The CW's ensemble superhero drama DC's Legends Of Tomorrow returns with Season 2 Thursaday night. And these future heroes now have a past. As a spin-off of CW's existing comic book lineup, Legends came to its first season with more story set than the average freshman series. Thanks to The Flash and Arrow, fans were already familiar with Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Martin Stein (Victor Garber), Jefferson Jackson (Franz Drameh), Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller), Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell), Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), Kendra Saunders (Ciara Renée), and Carter Hall (Falk Hentschel). But those individuals didn't form up as a team until a rogue time-traveler recruited them for a very important and personal mission. Need a refresher on what the Legends have already been through? Read on for a need-to-know recap of Season 1 of Legends Of Tomorrow .
I'll be honest: there were moments during its first season when this show made my head spin. With so many characters and timelines to keep track of, it's easy to get bogged down in plot. But whenever the logic of the show started to get away from me, I'd focus on the characters and the relationships between the crew. A lot went down in the first 16 episodes of this series. So here are the basic plot points to take you back up to speed.
Rip Hunter Goes Back In Time To Assemble A Team
Rip (Arthur Darvill) is a Time Master who's struck out on his own. He recruits Hawkman, Hawkgirl, the White Canary, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, the Atom, and Firestorm to help him stop time-traveling villain Vandal Savage. They're skeptical at first, but the crew takes off with Rip in his ship, the Waverider. Unfortunately for them, the bounty hunter Chronos is already on their tail. Oh, and Rip's motivations aren't entirely altruistic. He wants revenge on Savage for killing his wife and child.
Vandal Savage Kills Hawkman
The first major twist occurs when Savage takes out Carter when the Legends catch up to him, leaving Hawkgirl without a Hawkman. He kills Carter with the dagger that ended the reincarnated pair in their first life.
Ray Saves An Ailing Kendra
Kendra is severely injured in the fight with Savage. Ray puts on his Atom suit, shrinks down Ant-Man-style, and enters her bloodstream to save her.
Rip's Mentor Sets A Trap
The Time Masters keep watch over the timeline, and Rip was mentored in this field by Zaman Druce. Druce isn't a very good guy, actually. He tricks Rip by offering a pardon but tries to kill him instead.
Valentina Merges With Stein To Become Soviet Firestorm
In the '80s, the crew tracks Valentina Vostok, a Soviet scientist who harnesses Stein's power to create her own version of Firestorm. The Cold War is heating up.
The Team Gets Stranded In The Future Star City
They find Diggle's son doing the vigilante work, while an old and cynical Oliver Queen has given up on being the hero. His old friend Sara counsels him into becoming the Green Arrow again.
Snart Kills Mick
Where? When? Why? It's not yet apparent. Also, it's revealed that Rip's wife was also a Time Master. Relationships were forbidden, so they were kicked out of the field. Rip blames himself for her eventual murder.
The Crew Tracks Savage To The '50s
And everyone but the white men realize quickly this isn't the "idyllic" setting Stein thinks it is. Chronos forces the Waverider to take off leaving some of the crew behind. Sara is stranded in 1958, as are Kendra and Ray, who are posing as a married couple and also pursuing their own thing.
Sara & Kendra Prepare To Do Battle In Nanda Parbat
Sara uses her time in the '50s to sign up with the League Of Assassins again. She has turned on the team and Rip has no choice but to invoke the Trial By Combat rule. Kendra breaks the spell just before she and Sara are about to fight. Mick reveals that he is the Chronos that's been chasing them. The Time Masters kidnapped him and forced him into service in the future.
Vandal Is Using Atom Technology To Build An Army
An army of robots. He's not about that. Also, the crew is being stalked across time by a group of Hunters sponsored by the Time Masters.
Kendra Meets A Past Self Who Warns Her About Love
Things are heating up between Ray and Kendra. But she meets a past version of herself in 1871 who tells her that Carter is her ultimate soulmate and even in the timelines where they're not together, his shadow looms over everyone else. Kendra decides to live her life anyway. Eventually, she and Ray get engaged.
Rip Instructs The Team To Kidnap Their Younger Selves
To protect themselves from the Pilgrim, another skilled assassin, the Waverider crew picks up their past selves so that they can't be killed off in childhood. The Pilgrim kidnaps their family members in retaliation, but the Legends are able to outsmart her before anyone is harmed.
Kendra Gives Up The Opportunity To Kill Savage
First, the Legends meet Cassandra, Savage's daughter. She agrees to fight her father with them. Kendra has the opportunity to kill Savage (it can only be her), but stops when she discovers that Savage has that era's version of Carter brainwashed and in his service. They take Savage prisoner instead.
The Time Masters Have Been Working With Savage The Whole Time
In order to save the world from a future invasion, the Time Masters saw fit to assist Savage in his schemes. Their deeds include manipulating the Legends.
Snart Sacrifices Himself For The Crew
They've used a device called the Oculus for this purpose. Snart dies destroying it.
Vandal Savage Is Defeated Through Time
The group splits off into three different years to attack Savage from all sides. Meanwhile, they also dismantle that alien invasion that had the Time Masters running scared. No big.
But The Legends Are Offered Another Job
Their work is essentially done, but a mysterious man named Rex Tyler shows up before the group can split up and warns them that they're still in incredible danger.
It's back into the time stream for the Legends Of Tomorrow. Strap into the Waverider and enjoy Season 2!
Images: Diyah Pera/The CW; hawkwoman, wiccan92 (3), losthemsworthsister, loftomorrowdaily, catie-kaboom, gnimaerd, lotsource/Tumblr; Giphy (6)
