TV Review: LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: Season 2, Episode 17: Aruba [The CW]

Legends of Tomorrow Aruba Review

The CW‘s Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 17: Aruba breaks all rules, the rules of time.

Aruba is probably the most complicated and compelling episode this season. It marks the moment that the Legends break their own cardinal rule: don’t revisit your own past and don’t interact with your past self.

The Legends have been good at avoiding this, with the exception of Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber) who met his much younger self. Because the Legion of Doom attains the Spear in the future, time is literally on the brink.

The Legends are so desperate to beat the Legion of Doom they are willing to break time to do it. The team jumps back to the time of Tolkien in order to steal the Spear of Destiny from themselves.

With Amaya Jiwe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) and Stein out of the picture, the future Legends suffer another hit when Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) is murdered by Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher). This season’s end is beginning to feel like the last thirty minutes of Rogue One.

The plan immediately hits a slew of road bumps when the team meets their slightly younger selves. The Legends aren’t able to act “normal” around the other Legends which immediately raises suspicion. Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) for one is speechless when he sees Amaya. This sets off a chain reaction that pushes Amaya and Nate into truly being lovers – at least for now. In a lot of ways, Nate’s love affair with Amaya has felt like a fork in the road. Everything about Amaya in these past few episodes has been about her ‘destiny’ and her family’s future.

Now that Amaya knows her future, Nate is a great excuse for her to say “Screw it, history can wait!” It almost feels like the show is trying to unmake Amaya and turn her into something else. She joined the Legends to avenge her lover, now it feels like the force she came barreling in with has faded. One good question to ask is that if Eobard (from all the varying timeline) is dead, does that mean her lover is alive? If so, why doesn’t she go back to him? Hopefully, these loose ends will be answered in the future season. The better question is does this impact The Flash storyline in any way?

Someone who has continued to improve these past few episodes has been Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell). These past two episodes, Rory has been searching for a place to belong. He thought he had re-discovered it with his long-dead partner Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller). Unfortunately for Snart, Rory no longer needs the life that Snart is offering him.

It was especially moving when Snart and Rory finally went head-to-head. Snart dangles the whole “partner” speech but Rory finally admits he’s much happier being apart of a team. The revelation is bittersweet as Snart stabs him in the back with his ice gun. In some ways, it is reassuring to know that the past Rory won’t go through the awkward moment of distrust between him and the other Legends. By going back in time to save the other Legends they are saving him too.

Ever since rejoining the team, Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) has felt out-of-place. It has been obvious to the audience, as well as him, that his position as leader has transferred to Sara Lance (Caity Lotz). Though Rip has made some effort to fit in, Rip still hasn’t quite found his place. When he makes the decision to leave the Legends at the end of the episode it feels abrupt. It isn’t till we see that the Legends have completely messed up time that it becomes clear that Rip will most-likely have no choice but to return to un-do the damage to time.

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