Nip/Stuck

"It's a long story, but Gary took over the Bureau. He 'nip'-notized everyone."

—Ava Sharpe

"Nip/Stuck"
Information
Season 4 » Episode 14
Episode number	65 of 110
Original airdate	May 6, 2019
Written by	Ray Utarnachitt Matthew Maala
Directed by	David Geddes
Chronology
Preceded by	"Egg MacGuffin"
Followed by	"Terms of Service"

"Nip/Stuck" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and the sixty-fifth episode overall. It aired on May 6, 2019.

Synopsis

With Constantine missing, the Legends struggle to find a way to track him. When Sara hesitates to make a tough call, Rory steps up creating a wedge in the team. Meanwhile, Ava gives Gary the responsibility of handling the Bureau performance reviews for all the agents.[src]

Cast

Starring

• Brandon Routh as Neron
• Caity Lotz as Captain Sara Lance
• Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Charlie
• Tala Ashe as Zari Tomaz
• Jes Macallan as Director Ava Sharpe
• Courtney Ford as Nora Darhk
• Amy Louise Pemberton as Gideon (voice)
• Ramona Young as Mona Wu
• Nick Zano as Dr. Nate Heywood
• Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory and Charlie

Special appearance by

• Matt Ryan as John Constantine and King Konstentyn

Guest starring

• Adam Tsekhman as Agent Gary Green
• Jane Carr as Tabitha/Fairy Godmother
• Sisa Grey as Wolfie

Co-starring

• Devyn Dalton as Pùca
• Kailyn Olsen as Shield Maiden
• James Kot as Agent Neil McNeil
• Cameron Waters as Agent Dietel
• Naomi Levi as Agent Reyes
• Madeleine Kelders as Agent Powell
• Darcy Hula as Homeless Man

Plot

Neron has brought Constantine to the Donner Pass in the Ice Age. He informs Constantine that he needs him to open a portal to hell to bring Tabitha over. Constantine refuses, as unlike Gary, Neron has nothing to give him. Constantine asks about Gary, to which Neron cryptically replies that Gary is taking care of business at the Time Bureau. At the Time Bureau, Nora is beginning her first day as a Time Bureau agent. Ava asks her to begin her start paperwork, a noticeably large stack of papers. While Nora is at first reluctant as she would rather look for Ray, she decides to go through with it when Ava mentions that she needs to show she is a team player, due to her storied past. Ava tells Nora that she is proud of her and welcomes her to the Time Bureau and heads to her office, where she finds Gary waiting in her chair who tells her they need to talk.

On the Waverider, Gideon has attuned the magic-o-meter to Constantine's frequency, which will alert them when he uses his magic. Nate is frustrated that until they get an alert, there is nothing for them to do but wait. Back at the Time Bureau, Ava announces that Gary will be conducting performance reviews. Gary is behaving uncharacteristically cool, to the confusion of Mona and the other Time Bureau agents. When Mona asks Ava if this would be the best time for performance review and if she really thinks Gary should be conducting the interviews, Ava smiles and cryptically says "Gary Green is all the man we need." In the Ice Age, Neron carves a knife and threatens to slit Ray's wrists. Constantine tries to reach Ray, but Neron demonstrates how he has complete control of Ray's body and attempts to slit Ray's throat. Constantine uses his magic to turn the knife into a feather, as Neron happily laughs that he knew he could get Constantine to use magic. He tells Constantine to be patient, when asked why he wanted him to use his magic. On the Waverider, Nate has created an incubator and is playing music for the dragon egg obtained in the previous episode. Zari enters and the two reflect on how they wish they could see Ray's reaction to the dragon. Gideon interrupts to tell them they have an alert for Constantine's magical signature and the Waverider flies to their location. Neron thanks the Legends for coming as Constantine tells them to shoot the two of them, as this may be their only chance to kill Neron. The Legends are reluctant to shoot, as they still think Ray is in there somewhere, and they can save him, and Sara is hesitant despite asking Gideon to ready the blasters. Constantine tells the team that Ray is gone, but they are still hesitant. As Nate and Sara notice that something is wrong, Mick orders Gideon to fire on Neron on Constantine. Neron uses the time stone to save himself and Constantine as the Waverider's blast causes an avalanche that encases the Waverider in snow and ice.

Gideon reports that the Waverider is now buried beneath 357 feet of ice and snow, and their primary temporal delineator rendered non functional, trapping them in the Donner Pass. Sara sends a call to the Time Bureau, but Ava ignores the call instead. As they are running on reserve power, Gideon recommends disabling non essential functions such as the fabricator and thermostat. Nate exclaims that Neron is now out there with Ray and Constantine because Mick fired on them. Mick asked how else would they have stopped Neron, and tells Nate that Ray is gone, insisting that "when a team member goes dark, you end them before they end you." Sara asks Mick to help her find a solution out of this mess, as Nate and Zari storm off, leaving Charlie on the bridge commenting how she knew she would die alone. Neron has brought Constantine to a Celtic village in 55 B.C.E. and tells Constantine that he did what he had to, so no one would stop them. Constantine tells him he still refuses to help him, and the portal to hell he opens is only one way: creatures can enter hell, but not leave through it as his magic is not powerful enough to stabilize a vortex. Neron then shows him that he brought him to this era to learn how to do so from his ancestor, King Konstentyn, the progenitor of his magical bloodline. The King has captured an unseen magical creature. Back at the Time Bureau, Nora is still going through her paperwork and Mona suggests to her that Ava has been replaced by another Ava clone. While Nora initially insists on not snooping behind Ava's back, she agrees to help look into it when Mona mentions that Ava said "Gary Green is all the man we need", something which another agent who walks by agrees as a true statement. On the Waverider, Sara is trying in vain to chisel the Waverider out. When Mick suggests using his gun to melt a way out, Gideon mentions that it would deplete their limited supply of oxygen. Sara confronts Mick on his decision to shoot Ray, something she insists was not his call to make. Mick maintains that someone had to make the call, and was something she should have done. The two begin to argue with each other, and Sara storms off. In the Celtic village, Neron tells Constantine that it was his ancestor who created the rift between human and magical creatures, as fear is a powerful source of magic. By exploiting his people's fears of magical creatures, the King's magic becomes stronger. Constantine insists that his ancestors would never be so unscrupulous, maintaining that anything the King sends to hell probably deserves to be sent. The creature the King captured is revealed to be a Puca, a harmless creature. He tells Neron that the King is merely misinformed, and Neron suggests he correct his ancestor.

In the Time Bureau, Gary is conducting more interviews as Mona attempts to contact the Waverider but is unable to. Several other agents confront her and ask if she has completed her performance review. Mona mimics their behavior and says "Gary Green is all the man we need", which the other agents repeat and agree with, letting her go. Nora drags Mona into a room and tells her that she was right, and they need to talk. On the Waverider, Nate tells Zari how he has named the dragon "Wickstable", based on his childhood drawing, which Zari nicknames as "little Wicksty". As the incubator has no more heat supplied to it, Zari places the egg under her shirt for skin to skin contact. Due to the resemblance of pregnancy, Zari jokes how the two of them seemed to have skipped "all the fun stuff" into becoming parents. Nate suggests they can still "have fun stuff" and the two of them sleep together. Sara asks Gideon if there is any way to boost the engines, lamenting that Ray could have figure out how. Gideon informs her that the power reserves will last for only 34 more hours, as Mick appears to enter and apologize. Sara begins to apologize as well, when the real Mick enters to continue their argument. Charlie reveals that she had shapeshifted into the first Mick so as to resolve the argument, and points out that instead of fighting, Ray would be looking for a way out of this mess. Mick and Sara agree and decide to search Ray's quarters for any contingency plan Ray may have created. In the Time Bureau, Nora tells Mona that all Ava would tell her was "Gary Green is all the man we need." The two agree that Gary is controlling everyone somehow and Nora suggests using her powers to find out how but Mona refuses as it is too dangerous. Mona walks into a cell to suggests they trick Gary to imprison thing as Nora locks her in. Nora tells her that she needs a timeout, and that "Gary Green is all the man we need." In the Celtic Village, Constantine tells the King that a Puca only reflects the person it is with, it only appears to be angry because the King scared it. Constantine claims to be a cousin from afar who practices magic, and suggests the two of them banish Neron together. The King appears to agree, but then knocks him unconscious, telling his men he believes Constantine to be a magical shapeshifter who he will send to hell with the Puca.

On the Waverider, Sara and Mick look through Ray's room. They reminisce about how Rip brought them all together all those years ago, and how they and the Legends were all different then. Mick reflects how Ray, Sara and himself are the only ones left of the original Legends. The two of them express how they are glad that they each have things in their lives besides the Legends, with Sara having Ava and Mick having his Rebecca Silver novels. Mick finds a contingency plan that Ray created, but finds that he suggested everything the Legends already tried. Ray writes that "If all fails, remember you still have each other, so enjoy that as long as it lasts." In the Celtic village, Constantine is chained next to the Puca as Neron mocks his situation. Neron asks if Constantine has considered what life in hell would be like for him, with all the demons and enemies he sent to hell waiting for him there. Constantine asks why Tabitha is so important to Neron, as the latter muses how Constantine is like his ancestor: "So convinced you're always right, you don't even know who you're sending away." Neron suggests that Constantine can use the power of fear to save himself from being sucked into hell, but Constantine insists that he is not afraid of hell, and would drag the Puca down with him if that is what he needs to do to stop Neron. On the Waverider, Sara tells Gideon to reactivate all systems even though life support capacity will be halved. Sara suggests they make hot cocoa and smores, something that Mick agrees with as Ray would want them to have faith that they would escape, and to enjoy their time together. In the Time Bureau, Mona is in a cell and wonders if this is how she is to die: "Without any books or laughter. In the basement of a government building." Her hand then seems to have a life of its own and transforms itself into a Kope's claw, scribbling on the walls "NOT ALONE", which makes Mona realize that she has Wolfie, her Kope alter ego. In the Celtic village, Constantine admits to the Puca how he is not afraid of the demons in hell or being tortured, but he is terrified of having to watch Ray and Astra and everyone he failed be tortured next to him. He apologizes that the Puca is stuck with him instead of being free, and how he led the Legends to their death as well. The Puca appears to be repulsed by Constantine, but to his surprise, the Puca heals him of his injuries. The King's men bring them to the ritual, and the King declares them to be "foul creatures of the dark" and gathers the fear of his people into his sword.

In the Time Bureau, every agent is under Gary's control as Nora and Ava escort Mona to her performance review with Gary. Nora assures Mona that "Gary Green is all the man we need", something all the agents agree with. Mona is brought before Gary who claims that she has been disloyal to the Time Bureau. Meanwhile on the Waverider, the Legends play Ray's game "Cards to Save the Timeline". As part of the game scenario, Sara asks "A teammate turns on you, lost to the dark side. What do you do?" Charlie gives her a card that says "Don't give up on each other, work together. You're more than a team, you are family." as the Legends reflect on Ray's situation. The Waverider begins to rumble as Gideon announces that their use of energy has caused the internal temperature of the ship to increase and melt the surrounding ice enough to shake the ship loose. Sara orders the Legends to get to work to make use of this opportunity. In the Celtic village, the King uses the fears of his people to open a portal to hell which begins to suck in Constantine and the Puca. Unwilling to let the Puca be sucked into hell, Constantine casts a spell to stabilize the vortex and frees the Puca. Constantine grabs a sword and duels the King, cutting off his hand and renouncing him as his ancestor. The King tells Constantine that while his methods may be disagreeable, he protects his people. Constantine reflects on Ray's situation as he wields the King's magic sword. In the Time Bureau, Gary asks what Mona suggests they do with her disloyalty. Gary tells Mona that "Gary Green is all the man we need" and asks her to gaze into the nipple that Neron gave him, which opens a grotesque eye. Mona shouts for Wolfie to Gary's confusion and she transforms into a Kope. In the Celtic village, Neron congratulates Constantine on successfully exploiting fear, and the two begin to have a duel with their swords. On the Waverider, Gideon warns Sara that the odds of successfully escaping are 3,720 to 1, as Sara replies "Never tell me the odds". The Waverider successfully emerges from the snow and ice and the Legends leave to find Constantine and “Ray”.

In the Time Bureau, Gary attempts to escape Wolfie and calls Ava and Nora for help. Wolfie is able to knock them both out of Gary's mind control and the 3 of them begin to turn against Gary. In the Celtic Village, Constantine wins the duel and prepares to deal the killing blow. He laments that while he cannot save Ray, he can send Neron back to hell. He attempts to do so, when the Waverider arrives and the Legends urge Constantine not to give up on Ray as they still refuse to accept Ray is gone. Neron mocks John knowing exorcising him won’t work, and killing him is out of the question. Constantine ponders for a moment and tells the Legends "I'll see you lovely lot at the end" and declares that he is going to save Ray as he jumps into the portal to hell, much to the Legends’ and Neron’s shock. Neron casts a spell over the portal, and brings Tabitha to Earth, revealed to be the Fairy Godmother the Legends had faced earlier. To the disgust of the Legends, Neron in Ray's body passionately kisses the Fairy Godmother and the two escape with the Time Stone. In the Time Bureau, Wolfie tells Nora and Ava that Gary was trying to use his nipple to hypnotize Mona. Ava deduces that the nipple was corrupted in hell and began poisoning Gary's mind, so that he would "nipnotize" everyone in the Bureau so Neron could take it over. Wolfie declares that the nipple will do no harm and bites it off, hurling Gary into the corridor. Neron and Tabitha arrive and Gary runs to them, asking to be saved. Tabitha agrees, and transforms Wolfie back into Mona. They bring Mona away as Nora tells Ava to look for the Legends while she tries to rescue Mona. Back on the Waverider, the Legends stand about in distraught, knowing they lost the battle, as they can no longer track Neron’s position. Ava then portals to the Legends to tell them Gary has taken over the Bureau with Neron and Tabitha. Having finally understand that Ray is no longer in his own body, and is now in hell, Sara tells the Legends they will not give up on Ray, having faith the he hasn't given up. In hell, Constantine falls into a dumpster and begins his search for Ray.

Production

Preparation ran from November 28 until December 6, 2018. Shooting ran from December 7 until December 19. 2018.

Trivia

• The episode's title is a reference to the TV series Nip/Tuck.
  • It also references the two major plots of the episode: Gary's possessed nipple and the Legends being stuck in the Ice Age.
• During production, the episode was titled as "Nip | Stuck".
• This is the only episode of the series not to feature Ray, though Brandon Routh still appears as Neron in Ray's body.
  • This leaves Sara as the only character to appear as herself in every episode, as in "Night of the Hawk", Mick appears, but only as Chronos.
• This episode contains some references to other episodes:
  • Sara and Mick recount the day Rip recruited them, a reference to "Pilot, Part 1".
  • A picture is shown of the Legends' original team in their era-appropriate outfits in the Old West from "The Magnificent Eight".
  • Cards to Save the Timeline mentions being "stuck in a trash compactor in an impromptu and possibly fatal homage to Star Wars", referencing their adventures from "Raiders of the Lost Art".
    • The episode contains four other references to the Star Wars franchise, possibly due to Star Wars Day occurring two days before the episode aired.
      • When Neron tricks the Legends into unleashing an avalanche on themselves, Sara yells, "It's a trap!" quoting a famous line of Admiral Gial Ackbar.
      • When Gideon remarks that odds of escaping from the ice are 3720 to 1, Sara responds with "Never tell me the odds", quoting C3PO and Han Solo from Empire Strikes Back.
      • The Waverider flying out of the ice mimics a frequently used shot of the Millennium Falcon, whose design closely resembles that of the former.
      • Constantine duels an evil forefather in a fight that ends with a severed hand, a reference to Luke and Anakin Skywalker losing their hands and also to the fight between Luke and his father as Darth Vader.
  • Gary's nipple is eaten again, as it was in "The Virgin Gary".
    • In this instance however, his nipple is eaten by Wolfie, while it had previously been eaten by a unicorn.
• Mick tries to justify himself by saying that if a member of the team goes bad, they have to bring him down. In contrast, he ignores the numerous times he went bad (without being mind controlled), including "Marooned", "Left Behind", and "Fellowship of the Spear", when the team did not give up on him.
• Ava's line of "Get away from him, you beast!" while trying to protect Gary from Wolfie is a reference to the line "Get away from her, you bitch!" uttered by Ellen Ripley in Aliens.
• When the Legends seem doomed to slowly freeze to death beneath Donner Pass, Charlie asks who they'll be eating first, a reference to the Donner Party, a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846-47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness.
• At the end of this episode, Constantine goes to hell. In the Hellblazer comics, Constantine goes to/is sent to hell several times. After the show Constantine was cancelled and Constantine appeared on an episode of Arrow then disappeared again before being introduced on DC's Legends of Tomorrow, at one point when Team Arrow wanted Constantine's help they heard that apparently he was off in hell and couldn't come help.
• Neron might have gotten the idea to trap the Waverider from John’s and Nora’s trap they they set for him a couple episodes back.
• As the king passes by with a creature being carried away, John Constantine ask Neron "What kind of creature do you think, they're hunting?", to which Neron replies, "Can't be sure, but I'm guessing it wasn't a rabbit". It references Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where after many misadventures they come across a killer rabbit.

Goofs

• The dragon book states the egg must be kept warm or it will die, but the egg was found encased in ice, in which it should already be dead.