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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Legends of Tomorrow Season 7 Episode 13: Knocked Down, Knocked Up

March 3rd, 2022 by Todd Black Comments

following the nerd legends of tomorrow review

^I know what you’re thinking…why did I put a picture of Nora and Ray for an episode that didn’t feature them…at all? It’s because by the end of this episode, I was heavily reminded of the departure of Ray and Nora and how it was forced, dumb, and didn’t make a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. And tonight, “Knocked Down, Knocked Up” was forced, dumb, and a lot of things didn’t make sense for one reason or another. And IF (keyword, “If”) this is the end of the Legends due to the uncertainty with the CW…that sucks, because they went out without a bang, but a whimper, and a cliffhanger.

First off, yes, Gary is alive, and I hate it, and I hate him…so dang much. Especially after a key revelation that I’ll rip apart later. But the Legends as a whole didn’t know that so they tried to go about their lives as “retired heroes” and for a while, for them at least, it was good.

This was honestly one of the best parts of the episode, them coming together every week in order to see one another. But as you would expect, it was hard for them to adjust to their new lives, and that was fair given all the crazy adventures they had been on up to that point. Then, eventually, Gary returned (ugh) and revealed what happened on the Wave Rider and what was going on with Quinn. He needed to be saved, but, he was at a Fixed Point, so they’d have to fix that…again.

Enter arguably the other best part of the episode (more or less), Donald Faison’s “Mike”. Aka Michael Carter…AKA…Booster Gold. Yes, this was spoiled weeks before the premiere and the only question was…how would it all play out? Turns out, HE was the fixer…kind of. Because apparently he was tricked into thinking it was a fixed point…when it technically wasn’t (even though it kind of was…? and even if it wasn’t, how convenient was it that he placed at the EXACT MOMENT the Legends needed to go to? Exactly). Faison pulled off the…well…dickishness of Booster Gold to a T. Arrogant, believes in his own hype, isn’t afraid to betray people (at the beginning of his hero career at least) to get what he needs, and is always, ALWAYS an opportunist.

And while obviously, he’ll be a key part of Season 8 (should we get it…), but I would’ve preferred more of him compared to what we got in the middle of all of this.

Mainly, they did as many Deus Ex Machina’s and “plot twists” as possible to make things work in one direction…and that was sad, and stupid for various reasons.

Look, Legends of Tomorrow has had a VERY bad habit over the course of the last few seasons of getting rid of characters that didn’t need to be wiped away, or trying to make things happen in a “very Legends way”…when it’s not needed!

Let’s start with Nate. Nate leaving to be with OG Zari in the Totem? I was fine with that, it was built up for a while. But him losing his steel powers (something they barely used in recent seasons…) because of Mustard Gas in World War I? Do I really need to explain chemistry? I looked it up, Mustard Gas IS corrosive to steel…at about .001 inch…PER MONTH! Yep, it’s more corrosive to brass, but even if he was made of brass, it shouldn’t have affected him that much that quickly. And having him nearly die from that was dumb, all so that “he could retire” in peace? Really? Granted, Nate was never the most important Legend, and he got to be with OG Zari, but they could’ve done that without costing him his powers, it was lame.

Also, why did Zari 2.0 give up her totem? She was JUST saying last episode how she wanted to be more of a hero and not an influencer. So…why give up the thing that HELPS HER be heroic? Exactly.

And then…there’s Avalance. Why must they try and make their relationship over-fantastical every step of the way when the point of their relationship is to have something somewhat normal in all the madness? Then looking for donors for Ava? Beautiful! The joy between them in that moment was intoxicating! But then Gary popping in and saying, “oh, Sara, you’re pregnant because alien DNA”…I almost lost my mind. And even more than I usually do when Gary is involved.

First off, how did Bishop never mention that before? Yes, he did say that him and Sara would be the creators of a new race, but if all it took was emotion and a kiss…that seems very un-Bishop-like. What’s more, how convenient that they get rid of Sara’s healing powers (which I’ve always hated) because she just so happens to be pregnant. That’s two Legends that lost their powers in the same episode…because of reasons that we’re told to “just go with”. It would’ve been much more touching and beautiful for the donor to happen because it would’ve been more “their choice” than getting “knocked up” in the most random and stupid of ways. Also, doesn’t this also mean that because of how “easy it is to get Sara pregnant” that they’ll be popping out a LOT more kids? Exactly.

And then…there’s Gideon Squared. The human one was already on thin ice with me, and then she goes rogue, realizes she made a mistake, tries to stop Evil Gideon, who apparently found a loophole (conveniently…) to get around “not hurting herself”, uploads herself into a Terminator body, and then gets duped into blowing herself up (which didn’t make any sense at all) and Astra was able to save them because…last-minute magic? How…wait for it…convenient.

It was done all too quick and it was all too dumb. Evil Gideon was honestly a great threat, but to have her go out like that when it was obvious how to “fix things”? Lame.

Finally, and naturally, there had to be a cliffhanger. And apparently…it’s another group of time cops who arrest the Legends for “time crimes”. Didn’t we JUST go through this? I’m with the Legends here with the audible groan they did to end the episode.

I’m not saying I want Legends of Tomorrow canceled, I have loved this show for a long time, but Season 7 is definitely my least favorite of the bunch (yes, even more than Season 1) and even with the potentially fun arrival of Booster Gold in full costume and power (and hopefully Skeets), I’m not sure it’s enough to save what’s been done, and what’s been lost.

2.5/5

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!