'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5 Episode 11 Review: Downtime on the Waverider highlights the cast's strengths
Spoilers for 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5 Episode 11 'Ship Broken'
'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' has some excellent gimmicks. Whether it's Ghengis Khan on a weaponized scooter or Rasputin wanting his own documentary film crew or any one of the number of hilariously absurd ideas they've had this season, weird ideas are the fuel this show runs on.
So much so that it's easy to overlook just how well the show's cast is comedically brilliant in their own right, but have no fear - 'Ship Broken' reminds us all of just that.
Wanting to spend more time with his daughter, Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) brings his daughter Lita (Mina Sundwall) on board the Waverider. It's not the best time, however, as Charlie's (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) attempt to use the Loom of Fate proves too much to handle, disabling the Waveride and trapping everyone on board.
The first half of the episode is especially delightful. In lieu of a traditional threat or gimmick to work off of, the episode focuses on the Legends themselves, and their dynamics with one other.
It's one of the few episodes in a long while that just lets the characters be themselves, and it's so entertaining that it's almost disappointing when the Hellhound (Andrew Morgado) plot is introduced.
Having awoken from her coma, Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) gets some great moments with an overwhelmed Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) as they try to figure out why she's blind and seeing visions of the future. Sara has been taking a backseat for most of the season, and it's wonderful to see her in the spotlight again.
Speaking of spotlights, this episode features the most focus on Mick's daughter Lita than we've ever gotten before, and she makes quite an impression. She connects well with every character she comes across and brings out a side of Mick that we rarely get to see.
She's a great addition to the cast, and while it's hard to see why she'd remain a series regular, 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' always finds a way and hopefully will.
We also see more character development from Zari Tarazi (Tala Ashe) and Astra Logue (Olivia Swann). It seems like every episode that gives Zari the chance to shine reveals another facet of her personality, and this episode we see a darker side to her — manipulative, scheming and distrustful.
She may have more in common with Astra than anyone else on the ship, and it's a dynamic that deserves more development in the episodes to come. Astra herself works much better as a reluctant Legends member than she does as a complete villain, and should have made the switch much sooner.
With all the absurdity that defines the show, it's great that the series can take a moment to make the most of its fantastic cast. This episode might be one of the season's best, either in spite of its limited action or because of it.
Either way, 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' is a testament to its writers and its cast, proving that its constant gimmicks aren't the only thing defining how good it is.
The next episode of 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' airs on May 12 on The CW.
