suspect a lot of fun coming up very soon.

3.5 nerds

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!