Aruba (Legends of Tomorrow) explained

Series:Legends of Tomorrow
Season:2
Episode:17
Director:Rob Seidenglanz
Production:T13.20017
Length:41
Guests:
Prev:Doomworld
Next:Aruba-Con
Season Article:Legends of Tomorrow (season 2)
Episode List:List of Legends of Tomorrow episodes

"Aruba" is the seventeenth and final episode of the second season and thirty-third overall of the American science fiction television series Legends of Tomorrow, revolving around the eponymous team of superheroes and their time traveling adventures. It is the conclusion to a two-part storyline which began with the previous episode "Doomworld". The episode is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe. The episode was written by Marc Guggenheim and Phil Klemmer, and was directed by Robert Seidenglanz.

This episode stars Caity Lotz as Sara Lance as well as the rest of the regular cast consisting of Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Arthur Darvill, Matt Letscher, Franz Drameh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Amy Louise Pemberton, Nick Zano, and Dominic Purcell. This is the final episode to feature Darvill and Letscher as series regulars, both would return in guest appearances.

Plot

Rip Hunter, trapped inside of a shrunken down version of the Waverider, flies the ship to where the Legends have begun devising a plan to undo the Legion of Doom's victory. Ray de-miniaturizes the Waverider and the team returns to 1916 to steal the Spear of Destiny. Thawne arrives from the altered reality, destroys the blood of Christ, kills future Ray, and informs the past Legion members about the future Legends. The Legends end up interacting with their past selves. The resulting time storm prevents the use of the Waverider to escape. Shortly after, they are ambushed by Merlyn, Darhk, and Snart. During the subsequent battle, the future Legends are killed except Sara and Rip, while the Legion is incapacitated by the past Legends. Thawne arrives with numerous time remnants of himself to fight the team, killing future Rip. Sara takes the Spear and consults a manifestation of Laurel. Thawne steals and attempts to use the Spear, only to learn that Sara depowered it. The Black Flash arrives and erases Thawne, with future Sara also fading from existence along with the Spear. Nate convinces Amaya to stay, while Rip leaves the team. The Legends leave the Legion in their respective places throughout the timeline and, at Mick's request, set off for Aruba. However, they arrive in Los Angeles, now occupied by dinosaurs and buildings present from other points in history.

Production

Development and filming

The episode began filming on February 14, 2017,[1] and concluded on the 28th of the same month.[2] After the events of the previous episode, Doomworld, there was some speculation on some of the episodes plot point particularly how Amaya will be resurrected.[3] In an interview executive producer Phil Klemmer teased that Katie Cassidy would be reprising her role as Laurel Lance and that there would be many deaths. Klemmer felt that his statements would raise questions[4] as Laurel Lance previously died in the Arrow episode, "Eleven-Fifty-Nine" (2016),[5] [6] and the second due to nature of the Arrowverse season finales typically only killing off one character at a time.[7]

Writing

The episode was written by Phil Klemmer and Marc Guggenheim.[8] The episode title is a reference to Mick Rory repeatedly requesting for the Legends to visit Aruba across the season.[9]

Casting

The episode stars Caity Lotz as Sara Lance alongside principal cast members Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Arthur Davil, Franz Drameh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Amy Louise Pemberton, Nick Zano, Dominic Purcell, and Matt Letscher as, Ray Palmer, Martin Stein, Rip Hunter, Jefferson Jackson, Gideon (voice only), Nate Heywood, and Eobard Thawne respectively. This is the final appearance of both Darvill and Letscher as series regulars.[10] Darvill would later return in a recurring status for the third season,[11] while Letscher would return as a special guest star in two episodes of the seventh season.[12]

John Barrowman, Wentworth Miller, and Neal McDonough recur as Malcolm Merlyn, Leonard Snart, Damien Darhk. The guest cast included Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance[13] and Jack Turner as J. R. R. Tolkien.[14] [15]

Release

The episode premiered on The CW on the fourth of April in 2017 to an audience of 1.52 million people, it had a share of 0.6/2 among adults age 19–49.[16]

On August 15, 2017, the episode was released on both DVD and Blu-ray as a part of the Legends of Tomorrow season two box set.[17]

Critical reception

Critic reviews for the episode are primarily positive. It holds a 90% out of 10 critic reviews on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. The sites critical consenus reads, ""Aruba" manages to tie up the loose ends of Legend's absurd storylines, officially redeeming the series from a mediocre debut season."[18]

IGN's Jesse Schedeen gave the episode a rating of 8.9 and said "Legends of Tomorrow wrapped up an excellent season with a satisfying, eventful finale episode."[19] Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club said, "Legends Of Tomorrow experienced a major upswing in quality this season by being playful and leaning into the campy fun of time travel, and the cliffhanger suggests that the creative team is going even bigger moving forward" and followed it up with a rating of A−.[20]

In an article for Collider written by Allison Keene the episode received a rating of 4 stars with the review of, "'Aruba' had its fun by allowing two sets of Legends to occupy most of the episode, killing off the 'spares' from the changed reality version of the future in often gory ways. Nate's egregious wig and the casual tossing around of the blood of Christ aside, the dueling characters were mostly a delight, particularly Mick Rory, who would of course be the one to pick a fight with his past self."[21]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nick Zano confirms 2x17 has begun filming . 2023-04-23 . Twitter . en.
  2. Web site: Lotz . Caity . Caity Lotz . February 28, 2017 . That's a wrap on SEASON 2 of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW!!! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230423071847/https://twitter.com/caitylotz/status/836427733978628097 . 2023-04-23 . 2023-04-23 . Twitter . en.
  3. Web site: Graceling-Moore . Rose . March 30, 2017 . Legends of Tomorrow: What [SPOILER]'s Death Means For The Arrowverse ]. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170401170140/https://screenrant.com/legends-tomorrow-amaya-death-doomworld/ . 2017-04-01 . 2023-04-24 . ScreenRant . en.
  4. Abrams . Natalie . April 3, 2017 . 'Legends of Tomorrow' Boss Teases 'So Many Deaths' in Season Finale . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230428090539/https://ew.com/tv/2017/04/03/legends-tomorrow-season-2-finale-spoilers-death/ . 2023-04-28 . 2023-04-24 . . en.
  5. Web site: Prudom . Laura . April 6, 2016 . 'Arrow' Bosses and Star Discuss That Shocking Death: 'We Knew That It Would Enrage a Lot of People' . October 31, 2023 . Variety.
  6. Abrams . Natalie . April 6, 2016 . Arrow bosses explain that shocking death from Eleven-Fifty-Nine . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20180704050900/http://ew.com/article/2016/04/06/arrow-laurel-death-spoilers/ . July 4, 2018 . October 31, 2023.
  7. Web site: Mohan . Monita . March 11, 2022 . From Leonard Snart to Laurel Lance: The 15 Most Heartbreaking Arrowverse Deaths . 2023-05-10 . Collider . en.
  8. Web site: 2017-03-31 . Aruba - DC's Legends of Tomorrow . 2024-04-03 . . en-US.
  9. Web site: Miller . Liz . 2020-06-10 . Every Legends of Tomorrow Episode Title, Ranked . 2023-05-30 . Collider . en.
  10. Web site: Legends of Tomorrow: Matt Letscher Returning as Thawne — Here's Why . 2023-05-10 . Yahoo Finance . January 14, 2022 . en-US.
  11. Web site: Lee . Helen A. . February 25, 2021 . The Real Reason Arthur Darvill Left Legends Of Tomorrow . 2023-05-10 . Looper . en-US.
  12. Web site: Gugliersi . Antonella . January 28, 2022 . Legends of Tomorrow: [SPOILER]'s Return Explained (& Why He Was An Ally) ]. 2023-05-10 . ScreenRant . en.
  13. Web site: Donn . Emily . April 4, 2017 . Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Finale Has 'Organic' Lance Sister Reunion . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190209153516/https://screenrant.com/legends-tomorrow-season-2-finale-sara-laurel-lance/ . 2019-02-09 . 2023-04-29 . Screen Rant.
  14. Web site: Makuch . Eddie . February 22, 2017 . JRR Tolkien Will Be In An Episode Of DC's Legends Of Tomorrow . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230424194046/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/jrr-tolkien-will-be-in-an-episode-of-dcs-legends-o/1100-6448121/ . 2023-04-24 . 2023-04-24 . GameSpot . en-US.
  15. Web site: Legends Of Tomorrow Season Finale Will Feature JRR Tolkien . 2024-06-18 . DC . en.
  16. Web site: Poter . Rick . April 5, 2017 . 'NCIS' and 'The Middle' adjust up: Tuesday final ratings . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406230458/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/tuesday-final-ratings-april-4-2017/ . April 6, 2017 . April 23, 2023 . TV by the Numbers.
  17. Web site: August 15, 2017 . DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] ]. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230429023913/https://www.amazon.com/DCs-Legends-Tomorrow-Complete-Blu-ray/dp/B01LTI0GN2 . 2023-04-29 . 2023-04-23 . Amazon.com.
  18. Web site: April 4, 2017 . DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 17 Aruba . 2024-06-18 . . en.
  19. Web site: Schedeen . Jesse . April 5, 2017 . DC's Legends of Tomorrow: 'Aruba' Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406073918/https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/05/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow-aruba-review . 2023-04-06 . 2023-04-27 . IGN.
  20. Web site: Sava . Oliver . April 7, 2017 . Legends Of Tomorrow saves reality but breaks time in an exciting finale . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230423134700/https://www.avclub.com/legends-of-tomorrow-saves-reality-but-breaks-time-in-an-1798190914 . 2023-04-23 . 2023-04-23 . The AV Club.
  21. Web site: Keene . Allison . April 5, 2017 . 'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 2 Finale: 'Aruba' Broke Time but Was a Fitting End . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230427125840/https://collider.com/legends-of-tomorrow-season-2-finale-recap-aruba/ . 2023-04-27 . April 27, 2023 . Collider.