- "You don't think you need us anymore. Look Rip, this is our mess. You have to let us fix it."
- "Using your team to fix anything is like doing brain surgery with a chainsaw."
- —Sara Lance and Rip Hunter
"Aruba-Con" is the first episode of the third season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and the thirty-fourth episode overall. It aired on October 10, 2017.
Synopsis[]
When the Legends realize that they broke the timeline, Rip Hunter arrives with his new organization - the Time Bureau - to relieve them of duty. The Legends are thrilled to get a chance to put the team back together but a new threat arises when Rory spots Julius Caesar in Aruba. Sara, Nate, and Ray devise a plan to steal the Waverider back from the Time Bureau in order to try and stop Julius Caesar from conquering the modern world.[src] |
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Victor Garber as Professor Martin Stein/Firestorm
- Brandon Routh as Dr. Ray Palmer/The Atom
- Caity Lotz as Captain Sara Lance
- Franz Drameh as Jefferson "Jax" Jackson/Firestorm
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Amaya Jiwe
- Amy Louise Pemberton as Gideon (voice)
- Nick Zano as Dr. Nate Heywood/Steel
- Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory/Heat Wave
Special guest starring[]
- Arthur Darvill as Director Rip Hunter
- Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West/Kid Flash
Guest starring[]
- Christina Brucato as Dr. Lily Stein
- Jes Macallan as Agent Ava Sharpe
- Adam Tsekhman as Agent Gary Green
- Nils Hognestad as King Arthur
- Simon Merrells as Julius Caesar
Co-starring[]
- Hiro Kanagawa as Director Wilbur Bennett
- Landon Jackle as Kyle Fedak "Caesar"
- Guy Christie as Manager
- Chris Carson as Alan
- John Ennis Graham as Belgian Soldier
- Paul Gaffy as Head Centurion
- Tyson Arner as Nerdy Cadet
- Ruby Gillett as Cadet #1
- Nitin Prasad as Cadet #2
- Aidan Correia as Frat Guy
Uncredited[]
- Zoe Pattenden as Alana
Plot[]
The episode picks up from the end of Season 2: the Legends may have saved the day, but in doing so they have broken time itself. The Waverider has crashed into a city where all of time is mashed up together: Big Ben, futuristic towers – and dinosaurs roaming the streets. As the team are discussing their predicament Nate notices that a T. rex is heading right for them. He suggests that Amaya use her spirit totem to calm it, but before she can a portal opens and the dinosaur vanished. A second portal opens and Rip Hunter walks through it. He shows the Legends that he has agents busy fixing all of the anachronisms (which he defines as "people, places, and things displaced from their native time periods"). Although for the Legends he's only been gone 15 minutes, in reality he's been away 5 years, creating the Time Bureau to replace the work of the Time Masters. Rip tells them that their services are no longer required, and he formally relieves them from duty.
6 months later: Sara is now working in a homeware store in Star City, bored and fantasising about killing her arrogant manager. Ray is working in Silicone Valley for a Tinder knock off dating app called UpSwipz. He tries to interest his boss in a new invention that will allow him to shrink matter, but the boss only cares about the app. In Central City, Nate has teamed up with Wally West as a vigilante fighting crime. Mick meanwhile is relaxing on the beach in Aruba, when his sun is blocked by someone – specifically Julius Caesar. Mick phones Sara and asks her what she should do. When her manager tries to tell her off for taking a personal phone call, she quits.
In Central City, Sara is meeting up with Ray and Nate. Ray asks where Amaya is, and Nate says that they broke up. Sara tells them about Mick's anachronism and suggests that if they can deal with it, the Time Bureau might give them the Waverider back. Ray asks if she's really that unhappy with her current life. Sara tries to pretend everything is great, but it's obvious she is miserable. The other two are similarly discontented with their new lives.
The three head to Star City, where they sneak into the Time Bureau's headquarters, but are quickly surrounded by armed Bureau agents. Ray tries to explain who they are but Agent Ava Sharpe throws him to the floor and tells him that they know "exactly who you losers are". Rip comes out and orders his agents to stand down. Nate grabs him and throws him against a wall. He blames Rip for Amaya leaving and returning to 1942, something which the others weren't aware of. Rip tells him that it was Amaya's idea to return to Zambesi. Sara tells Rip about Julius Caesar turning up in Aruba. Agent Sharpe reports that the Bureau has not seen any evidence of such a large anachronism, prompting Sara to observe that they must have missed one. Rip orders Ava to prepare a team to investigate, and takes the three on a tour of the Time Bureau. They suggest that Rip might like to give them the Waverider back, but Rip shows them that it is now a training vessel where cadets go through old Legends missions – but more competently.
In Aruba Mick still has Caesar captive. Caesar offers Mick gold to let him go. As Mick gets close to him, he is able to knock him over and escape. Mick gives chase and they run through a beach toga party. As the Time Bureau agents open a portal to Aruba Mick tackles one of the party-goers who is dressed like Caesar. Gary, one of the Time Bureau agents radios back asking what they should do. Rip tells them to bring Mick back before he does any more damage. Gary opens a portal and they transport Mick and the fake Caesar back to the Bureau. Rip believes that the Legends didn't find an anachronism at all and kicks them out. Sara pleads with him to let them help fix time. Rip tells her that letting the Legends fix anything is like doing brain surgery with a chainsaw. On their way out Mick tries to get a snack from a vending machine but his coin doesn't work. Nate notices that the coin is a genuine Roman coin from 1 BC, and they realise that Mick was telling the truth about meeting Caesar. They know that Rip won't listen to them, so Sara suggests that they steal the Waverider and deal with the anachronism themselves. They are able to restart Gideon and time jump the ship out of the hangar. Gideon is only able to jump them 3 minutes into the future, as the ship is in desperate need of maintenance. In it's current condition it won't make it to Aruba. Nate suggests they head to Central City instead where he knows a good mechanic.
In Central City Jax is paying an unexpected visit to Martin. Now they are back home they normally only meet up once a week to fuse and keep the Firestorm matrix stable. Jax tells Martin that he has dropped out of college. Studying engineering is not as exciting as being the engineer on a time ship. Martin's daughter Lily is also visiting, and is pregnant. Just then the Waverider appears. Jax is keen to rejoin the crew, but Martin is less so, now he is about to become a grandfather, but finally agrees. Back in Aruba the team see Caesar trying to recruit local college students to join his army. Jax and Martin go to merge, but Sara stops them, wanting to keep a low profile. Ray creates a false UpSwipz profile that lures the students away. Sara tells Caesar to go with them, but Caesar refuses, not wanting to take orders from a woman. They fight and Sara knocks Caesar out, and they all return to the Waverider.
Back on the ship a hologram of Rip appears. He congratulates them on apprehending the real Caesar, then points out that they have stolen government property. He tells them that if they return the ship, and Caesar, back to the Time Bureau that they will be released with no repercussions. Some of the Legends want to continue, some think they should take Rip's offer. Sara orders Gideon to plot a course to the Time Bureau, but Gideon says that they will not be able to get there without additional repairs. Jax heads for the engine room. Whilst he is working him and Martin talk. Jax wants to stay, admitting that if he isn't a time-travelling superhero he doesn't know who he is. Martin tells him he can be anything he wants to be. Jax says he wants to be half of a nuclear powered superhero, but he can't do that if Martin doesn't want to stay. Sara meanwhile is visiting Caesar in the brig. She is trying to work out whether what she is doing is the right thing to do. She tells Caesar that if they go up against the Time Bureau that they could lose everything. Caesar asks her if that is all she is prepared to risk for greatness. Jax comes to tell her that the Waverider is fixed and that it will get them back to the Time Bureau. Sara decided instead that they will go to ancient Rome.
Cisalpine Gaul, 29 B.C.: The Waverider arrives and lands just outside of Caesar's camp. Sara and Nate take Caesar back to the camp and wipe his memory. Nate checks a book on Roman history to make sure that everything has been returned to how it should be. The two return to the ship, and Caesar to his camp, but as he does we see that he has managed to steal Nate's history book. On the ship Sara reports that they've delivered Caesar and Nate suggests they go home, but Gideon tells them that they can't, as their home doesn't exist any more. Instead it appears that the Romans managed to conquer not just the known world, but the unknown one as well, including the Americas. Nate realises that Caesar must have stolen his Roman history book.
On the Waverider the Legends decide that they need to fix the broken timeline before the Time Bureau find out. At that moment though a portal opens, and Time Agents, led by Rip, come on to the ship. Sara tells him that he needs them, but Rip says that the Bureau is capable of fixing the situation without the mess the Legends would cause. They are forced to stand by while Time Bureau agents go in to Caesar's camp to retrieve the book. Sara realises that the agents are walking into a trap. As they leave Caesar's tent, the agents are surrounded by Roman legionnaires. Two of the agents are able to portal back to the Waverider, but Agent Sharpe is captured and Caesar destroys her time courier. Rip realises that he will have to rely on the Legends to get Ava back. Out in Gaul, Caesar is beginning his march on Rome when Firestorm attacks the army column, pretending to be the Roman god of war. As the soldiers are distracted, Sara and Mick are able to free Ava. Back in the Roman camp, a miniaturised Ray is attempting to take back the history book. The two Roman soldiers notice the book moving so Ray knocks one out, whilst Nate takes out the other. Between Sara, Ava, and Mick they are able to take out the remaining soldiers. Back on the ship, Rip asks them if the Legends intend to continue travelling through time. They tell them they are. Ava reports that Caesar and his army have all had their memories erased, and she and Rip leave the bridge. Mick reveals that he has managed to steal a time courier, a Bureau communicator and a memory eraser. Out in the corridor Ava is complaining that the Legends are dangerous, but Rip points out sometimes they actually manage to actually fix things. He tells her that one day they might need the Legends to help them defeat what is coming. Ava says that they are the reason that Mallus is a threat, but Rip tells her that there may come a day when they will need the Legends to do what they do best: be the chainsaw.
In the engine room, Martin tells Jax that he has decided to stay on the Waverider. In the library, Nate is staring at a picture of Amaya, and asks Ray if he thinks she's happy. In Zambesi in 1942, a group of soldiers is attacking Amaya's village. Amaya comes out and tells them that Zambesi is under her protection. The soldiers aim their rifles at her and she activates her necklace, and the ashes of a number of animals take the soldiers out.
Trivia[]
- The title is a pun that both references the beach party that is held at Aruba during the episode and refers to "A Rubicon" that Julius Caesar tells Sara to pass later in the episode, referencing his decision to go against the orders of the Roman Senate.
- The title of this episode also references that the episode continues from the previous episode in which the "Con" in "Aruba-Con" is short for "Continued".
- After Sara throws a knife into a board, Val scolds that she isn't auditioning for America Ninja Warrior, a show in which the participants must work through increasingly difficult obstacle courses.
- Stein exclaims "Great Caesar's ghost!," a phrase popularly used by DC character Perry White.
- Ray and Nate parody a phrase popularly attributed to Caesar, "I came, I saw, I conquered" (or in its original Latin form, "Veni, vidi, vici"), replacing the last section with "we kicked Caesar's ass."
- ”We came, we saw, we kicked its ass” is a similar quote from the 1984 film Ghostbusters.
- As of this episode, both Sara and Ray have revealed to the world (2017) that they are still alive.
- Unfortunately though, Ray wasn't able to regain control of Palmer Technologies, forcing him to be employed at Upswipz.
- Nate and Jax agree that they're "pretty good at taking down legions," in reference to Caesar's legion of Romans. This is a nod to the Legion of Doom, the previous season's main antagonists.
- While fighting the Roman empire as Firestorm, Jax shouts: "Surrender your prisoner in the name of Ares, the god of war!". Coincidentally, this is a nod to Wonder Woman villain, Ares.
- Stein then corrected Jax that Mars is the Roman god of war; Ares is actually the name of the Greek god of war.
- Parts of Amaya's biography viewed by Nate near the end of the episode seem to have been copied from her article on this wiki.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Wally West outside of The Flash.
- This is the first DC's Legends of Tomorrow season premiere not to feature Oliver Queen/Green Arrow.
- Amy Pemberton, who voices Gideon, makes a pseudo-appearance in the form of a photograph she uses to create a fake Upswipz profile.
- Caesar makes mention of the Fates, who would go on to be the main antagonists of Season 5.
- The Time Bureau agents' Time couriers resemble the watches Time Agents wear in Doctor Who, which allow them to time hop. This is likely an intentional reference since the Arrowverse and Legends of Tomorrow in particular have many references to Doctor Who.
- When Caesar introduces himself to Mick, the pronunciation is how a Latin speaker would pronounce it: GAI-oos YOO-lee-oos KAI-sar - which is linguistically correct.
- When the Legends steal the Waverider, Sara says to Gideon, "Engines to power... turbines to speed!" which is a paraphrase of what Adam West as Batman used to say each time he and Robin started up the Batmobile in the 1960s Batman TV series.
- The creation of the Time Bureau and their mission to correct anachronisms helped erase one of the major criticisms of the previous season; the Bureau's efforts would have likely eliminated all of the major alternations and plot holes in the timeline that were left undone in several episodes, such as a missing crew member aboard Apollo 13[1] and the curing of J.R.R. Tolkien's trench fever (the disease actually saved his life by sending him home before his battalion was wiped out).[2]
- The Time Bureau's training exercises consist of past missions the Legends carried out deliberately and requires them to complete them more efficiently than the team did. Some missions referenced are events from "Moonshot" and "Out of Time".
Goofs[]
- Stein explains Caesar's ability to understand and fluently speak English after ending up in present-day Aruba as being a side effect of temporal displacement. When the Legends return him to his proper point in the timeline (49 B.C.), Sara wipes Caesar's memory, and Nate checks a book on the rise of the Roman empire to confirm that history's back on track. Unnoticed by the group as they're leaving, Caesar steals Nate's book and subsequently uses it as a tool to conquer the known world, and then the unknown world. However, because Caesar's mind was wiped after they took him back to 49 B.C., he shouldn't have been able to read Nate's book, which was printed in English.
- When the Legends are stealing the Waverider, Ray claims Gideon has been in sleep mode for five years. However, as the previous episode, "Aruba", was set six months ago and the Legends arrived along with the Waverider in that episode, so Gideon should have only be in sleep mode for six months.
- When Ava subdues Ray on the floor, she has his arms twisted behind his back. In the next shot, his hands are on the floor after Ava twisted them again.
- When Sara is fighting Julius Caesar, she assumes a fighting stance wearing sandals. In the next scene when she kicks him in the face, she is not wearing sandals.
Videos[]
Production[]
Preparation ran from July 7 until July 17, 2017. Shooting began on July 18 and ran until July 28, 2017.[3]
References[]
DC's Legends of Tomorrow season 3 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
"Aruba-Con" • "Freakshow" • "Zari" • "Phone Home" • "Return of the Mack" • "Helen Hunt" • "Welcome to the Jungle" • "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4" • "Beebo the God of War" • "Daddy Darhkest" • "Here I Go Again" • "The Curse of the Earth Totem" • "No Country for Old Dads" • "Amazing Grace" • "Necromancing the Stone" • "I, Ava" • "Guest Starring John Noble" • "The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly" |