Dan Johnson" />
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      Dan Johnson
      January 17, 2022
      Fiction, PDI Press, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      John E. Meredith
      January 17, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

      John E. Meredith
      January 16, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

      John E. Meredith
      January 15, 2022
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • X (2022)

      Dan Johnson
      April 22, 2022
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • X (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      April 22, 2022
    • Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      April 15, 2022
    • The Adam Project (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      March 16, 2022
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Dan Johnson
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Dan Johnson
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • X (2022)
  • Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
  • The Adam Project (2022)
  • The Batman (2022)
  • Entropy (2022)
  • Killer Sofa (2019)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Reviews

Legends of Tomorrow 1.05 “Fail-Safe”

Dan Johnson
February 25, 2016
Reviews, TV

“Fail-Safe” picks up after the events of “White Knights” with Stein, Ray and Rory being sent to the Koshmar Gulag, or the Nightmare Gulag.  Vostok (Stephanie Corneliussen) tries to trick Stein into giving up the means to recreate Firestorm. One attempt involves Stein (Victor Garber) thinking he is back at S.T.A.R. Labs, talking to Cisco (Carlos Valdes). When Stein sees through this charade, Vandal Savage steps in with threats of torture. Meanwhile, Ray (Brandon Routh) and Rory (Dominic Purcell) are thrown into the general lock-up. Rory knows the routine: stay quiet, stay to himself and to stay out of everyone’s way. Ray on the other hand seems way too peppy about the prison experience and he also draws way too much attention for his own good. When he tries to befriend an old man (Frank C. Turner), Ray gets a savage beat down by the prison Alpha male, Boris (Andre Tricoteux) as Rory just stands back and watches.

As half his team gets used to prison life, Rip (Arthur Darvill) arranges the means to get Sara (Caity Lotz) and Snart (Wentworth Miller) into the Gulag with the assistance of a Russian mobster, Yuri the Bear (Nick Gracer), who runs the underground at the prison. The objective is to get their teammates out, but Sara has a side mission. Rip orders her to kill Stein, if it becomes necessary, to keep the secret of Firestorm from falling into the hands of the Soviets.

legends fail safe 2

Kendra (Ciara Renée) and Jefferson (Franz Drameh) are both upset that they are sidelined for this mission. Rip deems them too important to send in since Jefferson is the other half of Firestorm and Kendra is the only person who can kill Savage. Jefferson though is getting empathic feelings from Stein and he senses that the Professor thinks he is being abandoned. To bolster his partner, Jefferson uses their link to send him a message, “We’re coming,” by carving it into his own arm, knowing it will appear on Stein’s arm too. This is just what Stein needs to stay strong, anticipating torture at the hands of Savage. Instead though, Savage has Stein watch as he prepares to have Ray and Rory tortured.

The guard assigned to the task, Arkadin (Voytek Skrzeta) is particularly eager to have at it with Rory for threatening to go Rocky IV on him in the previous episode, but Ray takes the hits intended for Heat Wave after insulting the guard even further. He really gets under Arkadin’s skin with some comments about his mother and her mouth (I was impressed by this scene actually; I didn’t know the Boy Scout had those kind of comments in him). Stein breaks and tells Savage and Vostok that he will give them the formula they want.

legends fail safe 4

Back on the Waverider, Kendra and Jefferson confront Rip and he decides that they do indeed need to be sent into action. Back at the gulag, Snart finds Rory and Ray in their cell. Ray is passed out from his beating at the hands of the guard and Snart is prepared to leave him there, once he has slipped him his Atom suit. Rory insists that they take Ray with him, explaining to Snart that he took a beating for him.

Meanwhile, Stein has given Vostok the formula for Firestorm, but she senses this means to stabilize the Nuclear Man is too simple. She then notices the message cut into Stein’s arm and she realizes that he is one-half of the Firestorm. She orders the reactor to be brought online and tells Stein that she will merge with him. Sara is in position, ready to take Stein out, but the arrival of Rip, Kendra and Jefferson keeps her front making the hit. Rip tells her that they are going to do what they should have planned to do all along, rescue Stein. He tells Sara to let Jefferson do his thing, which is dashing across the prison compound and shutting off a circuit breaker. The loss of power is just what Rory needs to get Ray out as Snart goes to talk Sara out of killing Stein.

legends fail safe 6

Once the Vostok-Stein Firestorm hits the prison yard, Jefferson confronts the threat and is able to get through to the Professor, who holds Vostok back from killing his partner. When his and Vostok’s union is severed, Stein is freed and Vostok goes critical just as the team makes good their escape. While we never get to see Vostok’s final fate, I can’t help but wonder if we saw the origin of her alter-ego, Negative Woman, in this episode.

Back on the Waverider, the team celebrates a successful mission. The festivities don’t last long as Chronos has tracked them down again and forces them to make a crash-landing in time. The Legends find themselves in an apocalyptic Star City of 2046 and facing an Arrow who claims he doesn’t know Sara, Ray or any Legends. What happens next? We’ll all have to tune-in to find out!

legends fail safe 8

 

All in all, “Fail-Safe” is a satisfying conclusion to the Legends adventure behind the Iron Curtain for a number of reasons. Top of the list has to be the amount of character development that is shown throughout the episode.

First off, we have Sara, a woman trained by the League of Assassins, who is actually showing hesitation about killing Stein, even after she has been shown a Star City of 2016 that has been devastated by Soviet Firestorms. The human side Rip has asked her to explore and embrace in previous episodes is coming through more and more. Caity Lotz really shines this time around as she wrestles with the demon within and finally, with some prodding by Snart, gives into her better angel.

legends fail safe

Speaking of better angels, it was good to see Dominic Purcell get some screen time in this episode and watch as Mick Rory changes from someone who really can’t seem to stand Ray Palmer to someone willing to risk his life to help the man who took a beating for him. At the same time, it would appear that Ray’s opinion of Snart and Rory is changing as well.

Next, it would seem that Jefferson and Stein have reached a meeting of the minds. Stein has shown a deep caring for the younger half of the Nuclear Man and Jefferson realizes Stein is a lot more daring than he originally thought, and a lot tougher to boot. Victor Garber and Franz Drameh make a great team on screen, but it is good to see them shine in their scenes apart from one another in this episode.

legends fail safe 3

Once again, I maintain that Wentworth Miller is stealing this show (and he gets handed one of the best in-joke lines as he comments about breaking into the Gulag: “This isn’t my first prison break.”) His discussions with Sara about not taking out Stein, one of their own, shows Snart is a man with a code of honor. He demonstrates it yet again when he is willing to do whatever it takes to get his fellow Rogue, Rory, out of the gulag. At the same time, Snart seems to be developing the idea that he and everyone else is merely a pawn to Rip Hunter. Could he be correct? Only time will tell. But in the end, I get the sense that if this is the case, Snart will prove to be the fiercest protector of his teammates.

Finally, in the WTH!? Moment of the evening, we got to see an extended look at the next episode, the highly anticipated “Star City 2046” and we got our first look at the Connor Hawke Arrow (Joseph David-Jones). This is the episode I am most excited to see and I can’t wait to check it out. I have no doubts it will keep Legends of Tomorrow’s streak of successful episodes alive. As it is, “Fail-Safe” ranks up there pretty high. I give it 4 Stars.

(Visited 63 times, 1 visits today)
Legends of Tomorrow 1.05 “Fail-Safe”
Dan's Rating
4.0Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Amy PembertonArthur DarvillBrandon RouthCaity LotzCarlos ValdesCasper CrumpCiara RenéeDan JohnsonDominic PurcellFranz DramehJoseph David-JonesLegends of TomorrowStephanie CorneliussenVictor GarberWentworth Miller

Second Chance 1.05 “Scratch that Glitch” & 1.06 “Palimpsest”
The Witch (2016)

About The Author

monsterid
Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson is a North Carolina based writer. At this time, he is an assistant editor and writer for Charlton Neo Comics and the editor and head writer for Empire Comics Lab’s horror anthology, Cemetery Plots. Dan has also worked for Antarctic Press, Campfire Graphic Novels and the Dennis the Menace comic strip. Besides his work in the comics industry, he has also written for Alter Ego, Back Issue, Comic Book Marketplace, Filmfax, Hogan's Alley, Monster Memories, Monster News and Scary Monsters Magazine.

Daily Top Ten

  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Shakespeare's Macbeth (2010)Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • An Existential Mystical Experience: The Zero Theorem (2013)An Existential Mystical Experience: The Zero Theorem (2013) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Return of Julie James: I Still Know What You Did Last SummerThe Return of Julie James: I Still Know What You Did… by The Final Girl
  • Lost in Translation 232: Remaking Danger!! Death RayLost in Translation 232: Remaking Danger!! Death Ray by Scott Delahunt
  • Shazzan: The Complete Series DVD SetShazzan: The Complete Series DVD Set by Zack Davisson
  • Boardwalk Empire 3.09 "The Milkmaid's Lot"Boardwalk Empire 3.09 “The Milkmaid’s Lot” by Jamil Scalese
  • Akira (1988): 25th Anniversary Edition Akira (1988): 25th Anniversary Edition by Adam Barraclough
  • It Follows (2015)It Follows (2015) by Keith Silva
400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

Weekly Top Ten

  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy”Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Shakespeare's Macbeth (2010)Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • Scream 4: Sidney’s Final KillScream 4: Sidney’s Final Kill by The Final Girl
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 2 – Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 2 – Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985) by Corin Totin
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
400x400 UA Affiliate Banner

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Latest Reviews

  • X (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    April 22, 2022
  • Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    April 15, 2022
  • The Adam Project (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    March 16, 2022

psychodrivein

Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E37 - G.I. Joe #12 / Three Strikes For Snake-Eyes!

It's the start of one of the most iconic Joe stories in it's entire history, and it includes the return of two pivotal characters from the past! Join Greg and Jaren as they venture into Rio Lindo to root out Cobra's next devious plot!
---
Watch Greg and Jaren at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes @anythingjoespod #GIJoe #MarvelComics #SnakeEyes
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 412: Good Omens (2014 BBC Radio Dramatisation)

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch was first published in 1990 and was a comedy about Revelations and Armageddon.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #GoodOmens #NeilGaiman #TerryPratchett #BBC #MarkHeap #PeterSerafinowicz #JimNorton #AdamThomasWright #JosieLawrence #Charlotterichie #ColinMorgan #CliveRussell #JuliaDeakin #BBCRadio
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E36 - Lexington Comic & Toy Convention 2022

Greg & Jaren recount their experience meeting Larry Hama at the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention 2022. Plus, the latest news, recent acquisitions, and listener mail!
---
Listen to Greg and Jaren's podcast at the link in our profile!

@anythingjoespod #AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Mezco #LarryHama
Today at https://psychodrivein.com X (2022) Ti W Today at https://psychodrivein.com

X (2022)

Ti West is a director I haven’t fully enjoyed, though I would say X is his most accomplished film to date for me. 
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#X #TiWest #MiaGoth #Slasher
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 411: The Secret of Marvel's Success

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been dominating the box office since the release of Iron Man.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Marvel #MarvelStudios #MarvelCinematicUniverse #MCU #IronMan #Avengers #MoonKnight #WandaVision #Hawkeye #RobertDowneyJr
Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2022 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2022 Day 9: All of Us Are Dead S1 E7-12

There are enough plot threads left dangling to give us a good launching point for a future second season, but if that doesn’t happen, All of Us Are Dead can stand as a solid one-and-done.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2022 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2022 #AllOfUsAreDead #Netflix #LeeJaiKyoo #KimNamSu #ChunSungIl #JooDongGeun #YooInSoo #ChoYiHyun #OhHyeSoo #YoonChanYoung #LeeEunSaem #YangHanYeoi #JinHoEun #HaSeungRi #SonSangYeon #zombies
Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2022 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2022 Day 8: Return of the Living Dead III (1993)

Return of the Living Dead III is, quite simply, one of the best examples of the genre.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2022 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2022 #zombies #ReturnOfTheLivingDead3 #BasilWallace #BrianYuzna #JTrevorEdmond #KentMcCord #MelindaClarke #SarahDouglas
Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2022 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2022 Day 7: Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

While I really didn’t like Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City very much, I want to give it a fair shake.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2022 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2022 #ResidentEvil #ResidentEvilWelcomeToRaccoonCity #WelcomeToRaccoonCity #JohannesRoberts #RobbieAmell #HannahJohnKamen #TomHopper #DonalLogue #NealMcDonough #KayaScodelario #AvanJogia #MarinaMazepa
Today at https://psychodrivein.com EZMM 2022 Day Today at https://psychodrivein.com

EZMM 2022 Day 6: Kingdom: Ashin of the North (2021)

Vengeance. That’s what Ashin is doing. That’s what she’s been doing from behind the scenes all along.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#EZMM #EZMM2022 #EasterZombieMovieMarathon #EasterZombieMovieMarathon2022 #Zombies #TheKingdom #TheKingdomAshinOfTheNorth #AshinOfTheNorth #Ashin #Netflix #JunJiHyun #KimEunHee #KimRoiHa #KimSeongHun #KimShiAh #ParkByungEun
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Latest Columns

  • Anything Joes: S01E37 – G.I. Joe #12 / Three Strikes For Snake-Eyes!

    Greg Engle
    May 11, 2022
  • Lost in Translation 412: Good Omens (2014 BBC Radio Dramatisation)

    Scott Delahunt
    April 29, 2022
  • Anything Joes: S01E36 – Lexington Comic & Toy Convention 2022

    Greg Engle
    April 27, 2022

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Oliver Ghingold
Oliver Ghingold - 2/18/2022
Muppet Madness: You’re the Director
Do you still have these tapes? I've been looking everywhere for them! I loved the Interactive Vision...
white swan
white swan - 12/22/2021
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
I enjoyed the article though I would never call brutality gorgeous.
Shawn EH
Shawn EH - 10/26/2021
13 Days of Halloween Day 12: Halloween Kills (2021)
Very disappointing, it's true. And very mean-spirited murders of nobodies. And I don't even see how...
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: