DC’s Legends of Tomorrow – Witch Hunt

By starrymag | November 4, 2018

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

 

 

Time waits for no man and it makes no exception for the Legends. The gang has already recouped from their psychedelic adventure and under Captain Sara Lance’s (Caity Lotz) tight-command they are working to find ways to monitor supernatural activity with the blessed knuckle bones John Constantine (Matt Ryan) so kindly gifted to them. Zari (Tala Ashe) questions Constantine’s absence and before Sara has the chance to inform them of his vehement rejection of her invitation to join the Legends, he enters their domicile with a trunk full of his belongings. Constantine does what he usually does, invites himself in, makes himself at home and talks himself up to be the most valuable member of their team. Before Constantine can impede too much, the contraption Ray (Brandon Routh) rigged with the bones picks up on magical activity in none other than Salem, Massachusetts – 1692.

 

The Legends, sans Constantine, put on their best Puritan garb and prepare to local the fugitive. Constantine argues with Sara about the machine being broken – he doesn’t believe a magical creature would go to the most anti-magic era in history, but Sara disagrees. Mick (Dominic Purcell) sides with Constantine and Sara grants him permission to stay on the ship. Zari mentions Nate’s (Nick Zano) absence. He’d love this historical adventure, but he’s too busy mending his relationship with his father to tag along. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Nate suffers through the dinner. Hank (Thomas F. Wilson) questions his employment. Insult is added to injury when Nate’s credit card is declined. This quickly creates unbearable tension between the men and Nate leaves in a huff.

 

When the Legends arrive in Salem, the townsfolk have already targeted a young widow to condemn as a witch. As expected, the woman is given no trial and is ripped away from her daughter. Zari, Sara and Ray look on in horror. That’s when the crows come. They’re ravenous, they’re angry and they’re eating people’s faces off. This is all the confirmation they need that there is in fact magic in the riotous town of Salem. Back on the ship, Mick is struggling to adjust to life with another disgusting “alpha” man on board. Sara, Ray and Zari interrupt the tart of their scuffle to describe what they witnessed at the center of town. Gideon (Amy Louise Pemberton) provides the team with the historical reference while Constantine argues that while the woman arrested was probably not a witch, her daughter Prudence (Jordyn Ashley Olson) may be.

 

In the year 2018, Nate startles Ava (Jes Macallan) at an otherwise abandoned Time Bureau Headquarters. Nate, without a disposable income, has taken it upon himself to squat in the Time Bureau. Ava understands his plight and explains that she’s been practically living there herself in light of an upcoming Department of Defense meeting. Nate offers her his assistance and she has no choice but to accept. The following morning Nate, Gary (Adam Tsekhman) and Ava prepare to appeal to the DoD for a larger budget when Nate spots his father in the building. Nate freezes – too scared to face his father, who is also involved in clandestine government work. They’re back to square one – just Ava and Gary.

 

Sara and the team do some surveillance on Prudence as she sings her way through the trees. They corner Prudence into a witch’s trap, but their plans are foiled when the true threat presents herself in the form of a fairy godmother (Jane Carr). The fairy godmother stumps Constantine himself, but the creature sings them a tune in attempt to appease them. After all, what is a fairy godmother if not the arbiter of hopes and dreams? Nevertheless, Constantine attempts to banish the fairy godmother but she stops him. Fairy godmother tells them that she and Prudence are linked – where one goes the other will follow. And that’s when the trouble begins. The creature entraps the Legends and forces her crow army to circle them…but when they state their intention of saving Prudence’s mother, Prudence begs for their release. The fairy disappears and Prudence joins the Legends on the ship.

 

While Ray introduces Prudence to technological wonders, Constantine meets with Sara and Zari – confirming that Prudence and her fairy god mother are linked. The only way to sever their bond is to convince Prudence to reject her supposed protector. Sara refers back to the timeline, unsure of how to proceed. The only way to sever the bond is to give Prudence what she wants – her mother to be saved, but her mother’s execution was on historical record before the fairy godmother appeared. So, it is written, it must be done. Zari takes the situation personally, recognizing the events from her own pre-Legend life and storms off, upset with Sara for her insistence on maintaining the timeline.

 

Zari wastes no time in taking things into her own hands. If she couldn’t save her own mother, maybe she can save someone else’s. She storms into Jane’s holding cell, demonstrating her own powers and promising to liberate the woman but she…refuses. Jane tells Zari that they others are afraid and that is why they act with such violent haste. Jane must sacrifice herself to save the others – to keep the Puritans from seeing that Prudence is the truly gifted one. Zari projects her own history onto Jane and Prudence even further – negotiating the suffering one endures when they have the power to save someone but cannot do it. Zari begs Jane to come with her, but the woman’s resolve is too strong. Jane believe that her daughter will be able to absolve herself of that guilt, eventually. Zari leaves as the Puritan punishers approach to deliver their damnation.

 

The fairy godmother pays Constantine a visit while he’s in the middle of his research. She reveals to him that humans had entrapped her the first time and her bitterness was only quelled by Prudence’s rage. Constantine makes mention of hellfire and rather than scaring the sorceress, her inspires her. Sara makes her way through the catacombs of the ship, missing out of the fairy godmother’s visit and Zari’s rogue mission. When Zari is nowhere to be found, Sara knows just where to find her. She is watching as Jane is poked and prodded before the crowd of Puritans. When the executioner makes an attempt to demonstrate Jane’s magics – his antics quickly turn to torture and Zari cannot stand idly by. She activates her powers and sends the man flying across the room as the other Puritans watch in horror.

 

The townsfolk move to incapacitate Jane and Zari steps in. She attempts to find logic and reason where there is only fear, but the Puritans are unable to see another perspective. Zari succumbs to her own rage and powers – assaulting the core accusers with her elemental powers. As she glances at them all, gasping for breath, she stops herself and allows them to capture her. They remove the amulet from her neck, forcing her to watch in fear as they vow to burn her alive. Elsewhere, more magics are being employed and this time with no traces of good intentions to be found. The fairy godmother finds Prudence and shows her the conversation the Legends had about not being able to save her mother. This small demonstration convinces Prudence that the Legends are not the heroes she thought they were. Prudence reacts emotionally, and the fairy god mother breaks her out, but not without first turning Ray and Mick into swine and knocking Constantine out.

 

Ava does her best to earn her position as Director by pleading her case to Nate’s father. She rattles off a few of the Bureau’s biggest accomplishments, before explaining the delicacies of the timeline. Things go downhill from here, with Gary discussing the after-effects of Mallus’ release. Hank disregards the claims that magic exists and tells Ava that before they can proceed – he will need proof. Gary attempts to smooth things over by displaying the nipple that the unicorn bit off and Hank leaves with the promise of shutting the whole operation down.  With the meeting adjourned, Ava runs to Nate. He’s their only hope of keeping their jobs and position as the world’s unseen heroes. While Gary stalls Hank, Nate runs to the ship to ask Gideon for proof that magic exists. Nate bumps into the pigs and has a conversation with the piglet formerly known as Ray Palmer.

 

Concurrently, Zari and Jane are bound to a wooden stake. As the Puritans move to light the pile of kindling, Sara stops the ceremony and disarms the horde with some good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat. Sara’s alone though and vastly outnumbered. They capture her just as Prudence and her fairy god mother appear. Prudence orders her fairy to release Zari and Jane and then tells her that she wants the men to burn. Her wish is the fairy’s command and they sit above the fire that also hold Zari’s beloved amulet. The fairy god mother continues to encourage Prudence to enact revenge on the people of the town, but Zari learned through her own violent outburst that violent revenge is not the answer. While Zari can’t assure Prudence that the hearts of men don’t change – she can teach her how to rise above those men. Prudence sees the light and releases her god mother, thus lifting any of her magics.

 

Nate scoops Ray into his arms and carries him back to the Bureau in a last-ditch attempt to convince Hank that magic exists. Hank is shocked to find his son there but is not at all surprised when Nate’s initial attempt to prove magic exist fall flat. In the midst of their conversation, as the fairy god mother is released so are the Legends afflicted by her magic. Piglet Ray becomes Ray the Man in Nate’s arms and Nate activates his own powers right before his father’s eyes. Whether it was Ray’s naked body or Nate’s display – we don’t know, but it was enough to prompt Hank to ask Ava how much money is needed to keep this under wraps. Ava tosses a number at him and he accepts. This opens a new door of opportunity for the Heywood men.

 

Things are looking up in 1692, too. Zari grabs her amulet from the kindling and conjures a wind strong enough to snuff out the flames. Jane and Prudence are reunited. Constantine captures the fairy god mother and takes her into the woods for a proposition. He offers to be her new host, but she declines the offer. She tells him that he is damned, and she cannot help him. In anger and desperation, he sends her to hell. And now…Zari must face Sara on the ship. It’s not so bad. Sara understands the rage Zari had felt, though it was unfamiliar to Zari. Sara offers her ear to Zari and Zari accepts. She tells Sara about seeing her mother and being unable to save her. Sara knows about the pain of not being able to save loved one and together they vow to work through those emotions together.

 

All is well, in history and in the present…for now. Zari and Sara have come to an understanding. Hank finally compliments his son, Nate earns a friend in Ava and is given a job offer to stick around at the Bureau. He doesn’t turn it down, but he doesn’t quite accept. He only hugs Ray a little too long.