The Geekcap: Legends of Tomorrow "Out of Time"

In 2016, historian Nate Heywood barges into mayor Oliver Queen’s office to talk about Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, and the other Legends. Though Oliver questions the man’s sanity, he allows him to speak after hearing Sara and Ray’s names. Heywood explains to Oliver that, using deductive reasoning, he was able to discover his identity after noting that the Arrow arrived just one week after he did. He then explains that he has been noticing extreme time discrepancies throughout history with the help of a quantum physicist and notice old documents with descriptions that easily matches Oliver’s friends, the Legends. More importantly, however, he discovered a document of a floating craft headed toward the Atlantic Ocean in 1942 before being detonated by an atomic bomb, three years before the atomic bomb was invented. 

Twenty-four hours later, Oliver and Heywood travel under the Atlantic Ocean to find the remains of the Waverider. There, they find the body of Mick Rory kept in stasis by the ship itself. They wake him up, inspiring him to fight back, but Oliver holds him off until he tells him what happened to the others. Rory reveals the destruction of the Time Masters and their mission to chase time criminals. They continued for six months.

In 1637, the Legends were sent to protect the king of France. Sara serves the queen, only to find them sharing some feelings between them. Before they know it, a hooded figure holds a futuristic weapon against the team, forcing the team to fight back. After an intense battle, they save the king only to reveal their futuristic technology to the people.

Jax: Gray, meet me at the side of the house!

Stein: It's actually called a chateau.

Heywood questions what this means, leading Rory to explain their meeting with Rex Tyler. From his own machine, Rex Tyler informed them not to travel to 1942 or else they risk their deaths. From the timeline, Oliver easily deduces that the mission involved Nazis.

The Legends return to the Waverider celebrating another success though questioning the futuristic technology they found on the scene. Rip is more concerned about displaying their own abilities in the past which could have just as chaotic effects. Frustrated, he retreats to his library where his is greeted by Gideon. Sara continues to follow and argue on the team’s behalf, but the two are interrupted by what Gideon refers to as a timequake that emerged from 1942.

The team discovers a new abnormality in the Nazis securing an atomic bomb and using it to blow up New York. Fortunately, the team are protected momentarily in the temporal zone. Still, the team are eager to set history right in World War II by going back, something Rip reminds them they were specifically told not to do. They argue further, reminding him that, without the Time Masters, they are history’s last line of defense. Still, Rip adds that even if they do not die as Rex predicted, they could, in fact, make things worse. Nevertheless, they refuse to let a fascist win and set a course for 1942.

In the meantime, Sara also continues to use Gideon to search for Damian Darhk throughout history. Ray comes in during this research though she refuses to divulge what she is planning. Fortunately, Stein then distracts Ray with his own research into 1942. According to the time stream, the war continued for two more years, leading to millions of more deaths, including the disappearance of Albert Einstein. Looking into that news, they learn that Einstein was reported missing before the bomb explosion, leading them to believe that he was kidnapped help construct it in the first place. Now, they have no choice but to kidnap Einstein themselves.

The team leaves for 1942 with Rip assigning Jax to safeguard the ship in their absence, much to his frustration. Rip insists that Jax’s operation of a fully-functional time drive is essential to their work. The others arrive as plan, though Sara quietly leaves the group for her own plans. Ray, noticing Sara’s strange behavior, follows her using his suit.

At the same time, Stein, Rory, and Rip make their way to a Colombian University party, expecting to find Einstein among the guests. Stein is excited to see the man but is disappointed to see Einstein flirting shamelessly with other women despite being previously married. Rip, however, notices the men around them dressed as military, realizing they are probably planning to take the man. The chaos eventually begins as the men fire futuristic weapons to find Einstein, but Stein, Rory, and Rip successfully secure him by knocking him unconscious and escaping.

Sara travels to an old warehouse where she plans to find Darhk and take vengeance for the death of her sister Laurel. Ray then intervenes, warning her about the implications of killing Darhk in this year. Nevertheless, they spot Damian Darhk in the distance. From there, they see that Darhk has been gathering uranium supplies, likely being the one to create the atomic bomb in the first place. Upon learning this news, Sara is more disappointed that she cannot kill Darhk until they learn his plan.

Rory: I've never been to a nerd party before.

Einstein wakes up in the captivity of Stein and Rory who introduce themselves and explain why they captured him. They warn him that the Nazis were planning to kidnap him to create an atomic bomb, but he refuses to believe them and demands to be set free. Regardless, Stein asks Einstein for his help in saving New York. Einstein scoffs at the idea of something he couldn’t predict but then begins to understand through his surroundings that he is in the presence of time travelers. Unfortunately, their capture of Einstein appears to have made no effect on the time stream. Though they continue to insists that he is the only man who could have assisted the Nazis, Einstein reveals that there is another: his ex-wife Mileva Maric who provided much of his initial research.

The rest of the team returns to the Waverider, though Sara is more frustrated at their failure to take on Darhk. She then berates Ray for being a “billionaire boy scout” and warns him that without his suit that he is just a self-righteous man. While Ray allows her to vent, he also reveals that, using his suit, he can track down Darhk through the massive supplies of uranium radiation.

With this information, they track down Darhk and his men who are transporting Maric and the atomic bomb. The Legends ambush the area with Rip rescuing Maric and Sara going after Darhk. She is evenly matched as Ray attempted to disarm the bomb. Unfortunately, he finds that his suit is unable to handle the radiation levels and is forced to retreat after Rory is seriously injured. Rip orders the team to fall back, but Sara remains to fight Darhk only until the last moment.

After securing Maric, the team rest their plan to find Darhk with Rip once again assigning Jax mechanic duty. Jax objects to the detail, but Rip then admits his reasons. With Jax being assigned to the machine, he has become more adept at handling the machine on his own, something Rip considers essential in the future. For now, he asks Jax to make some modifications to the time drive, more specifically the time scatter. At this time, Sara also apologizes to Ray for her comments, understanding his worth.

They then track Darhk’s bomb to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. However, after cornering him, Darhk then sends the atomic bomb in their direction. Unfortunately, their only hope to stop the atomic reaction is for the ship to take it head on with no chance of surviving. At this time, Rip activates the time scatter, spreading each of the Legends throughout the time stream. Rory, however, is put under stasis for being too weak to travel. As Captain, Rip takes the full impact of the blast with his ship.

Rory finishes his story to Oliver and Heywood, who understands that the Legends are now spread through history. Rory then decides to travel throughout history to reclaim the Legends, offering the chance to Oliver. As mayor, Oliver declines the mission but persuades Heywood to join seeing him as an enthusiastic historian. Together, Rory and Heywood use the ship and Heywood’s investigation to find the others.

Rip: History is yours now, my dear Legends.

The two first rescue Ray in South Dakota 70 million years in the past before being eaten by a dinosaur. Next, they travel to England in 821 where Stein and Jax work as entertainment for a child king with the help of their technology. Before they are executed, they are rescued and returned to the Waverider. Finally, they discover Sara at Salem moments before her execution for seducing the young women. Unfortunately, they have no way of locating Rip, but Gideon provides them with his last message. He explains that as a captain he couldn’t have had a better crew and hopes to see them again someday. With this message, they agree to their resolve to protect the time stream.

To begin with, they travel back to 1942 where they convince Einstein to give credit to Maric in order for her to receive the same security treatment. While they have ultimately affected the timeline in Einstein’s work, they also prevent the creation of the atomic bomb, securing history for the moment.

In the meantime, Darhk angers his Nazi cohorts in deciding to move on from their schemes. When the Nazis refuse, Darhk informs them of his other partner who promptly kills the crew in a flash. He is then revealed to be Reverse Flash Eobard Thawne, who has been the rogue time traveler.

The Legends then ponder their next move only to be stopped by the Justice Society of America: Commander Steel, Doctor Mid-Nite, Vixen, Obsidian, and Stargirl.

Notes of Tomorrow

• Oliver Queen and Damian Darhk from Arrow appear in this episode along with Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash returns from The Flash.
•  Stein, Rory, and Rip band together in 1637 France, bearing an eerie resemblance to The Three Musketeers.
• Mileva Marić, Einstein's ex-wife, was actually a real Serbian scientist rumored to have assisted Einstein in his paper of relativity.

Photo Credit: CW/DC