First Thoughts on 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3 (Episodes 10-18)

What's interesting about Legends of Tomorrow's third season is that, despite having a decent arc, when all was said and done, the arc itself didn't really matter. When Mallus goes to confront the Legends in Salvation, there's a sense of "of course they're going to defeat him and save the day", but also that the writers are fully aware of this. The season isn't really about Mallus at all - probably why Mallus himself is such a mediocre villain when all is said and done. I mean, he looks pretty cool in his giant dragon form, but I do wonder if keeping his true form secret for the entire show would have been better in the long run (and probably more cost-effective).

What is important in this season of Legends of Tomorrow has been the ensemble cast's own problems. Amaya is trying to deal with a catastrophic future for her family, and Nate trying to come to terms with their doomed love. Rory, in confronting his father, is able to overcome one of his many demons; while Zari has to learn to love and accept others around her (in a surprisingly strong episode). Sara, meanwhile, is trying to come to terms with the two sides of herself - epitomised through Ava and her Mallus/Death Totem-infected form. And Ray...Ray is just trying to see the good in people, mostly because he's the sort of character you can't develop too much without completely changing his character.

If there is a real loose end, its the whole Ava arc. When Ava discovers her true identity as a clone, it's a bizarre twist that the show promises to pay off in a satisfactory way, but frustratingly brushes over in a brief confrontation between Ava and Rip. Oh, and speaking of Rip...Legends of Tomorrow really doesn't like its original lead, does it? Throughout the past two seasons, Rip Hunter has become a bizarre character pushed to the side after Arthur Darvill needed to film the third season of Broadchurch. He's been a member of the Legion of Doom, he's set up a rival Time Bureau to put the Legends out of business and he's become a rogue going after Mallus (who as it turns out didn't amount to much). There's been a sense that the writers have no idea how to handle his character, to the extent that his exit from the show was handled in the prologue to this season's finale, complete with brief flashbacks that just reminded me of how butchered his storyline has been over the past two years.

While I'm talking about characters though, let's talk about John friggin' Constantine. Speaking as someone who thoroughly enjoyed the Constantine show (let's not talk about the movie), I was really hoping that a continuation would come up somewhere down the line. Regrettably, it seems as though Zed, Chas and Manny will forever be lost into the mists of time (or, more accurately, Amazon Prime) and it seems that the Arrowverse is quite happy to just bring on Matt Ryan's portrayal of the demonologist and master of [petty dabbler in] the Dark Arts. Considering how brilliant Ryan was in his own series, its lovely to see him reprise the role in each of his three guest appearances this season, and the promise of a regular spot in the next season fighting demons coming through from other dimensions sounds like a fun ride. I'm quite happy to wait for the next season of Legends, but I look forward to seeing what they do. I'm more interested in that than however many more seasons of Arrow and The Flash still to come. Maybe I should just stick with Legends of Tomorrow and the occasional Supergirl.

After all, how many shows defeat their main villain with a giant blue cuddly bear?

Perhaps the third season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow isn't perfect, or even that great if we're being completely honest, but its filled with some really fun episodes - "Daddy Darkhest", "Here I Go Again", "No Country For Old Dads" and "Necromancing the Stone" being particular highlights for me. It's perhaps the most easily enjoyable series in DC's current lot, and considering how few people have been watching Arrow but kept on with Legends, its safe to say most people would agree. 6.9/10