DC’s Legends of Tomorrow review: “Bored on Board Onboard”

Just when you think DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have gotten as wacky as possible, they manage to surprise us. In this week’s episode, “Bored on Board Onboard”, the Legends find themselves stuck on the Waverider for an extended amount of time with nothing to do. After finding their way to the cosmic bowling alley from last week’s episode, they learn that the ship’s jump-drive is damaged and that they’re going to have to fly back to Earth “the old-fashioned way.” That’s easier said than done for this group, who have been spoiled rotten by the luxuries the Waverider usually has to offer.

The travel time back to Earth is approximately three weeks, and to keep it that ways means saving power. Take away a person’s screen time and strip away their very soul; sadly, it is that serious.

It makes for some great television, though. The chemistry the cast shares with each other makes episodes like this effortless and hilarious. More on what went down in this Clue-inspired episode in the review below — beware SPOILERS ahead.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow takes on board games

This episode felt like a reminder of how many of us spent the last year in lockdown. We were stuck inside our houses with not much to do, and often, we had to rely on simple things to keep us entertained. I know I played more board games than I have in years, and it was great fun!

Because power is limited aboard the Waverider, Sara (Caity Lotz) has to prevent the Legends from using any extra tech lest it drain the ship’s battery. Gary (Adam Tsekhman) suggests playing a board game called Beast/Slayers, which sounds a lot like Clue/Mafia. It wasn’t anyone’s first choice, but the alternative was watching an erratic Constantine (Matt Ryan) boast about his “magical” powers. Of course, he doesn’t really have his magic back because he’s been relying on a blood potion. Put a pin in that.

While playing Beast/Slayers, the group has to figure out which one of them is the beast before it murder them all. It’s not stimulating enough for Constantine, so he conjures up a way to make the game better by taking them inside of it. Each of them becomes their assigned characters, but instead of them playing the game, it felt a whole lot like Jumanji, where the game was playing them.

The game is off to a fun start as everyone settles into their roles: Sarah as the “Black Widow,” Ava (Jes Macallan) as the “Detective,” Zari (Tala Ashe) as the “Primadonna”, etc. Right off the bat, Nate (Nick Zano) is accused of being the beast, but things take a turn when Ava is the first one to “die” — she literally wears a sign that says “dead.” And then Nate is stabbed in the back. It all feels extremely real…and it is. Constantine’s spell made the game too real, and now the Legends find themselves stuck in the game.

Legends of Tomorrow meets Jumanji

As the game progresses, we begin to see the Legends turn on each other. When they’re being picked off one after another by one of their own it’s hard to remain trustful.

This provides an opportunity to focus on relationships. Behrad knows something is up with Constantine, and is concerned for Zari. All the bickering leads to a beautiful sister/brother moment where Zari confesses she is in love with Constantine. Who would have imagined?!

Constantine’s role in the game is “Consumptive Doctor,” which is fitting given his addiction to the blood potion. But when the game begins to get too real, he gets a nasty cough that causes him to throw up blood.

In between coughing, it is revealed that Constantine’s shadow self is actually the beast that has been tormenting everyone. The beast within him represents the part of Constantine that refuses to let himself be loved or to engage in healthy relationships. It’s a tragic epiphany, and the moment is well-executed by Ryan.

Zari stabs the beast in the back, unaware that it’s a part of Constantine. And he doesn’t tell her or the other Legends as much, even after they are freed from the shackles of the board game and find themselves back on the Waverider. Instead, he tries to throw out his blood potion but ultimately fails to face his inner demon.

It’s clear that Constantine’s spiral is leading up to his exit from the show, which was announced during the a San Diego Comic-Con@Home panel. Matt Ryan is sticking around on Legends of Tomorrow, but as a different character starting next season — and now we know why.

Elsewhere in Legends of Tomorrow

While the Legends try to best the board game, Mick (Dominic Purcell) deals with his alien pregnancy. This is a storyline I simply can’t stop laughing at.

Mick and Gary have to contend with another spaceship docking on the Waverider. Aboard is Kayla (Aliyah O’Brien). She did not die as Mick thought…after he left her back on the planet with all the evil aliens.

But while Mick is trying to apologize, Gary feels something isn’t right about Kayla…and he’s correct! She boarded the Waverider to 1) have Gideon fix one of her tentacles that was damaged, and; 2) to grant the wish of Bishop, who helped her. Yes, Bishop is back and he’s made himself very comfortable aboard the Waverider.

When the other Legends return, they find an unconscious Mick on the floor, and Gary running around in his alien form sans glasses. The ship’s fabricator was recreating another human, and all we see was its feet. That human is Bishop, and now he’s using Kayla to exact revenge on the Legends.

This won’t end well.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is such a fun watch week after week, and this episode was no different. They always manage to take silly, crazy ideas and make them work in the context of the show. This Clue/Mafia-inspired episode was all sorts of fun, but it also had marvelous character development.

We saw just how far gone Constantine is with his blood potion addiction. I’m sad to know that we won’t have Constantine come next season, but knowing Ryan is sticking around makes the loss easier to take.

We’ll have to see just how this character’s story ends, and what it will mean for Zari, who is in love with him. I didn’t think I’d grow to like this version of Zari, but I have, and I love that we’re getting to see a more relatable side of her through her relationship with Constantine.

Hopefully, we’ll see how that plays out along with Bishop’s return in next week’s episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow!

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