'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5 Episode 10 Review: New foes, excellent teamwork and a new mission statement
Spoilers for 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5 Episode 10 'The Great British Fake-Off'
With the introduction of the Loom of Fate, 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' has taken quite a different turn, pulling away from villain-of-the-week and their associated themes and instead have been building up the arc of the Three Fates. However, the time of the Encores is not yet completely finished, as this episode brings us not one, not two, but six new Encores plucked from history's worst memories. Of course, the Legends' greatest trickster and the team's best influencer manage to get those Encores to turn on each other - once they figure out how to work together.
The focus of this episode is very much the odd pairing of John Constantine (Matt Ryan) and Zari Tarazi (Tala Ashe) as their attempts to find the final piece of the Loom put them well in the past. The exact time period isn't all that important, for once, as Encores from all eras are sent to their time and place in order to retrieve the last part of the Loom as well. With some quick thinking from Zari and a few will-timed double-crosses from Constantine, the duo outwit the Encores, find the ring, have a team-bonding heart to heart and find themselves a new armory of Hell-weapons, locked and loaded.
Zari and Constantine work so well together that it's surprising that the show took this long to pair them up. They're the classic odd-couple - on the surface, they couldn't be more different, but in tough circumstances, their mutual resourcefulness, determination and skills at influencing the minds of other people make them quite a force to be reckoned with. Zari's in a slightly darker place, after the death of her brother, but she's still a markedly different character from the old Zari - the difference still clear in Tala Ashe's remarkable performance.
Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan), in the meanwhile, manages to convince Astra Logue (Olivia Swann) to join the Legends after the latter is somehow shocked to discover that people in Hell can't be trusted. The Fates are turning out to be much more interesting villains than Astra and the Encores ever were and it's a welcome change. Astra herself seems to benefit from not carrying the weight of the Big Bad, as this episode features her at her most interesting yet. She's allowed more dimensions now that she has to appear sympathetic enough to join the Legends without having to be just wholly evil.
The episode is light on gags but filled with a lot of good character work. Ava, Astra, Constantine and Zari all get their spotlight, giving the audience just a little more insight into what makes them tick. It's a solid episode and it's always good to see that the show has more substance beyond its weekly gags - as delightfully hilarious as they may be.
The next episode of 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' airs May 5, on The CW.
