Legends of Tomorrow S04E03 "Dancing Queen" Review

London, 1977. The Legends must track down a punk rock band that even the Queen herself has become a fan of. The problem is that there is some magical presence involved and this band never existed in the original timeline. As it turns out, there is a shapeshifting leprechaun involved that the Legends must defeat before she steals the Queen's jewels. But what follows is mostly a character exploration into two of the Legends struggling most with matters of identity and lost love.

Nate is largely on the sidelines from this adventure and it's later conveyed that the reason for his deliberate avoidance of the Waverider is because he is still mourning the dissolution of his romantic relationship with Amaia. It's unclear if the writers know what exactly to do with Nate. Despite his impressive superpower, as a character it's been a struggle to get a sense of who he is and what drives him outside of his relationships with others. If there's a lack of character content to work with, they must either develop him or write him out. His work at the Time Bureau is a natural way to do so, with the door being left open to bringing him back if and when there is a fresh and interesting story to be told with him. The banter is largely secondary in it's appeal, particularly with Constantine being added to the Legends this season. The banter he had with Mick, the one with whom he clashes the most, was far more entertaining than the secondary mission Nick had involving erasing the memory of a girl that knew too much about the Time Bureau as well as the violent plant monster.

The episode ends with the return of not-Amaia, but shapeshifter Charlie who is permanently stuck in the physical form of Amaia after Constantine performed a 'magical lobotomy' to prevent her from assuming any different forms again. As an episodic villain, Charlie wasn't particularly interesting or compelling compared to the more wacky villainous figures and creatures that have been present thus far on season 4. However, with her being taken prisoner abroad the Waverider, it would seem as if the writers have larger plans to develop her as a character and presumably offer something more to the story. In particular, we can't wait to see what mayhem will ensue once Nate learns that there's a not-Amaia abroad the ship.

The episode's main story and focus rests on Ray. His misadventures going undercover with punk rock band The Smell escalates into him stealing one of the Queen's beloved corgis, getting a tattoo, and revealing to the entire team that he was one that allowed Nora Darhk to escape from the Time Bureau. Brandon Routh shines bright with this opportunity for greater character material. As Ray is often the moral centre and the all-around good guy being the voice of reason without becoming overbearing, it's a refreshing twist to have him slip off the straight and narrow path he's most used to frequenting. There's often been a lingering question of Ray's character desires and motivations since some of the more 'serious' characters have taken the bulk of the dramatic content and with this new arc, the writers are treating fans of the show and Ray specifically to a deeper exploration of what makes him tick.

"Legends of Tomorrow" airs on Mondays on the CW at 9/8c.