"Zari" Becomes The Latest Addition To Legends Of Tomorrow!

The Good: Decent use of humor, Adequate performances
The Bad: No real character development, No big moments that lead to stellar, Very simple plot
The Basics: "Zari" introduces a new mystical amulet to Legends Of Tomorrow in an otherwise lackluster episode.


As fans of Legends Of Tomorrow wait for the inevitable appearance of the much-alluded to villain that Rip Hunter believes the Legends might be able to thwart, the Waverider crew continues to grow. Every season, the Waverider picks up at least one new crewmember and for the third season, the new character appears to be Zari Adrianna Tomaz. She is introduced in the episode, appropriately titles, "Zari." Zari Tomaz is part of the Captain Marvel (Shazam!) corner of the DC Comics universe and, to be up front, that is a corner I have minimal familiarity with. As a result, my review of "Zari" is a pure review of the Legends Of Tomorrow episode without any influence from the source material.

"Zari" comes immediately after "Freakshow" (reviewed here!), which saw the return of Amaya Jiwe to the Waverider. Jiwe's powers have been acting erratically for her and she has inadvertently become a killer. As the Waverider moves on to its next mission, Jiwe's condition is being investigated by the crew. The final scene of "Freakshow" becomes instantly relevant as the waterbeing, Kuasa, plays an integral role right out of the gate.

Opening in Seattle, 2042, there is a police state that is transporting a prisoner. The transport is destroyed by Kuasa and the prisoner escapes, but the murder of the police is witnessed by Gary, the agent from the Time Bureau. Gary's distress call leads the Waverider crew to Seattle where A.R.G.U.S. is hunting metahumans. After Gary explains the threat represented by Kuasa, Lance, Rory, Palmer, and Heywood go to rescue Zari, Kuasa's target. Zari, however, is not at all interested in being found. While the bulk of the Waverider crew tries to protect Zari (inadvertently leading Kuasa to her), Dr. Stein attempts to analyze what is wrong with Jiwe.

To stop Kuasa, Lance enlists Zari who wants her brother freed from an A.R.G.U.S. prison. While Jiwe and Heywood take a Gideon-synthesized version of a Zambezi root, Zari's true motive is revealed when she steals an amulet from the prison. With Heywood and Jiwe attempting a vision quest, the Waverider crew desperately attempts to find Zari. Palmer manages to track and converse with Zari, who is in shock when she finds her rendezvous point compromised. In the process of rescuing Zari, Jiwe realizes that Zari's amulet is a super-powered totem, much like her own.

The time traveling bounty hunter is an interesting idea and the fact that she is essentially a watery shapeshifter makes her intriguing. It is, in fact, somewhat idiotic that Lance attempts to fight Kuasa with sticks. If ever there were a time when Captain Cold would be useful, fighting Kuasa seems like it would be it. The fact that Rory does not attempt to vaporize her seems suspect.

"Zari" is a very simple episode for introducing the new character. Tomaz is presented very simply as a damsel in distress who is able to fight Kuasa and evade A.R.G.U.S. only through the use of her amulet. Tala Ashe does fine as Tomaz with the material she is given, but her entrance into the DC Television universe is an unfortunately bland one. Tomaz is defined more by her prop than by anything else in her personality, but Ashe is able to rise to the occasion for one of the episode's funniest moments when she Tomaz reacts to Gary spilling the beans about the nature of the Waverider.

None of the main characters of Legends Of Tomorrow are given big moments to play in "Zari" and none of them truly grow or develop. Between that and the simplicity of the bounty hunter hunting a person who needs to be rescued by time-travelers, "Zari" is a bland, but funny outing for the Legends Of Tomorrow.

For other works with Victor Garber, please visit my reviews of:
Legends Of Tomorrow - Season 2
"Duet" - The Flash
"Invasion!" - The Flash
Legends Of Tomorrow - Season 1
The Flash - Season 2
Sicario
The Flash - Season 1
Argo
Milk
Alias
Legally Blonde
Titanic

2.5/10

For other television and movie reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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