While no one in the audience is surprised by Bishop’s return, Sara certainly wasn’t expecting to see him again in the flesh, on her ship, and listening ‘Space Girl’ of all songs. He claims he’s a changed man and he just wants to join the Legends as a fellow misfit. Sara’s not having it, but since he wants to say on the ship that badly, she tosses him into the brig.
The Legends are less than impressed by him, and Sara warns them to keep their guard up. She’s sure he’s up to something. She leaves Spooner to guard him, having everyone else leave. Ava’s eager to physiologically dissect him. Sara’s hesitant but she agrees so they figure out what he wants.
Meanwhile, Zari confronts John about the scar on his back in the same place she stabbed the beast. He tries to deflect but she’s not having any more of his lies. He finally explains it away as him not having full control yet after drinking from the fountain. Zari isn’t about to take him at face value so she asks Astra about the fountain. Astra suggests they talk with the person who accompanied John on his fountain quest.
Ava talks with Bishop, intentionally opening up to make him let his guard down. When Bishop calls himself family with her and Sara, she agrees that, on some perverse level, they are something akin to family. Sara and Nate are watching via a live feed while playing chess. Bishop reveals that he designed the AVA clones to have lower oxytocin levels, which is why he was so surprised by her and Sara’s relationship.
Ava questions if that’s why she’s been having issues planning the wedding. Bishop offers to help but Ava turns him down. When that doesn’t work, he offers to help Rory. He noticed Mick’s headache and hair and that, plus what we already knew about him from Kayla, let him deduce he’s pregnant. He offers advice, giving them the recipe for a smoothie they can feed to the babies so they don’t eat Mick’s brain. It does work, alieving his headache. Plus, the smoothie itself doesn’t taste half bad, according to Sara at least.
Astra and Zari interrupt Spooner while she’s guarding Bishop to ask about the fountain. When they ask what happened, that’s when Spooner realizes there’s a gap in her memory. They suspect John used a spell on her, but Zari is holding off judgment until they figure out why he did it. Astra knows a spell to access the memories John suppressed.
Although they have this conversation outside the room, Bishop can see them and he picks up that everything with John isn’t on the level. Ava’s returning to talk with Bishop just then, which is the perfect timing to trade-off with Spooner. Before she leaves, she gives Ava her gun in case she needs it.
Meanwhile, John is going through a magical blood potion withdrawal, which has the usual symptoms of withdrawal, plus visions of his beast self. Despite wanting to get clean, he can’t bring himself to get rid of the potion.
Ava takes Bishop on his original offer to help with the wedding planning. He asks Ava what was the coolest wedding she’s been to, which is when realizes she’s never been to a wedding (apparently she doesn’t count Ray and Nora’s wedding). He tells her to go with her gut, no matter how weird they might be.
Astra uses a spell to unlock John’s memories. She remembers the fountain rejecting John and him drinking something before killing the fascists. Zari’s ready to rake him over the coals for lying right there and then, but Astra wants to know what John’s been taking before they confront him.
Back with Ava and Bishop, he’s suggesting music for the wedding. As they’re listening to it, he offers Ava a ‘father-daughter’ dance. She hesitates, turning off the camera in the room before accepting. When the song makes her strangely emotional she questions if she’s feeling that, or just how she’d been programmed to feel. Bishop says either way it doesn’t matter. Her feelings are real regardless.
Things get too much for Ava then and she retreats out of the room. In the hall, she struggles to catch her breath, everything with Bishop getting just too personal in that moment. Sara finds her to congratulate her but it’s hard for Ava to feel like she played Bishop when she knows he got to her.
While this had all been going on, Gideon was analyzing Bishop’s DNA and Sara can now report he’s 100% human. Ava thinks that Bishop does really consider them family and wants to get to know them. If that’s the extent of his game, she’s not sure. Not having a family is something she can relate to in her own way.
Zari goes back to Constantine’s place to check on him. She also uses it as an opportunity to swipe his flask. Returning to the Waverider, Astra determines what the potion is. In Hell, it’s known as a scarlet lady and it’s dark, volatile magic. Constantine, after he realized Zari took his flask, storms in looking for it.
Zari gives him an ultimatum, her or the potion. For a heartbreaking moment, he chooses the potion. But seeing Zari’s crushed expression he remembers he’s trying to get clean and gets rid of the flask. He promises he’s going to get clean and Zari offers to be there for him.
Meanwhile, Mick’s gone into labour. With the reality settling in, he begins to panic, but Gary is there to reassure him. Much to Gary’s delight, he makes him the godfather.
Sara apologizes to Ava for having her face Bishop, but Ava reminds her it was her own idea. Sara apologizes for having Ava plan the wedding, thinking it’s what Ava wanted. And it was what Ava wanted. It was easier to distract herself with the wedding details than having to think about the marriage that comes after.
Ava doesn’t know if she can make a family with someone. Her ‘parents’ the paid actors, never kissed, never showed any real affection for each other. She doesn’t know how to give those things to their family. With a soft smile, Sara reassures her that she already does give all those things. She knows how to love. She never needed anyone to teach her. She’s the woman she is today because she made herself. Not anyone else.
Ava begins showing Sara the things she’s decided on for the wedding all of which Sara loves. But when she realizes those were all choices Bishop makes, she gets a worried expression and checks something with Gideon. The 6% of Bishop’s DNA that was missing because Sara blew his ship up before he could complete his download, he replaced it with Sara’s DNA.
It wasn’t just her genetic material he used either. He has her memories. He uses Sara’s passcode to override Gideon’s controls, freeing himself. He picks up Spooner’s gun that Ava left behind and strolls out of the cell. He locks down the ship, but Sara gets to him before the doors can close.
The two face off against each other, but now they’re evenly matched. Bishop talks about destiny, but after destroying the spear of destiny, the loom of fate, and being the paragon of destiny, Sara’s met her quota on the destiny talk. But he blasts her with Spooner’s gun, knocking her out, and continuing on his way to the med bay, where Mick is.
In a truly visually disconcerting scene, Bishop helps Mick deliver his alien baby, through his nose. The rest of the Legends are trying to break in. Sara tells Spooner to get her big gun. But to Spooner’s disappointment (and mine) the doors open and Bishop presents the newest Legends. Sara begrudgingly thanks him. He says he just wanted to help. He calmly offers to return to his cell. Sara and Ava still don’t trust him. All he asks is for a chance to earn it.
And then as soon as he’s alone, he proves why he can’t be trusted. The whole show with breaking out to help Mick was really a ploy to get Mick’s comms, which he uses to contact John. He offers to help John get his magic back. John doesn’t even listen, pulling out his comms.
When Gary checks in on Mick, he notices Sara drinking the smoothie Bishop suggested for Mick. He realizes that’s why Mick went into labour, the ginger in the drink induced the labour. Realizing that was Bishop’s plan, they notice Mick’s comms are missing. Knowing he’s been observing the team, they figure out he’ll contact the person he thinks will help him.
Unfortunately, that person was Constantine, who’s confronted by his inner beast. The beast may be metaphorical, but the damage he can do is very real. Beaten to a bloody pulp, John gives in and drinks the potion. Our John ‘vanishes’ and the beast takes over. He contacts Bishop, interested in what he has to say.
Review
Several times this season Legends has tapped into an uneasy tone and style that would be right at home in a horror, but this episode takes that up a notch. In other episodes, like ‘Meat: The Legends’, that tone leans more towards the campy side. But Silence of the Sonograms is a pervasive unease and in the case of Constantine’s final scene, downright graphic in a way Legends almost never is.
Constantine’s story arc this season has been slipping deeper and deeper towards an outcome that doesn’t bode well for the warlock. The scene where he fights himself is a pretty heavy-handed metaphor for addiction, but then, when has Legends ever been subtle. Although the biggest detriment to the character and the arc is how isolated its been from the rest of the season. Despite having several opportunities to fold other characters into it, those avenues have been dropped at every turn.
Astra learning from Constantine only lasted a few episodes. She was completely removed from the arc to find the fountain. Spooner helped for an episode, but then Constantine’s need to isolate himself from everyone pushed her away. As for his relationship with Zari, since John lost his magic, he’s constantly repeated that he’s not good enough for her without his magic despite her to the contrary.
The other storyline that was froth with unease this episode was Bishop’s and Ava’s mental chess game. Nate and Sara playing chess throughout the episode was a bit on the nose, but see the previous statement about Legends and subtly. It was interesting watching their back and forth, knowing each side was aware the other was trying to manipulate the situation.
Next week, Maisie Richardson-Sellers returns, this time she’ll be behind the camera directing.
Only Legends Could
- All cacti do flower, so depending on how you want to rule, they could count as flowers.
- Be like Astra, get your friends’ consent before doing magic on them.
- The wig is gone. May it never return.
- They might have spent more money on Mick giving birth than Nate steeling up this season.
- What are they going to name all those babies?
Images courtesy of the CW
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