DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW 6.11

 

RECAP - DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW  6.11:  "The Final Frame"  

The Legends got to do something new this episode:  bowling!  And Jes Macallan's first foray into the director's chair gave us a story where half the team got trapped inside a bowling alley in space...forced to play the game in order to survive.  Meanwhile, Nate and Zari are attempting to have a quiet getaway for two before she has to head back into the totem.  And then there's John...who's been drunk on his new power that he's gotten from drinking the bottles of potion that he obtained last episode.  So, what played out this week?  Let's give it a look-see....

This episode saw Sara, Mick, Spooner, and Astra investigating the last of the pod aliens that had fallen into the timestream.  As they come across the last pod, the make the discovery of a metal box.  Mick tries messing with it, since there's some sort of symbols on it, to see if he can unlock it.  Figuring it to be a puzzle box, Spooner nabs it from him, and starts trying to open it, and Mick fights with her for it.  Astra then tries HER hand at it, before Sara finally tries to take it, only for the four of them to be transported to a bowling alley.  Not sure WHY they're there, they try to see if they can get out of there, but when Astra opens the door to the exit...she's in space, with nothing around.  It turns out to be a cosmic bowling alley, and they're trapped inside.  The owner of the alley says they were brought here by invitation---meaning the puzzle box.  So, as Sara converses with the desk clerk, Spooner tries to hit up the other bowlers in the alley to see if they can hitch a lift home.  This guy in a purple shirt with Elvis glasses and a slick '50's hairdo says he'd give them a ride---provided they beat his team in a game.  Spooner says they're on.  

While part of the team is stuck in a cosmic bowling alley, Gary is trying to help Ava find the perfect wedding dress, and it's not going well.  Gary doesn't help Ava's jitters much about finding the right dress for her wedding.  In the kitchen, Behrad is trying to make his batch of special brownies, but they're not coming out well, either.  John comes strolling in with A LOT of vim and vigor, messing around with his new magic that he's been ingesting from the vials.  They then begin to wonder why they haven't heard back from Sara and the team.  Gideon cannot track them because they've disappeared....and so has the Earth.  John suggests that Behrad grab some earthly elements, and he'll see if he can cast a spell to find them.  Behrad comments on John's power increase since he drank from the fountain.  John lies, and then orders Behrad to grab what he needs. 

Speaking of Earth, Nate and Zari are trying to have one last special date before she has to return to the totem, and the other Zari comes back.  Nate had the idea to take them on a camping trip, but his special spot is ruined by a couple who have taken over their spot, and are blaring music, and being annoying.  They try to set up elsewhere, but it's no good.  Especially when they hear about monsters attacking Alaska and other parts of the world, and they know their vacation is over---and they have to save the world.  As they try to bum the truck of the guy and gal at the campsite---Jeff and Jen....they find out that Jeff used all the battery power to blast their music, and power their campsite, and thus, the battery is dead.  They start walking into town, and Jen asks Zari making the distance...and not just into town...but in her relationship.  This gets Zari to question the future of her and Nate's relationship.  The two couples reach a ledge that leads down into a cavern that seems bottomless.  We pan out to see that it's the Earth...as the bowling ball being used by Mike...the Elvis sunglasses head of the Purple Team at the alley.  His team just beat the red team, and now the red ball that apparently was their world, goes into the trophy case, and they went with it.  The same will happen to Earth if the Legends lose the game against his team.  

John's spell actually works, and he manages to get control of the Waverider enough to transport the ship to where Sara and the rest of the team is.  Ava and Gary...having been in bridal gown hell, are jarred by the sudden movement of the ship.  Gary had been keeping Ava away from Gideon because he didn't want her to panic.  But Ava is panicking.  When they get to their destination, they see the bowling alley in space....but no Earth.  

The game begins between the Pin Killers and The Legends.  Safe to say, Mick can't bowl, Astra has no interest, Spooner is a pro, and Sara is a prodigy.  But they're losing.  Ava makes her way to the alley entrance, but she can't come in unless she's invited.  The Legends continue to bicker, and eventually, Spooner's finger on her throwing hand gets hurt thanks to Mick's carelessness.  Sara calls for a timeout, trying to see if she can rally the troops.  While on Earth, everytime Mike rolls his ball, they're feeling earthquakes and definitive shaking as Mike throws the ball down the lane.  At one point, Jeff fesses up to Jen that he had a vasectomy, and she storms off in a huff.  Nate and Zari still feel they have to save the Earth, but Zari is wondering if it's time for her and Nate to break up.  She's not sure if the constant distance between them is worth it.  But to Nate, it is.  She wanted one more hurrah before she has to head back into the totem.  Nate refuses to let them be torn apart...it would destroy him.

This was a cute episode, that didn't stray much from the main plot of it, and the side stories even tied into the main plot.  Ava and Gary trying on wedding dresses allowed director Jes Macallan to work behind the scenes, and allow the rest of the team to carry the show.  She wasn't needed really in this episode, and when she was, it was just for a brief spot.  The main focus was on the team in the alley, trying to win a game to save the planet---which was a bowling ball used by Mike the bowler.  An alien who collected worlds as trophies.  His use of the Earth as a bowling ball ties into the natural disruptions that Nate and Zari feel on the actual planet.  And John using his magic to transport the Waverider to where Sara and the team were, and showed how much this new power has made John drunk on it.  

Nate and Zari had one last date before she had to return to the totem...and Zari 2.0 comes back.  Their camping trip went awry by a youthful couple obviously NOT prepared for any kind of camping, and the young couple's eventual relationship troubles bleed over into Nate and Zari.  Zari feels that this is hard, and it's not fair to Nate, but Nate doesn't want to give her up, and refuses to have her break things off.  I've always been a MUCH bigger fan of Nate and Zari 1.0 than Zari 2.0 and John.  Their relationship can't last.  After all...with his mucking around with this magic...it's going to destroy him...and we KNOW he can't stay with the Legends...he's got to resolve his issues on his own.  And where does that leave Zari 2.0?  They were doomed to fail from the start.  And while she's learned to contribute more---what happens to her once John leaves?  We KNOW it's coming.  

I thought that Astra took a couple more steps this week, but she's still a big snob.  She's gotta learn to continue to loosen up.  Mick and Spooner seem to be reaching an understanding, and Sara seems like she's gotten her leadership mojo back.  

Overall, a rather cute episode....but outside of whatever's happening with John...and the whole Nate & Zari thing...there wasn't any new plot movement.  This was just a filler episode to get us to Sara and Ava's wedding.  That's when the hijinks will begin.  And what about all of YOU?  How would YOU rate this week's installment?  Subscribe and comment below....

Until then.....Time is on our side.