No matter my thoughts on the show overall, one thing that I absolutely love that Legends of Tomorrow does is visit vastly different time periods in just about every episode, and we get one of the best yet this week in “Shogun.â€
There is just an air of magnificence with anything set in Feudal Japan, and they did a wonderful job putting that on display in this episode. Â From the romanticizing of the Kingdoms, the sage knowledge from an old wise man, to some of the best fight scenes to date, this episode had it all, and I quite enjoyed it.
While this episode was a bit more serious, there were still plenty of laughs to be had, and that is exactly how the Legends found themselves in this predicament in the first place. The group was trying to figure out how the overly ecstatic Nate could transform his body into Steel and, once they found out how, they figured Atom’s blasters vs (soon to be named) Citizen Steel would be a good test. It definitely provided a hilarious moment, but it proved to be costly to the Waverider, Atom, and Citizen Steel. In his excitement, Citizen Steel throws Atom across the room and proceeds to accidentally destroy the cargo hold and out they go.
Once they were actually on the ground in Feudal Japan, things go quite like you’d expect at first, but with a few twists spread throughout since they are not only foreigners but from the future as well. Ray Palmer, and his suit, were taken captive and came face to face with the Shogun. And, as the Legends tend to do, they let their technology get into the hands of the enemy. The Shogun fashioned the suit and attempted to use it to take out The Legends, but they had an ace up their sleeve.
Nate is certainly coming into his own as part of the Legends and provides a different dynamic with the team. His knowledge of history provides some nice backstory to the current situations, even if he falls in love (literally) at first sight. The woman who saved him, Masako, is to be wed to the ruthless Shogun who Nate knows from history has a knack for killing his wives. But, Nate is unable to channel his newly found steel form, that is until Masako is facing death, of course. But with as much as his character has transitioned from random first episode guy to an actual legitimately fun character, Ray has traveled just as far.
Hope is always a recurring theme throughout this series, and it’s woven within this episode, especially with Ray Palmer. The theme continues that Ray doesn’t feel like he is enough, or even believes that he can call himself a Legend. He continues to believe that he is only as powerful as his suit, but  Masako’s father give him the sage advice that it is the man that makes the suit and not the other way around.
The fight scenes were really well done across the board. The one between both Nate and Ray versus the Shogun had the gravitas due to its plot-related implications, but the various sequences with Sara versus the Lieutenant were amazing. Sure, the setting was the catalyst to creating instances of such pacey action, but everything was so well done.
Feudal Japan was definitely the meat of the episode, but what was discovered on the Waverider could have some serious lasting implications moving forward. After Jackson repaired just about everything in the Waverider, Gideon mentions one more compartment that was a complete mystery. Jackson and Stein find the hidden compartment, and it’s essentially an armory, an armory with a very big secret. A message plays that is from future Barry Allen where he mentions a secret that must keep from the team; well this certainly can’t be good.
