The Arrowverse’s second spin-off series, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, is known for having what is widely considered a weak, somewhat boring first season before the series loosened up and became a self-aware, wildly humorous installment in the superhero genre and a fan-favorite. But while the second season is actually one of the show’s best, and certainly embraced the comedic wackiness of its time-traveling premise more than the first did, it was really the third season that completed the show’s transition into being the surreal, hilarious alternative to straightforward superhero adventures it was known for being. Most episodes of Season 3 could be used to illustrate this, but the season’s holiday episode, which also served as its midseason finale, was particularly crucial in setting up Legends’ future, highlighting the show’s tonal versatility and focus on telling character-driven stories while also introducing crucial new aspects of the series’ unique corner of the DC universe.
'Legends of Tomorrow's First Beebo Episode Is Hilarious and Moving
Season 3, Episode 9, titled “Beebo the God of War”, begins in the wake of the Arrowverse’s 2017 crossover event Crisis on Earth-X, in which Legends cast member Martin Stein (Victor Garber), who forms the fused superhero Firestorm along with his partner Jefferson “Jax” Jackson (Franz Drameh), was killed off. Although some of them maintain facades of their usual fun-loving selves, it’s clear the team, especially Jax, is having difficulty accepting the loss. Things are made even harder when the team’s next time traveling mission brings them into contact with Martin’s younger self (played by Graeme McComb), who they had encountered on a few prior missions.
Young Martin became displaced in time while attempting to buy the last available Beebo doll (a fictional stand-in for the real-world Tickle Me Elmo toy) that his daughter wanted for Hanukkah, eventually finding himself in pre-Colonial North America. The Beebo is taken by Freydis Eriksdottir (Katia Winter), the sister of Leif Erikson (Thor Knai), who convinces the rest of her Viking troops that it is a god and purposely interprets the doll’s few programmed sayings as commands to conquer the New World. The Legends notice the change to the timeline when historical records now refer to North America as New Valhalla, with the Christmas holiday being replaced by “Beebo Day.” The intentionally silly decision to make Beebo so important to the plot was praised, and the toy became something of a mascot for Legends, reappearing several times throughout the series, including in the season finale when the team transformed into a giant, sentient version to fight the demon Mallus (John Noble). The other Arrowverse series also began referencing Beebo and The CW network even aired a separate Beebo Christmas special years later.
Image via The CW As the rest of the team grapples with the Viking problems, Jax struggles to hide Stein’s fate from his younger self. Eventually, on the advice of new teammate Zari Tomaz (Tala Ashe), he attempts to save his friend regardless of the potential consequences to history. But when Jax gives young Martin a letter explaining his fate, the latter, who had already deduced that his older self has died, refuses to read it, noting that “I’ve seen Back to the Future, Jefferson,” before encouraging Jax to accept his death and bidding him farewell. Jax realizes that he can’t successfully do so on the Legends’ time machine, with all its reminders of Martin, and, after the Beebo situation is resolved, tells Captain Sara Lance/White Canary (Caity Lotz) that he’s leaving the team to find himself.
Although this saddens Sara, who has been especially close with Jax since the beginning of the series, she accepts, but not before having the rest of the team throw a surprise holiday party in Jax’s honor where he gives a moving toast about what the team means to him. While the most obvious contribution of “Beebo the God of War” to the series is the introduction of the titular character, its most important achievement is concluding the stories of Martin (both versions) and Jax in satisfying ways and the fact that both the ridiculous and heartfelt portions of the episode work so well is a testament to the versatility of the actors and filmmakers.
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Beebo is the most ostentatious addition, but the episode also sets up Legends’ future in other equally important ways. The team is joined on their mission by Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan), an agent of the fastidious Time Bureau who had previously been critical of the Legends’ wild tactics before gradually beginning to soften. Ava eventually becomes Sara’s main love interest and a leading character on the series in her own right and “Beebo the God of War” is crucial in making her character more sympathetic and transitioning her and Sara from professional rivals to friends with obvious romantic tension between them.
During the team’s final battle with the Vikings, and interfering supervillains Damien (Neal McDonough) and Nora Darhk (Courtney Ford), Sara is briefly trapped in an alternate dimension, where she has her first encounter with Mallus, before being rescued by Ava. The newfound connection between Sara and the demon led to the resurgence of the former’s guilt for her years working as an assassin before becoming a superhero, giving the back half of the season a powerful emotional center. The Mallus storyline also led the series to more fully embrace the use of genuinely magical mythology in addition to its existing science fiction tropes, and this allowed for the addition of another fan-favorite DC character.
Image via The CWAfter saying goodbye to Jax, Sara returns to the ship only to be greeted by John Constantine (Matt Ryan), a sorcerer and occult detective who briefly headlined his own television series for NBC and had previously restored Sara’s soul to her body during a guest appearance on Arrow. After getting Sara’s help with a case of demonic possession she is unknowingly connected to in the following episode, John would appear twice more in Season 3, aiding in the Legends’ conflict with Mallus, before becoming a regular member of the cast in Season 4. Again, the subsequent seasons of Legends are for the most part even more comedic, but John’s presence and tragic nature as well as the supernatural mythology related to him ensured that the show continued to have serious dramatic weight, and at times even led it to display influences from the horror genre, further emphasizing its aforementioned versatility.
“Beebo the God of War” is, in many ways, the definitive episode of Legends. It marks the end of the series' initial era, in which it sometimes tried to be a traditional superhero show, and the beginning of its existence as a full-on-comedy despite also integrating a darker, mystical mythology into its world and emphasizing that, more than anything, the show’s focus was on telling personal stories celebrating found family.
Legends of Tomorrow is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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Legends of Tomorrow
Release Date January 21, 2016
Seasons 7
Network The CW
English (US) ·