One would be hard pressed to find a crazier show than Legends of Tomorrow on television right now. With good reason because this show does go bonkers every episode. If you don’t believe me just check out the fall finale. Even though it’s crazy, it works. It’s, without a doubt, one of the best TV shows out there. One of the reasons why it works is because of the talented cast and characters that help to keep it grounded — especially the women of the show. The show had it’s growing pains, but throughout that, we also got the amazing experience of seeing these women grow, become independent, fierce heroes.
White Canary/ The Captain
Sara Lance’s story is possibly the most turbulent of the whole group. As a former member of the League of Assasins, she saw some of the darkest and most cruel things. We first saw her on Arrow when she got on the Gambit with Oliver, then we saw her through the hardships of the Island and then we met her as the Canary. Her role didn’t seem significant, but she had something likable about her. When she came back to Starling City and became the Canary, she was jarred and ruthless. Her justice equaled vengeance- although she did it in good faith. Taking care especially of any crimes against women. That shows how much Sara changed since the beginning of her journey in the Arrowverse.
Coming back and working with team Arrow helped her rebuild connections with her family, taught her how to connect with other people and have relationships again. It also justified her leaving the League and killing behind. Even if the second took some more time. In the end, the White Canary’s honor pushed her to go back to the League and keep her oath.
The League of Assassins plays an important role in Sara’s character development. It gave her the necessary training to make her a competent fighter, vigilante and hero. A League mission was the reason behind her death but also where she relearned discipline and control after she came back from the dead with the bloodlust.
Through the course of each show, Sara’s character grew. In Legends of Tomorrow, she went from lone wolf to White Canary to captain. Her role was always a dominant one and a natural leader, so it’s no wonder she leads the Legends.
Her strong personality was why she often butted heads with Rip, and why she quickly became second in command. She truly became captain while the Legends met the JSA.
Sara was also the first person to be openly bisexual in the Arrowverse. This identity brilliantly resonated in “Crisis on Earth X” while the heroes waited in the concentration camp and she confronted the doppelganger of her father. That brings us to Sara’s relationships, and there were quite a few.
There’s Oliver Queen on and off the island. Although that relationship was more about comfort and familiarity than anything else and they both deserved better than that.
Then there was Nyssa, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. The chemistry between these two was amazing, and I regret that the shows didn’t explore it further. They were like yin and yang. Nyssa the calmly collected outsider and Sara the easygoing, hotheaded life of the party. This was also the first wlw arc in the Arrowverse, and it was expertly done. It was just enough emotions and drama to keep us interested without being too overwhelming.
Sara’s relationship/ partnership with Rip Hunter was also unique. As previously stated they often butted heads because they were both strong individuals. In spite of their differences, their partnership as co-captains worked. They often were each other’s rocks or voices of reason.
Then there was Captain Cold. I have to admit it was one of my favourite dynamics in the entire Arrowverse. The characters went so well together. They were both quite sarcastic but still different enough to complement each other. They confided in the other, and I enjoyed the slow burn in their relationship progression. I screamed at my screen as Leonard sacrificed himself in season 1. Much like with the love story with Nyssa I’d have liked to see more of it. Sadly that won’t happen, but it’s a show about time travel, so I’m not giving up hope. Also, the chemistry between the actors was great. Thanks to that it was easier to believe the characters felt something towards the other.
And then there was Ava Sharp now the director of the Time Bureau and Sara’s current girlfriend. As a cyborg/clone from the future, she was “picked up” by Rip to be the perfect agent. She started off as a competition/compensation of Sara for Rip.
As the season progressed, Ava’s role grew. I have to be honest I’m not a fan of the relationship or the character. It’s not that I don’t like the character or have something against two strong, accomplished women being together (I loved the White Canary with Nyssa), but there is something about the actress’ portrayal of the character that I can’t get on board with. I know Ava’s a clone but for God’s sake show some emotions. Plus there’s zero chemistry between Caity Lotz and Jes Macallan.
The White Canary’s character development is a thing of beauty. A great example of building and evolving any character. She had her fair share of hardship and struggle, but she came out the other side a true leader, hero and role model, showing us that women can lead and be great at it.
The Hacker
Zari Tomaz joined the Legends as one of the totem bearers, bearing the wind totem after her brother’s tragic death. The death of loved ones played a huge part in shaping her character. She’s from the future; however, she doesn’t join the team willingly.
In the beginning, Zari didn’t feel a bond with the rest of the Legends. That came over time. She has problems with authority figures since in the future they hurt her family. That’s one of the reasons why her relationship with Sara is so strained. While being stuck in a time loop thanks to Gideon, Zari gets to know the team better and learns how important they are to her – a makeshift family.
Even thought Zari started to trust and respect Sara she’s still as sassy and ironic as in the beginning. She has some of the greatest lines and the best sense of humor, trumped only by one other character on the show.
While being a great computer specialist, Zari also has excellent control over her totem, which saved her and the rest of the team a few times.
There’s a topic that Zari’s character is allowed to address in the show, and that’s faith. She’s Muslim. Zari’s religion is an integral part of her. It plays a significant role in her character’s development and more than a few storylines. You see, in Zari’s future people can’t be religious. She won’t abandon her faith because it’s one of the reasons for her mother’s death.
Although Zari isn’t the only one in the Arrowverse who is openly religious, she’s the one who manifests it the most, and it’s very enlightening to learn about. Felicity Smoak states that she’s Jewish, but this doesn’t have that much of an impact on the show, outside of maybe the “Crisis on Earth X” crossover.
All of the Legends are misfits and rule breakers, but Zari is by far the biggest rebel. She searches for loopholes as to not only keep the timeline intact but also give some of the anomalies a chance for a happy ending. That’s one of the reasons she initially had such a strained relationship with Sara, who doesn’t want to search for loopholes as to not tempt fate and herself to bring her sister, Laurel, back. They finally reach a compromise when Sara declares that Zari’s present is her future and the future is fair game.
Sadly we didn’t see a love interest for Zari, but I enjoyed that she didn’t need a partner to be happy and motivate her to better herself.
Zari is the stubborn rebel with a heart of gold that wants everyone to be happy. She can be misguided, but she always tries her best.
The AI/ Gideon
Gideon is the artificial intelligence of the Waverider. She knows all and is very loyal, especially to the ship’s captain, always tries to watch out for the Legends or soften the blow as much as an AI can.
For a computer, she does have quite a sense of humor (I think she’s the funniest).
Gideon is very sassy and has an opinion as much as the next person even though she’s a computer. Mostly we know her as a voice, sometimes a projection of a female head and rarely we see her as a pretty brunette.
I firmly believe Gideon had a little bit of a crush on Rip Hunter, but as far as artificial intelligences go, they can’t have relationships or feelings. I would love to get to know Gideon better as a character because she is de facto the soul of the Waverider. We still don’t know enough about her. For me, she’s the perfect example of a know it all with a sense of humor and some sass. Proving that knowledge doesn’t have to equal boredom.
Legends of Tomorrow proves that you can have a pretty crazy show as long as you build relatable characters that the audience can connect to. It will help to ground the show and allow you to go on all of the crazy adventures.
That’s just what we get with the women on Legends. They are fiercely loyal, know hardships, and always try to do what’s right while still letting loose sometimes and having fun.
The ladies of this particular show are the independent heroes of their own stories. Giving us gals at home a great example that you can be a strong woman and still have fun.
Thankfully the show’s producers didn’t stop with merely three characters. You can read about more of the great women in Legends of Tomorrow in the next part of the series.
