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Why plot inconsistencies work well for 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' when they ruin other shows and movies

'Legends of Tomorrow' has figured out the art of managing audience expectations

Time travel shows usually have a lot to worry about. The Butterfly Effect means that the slightest change to history can have major ramifications in the future, often with disastrous consequences. Those tasked with preserving the timeline are generally the kind of people who clean up the messes of others and leave behind a time period that never knew they were there in the first place.

The Legends, on the other hand, are about as messy as it gets, and the timeline seems to be holding up just fine. Until it doesn't. It's not worth examining too closely, really, because while the show is riddled with logical inconsistencies, 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' has managed to make all of that irrelevant. Why does it work so well for 'Legends,' though, where the same level of logical inconsistencies make other CW Arrowverse shows less fun to watch?

Part of the reason for that is the comedic nature of the show. While 'The Flash,' 'Arrow' and 'Supergirl' have their comedic elements, they are largely presented as shows that you're meant to take seriously. Their plots matter, their characters' traumas are real, and the dangers that the show presents are meant to have stakes. Stakes are an important part of superhero drama - what's the point of a superhero fight if they're not really fighting for anything? Rooting for a hero, relating to their pain, and connecting to their triumphs makes it all the more disappointing when holes in the plot take you out of the story, cheapening everything that makes it good.

The Legends no longer have stakes and don't pretend to. They walk into every mission with the confidence of people who know that fun will be had as they sort a complication out. Nobody's lives are really in danger, and the show doesn't really pretend otherwise. That doesn't mean it doesn't leave space for meaningful stories, but when those come along, they're pleasant surprises instead of an expected norm.

'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' is the show that 'The Flash' should have been, and sometimes still tries to be. The absurdity that comic-book science affords the characters is embraced wholeheartedly, while 'The Flash' awkwardly tries to balance heartfelt drama, silliness, and superheroic action - a balance that is still not completely even. 'Legends' is confident in its identity, knows its audience, and manages its audience's expectations wonderfully, and they make it look easy. 

Other shows in the Arrowverse could benefit from this approach - not abandoning their plot consistency, or their stakes, but in knowing exactly how to manage audience expectation, and focusing on excelling in the aspects that the fans came to see.

The next episode of 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' airs February 25, on the CW.