DC’s Legends of Tomorrow review: “Stressed Western”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow heads to the Wild, Wild West during as the Legends learn what truly happened to Sara (Caity Lotz) during her hiatus. No one, not even Ava (Jes Macallan) is aware that her dear fiance has turned into a half alien-half human hybrid.

“Stressed Western” is a hilarious segue that gets Sara back into the thick of the Legends’ adventures, and even includes a cameo from Arrow’s David Ramsey. But viewers may be surprised to see that Ramsey is playing someone other than Diggle.

As the Legends head to the series-favorite time period, the Wild West, they learn that there is something strange happening in Fist City, which according to Nate (Nick Zano) is a historically dangerous place. It’s an entertaining episode to say the least, and it’s a breath of fresh air to see Sara back amongst the Legends, with some new abilities to boot. More on that below! Be wary of SPOILERS ahead!

Legends of Tomorrow takes on the Wild West

With Sara back in the saddle, the Legends try to go above and beyond to cater to her needs. They want to make her as comfortable as possible, which means spoiling her with breakfast and attention.

More than anything, Ava just wants to spend some time with Sara. After all, they just got engaged! But with the Legends, it’s hard to get a moment of silence. Sara takes a rare opportunity to tell Ava the secret she’s been harboring since her return: she’s half-alien now!

But Sara doesn’t want the rest of the Legends to know her secret, at least not yet. And they don’t have much time to get suspicious as Gideon (Amy Louise Pemberton) informs the team that she has a new mission for them: They’re heading to the Wild West to learn more about an alien pod that has landed in Fist City.

Fist City ain’t so bad!

Despite Nate’s concerns about Fist City being a place of dangerous nightmares, they realize that everyone is nice, really nice. In fact, when they walk into the saloon, the locals immediately rush to tend to all of them. The bartender offers drinks, which are all non-alcoholic, so Sara opts for a milkshake. Ava is surprised at that, but maybe aliens enjoy milkshakes, I dunno!

As the Legends split up, they learn that things are actually way too normal in Fist City. No one drinks, no one gambles, and there’s a dude walking around playing his guitar and narrating everything that is taking place.

The Legends of Tomorrow learn about Bass Reeves

While trying to get the lay of the land, the Legends stumble across a wanted poster for someone named Bass Reeves. Apparently, he’s the town’s first Black deputy, but something strikes Nate as off. In history, Bass Reeves is a a good guy, so why is he wanted? The Legends also come across another deputy named Levi Stapleton (Nic Bishop) who is looking for Reeves, but Nate informs the group that in history, Stapleton was an outlaw.

It’s unclear why things have been swapped around. It’s probably because of the alien pod that brought them to Fist City in the first place. This is also why everyone is acting so abnormal, which is to say friendly.

The Fist City beast

Astra (Olivia Swann) and Spooner are the first to essentially summon the alien beast that lurks beneath Fist City. After getting into an argument with a local, the ground starts to shake, and out from the ground appears a worm monster that eats the local before going away. The only way to get rid of this monster is by using a whistle that only Stapleton has. According to him, if everyone follows the rules and stays calm, the beast won’t emerge from the ground. The Legends learn that this monster is actually an alien, known as a Haverak that feeds on anger and rage.

In an attempt to save the town, the Legends come up with a plan to take the whistle from Stapleton…during a square dance. During the dance, John (Matt Ryan) tries to confront Gary (Adam Tsekhman) about a fountain that could help him get his powers back, while Ava tries to figure out what the heck is going on with Sara’s new diet. According to Gary, there is a type of alien species knows as a Wafter, that loves milkshakes. It’s possible Sara’s is part Wafter now.

Legends of Tomorrow puts on a duel

When Zari (Tala Ashe) fails to get the whistle from Stapleton, Sara ends up challenging him to a duel. Whoever wins will get the whistle while the loser will have to leave Fist City. As they both begin to walk out 10 paces, Stapleton goes back on his word and fires at Sara. He shoots Sara right in the head, leaving a gaping hole. Fortunately, we know Sara is going to just regenerate back, but the rest of the Legends have no idea. For all they know, they’ve just lost Sara again.

Stapleton proceeds to empty all the bullets from his gun into her body, but she never wavers or falls to her death. Regeneration abilities for the win!

The deputy’s rage summons the Haverak, which immediately kills him. That’s a win, right? Well, not quite.

Astra and Spooner stumble across the Haverak’s cave, which produces gold! On top of that, they meet Bass Reeves, who’s played by none other than David Ramsey. Diggle out, Reeves in, at least for this episode!

Bye, Haverak

Meanwhile, back in town, the Legends have to find shelter from the townspeople who have finally converted back to their original form. While hiding out in the saloon, Ava confronts Sara about her regeneration and the weird new diet and John finally gets Gary to admit that the fountain does exist. Apparently, there’s even a map leading right to it!

As the Haverak drama reaches its climax, Nate is the one to save the day. He goes on a rant about being alone ever since Zari 1.0 went away and how he doesn’t feel appreciated. Nate does this on purpose to bring the Haverak out from hiding so they can take it down once and for all.

Astra and Spooner make it back just in time to help the rest of the Legends out, with Spooner using her powers to stop the Haverak. With Astra’s help, they are able to set the Haverak on fire, getting rid of it once and for all.

Alls well that ends well

After taking care of the Haverak, Fist City returns to normal, with the cowboy narrator wrapping things up as the episode comes to an end. Gary tells John that Aleister Crowley (the guy from the painting in his attic) knows where the map to the fountain is. Get that, and he’ll have a chance at getting his powers back.

Behrad (Shayan Sobhian) hands Nate the air totem, which will allow him to visit Zari 1.0 for brief periods of time. Hearing what he had to say back in Fist City, Behrad wanted to do something for his dear friend, and I must admit, it had me tearing up.

And with that, the Legends seem to be back to norma, at least for now!

What I love about Legends of Tomorrow is its ability to stay consistently goofy and hilarious, and this episode delivered. I loved that “Stressed Western” found a way to rope in Ramsey in a role other than John Diggle, proving that they can incorporate anyone from the Arrowverse if they want. It’s been fun seeing Ramsey pop up throughout the Arrowverse shows this season, and his Legends appearance has been the best one so far.

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