“Legends of Tomorrow” Episode 509 Recap: Fate’s a Bitch, Innit?

Valerie Anne —
Apr 22, 2020
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Charlie starts lamenting that maybe her sister is right, and maybe this chase is putting too many people in danger and she should just go back to her toxic family so her sister stops murdering folks. Sara stops in her tracks, looks her in the eye and says one of the most powerful things she’s ever said in one of these Captain Lance speeches: “Nobody is responsible for the family they were born into.” Charlie could have kept Looming around with her sisters, but instead she chose to be her own person, to make her own choices. She decided to be brave and big-hearted. And funny and snarky. She chose to be better. She chose a new family.

sara reassures charlie
We’re your family now. No take-backs.

Down on Earth Prime, Mick gives Lita her photo album of all the moments he and Ava just created, but Lita is just as upset with him as ever. Sure, she saw him at all those pivotal moments in her life, but in all of them he’s in and out in a flash, he never stuck around to make more than a picture perfect moment. He never stayed to make a memory.

Ava feels horrible it didn’t work, but in her defense, she doesn’t fully understand how humans work yet. She realizes now the advice she should have given in the beginning. He should just apologize.

ava smirks
“Nailed it.”

Up on the Waverider, Zari confesses to Behrad that she’s feeling a little like a mediocre reboot of Original Flavor Zari. Behrad says the cutest brother thing ever — “You’re my favorite Zari of all time” — and tells her they should take some drugs and go into the air totem for answers. Ava comes back asking after “the away team” whose comms are down, and Zari wants to help with that instead, but it’s too late, she took the drugs, so she gives in and pops into the air totem.

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When she surrenders to the drugs, she finds herself in a room that reminds me of a modernized version of the inside of the genie’s bottle in I Dream of Jeannie, and realizes she’s face to face with Zari Prime. The first thing Zari wants to know is if it worked; did changing the timeline mean that her parents and brother were alive in Zari 2.0’s world? When Z2 confirms that they are, Zari is so, so relieved. They sit down over a plate of donuts so Tala Ashe can Tatiana Maslany this situation real quick.

Zari talks to Zari
No such thing as too many Zaris. Or donuts.

Back in Canada, Sara and Charlie find themselves attacked by the zombified bodies of the Supernatural crew, so Sara fights them off while Charlie makes her way to the piece of the Loom she hid in a tree. But as soon as she pulls out the ring she disguised the Loom pieces as, Charlie finds herself pinned to the tree and face to face with her sister.

Sara tries, once again, to face off with Fate to save someone she cares about, and Atropos starts to expose her true form to her. Sara gets struck by the pure light of the Fate before her and is knocked back.

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sara glows
Is SHE a Slayer? This is a bit S7 Willow.

Charlie faces her sister, this time with courage Sara helped her unearth, and she says, “I’m not a Fate. I’m a Legend.” Atropos laughs this off and says Sara is dead, because she doesn’t know what Charlie and I know, which is that Sara Lance doesn’t know how to die.

Atropos takes the ring and leaves Charlie pinned to the tree as she follows the glow of the two rings she has to the one on the Waverider.

In Totem Town, Z2 updates Zari on her life and wonders if Zari is disappointed in her. But Zari Prime is just happy her family is alive, and thinks Zari 2.0 seems pretty fun.

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Zari smiles comfortingly
Zari’s epiphany of self-love is GOALS.

Back in the forest, Charlie, still pinned, is about to be attacked by a zombie, but Sara pops up and kills it in the nick of time. Charlie is surprised Sara is alive, and frankly Sara is too, but they’re the only ones. The keeper of the Death Totem, the Paragon of Destiny, the invincible bisexual. Captain Sara “Ta-er al-Sahfer” Lance.

sara looks shook
“I think I was in heaven.”

They rush off to try to find a way back to the Waverider, and run into Nate and Ava, who have found Constantine, still alive. Which, fine, if bisexuality = invincibility, and in order to keep Sara, we have to also keep John, I’ll allow it.

On the Waverider, Atropos threatens Zari’s unconscious body, so Behrad has no choice but to let her take the Loom ring. But unfortunately, his instincts got the better of him, and at the last minute he tried to attack her. Angry, and realizing he technically has cheated fate, she pulls out his life thread and snips it right then and there.

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Before she can escape, Atropos runs into Sara again and asks a very good question: “What are you?”

Sara faces off
I’m the thing the monsters have nightmares about.

Sara doesn’t have time to contemplate her existence though, and starts to fight her. With help from Gideon and Charlie, Sara launches Atropos into the Time Stream, and while I don’t remember exactly what happens when someone goes out there, I imagine she’s stuck there for a minute. Also, they got the two Loom rings back.

Realizing how many times they both came very close to dying today, Sara and Charlie exchange a surprised and relieved glance.

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Charlie and Sara are relieved
The queers prevail!

Blissfully unaware of these goings-on, Z2 says goodbye to Original Zari in Totem Town. Zari tells her to come back soon with Behrad, and she promises she will. And as soon as she wakes up, she asks for him. And the Legends face the hardest mission they’ve faced in a while and have to tell Zari her baby brother is dead.

zari cries with avalance around her
“All around me are familiar faces…”

Zari cries and she cries and she cries until her tears run out and she storms to the med bay to find Constantine, mascara streaking down her face, fury in her eyes. She blames him for this, for going off on his own, and so now he owes her. So he’s going to help her get the pieces of the Loom of Fate so she can fix this once and for all. She will do whatever it takes, in whatever timeline, in whatever way, to save her brother.

zari is pissed
Introducing: Zari 3.0

I don’t know about you, but I missed the Legends so much, and even though they ripped my heart out, I’m so happy they’re back. It was exactly what I needed during these chaotic times and I’m so happy we still have more episodes to come. Because I really need to know what’s going on with Sara!

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