- For other uses of Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac, see Mr. Parker's Cul De Sac (disambiguation).
"Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and the seventy-fourth episode overall. It aired on March 10, 2020.
Synopsis[]
Ray plans a date night for him and Nora, but all goes awry when an Encore shows up making the team think on their feet and create a lie to keep the Encore at bay. While trying to fool the Encore, Ava learns what Sara was really doing while she was away and confronts her. Charlie and Constantine make a deal to work together, which will benefit both of them. Meanwhile, Rory is upset when he gets negative comments about his book, so Zari helps track down who the critic is, and Rory gets more than he bargained for.[src] |
Plot[]
Two years ago, after the Legends defeated Mallus, Gary is seen cleaning up traces of the Beebo apparition the Legends summoned as an unseen figure stands over the pit he is in, obscured by the sun. As Gary uses his hand to block the sun so he can get a closer look, he begins to cry out in horror after realizing the unseen person's identity.
In the present day on the Waverider, Constantine tells the Legends how he plans to use the Loom of Fate to change Astra's fate. Charlie refuses to help him, with Sara agreeing that the Loom is too dangerous. She then changes the subject and suggests the Legends can use Genghis Khan's hell sword to deal with any future Encores. Gideon alerts them to an Encore in Salvation, 1874 but as Sara tells the Legends to depart, she realizes Ava, Constantine, Charlie and herself are the only ones on the bridge and wonders where everyone is. Constantine tells her that while he was dying he told Ray to "carpe his diem" and it is revealed that Behrad and Nate are helping Ray prepare for his proposal to Nora at Constantine's house. Nora arrives with her charge Pippa, and is greeted by Gary who will be their waiter for the evening. Nora is taken aback by what Ray has prepared as she assumed this was a typical date night. On the Waverider, Nate walks in on Constantine in the library looking for information on the Loom of Fate. Nate tells him that he had a professor who knew of a historian that believed a piece of the Loom was buried in the South Pole. As Constantine leaves, "Nate" is revealed to be Charlie in disguise who sent Constantine on a fake lead. As Ava and Sara prepare for the mission, they attempt to ask Mick to follow them, but are met with grunting noises instead, with Zari telling them that Mick has been in there for days. He reveals that Rebecca Silver has an internet troll and retreats back into his room, with Sara telling Zari to help Mick with his troll problem. While preparing dinner for Ray and Nora, Gary begins fritzing out of existence and in 1874 Ava and Sara find Gary tied to railroad tracks, managing to narrowly save him before an incoming train. Gary addresses Ava as "Director Sharpe", leading Ava to realize that this Gary is from 2018. Ava asks him to return to the Time Bureau, but he tells them he is unable to as someone has stolen his time courier. In the present, Nora answers a ring at the door to find an alive Damien Darkh.
Darkh enthusiastically embraces Nora, and she deduces that he is an Encore. He admits to having to be a villain again as part of his "parole agreement". She asks how he found her and he reveals that her PalmerTech watch still has location sharing on. Nora goes to the kitchen to tell Ray of the situation and he agrees to bring Pippa away and keep her comfortable so that she won't summon Nora. On the Waverider, Zari suggests Mick to not confront the troll, but to instead give him an autographed copy to turn him into a fan. Ray begins to show Pippa a show from his childhood called "Mr.Parker's Cul-De-Sac". While she is initially dismissive of the show, she agrees to try watching it after Ray gives her 20 dollars. Ray tells Nate and Behrad of the situation and to keep the information from Sara. As Behrad suggests telling Sara the truth and convincing her not to kill Darkh, Sara tells Ava that she plans to kill Darkh the moment she sees him without Nora finding out. Gideon alerts them to Encore activity at Constantine's house, and that Wild Dog had called while she was away. Having sent the troll an autographed copy, Mick and Zari check his latest post, which involved him burning the autographed copy he just received. Outraged, Zari uses the hacking skills she obtained to find the troll's location and the two travel to Central City. After arriving, they discover the troll to be a teenage girl and Mick attempts to berate her using a script that Zari gave him but is surprised when Ali arrives and reveals the girl to be her daughter and his. Upon learning of this realization, Mick faints while Zari is recording.
At Constantine's house, Nora pretends that the house belongs to her, impressing Darkh. Ava and Sara arrive outside and plan to storm the entrance, but Nora locks the door. She directs Darkh to the library and tells Ava and Sara that she saw them. She asks for them to give her a chance to settle this without killing Darkh, and she presents them as her "Hench-people", further impressing Darkh that the Captain of the Waverider and the Head of the Time Bureau work for his daughter. He identifies the hell sword that Sara wields as an Mongolian relic as Nora puts the sword away. Sara asks why she shouldn't kill Darkh after ignoring another of Wild Dog's calls and Nora begs her to spare her father. Ava points out that Darkh is one of the most powerful dark warlocks on the planet, and Nora suggests using a potion to permanently remove Darkh's magic. Gary comes out of hiding, and agrees to help prepare the potion. Sara and Ava refuse at first, until Nora "invokes Book Club" to ask them to give her a night with Darkh, sparing him if he is a normal harmless man at the end. On the Waverider, Constantine prepares for a South Pole expedition. When Nate passes by and wonders why Constantine would go there, he realizes that he was tricked by Charlie. Angry, he tells Nate he will just find the Loom by himself instead of relying on the Legends. Ava and Sara attempt to prepare the dinner that Ray planned while Gary attempts to make the potion. When Sara leaves the room, Ava answers a call from Wild Dog to find out what Sara has been avoiding. Just then, Constantine returns home and Darkh emerges to meet him. The two warlocks battle before Nora comes between them. Darkh accuses Constantine of trespassing and the latter reveals that the house belongs to him, to Darkh's confusion. Attempting to salvage the lie, Nora claims that Constantine's name is on the title but the two of them share the house as lovers, something that Sara signals Constantine to go along with. Darkh is pleased that Nora has a "powerful warlock" in her life, and embraces Constantine. On the Waverider, Pippa and Ray are enthusiastically watching Mr.Parker's Cul-de-Sac when Pippa suggests that Ray asks Nora if she is hiding him from her father. She then summons Nora so that Ray can ask her, and Nora replies that she is, amidst a thousand lies she is telling Darkh so he won't kill anyone. Ray suggests that Nora tell the truth, but Nora points out that he is suggesting that she tell her "megalomaniac dad his little girl is a slave to the whims of children, and schtupping an Eagle Scout." Ray insists that hiding the truth only makes it more difficult in the end, but relents when Nora asks him to go along with this for one night. As Nora leaves, Pippa asks if Ray needs to be comforted and he replies that he does.
In Central City, Ali introduces to Mick their daughter, Lita, and reveals she wanted to tell Mick but he was in jail at the time of her pregnancy. She admits that she never told Lita who her father was until she learnt that Rebecca Silver was Mick, and after mentioning they had a relationship, Lita deduced Mick was her father. Ali suggests Mick get to know Lita and Mick pretends to agree, before using a flasher to wipe their memories of their visit, to Zari's shock. Mick tells Zari that they were never here and leaves. At Constantine's house, Darkh began to bond with Constantine with Darkh telling Nora he isn't surprised Nora ended up with a magic practitioner like her father. Constantine attempts to ask Darkh about the Loom of Fate, with the latter revealing that the Loom can only be put together and wielded by a Fate. Ava coldly suggests that she knows what Sara is hiding, and Darkh suggests they sit down to talk. Ava reveals that Sara received a job offer to work in Star City permanently, with Sara insisting that she was going to tell Ava and intended to bring her along to Star City. In the kitchen, Gary manages to complete the potion and place it inside a dessert. Ray confides in Nate and Behrad about Nora hiding him from Darkh, with the two pointing out that Ray would also need to hide his relationship with Nora from Darkh in the future. They then tell Ray the whole affair feels rushed, with the conversation reminding Ray that he already hid a ring inside the dessert. Just as Darkh is about to consume the potion, Ava discovers a ring in her dessert, which Darkh assumes delightedly was a mistake in Constantine's plan to propose to Nora. Nora herself realizes that Ray planned to propose to her, and touched, tells Darkh the truth. Ray asks Darkh for permission to marry Nora, but he is instead angry about the lies Nora has told, and as the potion in his dessert is revealed, thinks that Nora was going to poison him. Darkh tells Nora that in the 2 years he has been gone, Nora is now completely different and blames Ray. He uses his magic to choke Ray, knock Constantine aside and restrain Ava. Sara tries to kill him with the hell sword, but he restrains her and he realizes it is not a simple relic. He then plans to use it to obliterate the 4 of them.
On the Waverider, Charlie tells Behrad and Nate about the Encore alert at Constantine's house and they prepare to leave, but Pippa wants to go with them and uses Nora's magic to bring them all to Constantine's house just as Constantine manages to knock Darkh away. Nora tells Darkh to leave Ray alone, but Darkh insists that Ray has corrupted her. Spurred on by Nate and Behrad, Pippa wishes for all of them to be on Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac. Ray assumes the role of Mr. Parker and sits across Darkh and Nora, who continue to argue. Ray then suggests they go to "the land of Make-em-ups", and the scene changes to Charlie and Constantine sitting across the table, joined by puppet versions of Sara and Ava. Sara apologizes for not telling Ava the truth about the job offer, as she only considered it because she thought Ava wanted to settle down. Ava tells her that while she used to want to settle down, she has enjoyed her time on the Waverider and Sara agrees to turn down the job offer. Constantine confronts Charlie on trying to send him to the South Pole, and Charlie insists that she smashed the Loom so that everyone would be free. Constantine points out that if Charlie could sense the Loom was on one Earth now, it stands to reason that her sisters would have sensed it too and could go after it for the wrong reasons. Constantine promises he would only use the Loom to help Astra and to help Charlie destroy it forever afterwards, and she agrees to help him. Behrad then arrives to give Ray the "Safe Space Sombrero" which allows only the wearer to speak. Darkh claims that Ray has ruined Nora's life and she is in a "horrible fairy godmother job", but Nora insists that her life is her choice. She likes her job as she is able to help kids, and it helps her cope with the fact that she didn't have a choice to be "raised by a demon cult." Darkh admits to being wrong in his vision for Nora's life, and assures Nora that he is proud of her and they embrace. Seeing how the Legends and the Darkhs are more dysfunctional than her own family, Pippa decides to return to her own family and releases Nora, breaking the spell. Nora accepts Ray's proposal and the two kiss. Nora apologizes for attempting to hide Ray and suggests they get married immediately since this is a perfect moment. Ray agrees and the two kiss once again, but are interrupted by Darkh who tells Ray 'You're not married yet."
Ray and Nora are married by Sara in Constantine's house, in front of the Legends with Darkh escorting Nora down the aisle. As the Legends dance, Darkh tells Ray he appreciates everything that was done for his daughter. He also warns Ray that Nora's job is important to her, but she cannot do it properly while on the Waverider, and suggests that it is time for Ray to leave the Legends. As Zari checks on Mick, he tells her that Lita is better off without him, as she is too much like him, considering it a miracle that she is not a criminal as well. Darkh tells Nora that she inspired him to no longer be a villain, but both of them need to move on. Darkh attempts to quietly leave but is met by Sara. Darkh tells her that his situation as an Encore was cotingent on sending more souls to hell, but he chose to check on Nora instead. As such, Astra is likely going to recall him for an eternity of torture. He acknowledges that Sara will never forgive him for what he did, as he can't forgive himself either and leaves. Sara realizes that he took the hell sword and runs after him, but is too late as he has already used the hell sword to obliterate himself.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Brandon Routh as Dr. Ray Palmer and Mr. Parker
- Caity Lotz as Captain Sara Lance
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Charlie
- Tala Ashe as Zari Tarazi
- Jes Macallan as Ava Sharpe
- Courtney Ford as Nora Darhk/Fairy Godmother
- Olivia Swann (credit only)
- Amy Louise Pemberton as Gideon (voice)
- Nick Zano as Dr. Nate Heywood and Charlie
- Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory
Special appearance by[]
Guest starring[]
- Shayan Sobhian as Behrad Tarazi
- Adam Tsekhman as Gary Green
- Mina Sundwall as Lita
- Madeline Hirvonen as Pippa
Co-starring[]
Uncredited[]
- Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex (archive footage)
- Franz Drameh as Jefferson Jackson (archive footage)
- Tracy Ifeachor as Kuasa/Vixen (archive footage)
- Bar Paly as Helen of Troy (archive footage)
- John Noble as Mallus (voice; archive audio)
- Ben Diskin as Beebo (voice; archive audio)
Production[]
Preparation ran from August 30 until September 10, 2019. Shooting ran from September 11 until September 23, 2019.[1]
Trivia[]
- This is the highest rated episode of Season 5 with a rating of 8.8 on IMDb.
- The episode's title is a reference to the TV series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The similarities between this and the program in the episode are as follows:
- Both begin with the host (Mister Rogers/Mr. Parker) entering through the front door, singing the theme song, putting on a cardigan, and changing his shoes.
- The host speaks as though he is talking directly to the viewers.
- However, while Mister Rogers used one-on-one terms (most notably "neighbor"), Mr. Parker speaks to multiple people (i.e. "boys and girls").
- At some point, a mailman (Mr. McFeely/Behrad the bike man) arrives with a delivery.
- The host uses the mailman's delivery (in Mr. Parker's case, the Safe Space Sombrero) and gives commentary.
- A model train (the trolley/Gary the Unspeakable Train Abomination) takes viewers to a fictional world (Neighborhood of Make-Believe/Land of Make-em-Ups).
- This episode was originally scheduled for March 3, 2020, but was later confirmed to air on March 10. This could be due to the Super Tuesday elections.
- After Nora suggests making a potion to strip Damien of his powers, Gary makes his presence in the room known, saying "I volunteer as tribute" (offering to make the potion), a reference to the Hunger Games trilogy.
- Mick's discovery of his daughter is similar to when Stein discovered he had a daughter in "Invasion!" after unknowingly inspiring his younger self in "Compromised" to be more attentive to his wife.
- When the Legends end up in the Land of Make 'em Ups and Constantine sees that Ava and Sara have become puppets, he says "Are you bloody kidding me? Puppets; again?" referring to the Puppets of Tomorrow timeline he experienced in the season 4 episode "Legends of To-Meow-Meow".
- Ironically, Gary begins the episode getting tied to the railroad tracks in Salvation by Damien Darhk and later gets turned into a toy train because of Pippa's wish.
- When everyone goes back to normal after Pippa releases Nora as her fairy godmother, Gary says; "It worked! I'm not afraid of trains anymore". Presumably, his experience at the beginning of the episode left him with siderodromophobia.
- Coincidentally, right before Gary encounters Damien when the latter is resurrected a short time after the Legends killed Mallus by turning into a giant Beebo (leaving chunks of Beebo's fur all over the ground around the spot where they killed Mallus, which Gary's working on tidying up) Gary sings "Oh, I've been cleaning up some Bee-bo; just to scrub the time anomalies awa-ay. Can't you see the blue fluff blow-ing", to the tune of the song "I've Been Working on the Railroad" as a parody of the aforementioned song.
- Damien walking Nora down the aisle is part of the "giving away", a wedding tradition in which a family member (usually the father) of the bride hands her off to the groom.
- Gary flickering in and out of existence due to events in 1874 with his 2018 self is similar to what happened to Ray in "Phone Home".
- Nate being turned into a smiling sun is a possible reference to the PBS Kids program Teletubbies.
- Sara says that a power like the Loom of Fate should not be used by anybody, possibly in reference to the Spear of Destiny.
- Sara has a job offer from Rene Ramirez a.k.a. Wild Dog from Star City. It's also a continuation of a plot thread from back at the beginning of the Season 3 premiere ("Aruba-Con", where Sara was unable to get a decent job because a) she was legally dead, and b) she was basically a non-existent person because of her time travel escapades. This time around she made sure to invoke the clause of having a friend in high places (the mayor) to get a better job offer.
- When Constantine is preparing to leave for Antarctica, Nate calls him Captain Cold, a reference to Leonard Snart who is a former Legend. Ironically, Constantine appears to wear a winter coat which looks similar to Snart's. It's possible that Constantine was borrowing one of Snart's parkas in order to go to Antarctica or may have a similar spare. The former seems more likely, as Constantine also appeared to have Snart's goggles around his neck.
- This is the first episode in the series to take place in Salvation but not feature Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex.
- However, he was seen in flashbacks, which are archive footage from "The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly".
- When Constantine tries using magic to combat Damien Darhk's powers as the latter is using magic to choke Ray, Damien shouts "Brexit!", and sweeps Constantine aside via telekinesis. "Brexit" is a term that refers to the UK's withdrawal from the European Union; said withdrawal first began in 2016.
- Interestingly, the UK didn't begin separating from the European Union until late June 2016, about a month after Damien had been killed by Oliver Queen.
- Audio and video from the webisodes "Mr. Parker Fish Food" and "Mr. Parker After 5" can be heard in this episode.
- This is the last episode to feature Neal McDonough (Damien Dark) as he does not appear for the duration of the series.
Goofs[]
- Damien Darhk mentioned himself being in Hell for two years, but he died in 1992 and chronologically, it is supposed to be 28 years ago.
- Although this is accurate by real world view, as "The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly" aired in 2018, and for the Legends, two years have passed since then.
- This is reflected in a caption when Sara and Ava save Gary from the train, where it reads, "Two years earlier, Legends time". Thus, it's likely that Damien simply meant that from Nora's perspective, he'd been gone two years.
- Although this is accurate by real world view, as "The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly" aired in 2018, and for the Legends, two years have passed since then.
- While fighting with Damien Darhk, Constantine mispronounces "heirloom" as "hair-loom" (pronouncing the "H", which is actually silent).
- Additionally, Nate accidentally says that Ray is "growns up", unless this was intentional for comic effect.
- The montage of the Legends hugging right after the wedding is actually just multiple angles of the same shot, except for Nate and Ava's high-five.
- When Damien Darhk shows up at Constantine's house and tells Nora about how he's an Encore, he says "Look, all I know is, I'm up here right now as part of some soul-harvesting pyramid scheme. Honestly, I can't keep up with these millennials and all their newfangled world domination plans". However, the millennial generation encompasses those born between 1981 and 1996. Since Astra, who released Damien's soul from hell, would've been born around 2005,[2][3] this would make her part of Generation Z. Regardless, the mistake was reasonable since Astra appears as an adult woman and not a 15-year-old.
- In a minority viewpoint, author Neil Howe, co-creator of the Strauss–Howe generational theory, defines the Homeland Generation as those born 2005 onwards. However, Howe described the dividing line between Millennials and Generation Z as "tentative", saying "you can’t be sure where history will someday draw a cohort dividing line until a generation fully comes of age" since people like Astra were still born in the early part of the new millennium.[4]
- Encores have previously been shown to appear in the time and place where they died. Damien Darhk was killed in Zambesi in 1992,[5] but was resurrected in Salvation in 1874.
- Damien's return as an Encore may have occurred in the way that it did due to the fact that Damien died upon Mallus taking over his body in 1992, with Damien returning instead a short time after Mallus was killed, making his resurrection in 1874 appropriate.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
References[]
DC's Legends of Tomorrow season 5 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
"Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five" • "Meet the Legends" • "Miss Me, Kiss Me, Love Me" • "Slay Anything" • "A Head of Her Time" • "Mortal Khanbat" • "Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac" • "Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn of Justness" • "Zari, Not Zari" • "The Great British Fake Off" • "Ship Broken" • "Freaks and Greeks" • "I Am Legends" • "The One Where We're Trapped On TV" • "Swan Thong" |