For a show that was promoted as a time travel show there hasn’t been a whole lot of it in three episodes.  Once again we the setting is still 1975 with the team still trying to figure out how to take down Vandal Savage.  Just like the pilot episodes the story plot rotates between three stories with different partnerships of the team attacking the issues.  This episode broke the team up into the best pairings yet with Rip Hunter and Sara going after Vandal Savage’s financial wealth, Stein and Ray working together to save Hawkgirl, and the trio of Jax, Snart, and Rory working together to help Snart save his dad from going to jail.

There were some cool references in this show:

– Rip says “I have seen Men of Steel and Dark Knights fall” referencing that he has seen a version or form of Superman and Batman.

– Ray references the Titanic to Professor Stein while destroying the fragments in Hawkgirls bloodstream.  A reference to Victor Garber’s role as Thomas Andrew in the movie “Titanic”.

– The Green Emerald that Leonard Snart steals could’ve been the chunk of Kryponite that comes to Earth the same time Superman lands in Kansas.   

The Good:  This week had the best pairings between the team yet.  Rip and Sarah’s scenes worked really well together as they are both coming to grips who they are as a person.  Both are dealing with inner guilt and it was great to see how they both helped each other through their turmoil.  Sarah is trying to control her blood lust and stop killing where Rip is trying to gain the courage to kill the man who will end up killing his wife and son.  The B story of Snart trying to save his dad became really powerful in the short scene between Snart and his younger self.  Wentworth Miller continues to be the star of the show.

The Bad:  In my opinion Vandal Savage has the potential to be as good as a villain as Deathstroke or Reverse Flash.  It is just a shame that we are only given small amounts of time with Savage in the show.  What I don’t understand is the first time we were introduced to Savage on the Arrow/Flash crossover he possessed super speed to kill off the dock workers.  The first three episodes Savage hasn’t harnessed any of his special powers when fighting the team.  For this show to continue its growth and popularity we need to be more invested in Savage.  Casper Crump is a scene stealer when he is given powerful dialogue to work with. 

The Ugly:  The origin story of Rip and Savage’s first encounter seemed out of place.  There was no real direct understanding when Rip went back in time to kill Savage.  Was it right after Savage killed Rip’s family or was it before that incident?  Also, Rip goes back and forth between fighting styles.  In the past when Rip confronts Savage one on one he is skilled with a knife but when Rip is fighting alongside Canary in the bank he fights as a brawler.

Overall:  This show is going in a good direction building up to its storyline.  I just hope we start to see more of Vandal Savage and his followers.

Let us know in the comments what you thought of last nights show.