DC's Legends of Tomorrow 1.11- "Magnificent Eight"

After the success of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’s crossing over with Stephen Amell in “Star City 2046,” several fans had high expectations of Jonah Hex guest starting this week in “The Magnificent Eight” and we were not disappointed.

**** Spoilers Follow ****

After a fumbled attempt to try to slow down Vandal Savage’s rise to power in last week’s “Progency” our Legends are hiding from the Time Master’s hunters who have been assigned to eradicate them. To that end, Rip takes the team to Salvation, Dakota in 1871 to hide. So they (with Rip refusing to leave the ship) get into a saloon fight with some of the local riff raff and are introduced to Jonah Hex. Like Connor Hawke, uncautiously one can see Jonah Hex was thought about and designed as more than a weekly guest star. Johnathon Schaech brings Hex to life, and made me like and want to know more about him, which is so much more than what I expected in this character.

Jonah has little love loss for their captain explaining that he had lived in Salvation before during Rip’s time with the Time Masters. Rip shares that he fell in love with the Wild West then explains that a place like Salvation is why time masters are not supposed to get emotionally connected to one time or era. For this to happen would mean he would no longer be able to be a time master. The chemistry between Jonah and Rip is similar to that between Snart and Mick, the writers do an excellent job demonstrating there is history between them.

Speaking of Mick, it’s good to see him working beside the Legends again and in a much more interesting capacity. Mick knows the Time Masters better than anyone, other than Captain Hunter. He was trained to bring in our Legends, so he knows the protocols and, one can imagine, even future tech. He is becoming someone so much more interesting than a villain with a fire gun.

Our team is walking the path to be heroes, and Salvation gives each of them opportunities for that. For Ray it is being town sheriff and running off a local gang; for Stein it’s healing a child who, without his skills, would die. Most importantly this week, Rips accepts a little more that he’s no longer limited to the time master’s protocols, giving him the freedom to assist the people of Salvation.

This week also gives the viewers a better glimpse into what the Time Masters are willing to do in order to stop Rip Hunter. I can’t say they are evil because really Rip is doing ALL of what we see on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow to bring back his wife and child. Obviously, the Time Masters would want to stop him, but their tactics of not only sending Chronos, but this week the savagery of the hunters not caring who gets in their way to stop Rip. The fight scene with the hunters was, of course, too quick, yet amazing cinematic. Firestorm is always my favorite with White Canary being a close second. When our Legends work as a unit, they are very formidable with Snart and a better trained Sara and even Rory leading the battles.

Of course, at the end of “Magnificent Eight” you can tell that Jonah Hex, like Connor Hawke has a slot on a Legends team when an opening is available, probably the end of this season or season two. Mick also over hears a pilgrim protocol initiated, which is the Time Masters ordering the deaths of our Legends younger selves. Essentially, the Time Masters are doing to our team what our team is trying to do to Vandal Savage. Next week we know for sure that Paul Blackthorne will be guest starting as Officer Lance in Sara’s younger self. Who else may be there is anyone’s guess at this time.