Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "Last Refuge?"

[KSiteTV]

What did you think?

[JDBentz]

It’s the greatest threat the team has faced so far: the possibility of being erased from time itself. This episode provided great character-building moments and did not disappoint in this regard.

We see Sara Lance from before she went on the Queen’s Gambit in 2007, where she appears to be fulfilling a sociology requirement, in particular one about the justice system and how those who are arrested are treated. It is a reminder that the Sara who went on the Gambit was in her first two years of college still and had yet to decide where she was taking her life before it changed irrevocably alongside that of Oliver Queen.

Combine this with present day Sara’s somewhat sarcastic comment to Kendra about who wouldn’t want a relationship built on trust and honesty, and 2007 Quentin telling present day Sara that he always knew she was going to be someone who wanted to help people, protect them, and I sense some retconning action occurring in Legends, which makes me more certain that my pet theory that after they saw the reaction people had to Sara vs Laurel as the black clad vigilante with a bird’s name they’ve decided to re-work things again is accurate.

People bring up the comics a lot and I would point out that the Black Canary who was involved with Oliver Queen took their name from a murdered relative who is also called the Black Canary, rather than just the Canary. It would be up the alley of Arrow to have a twist like that, and in a connected universe like this, you can find clues in the episodes of other shows for how others will play out.

When we first met Mick Rory’s younger self, there was some heavy implication that he lit the fire and left his family to burn, but we find out that in truth, he became scared because the flames got out of control and he ran without thinking to wake his family. This fear grew into anger at himself which turned him into the character we’ve seen on The Flash and on Legends, and we see Mick realize that if a younger Rip Hunter could change his ways and become the man he is today, than so, too, can a younger Heatwave discover a way to become a better person. That he wants to change was surprising and shows that the character still has layers to peel back and find out more about him.

The near-death proposal of Ray Palmer to Kendra Saunders was actually done well, as was their conversation about where they stood with one another. After a couple of episodes where I frankly was getting sick of the romantic subplot, I was worried about how this aspect was going to be handled, but apparently we’re back to not letting the romantic melodrama interfere with the plot, at least for the time being, something I’m quite happy about.

Perhaps the most touching story in this episode was Jax’s reunion, so to speak, with his father. The actors really hit it out of the park and I have to applaud the work they did in bringing emotion into these scenes. The emotions portrayed by Franz Drameh as Jax builds up the courage to ask his father to keep an eye out on a specific date (so very reminiscent of Back to the Future where Marty is trying to tell Doc when he is murdered by Libyan nationalists) for an IED are perhaps what sells this scene the most.

The reveal of Rip Hunter’s past home and the discovery of what the Time Masters do to replenish their numbers had my eyes flying wide and I actually cussed at the screen. Seriously, what is it with these “maintain order” organizations that basically indoctrinate children and raise them to replenish their numbers so they have an ever-steady supply of troops for their “war” to maintain order? The more I learn about the so-called Time Masters the more I want to see Rip assemble a team later down the line to FIGHT THEM! Sorry, but using orphans like that? Has my blood boiling but good!

All in all, this was a wonderful episode filled with great character moments and has now put a clock on the team’s mission, as the changes they’ve had to make to keep their younger selves’ safe are solidifying and changing history.

Oh, one last thing before I give the score: Sara’s comment to Kendra about looking for the one with horns when they’re trying to find Baby Snart, and then her and Kendra’s reaction, was hilarious. I totally did not expect these two to do that, even though in hindsight I should’ve. But I guess that it is a good thing I see them as warriors first, women second for this show.

Score for “Last Refuge” comes in at a solid 10/10.

[protege]

This one was a weird one for a lot of reasons- episode MVP once again was rory- figuring out where he went wrong, and trying to change it. What surprised me was that he didn't deliberately kill his family; judging from his reaction to watching his house burn, i thought for sure he was an abused kid or something. I have a bad feeling he won't be around next season. Liked martin and jax, but i wish martin could've been more of a comfort to him. Paul blackthorne wearing that bad weave was hysterical. The action sequence at the end made sense, but i don't like the freeze frame technique of the heroes using their powers. Hated that ever since smallville. Once again, the ray/kendra relationship drama really felt out of place. I'm pretty sure kendra won't survive past the end of the season; i just hope she's the only casualty.
One thing i forgot to add; i thought we might get further insight into stein's past after last week's reveal, but nothing. Seems like a strange factoid to just throw out there.

[costas22]

Wow, a very eventful game changing episode. Even with that glaring cacophony (more on that later), this was still a lot of fun and every single character was focused on. A few thoughts:

- Finally a backstory on Rip. It was interesting to find out where he grew up and that story tied nicely with the quest the team was on this week.

- Rory was the one who truly shone this week. A lot of people like Wentworth Miller's Snart portrayal, but I feel Dominic Purcell has surpassed him, because he's taken a completely one dimensional character and given him so much depth. The scenes between Rory and his younger self were very intense and revealing.

- Speaking of Snart, I think there was a plothole of sorts. We see that he was born in 1972, yet when the team was in 1975, kid Snart was much older than 3, wasn't he?

- I don't know how to feel about the scenes between Sara and Quentin. Watching them only reminded me of what's gone down with Laurel and how cursed that family is. The wigs were terrible.

- The Stein/Jax scenes were quite touching. And as someone who's criticized Franz Drameh a lot for his acting, I thought he was terrific here. Will be very interesting to see if Jax actually managed to save his father.

- Judging by this episode and the preview for next week's episode, Legends of Tomorrow looks like a very expensive show. The outpost scene with the Pilgrim freezing out everyone looked great.

- Finally, the downside of this episode (as well as the last few episodes): Kendra and Ray. It just doesn't work. The whole romance feels out of place and,even worse, every episode features the same boring pattern: We get some melodramatic nonsense about the two of them not being destined to be together, only for them to make up by the end of the episode. Judging by the official description for episode 1.14, this romance and angst it carries along will be a fixture on this show. But then again, with Marc Guggenheim at the helm, don't know why I expected any better.

[Quark]

Good episode but this time travel is becoming awfully confusing.