Monday, May 6, 2019

REVIEW: 'Legends of Tomorrow' - Constantine Is Confronted with the Heinous Actions of His Ancestor in 'Nip/Stuck'

The CW's Legends of Tomorrow - Episode 4.14 "Nip/Stuck"

With Constantine missing, the Legends struggle to find a way to track him. When Sara hesitates to make a tough call, Rory steps up creating a wedge in the team. Ava gives Gary the responsibility of handling the Bureau performance reviews for all the agents.



In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of The CW's Legends of Tomorrow.

"Nip/Stuck" was written by Ray Utarnachitt & Matthew Maala and directed by David Geddes

Are Ray and Gary gone for good? Can they be saved or redeemed? Those are the questions at the forefront of this episode. Ray made a deal with Neron to give him control over his body in order to save his best friend. Meanwhile, Gary made the choice to be reunited with the nipple that was torn from his body at the start of the season. With Gary, he is still himself. He is still in control of his own actions. Ray is completely gone. Only Neron exists in his body at the moment. Those are two very distinct situations. Sure, Gary walks around the Time Bureau with newfound confidence now. He manages to hypnotize everyone into loving and obeying him as well. It's all because his nipple has actually turned evil because it was condemned to Hell. That essence is now corrupting Gary. The only way to potentially stop it is to rip it from his body once more. That's not something that he wants. Neron mostly just sends him on this mission in order to distract the Time Bureau and make them incapable of rescuing the Legends from their precarious situation. Gary is not fundamental to the plan of resurrecting his great love, Tabitha. Mona is the only person at the Time Bureau who doesn't fall under this spell. Ava and Nora don't know what to expect when confronted with this new version of Gary. Meanwhile, Mona knows that something is wrong and has the powers to stop it. Sure, the psychic hold Gary has over his colleagues isn't all that strong either. Ava and Nora are knocked back to reality rather quickly by Wolfie. As such, Gary doesn't get to wield this power for very long. It's long enough though. Plus, he's still aligned with the villains of the season. Elsewhere, the Legends are trapped under an avalanche because Rory decided to open fire on Neron and Constantine. He saw it as the way to put an end to all of this. He sees Ray as a lost cause. Constantine orders the Legends to do it and Sara can't give the order. She saw that it was a trap after it was too late. They are stuck trying to find a way out of this situation. The solution is basically just waiting and allowing the ship's engines to just thaw the ice enough to break free. That may ultimately be too simple. But it does allow for some bonding amongst the team. They all realize just how important Ray is to the group dynamic. They need the energy and optimism he brings to each mission. They have the clarity over how to react because of his guidance. It's important to keep the hope alive that he can still be saved in Hell. That's the lesson they try to get to Constantine in time to do something about it. Constantine spends the hour confronted with the heinous actions of his ancestors. It's odd how a master of the dark arts doesn't know that fear can actually fuel the powers that he uses. Instead, he's confronted with a man who looks eerily similar to him who knows nothing about what he preaches to the terrified community that revers him. Constantine doesn't want to fall into Neron's trap. He doesn't want to open the portal to Hell to ensure that Tabitha can return to the land of the living. However, he does so to ensure the safety of the other magical creature who is innocent in all of this. That leads to the revelation that the Fairy Godmother is actually Tabitha. That's startling and provides a new connection to the start of the season. Her influence is bound to only grow more dangerous as well now that Gary is her new host. Meanwhile, Constantine jumps down to Hell in the hopes of saving Ray. He sees that as the place where he needs to be even though it's inevitable that he'll have to face all of the people and demons he condemned there along the way.