“Fail-Safe” Is Short For “Intelligence Fail” and “The Legends are Safe”

This week’s Legends of Tomorrow After Show was delayed by a day. But I can tell you that the wait was very much worth it. Our hosts — the illustrious Jack Hind, the very beautiful Jon Lee Brody (according to Jack), and the very intelligent Tatiana Mariesa (not an opinion, but true fact) — have rewarded us with one of the most insightful and humorous episodes to-date. This After Show was an excellent way to close out the week as it makes you laugh and revs you up for the weekend. So let’s start the party …

The Team Rips on Rip

The jury is still out on Rip. One big reason: Why did Rip involve Sara in the contingency plan to kill Martin Stein as a fail-safe? Tatiana is still suspicious of Rip’s motives. And she brings up a very good point. Rip is playing on Sara’s bloodlust, knowing that she has a hard time resisting her violent tendencies. Of course, Jack has to stand up for his fellow countryman, or should I say “mate”, as is the common term across the pond. After Jack implies that Rip should be trusted just for being British, Tatiana intervenes and points to that quality as another reason not to trust him. Ooh, burn! We’re all kidding here, Jack. We all love you and the country that brought us Fish and Chips and Doctor Who. However, the award for Smartest Screenwriter goes to …

Mr. Jon Lee Brody! Why? He pointed out that if Rip really wanted to secure the future, he himself should’ve been the one to carry out the contingency plan. Now that, my friend, was a great idea! Hire that man! We all know that compelling characters come from conflict and selfishness and, eventually, redemption (arcing). Imagine how much more interesting it would’ve been if the scenario played out like this …

Rip goes on this secret mission to kill Martin Stein after everything fails. Sara finds out about it. Sara has to talk Rip down from killing Martin. And during this dialogue, we see Rip’s hatred for Vandal boil to the surface (we’re talking tears and snot, The Blair Witch Project-style). Rip justifies the killing of Martin as a way to save billions of lives and the lives of his own wife and child, who both don’t even exist yet. Sara, doing some character arcing herself, tells him that she knows, first-hand, what this rage feels like. And like her, he needs to control it and not let it change who he is. What’s the point of saving humanity when you’ve lost it yourself? Hence, the student now becomes the teacher.

You basically killed two character development birds with one stone in this scene. BOOM! [mic drop]

Did the A.T.O.M. Suit Shrink Ray’s Intelligence Also?

Jack’s and John’s criticism of Ray Palmer’s happy-go-lucky attitude in prison was probably one of the funniest moments tonight. I really do think it’s Jack’s English accent. Everything just sounds more edgy and biting. I love the way Jack says “Ray is the dumbest prisoner on the planet.” The cherry-on-top was when they actually pulled up a picture of Ray flashing a goofy smile while being escorted to his and Mick’s cell. Jack and Jon, I one-hundred percent agree with the both of you! There’s a fine line between naive and stupid — and I think Ray veered towards the short-bus side of things a little too much in this episode.

Tatiana seems to be a bit more forgiving. We’re just not looking hard enough. Ray is very smart. He just hides it — under his shirt. Yeah Ray, take that shirt off to show us your intelligence better. Mick, you should do it too. You can’t let Ray make you look bad. Whoa, why are you two glistening like I just dipped my He-Man figures in Crisco. So weird. Yes, the gratuitous shirtless “Matthew McConaughey” shot.

The guys (yours truly included) thought the torture scene was a bit too much. Not the torture part, but the part dealing with abdominal-enhancement of the scene. When Jack became vocal about it, Tatiana fired back at Jack’s falling head-over-heels when he first saw Stephanie Corneliussen. I agree with Jack that you can’t compare the two. We’re talking about a torture scene and someone just making an entrance with a Russian accent.

Tatiana conceited defeat in that argument. However, all nice guys lost this round because Tatiana says she prefers Mick — the bad boy. I guess nice guys do finish last, just like Ray’s face after he was pummeled for defending an old man.

Since we mentioned Stephanie Corneliussen, we might as well go right into …

Valentina Vostok, The “Hot” Firestorm

Jack, I concur with you again tonight. Valentina Vostok is my new favorite character. I’ll follow actress Stephanie Corneliussen on Twitter when I have time. I’m not that interested. I don’t really need to know that she [all in one humongous breath] … “was born in Copenhagen, Denmark — stands 5 feet 11 inches — attended Johannesskolen in Frederiksberg — studied ballet in Copenhagen and attained a degree in graphic design — she won the Supermodel of Scandinavia contest, launching her career in modeling — relocated to Los Angeles in 2011 — she’s been in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, as the Desert Witch — Hello Ladies: The Movie, as Tatiana — The Rebels, as Gorgeous Intern Ashley — Royal Pains, as Sloane Lerner — Bad Judge, as Appolonia — The Exes, as Nadia — and Mr. Robot, as Joanna Wellick — loves animals — has three cats — favorite emoji is the rat — is under management at PCM International” … Yeah, I totally don’t care for her. Not obsessed. Jack, on the other hand, actually knows her Twitter handle. Man, what a stalker.

In all seriousness (well, as serious as you can get for a comic book show), Vostok as Firestorm or a Firestorm is a very interesting turn of events. I’m keen to see if this character will return in another form. In the comics, Vostok becomes the White Queen, the new leader of Checkmate. We all know what happened to Amanda Waller earlier this season on Arrow, so it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for Vostok to make her appearance in that show also.

Legends, You Have Failed This Timestream!

We can’t talk about “Fail-Safe” without mentioning the final scene. An archer who Sara thinks is the Green Arrow, a.k.a. Oliver Queen, commands them to halt. She and the team soon find out that this archer isn’t a friendly and doesn’t take too kindly to their arrival. Is this Connor Hawke? The actor who plays him is black, and Jon notes that in the comics, Connor Hawke is the son of Oliver Queen and Sandra Hawke — a character who’s half-Korean and half-Black.

The next episode will be titled “2046” which is the year the Legends traveled to at the end of “Fail-Safe.” Highly anticipated by the viewers is the appearance of an older grizzled Oliver Queen who is said to be modeled after the one seen in The Dark Knight Returns mini-series — all the way down to the missing arm, which in the comics was torn off by Superman. Would this mean an acknowledgement of the existence of the Man of Steel in the Arrow-verse? Or will they use another explanation for his missing appendage?

Side-Notes and Tidbits

Jack, I love your DC Comics Year by Year book. I have the same copy. Don’t let the gang give you flack about it. You are a learned man and a scholar. I also have the Marvel Year by Year version.
Jack, Jon, and Tatiana, if you’re looking for the proper term for the art style drawn by @StevensonJohns1 — who I might add is very talented — it’s called “Chibi.”
Guys, I love your philosophical discussion centered around Vandal Savage’s hair. My dream is to go into a hair salon and just ask for the Savage. Hence, thereafter, they will give me a glorious mane that will last for eternity.

How did you feel about “Fail-Safe” or Legends of Tomorrow in general? Did you agree or disagree with our thoughts? Jack, Jon, Tatiana, and I would love to hear from you. So sound off in the comments!

You can also read my written recap of “Fail-Safe” at Bam Smack Pow.

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Legends of Tomorrow After Show is where you will be joined by host Jack Hind, Jon Lee Brody and Tatiana Mariesa. They will discuss, review, and breakdown each new episode of Legends of Tomorrow.

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