Legends of Tomorrow season 2, episode 5, “Compromised,” took the Legends back to the 1980s to confront Damien Darhk.
When Nate’s newly-minted time seismograph detects an aberration in 1987, the Legends head there to protect the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which contributed to the end of the Cold War. They discover Damien Darhk has become a part of the Reagan administration as an advisor — except he’s brokering underground deals with the Soviets.
Of course, this is a huge issue for Sara, who is still hellbent on revenge; if she kills Darhk before 2016, she’ll save Laurel’s life, just like Laurel did for her. The first time they come into contact with Darhk, Sara completely loses it. She loses her subtle assassin skills and gets busted with a blade she plans to use on Darhk, which leads to the rest of the team getting involved. Whoops.
Stein lectures Sara about the importance of sticking to the mission they’ve undertaken and what will happen if Sara changes history so significantly by killing Darhk so long before his natural death. Sara, naturally, doesn’t take this well and snaps that Stein has obviously never cared about anyone. She later apologizes and he reiterates that he cares about her — but she needs to remember that she’s not an assassin anymore; she’s their captain.
This leads to a triumphant moment for Sara toward the end of the episode when she confronts Darhk after they interrupt a meeting between Darhk and the KGB. He recognizes her from their last fight and she reveals not only that she’s from the future but Darhk’s fate from Arrow season 4. She both overcomes her urge to kill him and does the cruelest thing she can to him. I’ll admit to cheering aloud.
Meanwhile, Amaya and Nate head out looking for the 1980s version of the JSA, only to discover that they’ve been wiped out. The only surviving member is an aged Obsidian, who has been out of action for a long time. He is furious with Amaya for abandoning the team in 1942, so does this mean in the future, after the Legends have stopped Darhk and Thawne, Amaya doesn’t return to the past? With Rex dead, did she decide to continue on with the Legends? (Don’t get me wrong, I would be totally into that.)
Time travel stories make my head hurt.
Anyway, Amaya breaks her professional wall down a bit to both beg for Obsidian’s forgiveness and to tell Nate a bit more about his grandfather. I wonder if these two are being angled for romance, since Nate walks in moments after Obsidian tells Amaya to accept love if she finds it again. I kind of hope not, though. The romance between Kendra and Ray was the weakest point of season 1; focusing on the platonic relationships is far more interesting with this group.
Speaking of platonic relationships, Mick and Ray are trying to figure out their new dynamic as partners. Mick at first tells Ray he needs to be more like Snart was, which Ray is fine getting behind since a role is easier to play than figuring out who he is. But Ray isn’t Snart. (Have I mentioned lately that I miss Leonard? Because I do.)
Ray needs to figure out who he is without his suit or his company. What makes Ray Palmer tick? Ray has been trying to avenge his fiancee since her death at the hands of Mirakuru soldiers; but that was a mission for another person. Ray has been without a goal for himself for a long time. He doesn’t know what he wants, and that’s hard. But it’s also an important thing for him to realize. Who knew Mick would be the one to help him figure it out?
Speaking of Mick, he continues to be a highlight. I laughed so hard at him eating the jellybeans and later, with 10 seconds on the bomb countdown, him sitting down and eating an eclair. So funny.
Oh, and there’s a small subplot with young Martin Stein being a jerk to his wife and older Stein berating him for not valuing her the way he should.
The episode ends on an ominous note, though. Darhk is freaking out with the revelations Sara confronted him with, so he and Thawne decide to become a true team. Thawne reveals his time machine and takes Darhk with him into the time stream somewhere. Sara’s victorious moment instead seems to made things worse. Dun dun dun.
Darhk and Thawne are two of the most formidable villains the heroes on Arrow and The Flash have faced, so seeing them together is definitely scary. Plus, Neal McDonough and Matt Letscher are just so much fun to watch on screen.
Watch a promo for the next episode
