The CW's Legends of Tomorrow - Episode 4.05 "Tagumo Attacks!!!"
A new fugitive is on the loose in 1951 Tokyo and Sara, Zari, Rory and Charlie try to capture it. As Constantine struggles to recover, Ray knows that magic might be the only thing that can save him but must look outside the team for help. Ava joins Nate and his family for an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner.
In 2018, it has become very difficult to keep up with every television show out there. It's even more difficult to provide adequate coverage on this site about the episodes that air every week. Not every show can get full coverage because of my busy and hectic viewing schedule. As such, some reviews will now be condensed to give only some summary thoughts. But it also affords a space for me to jot down my thoughts on the various episodes. And so, here are my thoughts on this week's episode of The CW's Legends of Tomorrow.
"Tagumo Attacks!!!" was written by Keto Shimizu & Ubah Mohamed and directed by Lexi La Roche
At the start of this season, Constantine was the only expert on the magical fugitives the Legends would be hunting. He still may be the only person capable of sending them back to Hell. However, it's now clear that there are new sources of information who are teaming with the Legends and the Time Bureau. Plus, the team is getting adjusted to these new foes that they are facing while also becoming aware of just how powerful some of these creatures can be. Charlie is able to confirm to the team that the giant octopus monster isn't the disruption to the timeline. Instead, it's a magical journal that is bound to a creative artist whose imagination has come to life. As such, this hour finds itself paying homage to Japanese disaster movies. It's a byproduct of the country's own unimaginable horror of the time period. It's easy to sympathize with this director and his fears even though it risks destroying the entire city. It's also quite amusing to see Rory accept being a creative individual as well. Him writing a novel was a solid joke in one episode last season. But it's so amusing that it has now become a recurring story with him. Sure, it still may never be brought up again. Zari continues to suggest that he's a great writer. However, his monster creature is very much born out of the male gaze. It's absolutely ridiculous though and that's why it still works as a story. It means the show can still have two monsters facing off and destroying the city. It's just taking place in miniature form where there are no real consequences to the timeline whatsoever. Furthermore, it bonds the team together with everyone getting adjusted to Charlie being so drastically different from Amaya. Of course, that's only one of the stories on display here. Elsewhere, the Time Bureau gets a new recruit with Mona. Ramona Young being a series regular this season ensured that she was more than just a naive young woman delivering food to the Time Bureau and constantly getting her mind erased. That would be absolutely horrifying. And now, she presents as someone who knows about the monsters that are loose in the building. That is beneficial because Nate and Gary don't seem to have any better ideas for how to deal with these threats. Of course, the way that she neutralizes the situation also gives Hank the inspiration to know that these monsters can be controlled. That's a very ominous note and one that suggests the larger threat of the season may be coming from the 2018 story. It's bound to come at a great personal cost for Nate once more as well even though he has a newfound appreciation for his father here. And finally, Ray reaches out to Nora Darhk in order to save Constantine's life. Constantine doesn't believe he is worth saving. He knows it will require dark magic to do so. He doesn't want to contribute to Nora relapsing back into the woman that she was last season. There was a glimmer of hope and redemption with her. And now, the overall solution is pretty lame and not really explained all that well. It just combines Nora's magic with Ray's science. That continues to show that they make an excellent team. It also just inspires her to surrender to the Time Bureau to make up for her past actions. And yet, her prison sentence may put her in harm's way because of whatever Project Hades has planned for the fugitives.
