“Deus Ex Machina” is an Ancient Greek storytelling term, meaning when a conflict is quickly and miraculously resolved. It literally translates to “god from the machine.”Legends of Tomorrowdoesn’t get many quick solutions in this week’s “Deus Ex Latrina,” but it has some moments of god-fearing divine fate and machines taking control of the narrative.
The mystery of this season’s inciting incident has been steadily doled out over the last few episodes, and “Deus ExLatrina” explicitly reveals the other Waverider which destroyed the Legends’ time-ship and stranded them in 1925 was piloted by Bishop – the main antagonist of the last season – and built from blueprints by the original program version of Gideon (Amy Louise Pemberton).
RELATED:What Is The Best Order To Watch The Marvel Movies?
Much of “Deus Ex Latrina” follows Bishop and his clone-assistant Ava (Jes Macallan) aboard the Waverider, peeking behind-the-curtain of this season as they bomb the other Waverider and createrobotic duplicatesof historical figures to smooth over the ripples and anachronisms that their attack (and the Legends themselves) have made. It turns out being a Time Master is more responsibility than Bishop realized, who used “protecting the timeline” as an excuse for his personal vendetta against the Legends. This Gideon is less compromised, strongly resemblingHal 9000 from2001: A Space Odyssey, whose ominous blue circle of light looks down on Bishop and throws his Ava out of the cargo bay as she was a “distraction from the mission” and “against the Time Master code.”
Bishop being behind this season’s shenanigans seemed likeLegends of Tomorrowwas repeating itself somewhat, but “Deus Ex Latrina” smartly folds such ideas of the past repeating itself (and whether things can change) into the episode. Gideon insists Bishop use robotic replicasinstead of clonessince clones (such as the Legends’ Ava) are “fallible” and can deviate from their predetermined path. But not only did Gideon herself evolve and grow into part of the Legends family, changing her original programming, but episodes like“Speakeasy Does It”have shown the importance of prioritizing morality over strict timeline adherence.
Plus, Bishop gets to peek at his own future. After killing Ava, Gideon also creates a robotic replica of Bishop to take his place in the timeline (and presumably last season) so that Bishop can remain a Time Master with her “forever.” Bishop then sees what actions he would have carried out, and realizes the Legends were saving the world while he tried to destroy it. Raffi Barsoumian makes Bishop’s regret and attempted redemption feel authentic, his pleading that he’s “not a bad guy” demonstrating there is still hope for this version of himself, who hasn’t yet completely put his ego-driven vision above his morality.
The rest of “Deus Ex Latrina” is spent with the Legends themselves, theirtime machineby Gwyn Davies (Matt Ryan) leaving them stranded in what Gary (Adam Tsekhman) and the audience assume is aprehistoric forest.Their half of the episode is more a plot-light breather allowing for some character expression and stress relief. Astra (Olivia Swann) takes Ava to chop and gather firewood, taking out her pent-up frustration with an axe Astra conjured. Nate (Nick Zano) weighs the pros and cons of moving into the Air Totem with Zari (Tala Ashe), with Gary intently interested in the sidelines. Plus, Gary and Gideon – as aformer alienand computer – discuss their favorite things about being human, culminating in a casual and unexpected tryst in a blueberry bush.
The more substantial side-plot is Zari and Behrad (Shayan Sobhian) trying to help Gwyn Davies fix his time machine. Gwyn is despondent, though, believing he is cursed by God to fail and harboring intenseguilt and PTSD. Zari gently teases out his backstory, where he let his battalion and best friend dieduring a WW1 attack, and invented time travel to try and save them. Matt Ryan is really fantastic here, exasperated and rabid when facing his PTSD, but his memories bring out a tenderness. The way Gwyn confesses to Zari he “loved” his best friend (in a non-platonic sense) makes it feel like it’s the first time he’s ever admitted this out loud, or even to himself.
The good news is assumptions of the Legendsdealing with dinosaurswere wrong, as they are actually in a far more modern time period which has the parts needed to fix the machine. The bad news is this is1986 Chernobyl, and the famous nuclear disaster is imminent. The team scramble to quickly fix the time machine, but not before Gwyn makes another anachronism through warning civilians to evacuate when, in reality, no one was told aboutthe nuclear falloutuntil much later. Gwyn’s insistence on saving lives above maintaining the timeline shows he is right at home with the Legends.
It also draws the attention of Bishop and Gideon, ready to destroy the nefarious and undisciplined Legends once and for all. But Bishop has also come around to their way of thinking, and abandons ship in the unmonitored bathroom thatlaunches its toilet as an escape-hatch.This “Deus Ex Latrina” pays off an earlier set-up and shows Bishop had some contingency in place, although who knows how his porcelain throne landing atop the time machine just as it’s above to jump will affect it, and where the group will land next.
“Deus Ex Latrina” is a quietly strong episode, that uses its transitional position after the Legends finally get out of 1925 to explore the character’s head-space. The episode demonstrates emotional maturity in having them release their frustrated feelings – be it through chopping firewood, speaking with a new friend, or talking to yourself as you build a fort – to settle themselves down. “Deus Ex Latrina” especially creates an empathetic understanding of Bishop and Gwyn, who respectively want to change their future and their past, withLegends of Tomorrowpitting the unfeeling mechanical strictness of Gideon’s historical maintenance against the flexible and feelings-driven personal fates these characters want to control.
