I only recently came to learn that a lot of people actually prefer DC’s Legends of Tomorrow the way it is now, in comparison to the opening two seasons. I actually thought this was the polar opposite, but I guess it makes sense. The ratings are consistent, and the show is always greenlit for another season.
When the show aired in January 2016, it was incredible, intense, and had a solid cast. We knew the show was going to center around time travel, and the big bad, Vandal Savage who we were introduced to in one of the Arrowverse crossovers.
When the first trailer dropped, I was actually more excited for this show than I was any other show in history. I mean, let’s just watch the initial trailer first.
It wasn’t overdone with the cast, and it had it perfect. We had Rip Hunter, Hawkgirl, White Canary, Firestorm, ATOM, Heatwave, and Captain Cold. They all worked together in a tremendous way and despite all of their personalities clashing, it actually brought them closer together.
The thing for me that I loved, especially during seasons 1 and 2 was the serious tone of the show. It was gritty with bouts of fun in there, but ultimately it was like a line between Arrow’s dark nature, and The Flash’s light-hearted nature. It worked well with what it had.
Once the show aired, I remember staying up until around 5am on a weekly basis to watch the show live (I’m in the UK), and there aren’t many shows that I have done that for, especially considering my sleep is too important to me.
But, as time went on – for me, the show got worse. It got too much, the characters never brought anything to the table, the action was weak, and then it just got silly.
I understand the show has its die-hard fandom, and that’s okay. I can perfectly see why people like the way it is now but for me, I just can’t get away with it. It turned from a show with untapped potential and featuring some fantastic future and past heroes/villains, even the potential of a first-ever live-action Batman Beyond.
I knew the show was heading down this route, and the moment they fought a Fairy Godmother I was officially done. I couldn’t stomach to watch how the show could go from being one of the best Arrowverse shows, to this today.
I also understand that not every show should follow a specific formula, and this just adds to the variety that The CW and the Arrowverse have to offer. I get it, but for me, it just doesn’t work. This universe is set within the Arrowverse which we all know with Meta’s, Dark Matter, and magic. Adding time travel into that cauldron was okay, but now it’s gone too far.
The issue is, we get these wacky shows because they’re marketed in that way in particular. Let’s take a look at two. Doom Patrol and The Umbrella Academy. These shows we knew from the very get-go they were going to be weird, but that’s okay – because, before you watch them, you know it’s not going to be normal. Especially Doom Patrol.
Those shows work because the entire formula and premise of this are built on them being over-the-top, Legends never was. Legends were marketed to be a serious, crossover series meant to tackle time travel and bigger bads due to them being a team, and it did it so damn well initially as well. It marketed right, and it showed.
Now it’s Fairy Godmothers and other weird villains that I don’t care for. The show has the ability to create iconic heroes and villains from comic lore that could only boost the show.
Let’s take a look at ONE episode in particular. On the 25th of February 2016, episode 6 aired. Star City 2046. It featured old-man Oliver Queen, where Star City was in ruins because of Slade Wilson’s son, Joe. Everyone in Team Arrow is dead, and they help bring him back from the brink of nothing in order to fight.
It’s episodes like that, that I remember. When it was advertised a couple of weeks prior by The CW, my excitement was so high I literally couldn’t wait. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow was able to bring an episode in with characters we know, lore we know – then create a future story surrounding it. It had the capability to do so, and make it fantastic.
Now, as I mentioned – I KNOW people love what Legends is today, and as I said, that is absolutely okay. This is just my opinion. I will stand by that, in that Legends of Tomorrow was at its absolute best during the first 2 seasons.
If it ever brought it back to that kind of tone, then I’d be all up for it.
