LEGENDS OF TOMORROW is heading to Vietnam this week to investigate a new Anachronism and will be encountering a time-displaced Gorilla Grodd. During a visit to the LEGENDS OF TOMORROW set in Vancouver, the cast teased Grodd’s guest appearance, the ramifications of Zari hacking time to help Helen of Troy, and the journey deep into the jungles of Vietnam.
Hacking Time. “I think [the situation with Zari] is going to be annoying for Sara and something that she can’t really tolerate on the team. She can’t have somebody, like some new person coming in and messing everything up by trying to do her own thing. If she wants to be a part of this team she needs to be a part of the team,” Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) explained. Meanwhile, Tala Ashe (Zari Tomaz) hinted that “that’s something you’re going to see a lot of in the coming season: Zari trying to hack time and try to find these loopholes. And it’s going to come to a head, actually, in [episode 10], especially with Sara.” Apparently Zari will continue to “hack time” because she believes there are aspects of it that aren’t “solid” yet: “That’s Zari’s hope and I think that’s the impetus behind wanting to hack time. I think there’s personal aspect to it, but also when she’s coming across Helen of Troy and seeing her in peril, she’s sort of seeing the possibilities a little bit more than everyone else.”
But while Zari’s actions go against the rules of time travel, the rest of the team may come to realize that breaking the rules isn’t always a big deal, according to Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Amaya Jiwe/Vixen). “[Zari’s] sort of a rebel here, but I think if we try and change her, it’s not going to work. I think what’s great is she gives us a new perspective on the ways that we can alter history and maybe actually improve it rather than just correct it. So it’s definitely an eye opener for the whole team, especially Sara who has very strict rules, she has to sort of reassess. Actually, in a later episode, Zari’s way of doing things is the way that we will survive.”
Encountering Gorilla Grodd. Deep in the jungles of Vietnam the team (without Sara, who is still recovering from her coma) will encounter a time-displaced sentient gorilla. “Ray is the one person who has experience with Grodd — well, he doesn’t really have experience with Grodd, but he knows about him from his friends in Central City. So I think he’s equally amazed, intrigued, and also frightened of what they’re going to do about that problem,” Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer) said. Richardson-Sellers, meanwhile, hinted that Amaya is going to have a more personal connection to Grodd: “I had quite an interesting personal relationship with the gorilla in that episode, which was great, obviously, because Amaya speaks to the animals, so they communicate on a whole other level. Again, we see a more tender side to Gorilla Grodd, which I think is quite beautiful, actually. I think one thing LEGENDS does really well is that there is no such thing as a villain and a hero. Everyone is flawed and everyone has their positives as well. So we actually see positives to Gorilla Grodd. And we go to Vietnam, which was awesome.”
Rory’s Backstory. This week’s episode also shows Rory a “glimpse into his past”, according to the CW synopsis. Dominic Purcell (Mick Rory) teased that “this is the first time this season where we get to see some character stuff, some real deep stuff from Rory. And so he’s starting to unwind a little, certainly in this episode. He meets his father, and so there’s beautiful moments there. For me personally, it was a great experience, just doing some emotional work.”
LEGENDS OF TOMORROW airs tonight (November 21) at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.