Legends of Tomorrow 1x10 "Progeny" Review

Legends of Tomorrow's 10th episode, "Progeny", was released this Thursday at 7 PM. The main story line centers around Per Degaton, a young child who will one day grow up to release a virus that will kill over half of the world's population. It focuses on the team's internal struggle, particularly Rip's, whether or not to kill Per. Killing him could mean saving the lives of millions, including Rip's wife and son. However, the team must decide if it is a noble enough cause, considering they would be murdering a young child who has not yet committed a crime. Two other conflicts happening simultaneously involve Ray and Kendra and Mick and Len. Ray discovers he may be a father and Kendra continues to have flashbacks about her old lover Carter, causing romantic tensions between the two. Mick is still locked up in the brig after revealing himself as Chronos.

Come to the dark side. We have cookies.

Let's start by reviewing the main arc. It was obvious from the get-go how the episode was going to play out. The team was gonna meet the kid, plan on killing the kid, then not kill the kid. I don't think CW would want to promote the murdering of children, even if that child was supposedly "baby Hitler" Two-Point-0. I thought it was interesting that Rip was the one that came the closest to shooting Per. Besides Len, Rip was the only one who actually wanted to kill the boy. Even Canary and Heat Wave were against killing him, which is saying something. Before this episode, my feelings about Rip were a bit negative. After this episode, I like him a bit more I suppose. The way they played Rip's emotions really gave him some well-earned character development.

To kill or not to kill. That is the question.

Some people are saying that Captain Cold wanting to kill Per was off character. In a comic book sense, I agree. The whole point of Captain Cold in the comics is that he is a villain with morals. He doesn't kill. However, TV show Captain Cold is repeatedly shown to have one weakness, his sister. It makes sense that he would want Per to die since Len's main value is family. Leonard knows that Per will kill Rip's wife and child in the future. If it were Lisa in danger, Leonard would kill Per without question. Anything to protect Golden Glider. So it's not entirely off character. I guess the writers just needed one other person on the team besides Rip to want him dead. Though, it's not like the team usually agrees with Rip anyway.

                                                                                                

The second part of this episode I wanted to discuss is Kendra and Ray's relationship. I can say without a doubt that Kendra is my least favorite character on the team. If you are a fan of her, please don't take offense. I just find the other members to be much more interesting. Additionally, the main reason I got interested in the Rogues is because I started shipping Cisco Ramon and Lisa Snart, Captain Cold's little sister, on The Flash. The Flash first introduces Kendra as a love interest for Cisco. It kind of ruined my Flash OTP, so Hawkgirl didn't make a very good first impression. I thought I would warm up to her after a bit, but I haven't. I liked Carter better, and even though its nice having some female super heroes on the team, I wish Kendra would have been the teammate to leave.

Cheating on your boyfriend with your dead boyfriend.

In contrast, I adore Ray Palmer. Since I do not watch Arrow, I didn't really know much about the Atom. I purchased some JLA comics a few months before the show came out to get a better understanding of the character. My feelings were neutral. However, when the show started up, I was surprised how much I liked Ray. He is definitely not my favorite. That spot is reserved for Captain Cold and Heat Wave only. But there is something about his positive, can-do attitude that makes me just want to scoop him up and save him from a Russian prison. I understand how Mick feels.

How many greats was that again? I lost track. Let me start over.

I get that any show needs a good romance, and I'm usually all for it. But I really think this whole love triangle between Ray, Kendra, and dead-Carter needs to end. It's not as interesting. The two people are just completely opposite characters. I suppose I'd rather have her with Ray than with Cisco, but still. Every time she and Ray are on scene together, I groan. The show cut out from Captain Cold and Heatwave's heart-to-heart/fist-to-fist scene just to show Atom and Hawkgirl making out. That was not OK. From how this episode played out, it appears that Kendra has decided she is going to stay with Ray despite her flashbacks with Carter. Since the show has been making such a big deal about these two character's relationship, I don't think it's going to go away any time soon. If you ship them for some reason, you should be okay. However, if you think their romance is an annoying waste of valuable episode time, you are probably out of luck.

What is your appeal? Trick question. There is none. Go away.

The last and most important part of this review is centered on Heat Wave and Captain Cold. The episode actually begins with Rip Hunter talking to Heat Wave in the brig. He asks for Mick's help, but Mick, still mad, refuses. Rip was a huge jerk in episode 1x07. He basically told Mick he was only on the team because he was a package deal to get Captain Cold. Rip apologized, but I still want Mick and Len to punch him for being an absolute [insert cuss word of choice]. I do appreciate how he said it was his fault Mick was marooned, not Len's. It seems everyone wants Captain Cold and Heatwave to be buddies again. I 100% agree.

"I owe you an apology, Mr. Rory." You think?

Smartest thing you've said Rip since episode 1.

The other teammate to talk to Mick is Sarah. She reminds Mick that Leonard risked his life for him. She also says that when Len thought he was going to die back on the ship, he was continuously thinking about Mick. White Canary serves as the intermediator between the two men. She is the one to make Mick think more about forgiving Cold. She is also the one to convince Cold to go see Heatwave. She earned some serious brownie points this episode in my book. She obviously must be a Rogues fan herself.

Mick is so jelly. Len is spending all his time with Sarah, and he's afraid Cold already has a new best friend.

The last meeting with Mick is obviously with Len. The writers handled this situation perfectly. Rather than have the two talk it out, they simply punched it out. Paralleling a scene from the New 52 Flash comics, Captain Cold and Heatwave fought. However, Mick was able to stop himself from killing Len. Even though Len told him to kill him, Mick couldn't do it. This is the Heatwave I know and love from the comics. He would never kill. This was just so amazing and perfect and djskalfosuidahfklashfio;asd. Okay, done fangirling. But honestly, just look at these stills.


"All I want to do is kill you."

"JK"

 
"Why can't we be friends!"

Len took a really big beating for Mick, and Mick was able to overcome his psychotic tendencies for his best friend. The BrOTP is so real I can't even handle it. Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller, the actors who play Heat Wave and Captain Cold, deliver their parts so well. It's also nice to note that Mick is already out of his cage and back on deck with the rest of the crew. It kind of seems a bit rushed, the whole thing. In one episode Mick is "killed". The next he isn't even mentioned. Then he reveals himself to be Chronos, and just one episode after that he's back on the team. I'm not complaining; I'm so glad to have my two Rogues back in one piece. It will be great to see the two regain their trust over the course of the rest of the season.

8/9 of the family is back together! Yay!

So, I hope you liked this little review. I'll try to post an Easter egg review Sunday or Monday. To give you a sneak peak on what I will be talking about, I will be discussing various references involving Star Wars, Heatwave in the comics, next week's Western episode, and the possibility of a Captain Cold and Canary relationship. Stay tuned!

As a normal Legends of Tomorrow fan, I give this episode 8 child dictators out of 10.

As a Rogues fan, I give this episode 10 lighters out of 10.