'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5 Episode 15 Review: The Tarazi siblings shine in power-packed finale
Spoilers for 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5, Episode 15 - 'Swan Thong'
Considering the state of the world at the moment, seeing a little violent rebellion can be very cathartic, and there's no one better at rebellion than the Legends. Finally freed from their imprisonment on TV, the Legends take the fight to the Fates as champions of free will. Like every 'Legends of Tomorrow' finale, the team saves the world with absurdity, fun, and heart, like no other show out there.
The finale manages to cram a lot of story into its hour-long finale, as the Legends first take out Atropos (Joanna Vanderham) and the Loom of Fate itself, skip ahead a few months to find the world under the control of the FateWatch, and then take that down as well, restoring free will to all. The episode is not without its tragic moments, however, as the original Zari Tarazi (Tala Ashe) realizes that she can't exist in a world where Behrad Tarazi (Shayan Sobhian) lives, and is forced to go back in the totem.
There is a lot to enjoy about this episode with several highlights absolutely worthy of a finale, but what it does best is let the team dynamic shine. Most of the fun of the episode is just watching the team riff off of each other while they work together to try and save the world. Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) naturally steals the spotlight, as the Legends' leader, but everyone else has their moments too. The Tarazi siblings have an especially wonderful dynamic featured in this episode. It doesn't matter how different the two Zaris are, as the familial bond shared by the Tarazis comes off strong.
Shayan Sobhian has done a fantastic job of making it feel like he's been a part of the cast from day one, and the chemistry he has with both versions of Zari makes the relationship feel lived in. There is bickering, support, eye rolls and teasing, even a Wonder Twins moment. The episode's biggest tragedy is that Season 6 doesn't feature more of this, though with Zari 1.0 going into the talisman instead of being erased from existence, it's not impossible for her to briefly return sporadically.
Other particularly memorable scenes see the Legends trying to convince Charlie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) that free will was not a mistake, a punk rock version of 'Mr Parker's Cul-de-sac' with the Legends in full punk aesthetic, and the Legends featured as the #2 villains in history for the sheer chaos they're responsible for. The most memorable scene of the episode, of course, goes to the Legends in an all-out brawl with the Encores armed quite literally with bad ideas as the 'Thong Song' plays in the background -- a scene the show was so dedicated to that they actually brought Sisqo himself in to perform it. It's a scene that will go down in Legends history, second perhaps only to the time that the Legends combined to form a giant Beebo to take down a world-ending demon.
The finale shows just how well 'Legends of Tomorrow' knows what kind of show it is, and what makes it work. Focusing on great character dynamics, bringing fun to every action scene, memorably ludicrous moments, and grounding it all with genuine heart, 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' never stops pushing the boundaries of what a comedic superhero show can achieve, and the results are, as always, massively entertaining.
'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' will return in 2021 on the CW.