“Legends” hasn’t been renewed yet, and it’s kind of been a bubble show forever, which is why it’s always so nice when they get an early renewal. But this season now seems to be arranging things for a send-off. At least, potentially. Events are perturbing towards closure—or at least not unresolved cliffhangers—and it kind of feels like a victory lap season.
Though it might just feel that way because they do so well here.
The gang has lost their time ship, and last episode teamed up with a 1920s scientist, played by Matt Ryan (in a different role than usual), to get back to the future. Unfortunately, Ryan didn’t account for so many people in the time machine (seriously, there are now nine regular Legends), and they time-crashed off course. Where? Unclear. Maybe dinosaurs.
So while they’re trying to get settled for the night, splitting off into groups for character developing adventures, last season’s big bad, Raffi Barsoumian, has teamed up with an evil AI version of Amy Louise Pemberton (who’s now become a human member of the gang), to destroy Legends. AI Pemberton wants to save the timeline from those meddling Legends; Barsoumian’s just mad they kidnapped him and wiped his mind.
The audience found out about the AI Pemberton and Barsoumian teaming up a few episodes ago, but now we see what they’ve been doing. And it’s actually stuff we’ve already seen, like the time ship getting destroyed in the season premiere or the robot J. Edgar Hoover (Giacomo Baessato) showing up and hunting them down. It’s multiple episodes of the show proper, but it’s all in a row for AI Pemberton and Barsoumian because they’re on a time ship. One of Jes Macallan clones is on board with them, and AI Pemberton doesn’t like her, which leads to some great 2001 riffs.
Meanwhile, in the past—whether prehistoric or not is a plot point—everyone’s stressed out, including regular Macallan and Caity Lotz, who thought they were on their way to a honeymoon in Tahiti. So while Olivia Swann takes Macallan to work out her aggression gathering firewood, Lisseth Chavez takes Lotz to work out hers hunting for dinner. The Swann and Macallan stuff ends up being better than the Chavez and Lotz stuff, but there’s also more of the former. And it’s a scene where Swann really comes through.
Tala Ashe and Shayan Sobhian babysit Ryan, who’s freaking out, leading to some wonderful bonding between Ashe and Ryan. Now, these two actors played love interests in their other “Legends” parts, so there’s something of a base chemistry, but these characters are entirely different, and it leads to some more excellent work. I forgot how great Ashe is in this version of the character. She’s been doing the other one full-time for what seems like two seasons, and this episode’s a great return.
Then there’s a comic subplot for human Pemberton and Adam Tsekhman, who are delightful together, and Nick Zano building the camp while talking himself through relationship decisions.
Plus, the big reveal of where they actually are in history and how it will affect them.
It’s an excellent episode. Kind of a bridging one, kind of a catch-up one with AI Pemberton and Barsoumian’s scheming, and then also kind of a breather. The enormous cast gets a chance to chill and reset, and the episode takes the time to let them.
So even if they do wrap it up and don’t play chicken with a renewal… damn, I hope they get renewed.
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