Legends of Tomorrow 1.03 “Blood Ties”

I do so love a title with a double-meaning. In this case, “Blood Ties” has three of them as the Legends split off into their own adventures while stuck in Leipzing, Germany in 1975.  First, Sara inspires Rip to go after Vandal Savage’s financial resources after she reasons the immortal needs funds (after all, he was trying to sell a nuclear warhead in the previous episode). With the help of Gideon, the pair determine that Savage’s assets are being held at the Brumberg Bank, the oldest bank in the world (and the only one that seems to be staffed with hitmen, assassins and various trained killers). While trying to get into Savage’s files, Rip learns about something much more valuable to the immortal than money, the Vessel. They find out from Blake (Cameron Bancroft), one of Savage’s men, that the Vessel is Carter Hall’s lifeless body, which will be used in some sort of twisted ceremony that very evening.

While Sara and Rip target Savage, Snart and Rory talk Jackson into taking the Waverider’s jumpship for a jaunt to Central City. There Snart steals the Maximillian Emerald, two days before his father, Lewis (Jason Beaudoin), makes a play for it and ends up doing five years in Iron Heights Prison. Snart does this to try and fix his family history and make things better since Lewis only became abusive after he served his time in prison.

The most dangerous venture of all though is happening in the Waverider’s medical bay where Ray takes a Fantastic Voyage through Kendra’s blood stream to remove fragments from the dagger that she was stabbed with and which are now threatening her life. Professor Stein is on hand to offer Ray guidance, not only through Kendra’s circulatory system, but on the journey to find the confidence he needs to pull this task off.

The three stories converge after Rip and Sara are found out by Savage’s minions at the gathering involving Carter’s body. Rip and Sara learn that Savage has a cult that worships him because he cannot die. To reward his truly faithful, Savage offers them the blood of Hawkman, which will grant any who drink it an extra century of life. As Savage performs an incantation over Carter’s lifeless body, Kendra responds to it in the medical bay and tells Ray and Stein exactly where Rip and Sara are. Stein contacts Jackson and he and the Rogues break-up Savage’s party, rescuing Rip and Sara and securing Carter’s body so that it can be laid to rest next to his son, Dr. Boardman, before the team heads off to the next period of time that records a sighting of Vandal Savage, which is 1986.

I like how, so far, the episodes have let us see the different members of this team interact together. Sometimes ensemble shows pair off certain actors together and they don’t like to mix it up. The most rewarding pairing this go-round is without a doubt Arthur Darvill and Caity Lotz. The two have a great chemistry together and the scenes where Rip confronts Sara over her blood lust is powerful, especially when he confesses he had a chance to kill Savage once before, just when he had gained his immortality, and failed to act. Speaking of Darvill, after sitting on the sidelines for the first couple of episodes, Rip Hunter finally gets to shine as he confronts the man who murdered his wife and child, and unwittingly makes Savage aware of who they are. As we find, Rip is the Devil in the Cult of Vandal Savage. His followers know him very well and are ever on the look-out for him.

The storyline with Captain Cold trying to change his timeline doesn’t go the way Snart wants, which is sad. Snart delivers the Maximillian Emerald to his father in the hopes it will keep him from going to prison. In the end though, Snart’s old man gets busted for trying to sell the rock to an undercover cop. Snart Sr. still does time and Leonard and his yet to be born sister still have crappy childhoods. In the episode’s best scene, Captain Cold has a talk with his younger self, Leo, and warns the youngster to never let anyone hurt him, in his mind or in his heart. He tells his younger self that he always has to look out for himself. Wentworth Miller is great when he is chewing the scenery and seems to relish playing Captain Cold as a wise-cracking, coldblooded scoundrel. Here though, the bravado is gone and there is a vulnerability we haven’t seen before in this Rogue and it is heartbreaking to see him talking to his younger self.

Finally, we have Ray who must act to save Kendra’s life, but who is suffering from a lack of confidence and flashbacks to his inability to save his fiancé, Anna. Professor Stein has a great heart to heart with Ray where he reveals his own lack of faith in himself when a brilliant student showed him up. Stein says it was Palmer, who he really does remember, but felt needed to be taken down a peg. In reality it is a lie that Ray realizes once he has almost completed his mission. Lie or not, the two men have laid the foundation for a good friendship at last. It is so good, Brando Routh even gets to slip in a Titanic joke, much to Victor Garber’s chagrin.

There are a few things I could quibble about this episode, like why did the team let Savage have Carter’s body after he was killed in battle at the end of the pilot episode? Also, why did they not take Savage after he is seemly disposed of at the end of this episode? I mean, even if he could be resurrected again, they have Savage then and there. Shouldn’t that be the end of the mission? Maybe it has to do with time travel? Speaking of time travel, is anyone ever going to slip up and call Rip a Time Lord? I mean we got a reference to Victor Garber being in Titanic, can’t we get a shout out for Darvill being in Doctor Who? Again, I could quibble, but I’m happy to just buckle up and enjoy the ride, which this time around gets a solid 4.