TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Legends Of Tomorrow Season 03 Episode 13: No Country For Old Dads

Given last weeks cliffhanger, I was curious to see how Legends of Tomorrow would capitalize on it. Turns out, they did it in some unique ways. With only a few missing the mark.

First and foremost, I was happy to see the focus on the family Darhk, for in the times we’ve seen them has been in times where they needed to be a united front in order to defeat the Legends. Here though, with Ray needed to fix the Fire Totem, they got to show their own quirks and family problems. After all, Nora was given to a cult for 20 years until she could bring her father back who had only known her as a little girl…there’s bound to be issues here.

Neal McDonough was thrilling once again at Damien. I know that many are tired of him being alive in the Arrowverse, but then you get episodes like this one and it’s just hard to agree with them. He gave a very fun performance, and it’s clear he’s in tune with what the character feels no matter the situation.

But more than that, we got to see Nora fleshed out in her adult form, and it’s clear that she’s not exactly on board with what Damien did to her. And it was nice to see her and Ray bond again, even for as little as an episode.

The real twists here was that the villain of the episode was a younger version of Darhk, one that was more emotionless than the form we have currently. It was an interesting contrast, and one that helped tie certain things together.

Meanwhile, Rip went back to the Waverider to introduce Wally to the team, as well as try and atone for what happened earlier in the season. This led to him finding out about Ava and Sara (which is now beings dubbed “Avalance” on Twitter…I dig it.), as well as Wally now officially a member of the crew.

Ok, the good. Wally really does balance out here, especially as a “wingman” to Nate and one of the more balanced characters (especially given his more “peaceful” nature). On the other hand, he didn’t have too much to do outside of saving Ray and dissing Amaya unknowingly. But, it’s technically his first episode with the team, so they’ve got time to build it up.

However, there being a “secret” about Ava that “Sara can never know about” makes me made. What’s wrong with a relationship that doesn’t have any dark secrets? Nothing! But the CW doesn’t seem to care! They want drama!!! WE HAVE ENOUGH OF THAT!

Onto the more overall plot, it was great to get some clarifications as to why the anachronisms matter in the large scale. For apparently, the Totem bearers locked Mallous within time itself, and the anachronisms are hurting his prison. The more damage they cause, the stronger he gets, and as we see at the end of the episode, things are getting worse.

Finally, I wanted to give some special time to Ray, who once again shined here. He’s always been the “purest” member of the team, and that again was proven here. He cares for Nora, and wants to see her freed from her demon-infused position. Yet, he also couldn’t help but try and fix the father-daughter situation that the Darhks had going on. It was very funny, especially the knot tying scene (“How do you know that?”), and then at the end of the conflict when he broke the Berlin Wall to alert the team to where he was.

In the end, “Old Country For Old Dads” was a surprising take on the cliffhanger from last week, and while it did have some hiccups, I felt it moved the plot along nicely.