Things have changed on LEGENDS OF TOMORROW this season. The legends’ old leader — Rip Hunter — has vanished. Two of its members retired last season and have been replaced. And now Ray Palmer has lost his Atom suit, which means he’s going to forge a new path. In addition, the team isn’t just fighting one villain any longer — they’re fighting an entire Legion of Doom.
During a recent visit to the set of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW in Vancouver*, the cast spoke to journalists about what’s next for Ray, this week’s episode and more.
Losing the Suit. “There’s no [more] dwarf star alloy, so he’s kind of screwed as of right now, and that becomes a story point in episodes to continue,” Brandon Routh said of Ray. “But he’s going to be without the suit for some time, and that gives him an opportunity to figure out this whole hero business, what it is to be a hero, and if he’s a hero without the suit.” In addition, Routh went on to say that “He created the suit in order to be more of a hero, because he couldn’t affect change, he couldn’t take out the Mirakuru soldiers when they attacked the city and killed his fiancée. So he is without purpose and lost in many ways without the suits, because that’s what made him — in his mind and everyone’s mind — kind of a hero. Is a hero’s mind and a hero’s heart enough to affect change enough is kind of the journey he goes on.” Expect to see Ray take “on different roles [and try] other things out for a few episodes, trying to give [himself] purpose.”
The New Captain Cold? We’ve seen Mick Rory give Ray the cold gun, so could the former Atom become the new Captain Cold? Not so fast, said Routh, saying that this action was more about friendship than anything else. “I don’t know if he wants to be a replacement for Captain Cold, but he’s honored and touched by the friendship, the kinship, the trust, whatever that is that Mick bestows [upon] Ray. That’s the powerful thing about it: it boosts his confidence after he feels like he’s lost at sea. It gives him a little bit of footing, grounding to get back to himself again. As the next episodes progress, he feels more like, ‘Oh, maybe this Captain Cold thing is something fun,’ or at least try it on.”
The Legion of Doom. As you can see from the clip below, the Legion of Doom (or the beginnings of it) are plotting and they will be returning in this week’s episode. Routh points out that the Legion is “big trouble. They’re created so many aberrations that we’ve been after. Not all of them have been because of them, but most of them have been, and they continue to do that. It’s mystifying because we don’t know what their goal is, what their aim is, which is one of the frustrating things. We can’t get ahead of them. We’re just constantly following after them, the bread crumbs that they leave behind. But we’re apparently a part of their plan, because they’re not just outright offing us either.” Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) says that this year’s villains are much more personal for her character: “It’s like if the people that you hate the most started like hanging out. They’re like the new mean girls. They’re the Plastics, and she’s just like, ‘Of course. Of course you guys would be in cahoots together.’ But it also makes it interesting for me, as an actor, to have such a passionate relationship or history with these bad guys. I think with Savage, it was hard last year because Sara’s like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ And now it’s like Malcolm Merlyn, who….had her killed, and Damien Darhk killed her sister. There’s a lot of hatred, I think, that she’s going to have to deal with [with] these guys.”
Episode 12.05. The team is heading back to the 1980s this week — specifically, they’re heading to the Ronald Reagan White House. Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Amaya) said that “We learn a lot more about her backstory in [episode 12.05]. And we meet an old member of the JSA, who has now, obviously, grown up a little bit.”
Getting Used to the Team. Amaya may have joined the legends for one reason — revenge — but she’s going to grow to like the team more. Richardson-Sellers said “she’s just got one goal, which is to find Rex’s killer and then to go back. There’s no other ulterior motive here. But then as she spends more time with them, she discovers they’re actually very interesting people, as well, and starts to form bonds with them. So I think it’s going to be a huge question for her, what happens when Rex’s killer is found, where does that leave her?” In particular, Amaya “and Sara have an interesting dynamic because they’re very strong, independent women, who exist in a very male world. It’s very much a sort of bromance, if anything. [Amaya] and Rory have a very interesting dynamic, which slowly develops more. Because he’s the one that she jars with most at first, because he’s sort of an antihero and a self-proclaimed criminal. Then they get put in some very sticky situations together. From that, they develop an unsuspected friendship, which is nice.” Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) agreed and said that she “really [likes] their vibe together. They’re like two cool chicks, and Maisie in real life is really cool.”
Personal Growth. Even more than developing individual friendships, expect to see this experience change Amaya as a person. Richardson-Sellers said that “She sees being a hero as being very pragmatic, very organized, very clear black and white — what’s right, what’s wrong — whereas [the legends are] much more — they’re ordinary people. Very flawed [and] fantastical at the same time. So I think she learns a lot about what it actually means to be a hero to her, the fact that she can have fun, she can have relationships, she can just relax and have friends. It doesn’t have to be purely work. That’s a whole arc throughout the season, which I think is really nice for her.”
Don’t miss an all new episode of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW tonight (November 10) at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
*Travel and acommodations provided by Warner Bros. Television