- "I am gonna kick my ass!"
- —Damien Darhk
"No Country for Old Dads" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and the forty-sixth episode overall. It aired on March 5, 2018.
Synopsis[]
When Damien and Nora Darhk take Ray hostage they force him to try and fix the Fire Totem, but Ray tries to use the power struggle between them to his advantage. Ray and Nora find themselves working together in 1960's East Germany in order to fix the totem, but soon come face to face with a younger and deadlier version of Damien Darhk. Meanwhile, Sara seems to be taking positive steps in her personal life.[src] |
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Brandon Routh as Dr. Ray Palmer/The Atom
- Caity Lotz as Captain Sara Lance
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Amaya Jiwe
- Amy Louise Pemberton as Gideon (voice)
- Tala Ashe as Zari Tomaz
- Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West/Kid Flash
- Nick Zano as Dr. Nate Heywood
- Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory
Special appearance by[]
Special guest star[]
- Arthur Darvill as Agent Rip Hunter
Guest starring[]
- Courtney Ford as Nora Darhk and Mallus
- Jes Macallan as Agent/Director Ava Sharpe
- Tracy Ifeachor as Kuasa
- Adam Tsekhman as Agent Gary Green
- Adrian Hough as Dr. Bernhardt Vogel
- Joy Richardson as Amaya Jiwe's ancestor
Co-starring[]
- Hiro Kanagawa as Director Bennett
- Chris Carson as Alan
- Nicolas Ouellette as Border Guard
- Ian Rozylo as Guard
- Eric Breker as Driver
- Ian James Hawkins as Evening Wear Man
- Marie V. Sharp as Evening Wear Woman
Plot[]
On the Waverider, Sara and Ava are having breakfast when Sara notices that there are a lot of dirty dishes to be washed up. This is unusual because Ray loves doing the dirty dishes. Zari remarks that she also hasn't seen Ray. Sara asks Gideon for his location, and Gideon reports that she doesn't know. Just then the Waverider is hailed by the Time Bureau. Agent Gary Green reports that they found an old bottle with mobile phone in it. The message contains a message from Ray saying that he has been kidnapped by Damien and Nora Darhk, and to not try to find him because the Darhks will kill him. It's revealed he is being tortured. The Darhks are attempting to get the spirit totem to work but they are unable to. Kuasa says that the totem should be hers, but Nora disagrees, pointing out that she already carries the water totem. Kuasa tells her that until Nora can find a selfless reason for wielding the spirit totem, Amaya's link to it will remain stronger than hers, and Nora will not be able to use it. Damien asks about the broken fire totem they have. Kuasa flinches from it, admitting that she's afraid of it because it killed her once. Damien wants to know if it can be mended. Kuasa says that only a brilliant mind could work out how to do so. They realise that they are have Ray prisoner.
Sara and Ava are on the bridge when Rip Hunter and Wally West portal on to the ship. Sara tells Rip that he is not welcome, but Wally explains that they are there to help stop Mallus.
Back in captivity, Ray refuses to help the Darhks repair the fire totem, but when Damien threatens to kill his family, including his mother, Ray reluctantly agreed. They travel to the UpSwipz office in 2018 so Ray has a lab to work in.
On the Waverider the Legends are still searching for Ray. Ava returns to the Time Bureau to use their resources. Meanwhile Amaya suggests meditating with Zari to try and contact her ancestors for help in finding her totem. Wally offers to help.
Back at UpSwipz Ray has been analysing the shards of the fire totem. He tells the Darhks that it can't be repaired without using all the energy released in the Big Bang – that is unless someone has managed to invent cold fusion, which Ray thinks is impossible. Damien tells Ray that cold fusion was invented in East Berlin in 1962 by a scientist named Bernhardt Vogel. Ray says that if it had been he would have heard about it. Damien reveals that the reason no-one knows about it was that he was hired by the fossil fuel industry to kill Vogel and stop his research from getting out. Damien decides to go back to 1962 to stop his younger self from killing Vogel. Nora points out that if younger Damien sees his future self, it could change his timeline, and says she will go instead. Damien says that it is too dangerous for her to go. Nora manages to convince him that she's capable, and insists on taking Ray, so that there is someone who "speaks nerd" who Vogel will trust.
East Berlin, 1962: Nora and Ray use the time stone to teleport to the apartment in the safe house where Vogel is being kept and tell him that they are CIA agents, there to take him to America. Vogel tells them that he wants to go to West Berlin, and that he won't tell them anything about cold fusion until he is reunited with his family. When Ray and Nora stop Vogel from trying to get a doll that he plans to give to his daughter, he shouts for help and an East German agent enters. Nora tries to disable him using her magic, but it doesn't work, because Ray shot her with his anti-magic gun. Ray is able to knock the guard out, but others storm in. Outside the younger Damien Darhk is killing all of the East German guards, on his way to kill Vogel, whilst inside the safe house Ray and Nora are able to take out the agents in the flat. Younger Damien hears the sound of the fighting inside the apartment and shoots the rest of the guards through the door. Ray and Nora try to time jump out with Vogel, but Damien shoots the time stone, breaking it. Without an exit, Nora, Ray, and Vogel climb out of the window of the apartment and are able to jump into the back of a passing truck. When the truck stops, Nora threatens to torture the formula for cold fusion out of Dr. Vogel. Vogel tells her to do her worst, as the pain of being separated from his family and possibly never seeing them again is worse than anything she could do to him, and she relents. Nora worries that her father will think she's a failure. Ray tells her that she needs to show him what she is really capable of. They decide they're going to try and smuggle Vogel across the border into West Berlin, one of the most heavily guarded borders in history. They head to the headquarters of a forger who can make them false papers. The forger isn't there, so they make their own. They are also able to obtain a car, and new clothes so that they can get themselves into West Berlin.
Back in 2018 the older Damien Darhk is worrying about why Nora and Ray are not back yet, and travels back to 1962 to find them.
At the border Nora is able to convince the guards to let them cross. Unbeknownst to them the younger Darhk is targetting them with a sniper rifle. Before he can shoot however the East German guards are picked up and thrown through the air by magic. Nora realises her father (the older Damien) is there. They retreat back into East Berlin. Back at the forger's headquarters, Nora tells Damien that she had things under control until he showed up. Damien says that they are going to take Vogel back to 2018 and torture him until he gives up his cold fusion formula. Nora tells him that torture will not work, as the secret is the only way he will see his daughter again – and unlike Damien, Vogel is a father who cares about his child. Damien tells her that he's only had her best interests at heart, but Nora points out that when she was a child Damien had her possessed by a demon so that he could come back to life. Damien realises that Ray has been a good influence on hear and tries to kill him. Nora calls him a selfish man-child and leaves.
On the Waverider, Ava returns from the Time Bureau and tells Sara that they have been unable to find Ray. Everything the Legends have been trying to do have similarly proved useless so far. Amaya and Zari meanwhile have made it to the world between worlds, but they find it destroyed and desolate rather than beautiful, and realise that something is wrong.
In 1962 Nora runs in to the younger version of Damien. Meanwhile the older Darhk is trying to work out what happened to Nora – that she used to be a little girl and in the blink of an eye she's all grown up and doesn't need him any more. Ray tells him that if he really cared for her he wouldn't have let her be a vessel for Mallus. Damien says that he wanted destroying to world to be his gift to her, not her career path. Ray suggests he tells her how he feels, and that Nora is doing her best to try and impress him. Damien confesses how proud he is of Nora, but Ray tells him that she doesn't know that. At that moment the telephone rings. The younger Damien has captured Nora and is offering an exchange – her life for Vogel's. Older Damien ties Ray up and goes to meet his younger self, taking Vogel with him.
In the world between worlds Zari suggest that they leave. Amaya says that she can feel her totem everywhere, but that it feels different. Zari's air totem starts to glow, and Amaya's ancestor approaches. She tells Amaya that the longer her totem is in the possession of darkness, the more the world between worlds will be corrupted. Her ancestor says that she is trying to fight the evil, but she cannot resist for ever. Amaya promises that she will get her totem back. Her ancestor tells her that she needs to get Kuasa back as well as soon they will need her. She tells Amaya and Zari that the first totem bearers imprisoned a great evil, who cannot be allowed to break free. Zari asks if she is referring to Mallus and the ground shakes. The ancestor tells them that Mallus is imprisoned by time, and the more that time is broken, the closer he gets to breaking free. Amaya realises that this is the reason that Damien Darhk and his allies are creating anachronisms. The ancestor tells her that if they do not stop Darhk, then all of time is at risk.
Back in East Berlin older Damien (wearing a mask so younger Darhk does not recognise him) has arrived at the rendezvous to exchange Vogel for Nora. The younger Darhk shoots Vogel and then throws Nora off the rooftop they are meeting on. Older Damien is able to use magic to stop her falling. As he's distracted the younger Damien tries to shoot him, but the older version is able to stop the bullets magically. Young Damien then attacks his older self, preventing him from saving his daughter. Back at the forger's headquarters, Ray notices that Darhk has left his A.T.O.M. suit behind and is able to activate it and free himself. On the rooftop, younger Damien is strangling older Damien. Nora tells him that he must let her go so that he can save himself. Damien lets her fall, but she rises back up. The spirit totem has activated because of her selfless her act of sacrifice. She is able to knock the younger Darkh out. In the world between worlds, the ancestor tells Amaya and Zari that Nora has managed to claim the totem's power, and that they must run. Then she vanishes. Back on the rooftop East German guards arrive. Damien and Nora fight them. As they are doing so Ray also arrives, and tells a wounded Vogel that they must leave. Vogel says that it is too late, but gives Ray the doll. Ray tells him that he should give it to his daughter himself, but Vogel tells him the doll never belonged to her – it really contains all his information about cold fusion. As Ray picks up Vogel so that they can leave, the older Darhk kills him. Ray tries to fly away, but Nora, channelling the ashe of a gorilla stops him and demands he hands over the doll. Ray refuses and aims the A.T.O.M. suit's weapons at her. Nora tells him that he knows he won't shoot her. Ray says she's right – then uses the suit to blow a hole in the Berlin Wall. This causes an aberration in time that causes a time quake, which is picked up by the Waverider. They realises that Ray is the source. However the time quake has also caused tears in the fabric of time itself. The Waverider jumps to East Berlin, and Wally is able to speed Ray away.
Back on the Waverider Ray shows them the formula for cold fusion and tells them that Damien Darhk needed it to repair the fire totem, and suggests that they go and get it. Wally reveals that he stole it out of Darhk's pocket. Amaya and Zari return from their vision quest to tell the rest of the Legends about what they learned – that time is being destroyed so that Mallus can be freed. Rip suggests they contact the Time Bureau to tell them what they've learned. Director Bennett insists they place Rip under arrest. Before the Legends are able to tell Bennett what they've learned, Grodd appears and kills him. Rip tells Ava that she is now the highest ranking official at the Bureau and that she is now in charge of it. Ava reinstates Rip to the Time Bureau. Nate and Ray discuss his adventures, and Ray defends Nora. Nate asks if Ray has the hots for her – Ray doesn't deny it, and says that maybe there is hope for her. Sara catches up with Wally and asks if he's planning to stay. Wally says he was thinking of joining Rip at the Time Bureau, as it seems like the team doesn't like him. Sara tells him that none of them got on with each other when they first arrived. Ava and Rip come to take their leave. Ava portals back to the Time Bureau. Before he leaves Rip orders Gideon to delete a file concerning Director Sharpe, saying that Sara can never find out the truth about Ava.
In 1962, Damien and Nora are talking. Damien apologised for having her possessed by Mallus, but Nora tells him that it was a good thing, as it brought them back together. Damien tells her that he's proud of her. Just then Mallus begins to take over Nora.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The title is a reference to the 2005 Cormac McCarthy novel No Country for Old Men and its film adaptation.
- Nora and Ray posing as a married couple is a reference to the real-life marriage between Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford, who portray Ray and Nora, respectively.
- When Nora and Ray are in the car in East Berlin, Nora says "Not that Dad, that Dad!". This is similar to a scene in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Walter Donavan says "Not that Jones, the other Jones!" (referring to Henry Jones, Sr. and his son, respectively).
- The use of the term "souvenirs" comes from the TV series Young Justice, in which Wally West made a habit of picking up items he found on missions as "souvenirs".
- After Wally rescues Ray, Damien says that he hates speedsters. This is a reference to the previous season, when Damien said that he hates it when speedsters run after his encounter with Eobard Thawne. This also is a reference to The Flash's "Legends of Today", when Barry Allen rescued Oliver Queen from Damien at super speed.
- Director Wilbur Bennett tells Ava, Sara and Rip that he has to stop Alexander Hamilton from seeing the musical Hamilton, a reference to the musical based on his life.
- When Damien is using Upswipz, Carrie Cutter/Cupid's profile is seen.
- It was revealed in this episode that Damien Darhk is 257 years old.
- Brandon Routh improvised the line about the recipe of Ray's coffee.[1]
- Nora states that she has been mourning her mother for 23 years. This implies that the adult version of Nora is from around the year 2039, thus being 35 or 36 years old.
- Zari mentions wanting to visit Mount St. Helens to witness its eruption, which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the United States' history, caused by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in 1980.
- Damien's interest in magic is a result of a time loop. This is due to the resurrected Damien interacting with the 1962 version of himself and also showcasing his magical abilities to his former self whilst fighting him, which Damien's former self seemed to show interest in.
- Damien's line "I am gonna kick my ass" directed at his younger self is a reference to the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us during the scene in the story mode where Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, meets his doppelganger who has joined the Sinestro Corps, and cuts off his counterpart's attempts to lecture him by telling him "Save it. Time to kick my ass." Incidentally, Neal McDonough voices Barry Allen and Damian Wayne in the game.
Goofs[]
- Kuasa reveals that a Totem can never be completely destroyed, seemingly contradicting Adam Macalester, who claimed on Vixen that the "soul" of a Totem will leave if smashed. It should be noted that the fragments of the Fire Totem seen in this episode appear active, despite "losing its sparkle" after being broken in Vixen. In addition, Ray stated that he'd found a way to fix it, further supporting Kuasa's statement.
- When Nora is falling, Damien levitates her, but doesn't simply set Nora down on the roof, instead keeping her hanging. In a similar move, Damien's younger self does not shoot him while they are fighting hand-to-hand with Nora hanging. Although older Damien stopped the initial bullets, he was then shown as being vulnerable when they were fighting.
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" |