Legends of Tomorrow season 1, episode 3, “Blood Ties,” saw the team realizing they are better together than apart.
The team broke up into smaller groups in “Blood Ties,” with each team having its own exploration of humanity.
First, Rip and Sara break off to target Vandal Savage’s finances. They attempt to track him down behind his back but are quickly discovered, and Rip gets a front row seat to the effects of Sara’s Lazarus Pit-induced bloodlust. She explains this to him, calling herself a monster.
Rip, however, doesn’t view her as one; rather, he views himself as one because he had the chance to kill Savage 4,000 years ago but hesitated, which allowed him to come to power. This haunts him through their attempt to infiltrate one of Savage’s events to rescue Carter’s body. He tells Sara that what keeps us from becoming a monster is trying to be better. This is something Sara takes to heart, as once the big fight against Savage’s lackeys takes place, Rip catches Sara savagely (pun intended) stabbing the… floor. She stopped herself.
Sara’s story in this episode is particularly interesting in light of the most recent episode of Arrow, “Unchained,” in which Thea’s refusal to kill has caused the Lazarus Pit to steal life from her. With that in mind, neither a lack of killing nor excessive violence are the right answer. Sara needs to find a balance that works for her and keeps her sane. (Also in reference to Arrow, Sara comments that there is no magical cure to her situation, yet Nyssa tells Oliver she has one. Sara wouldn’t know this, but it’s interesting that these episodes happened back to back.)
Rip, meanwhile, adds fuel to his feud with Savage, who steals his pocket watch with the picture of his wife and son in it. Though Rip stabs Savage, he will heal while Rip is eaten up with guilt for not being able to stop him.
Our second team is the trio of Jax, Leonard, and Mick. Snart and Mick convince Jax to take the jump ship to Central City so Snart can steal an emerald. It turns out his father, Lewis, is fated to be arrested for stealing this emerald, and once he leaves prison he becomes violent toward his wife and child. Leonard thinks giving the emerald to Lewis will prevent the arrest and therefore the violence.
We met Lewis Snart in the present day in The Flash season 2, episode 3, “Family of Rogues,” when he planted a bomb in his own daughter’s head to get Leonard to cooperate with him on a job, so we know what kind of man he turns into — a monster.
Leonard, who meets his younger self and tells him not to let anyone hurt him in his mind or his heart, is clearly shaped by the monster his father became. As much as he tries to play the part himself, these interactions prove he is not. And the fact that Lewis is arrested anyway, trying to fence the emerald, indicates that Lewis becoming that monster and the influence it has over his children is a fixed point in the timeline.
Our third group is Stein and Ray, who discover fragments of the blade that stabbed Kendra still in her system. They need to be removed in order for her to recover, but the fragments are so small that even the advanced technology of the Waverider can’t remove them. Kendra’s only chance is for Ray to use the Atom suit and destroy the fragments from inside Kendra’s body.
However, on first attempt, Ray is thrown off track and he loses his confidence. He feels powerless and is taken back to the night his fiancee was killed. It takes Stein giving Ray a fake pep talk about remembering him as a student and recognizing his excellence to buoy Ray into action. He eventually destroys all the fragments, which saves Kendra’s life.
For Ray, the question in this episode is less about what makes a monster and more about what makes a man. He bought Queen Consolidated and created the Atom suit in order to never be unable to help someone again. But the use of the suit depends on the man wearing it. Ray has to work through his insecurity and fear to become the hero he aspires to be, and he does so with the professor who doesn’t remember teaching him. There’s something hilariously ironic about that. But they do develop a good rapport moving forward.
Finally, the team recovers Carter’s body and they hold a funeral for him and Dr. Boardman. Kendra gets the opportunity to say goodbye, and the team — once again — agrees to move forward together. Hopefully this is the last time an episode ends with the team deciding to keep working together, as they’ve done it with every episode so far.
Watch a promo for the next episode
