Legends of Tomorrow season 1, episode 2, “Pilot, Part 2,” aired tonight and explored whether fate can be changed or not.
“Pilot, Part 2” featured some excellent action sequences that took advantage of the strengths of each fight participant as well as some exploration of the idea of fate.
On the one hand, the core concept of Legends is that fate can be changed, otherwise Rip Hunter wouldn’t have traveled back through time to stop Vandal Savage, and the members of the team wouldn’t have stayed on without the hope of doing something that matters.
On the other hand, certain events are fixed points in time that can’t be changed — like Boardman’s death in the previous episode — and the Hawks’ storyline is based on the two being fated to find and love each other in each lifetime.
It’s an interesting contradiction that runs through each subplot of the episode.
The Rogues and Ray
The team discovers that an art collector has an ancient Egyptian blade that belonged to Chay-Ara and Khufu in their first life; in fact, it was the knife used to kill them. This is the sort of weapon that could kill Vandal Savage, so Snart and Mick volunteer to steal it; that’s their specialty after all. Ray doesn’t trust them, though, so goes with them.
Humorously, Ray proves to be more hindrance than help, his earnestness getting in the way of the mission that requires stealth and underhandedness — neither of which are in his character. He tries to berate Snart for wanting to steal more than just the dagger they came for, but the pair ends up locked in a cage together. True to trope, each man gets to know the other a bit better, and there is some hint that Snart may be interested in changing his fate and becoming a legend after all — just as Barry foresaw on The Flash.
Changing fate: 1; Fixed fate: 0
Stein and… Stein
Meanwhile, Stein, Jax and Sara head off to find a younger Stein (Marty) in order to co-opt some technology he was working on to track down the piece of the Atom suit that fell into Vandal Savage’s hands. While Sara flirts shamelessly and gets high with Marty, Stein is disgusted at how much of an arrogant know-it-all he was in his youth. However, he quickly realizes that he hasn’t changed all that much in the decades since. This bothers him deeply.
Sara ends up having to knock Marty out in order to steal his invention, however. And it turns out this was the night he was supposed to meet his future wife. But rather than go to the function he meets her at, he follows the trio that knocked him out — resulting in Stein’s wedding ring disappearing from his finger. This would seem to indicate changing fate, but Rip doesn’t want to see someone else lose loved ones, so he calls Marty and encourages him to attend the function. Marty meets his future bride, and Stein’s ring returns to his finger.
Changing fate: 1; Fixed fate: 1
Kendra and Carter
For the first part of the episode, Carter is trying to help Kendra remember her first life so she can read the engraving on the blade, as it must be spoken in order to kill Savage. Kendra resists, though, because she’s struggling with the idea of being fated to love. Carter, after a time, is understanding and tells her he’ll wait as many lifetimes as it takes. Kendra’s reluctance to accept that a future has been laid out in front of her seems to notch a tally on the changing fate side.
However…
The big bombshell of this episode comes when Carter and Kendra take the knife to kill Savage. Carter wields it, but it doesn’t kill Savage; Kendra must be the one to wield it since it was her dagger. After being stabbed, Savage pulls the blade out and stabs Carter, killing him. He’s about to kill Kendra as well when the team arrives and saves her. As she’s getting treatment for her wounds aboard the ship, she cries that she finally remembered her love for Carter but wasn’t able to tell him before his death.
Thus, it seems inevitable fate wins out, as Kendra opened herself up to loving her destined soulmate.
Changing fate: 1; Fixed fate: 2
What puts the two on even ground by the end of the episode is the fact that the team is willing to continue fighting in Carter’s honor. They will kill Savage, and now the mission has become personal; even Snart takes the death of one of his crew personally, though he didn’t know Carter well. The remaining legends will still fight to change their fates.
Changing fate: 2; Fixed fate: 2
Looking forward
Carter’s death was a surprise so early on in the series, though he was the most “expendable” character of the cast. The audience knew him barely more than the members of the team, having only met him during the Flash/Arrow crossover, so the emotional impact isn’t quite there. The interesting thing that will come from his death is where Kendra’s arc goes now. (Hey, Legends just fridged a guy. That’s a change of fate on its own.) How does she move forward after losing her son and her lover from another life within hours of each other? How does she move on interacting with the team while grieving?
And how does Carter dying now but Kendra living affect their reincarnations? Will the fact that he died in the 1970s despite being from 2016 affect the time stream in any way?
This episode set up quite a bit and it will be fun to see how things play out moving forward. Overall, this was a solid second half for the pilot.
Watch a promo for the next episode
