TV Show: Legends of Tomorrow - Season 3

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Acting, effects, mostly fun

Cons: Gets darker in a few episodes, recycled villain

The Bottom Line:

Protecting the past

To defeat a time demon

Dark at times; still fun

“Sometimes, We Screw Things Up for the Better.”  “That’s a Good Motto.  We Should Use That.”

When you travel through time, you have to worry about changing history.  Every single time travel book or show has already established that fact.  but no one has broken history more than the Legends of Tomorrow did at the end of season 2.  And that break continues to ripple through season 3 in a fun way.

The season picks up just where it left off with dinosaurs running wild in modern day Los Angeles.  Before the Legends even have a chance to fully react, the Time Bureau swoops in to correct the problem.  This is a new organization founded by Rip (recurring guest star Arthur Darvill) in order to protect history.  The Legends are the number one enemy of the Time Bureau, so the Legends go their separate ways.

Which is how Rory (Dominic Purcell) finally finds himself in Aruba where he finds another time anachronism.  It seems the Julius Caesar has appeared and is ready to take on the modern world.  When Rory gets in touch with Sara (Caity Lotz), she quickly uses this to bring the Legends back together in an attempt to restore their good name.

But even fighting anachronisms won't be enough this time.  A time demon has been loosed, and it is feeding off the errors in history, and an old enemy is back and behind it all.  Can the Legends figure out how to defeat him?

Along the way this season, Nate (Mick Zano) and Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) continue to fight their attraction to each other in light of her destiny in the past and we pick up Zari (Tala Ashe), a hacktivist who doesn't want to settle in at all.  In further crew shuffling, two of the crew members leave before the season is over (one as part of the major crossover event).

Of all the Arrowverse shows, this one continues to be the most fun.  Yes, they do have some more serious moments, but overall this is the one still most likely to elicit a laugh from me.  There's a certain camp to it all that just keeps it fun, and I love it for that.

Having said that, fighting a time demon definitely brings a darker tone to the season.  There are a couple of episodes in particular that revel in this, which I didn't enjoy.

Another things that really bothered me was the human behind the demon.  That old enemy I mentioned?  This is the third time we've face him in the Arrowverse, and the second on Legends.  Considering this is the show's third season, it seems like we could come up with some new big bads instead of constantly recycling other show's villains.  But maybe that's just me.  Having said that, he does make a good villain, so I can't complain there.

And you can't complain about the acting or special effects.  Yes, there is a certain level of camp to the show, but the cast is obviously having so much fun that it is hard not to enjoy the show as a result.  Considering the show is on a TV budget (and a CW budget), the effects are impressive as well.  I buy everything I am seeing here.

This show always has a shorter season than the rest of its Arrowverse siblings; here we are treated to 18 episodes.

While I definitely have some complaints this season, it is still fun.  If you have been enjoying the Arrowverse, season 3 of Legions of Tomorrow will continue to entertain.