DC’s Legends of Tomorrow review: “Silence of the Sonograms”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow delivers an odd and unforgettable episode this week with “Silence of the Sonograms.” I say this a lot, but the number of nonsensical things that happen on this show is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. What other show (besides maybe Doctor Who) can get away with a storyline about a pregnant man who has babies developing in his head?

That is precisely what happens this week, or rather comes full circle this week as Mick (Dominic Purcell) finally gives birth to 48 alien babies through his nose. Even as I type this, the absurdity of it makes me wonder how Legends of Tomorrow is allowed to exist.

While Mick’s delivery is front and center, along with the arrival of Bishop (Raffi Barsoumian), it’s Constantine’s (Matt Ryan) reckoning that really makes the episode. During this year’s Comic-Con, it was revealed that while Ryan will remain a part of the show, Constantine will be taking his final bow at the end of this season. Ryan will step into the role of another character we don’t know anything about yet, but after this episode the pieces are coming together.

Constantine’s arc has been tumultuous and it will be strange to say goodbye to him. In his own way, Constantine had matured and grown, only to backslide. Amidst the wackiness, Legends of Tomorrow breaks our hearts with its emotional moments, and saying goodbye to Constantine will be one of them.

Let’s talk specifics — beware SPOILERS below!

Bishop returns to Legends of Tomorrow

At the end of last week’s episode, Bishop made his sneaky return into the Legends’ lives after Kayla (Aliyah O’Brien) downloaded him to the printer from the cloud. This is of interest to Sara (Caity Lotz) because this is the final time Bishop can bring himself back to life. His data has been corrupted, so once he’s gone, he’s gone for good.

I’m not particularly fond of Bishop. In fact, Is it just me or is he really annoying? I can’t quite figure it out but I simply do not find him amusing.

Sara discovers Bishop on the ship and places him into the containment cell despite his reassurances that he is a changed man. Unless he downloaded Mother Teresa’s personality into himself, I’m not sure anyone can trust him. And then there’s the fact that he hadn’t finished uploading (about 6% was left) before his compound was destroyed by the Legends. So why has he come to the Waverider? What are his motives?

Ava (Jes Macallan) attempts to figure that out, and Bishop surprisingly claims that she and Sara are the closest things he has left to family. Wait, what? The conversation takes a very interesting turn as Bishop and Ava talk about her programming, her insecurities about the wedding, and some of Ava’s fears about the life she’s been living.

It’s a very unexpected conversation, but not enough to get Bishop out of the cell, even when he offers to help deliver Mick’s babies.

Constantine’s inner battle

This is a particularly heavy episode for Constantine, who can’t seem to shake his addiction to the blood potion or control his inner demon. His erratic behavior has even caught Zari’s (Tala Ashe) attention — she realizes that there’s something going on with the love of her life, but he refuses to tell her what.

Of all the couples we’ve seen on Legends of Tomorrow, Zari and Constantine are one of my favorites. They’re polar opposites and I didn’t ever imagine they would pair up. But somehow they work so well, and I think it’s been good for Constantine, especially during his pursuit to get back his magic.

Concerned about Constantine, Zari seeks out Spooner’s (Lisseth Chavez) help to learn what happened at the Fountain of Imperium. But after thinking about it, Spooner realizes she doesn’t actually remember what went down. It turns out Constantine put a spell on her so she would forget the moment Constantine’s newfound magic took over.

Spooner heads off with Astra (Olivia Swann) and Zari to solve the Constantine conundrum while Ava stays behind to keep an eye on Bishop. Of course, he offers his help with Constantine. This guy has some diabolical plans and we all know it!

Over the course of the episode, Constantine’s condition deteriorates as the dark version of himself begins taunting him. The dark Constantine refuses to let go and reminds him that he is a part of him and will never really go away.

Astra manages to retrieve Spooner’s memory and they learn that Constantine never got his powers from the Fountain. In fact, all this time he’s been taking doses of that blood potion, and has become addicted. He continues to lie to Zari when she pays him a visit, but little does he know that she came to take his vial of potion away.

Zari gives him an ultimatum: it’s her or the addiction. His first inclination is to choose the potion, but he soon throws the vial away and admits that’s he in trouble, and no longer in control.

Constantine’s plan is to detox, but the whole ordeal backfires in typical Legends of Tomorrow fashion. He wants to clear this hurdle and be with Zari because, pause, *he loves her*, but his dark self isn’t going down without a fight. He beats himself to a pulp and takes another sip of blood potion, at which point the dark version completely takes over.

Not only is dark Constantine in control, but as the end of the episode reveals, Bishop has reached out to him with an evil plan. Looks like Constantine’s journey has nearly come to an end, and I’m so not ready for it.

Bishop is Sara

“Bishop is Sara” may sound extremely odd, but that is ultimately what Ava discovers through Gideon’s analysis. That 6% of DNA code that Bishop needed to fully form? It came from Sara! That’s simply what he could find at the moment.

That’s why Bishop was able to have such heart-to-heart talks with Ava about wedding planning and her crisis of identity. They actually bond, but it’s all part of Bishop’s plan to ultimately take over.

Ava develops a soft spot for Bishop, but Sara isn’t having any of it. She doesn’t trust the guy despite Ava feeling very strongly about his intentions. It’s a complicated moment for Ava, who is a clone and a product of Bishop’s meddling. She doesn’t know what emotions she should be feeling since she never had any examples set for her. What if she can’t love and have a family?

In an attempt to comfort Ava, Sara asks to look at her wedding binder, but as they peruse it, one thing becomes very clear: every single choice that Bishop selected is exactly what Sara would have picked. That’s when they realize that a part of Bishop is Sara.

Legends of Tomorrow welcomes a baby!

Mick’s having his babies! He starts off with pounding headaches which Gary (Adam Tsekhman) reassures him is all part of the labor process.

Mick in active labor? Never would have imagined saying those words together.

The whole process is quite horrible to watch, especially when Mick actively starts delivering the babies…through his nose. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so grossed out by an episode of Legends of Tomorrow! Seriously. Mick’s hair falls out, liquid shoots out of his ear and his eyes bulge out of his head — it’s disgusting. All the while, Bishop takes over the Waverider (because he is part Sara) and locks down all the doors on the ship. He makes it into the room just in time for Mick’s delivery.

Mick successfully delivers all 48 babies with Bishop’s help. They’ve got 48 new members of their team — yikes.

Surprisingly, Bishop asks to be locked up in the cell again and genuinely seems sorry for all he’s done. Of course it’s all an act — we learn as much when we discover that he stole Mick’s communication device from his ear. He intentionally induced Mick’s labor so he could steal the earpiece and make his evil plans with Constantine, or rather Dark Constantine.

Well, this is not going to end well, folks.

Legends of Tomorrow was a wild rollercoaster ride this week. Seriously, so much was going on. I didn’t have time to process it all, especially once Mick started delivering the babies via his nose. That wasn’t the best visual effects I’ve seen but it was definitely memorable.

The biggest turning point was Dark Constantine taking over. As this character gets ready to exit, I can’t help but wonder: how will it all come together? Is the Dark Constantine the new character, or is there something else in store?

Only time will tell.

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