TV Review: LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: Season 2, Episode 9: Raiders of the Lost Art [The CW]

Legends of Tomorrow Raiders of the Lost Art Review

The CW‘s Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 9: Raiders of the Lost Art brings back an old favorite, more or less.

At the end of Season 1, Captain Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) disappeared from the Waverider. He absence left the Legends to fend for themselves. The casting shakeup has taken some time to get used to. On the one hand, seeing Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) step up as the leader has grounded the Legends in having a purpose.

For that reason, the initial awkwardness of the restructured team hasn’t been all bad. But the absence of Rip Hunter hasn’t helped the Legends be the kind of heroes they could be.

When the Legends stumble upon Rip he is in Los Angeles in 1976. He is a normal, American film school student. In many ways, the way they find Rip mirrors the way Rip first found the Legends. Talented, stewing in untapped potential but in denial of what they/he were capable of.

The scene between Sara and Rip is quite sobering. Sara explains to Rip that when he recruited her to become a Legend he gave her a purpose in life. It is almost hard to imagine Rip was trying to get Sara to be a reliable team member at one point.

In a lot of ways, purpose and destiny are the themes of this episode. George Lucas is a bit of a trope for this too. When Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), and Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) come for Rip, George Lucas (Matt Angel) is unfortunately caught in the middle. This results in him dropping out of film school. The decision systematically alters both Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) and Nate Heywood’s (Nick Zano) history since both were deep influenced by Lucas’s work. Without Star Wars Ray never invents the ATOM suit. Without Indiana Jones, Nate doesn’t become a historian. It is an interesting way to go about making the stakes high for the team.

The only sticking point for this episode is the references to Star Wars. They were a bit too on the nose with the trash compactor scene. Also, screaming at George Lucas to decide to become a film director while on the brink of death seemed a little much.

But, at least he didn’t die. No one wants to be the superhero that got George Lucas killed.

The Rip-less season 2 had lost a bit of the bark and bite of season 1. But the return of Captain Rip Hunter (and the Spear of Destiny) almost make up for his disappearance altogether. However, the fact that he’s currently in the hands of the Legion of Doom does not bode well.

Whatever happens to Rip from here on out will undoubtedly stoke the Legends. It could really be the ultimate factor in how things play out. If something bad did occur the Legends would no doubt exact some form of revenge against the Legion of Doom. But since Sara is racked with the guilt of losing Rip it could ultimately push her off the deep end into place we haven’t seen her since the death of her sister.

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