This week on Legends of Tomorrow, Sara, Gary and Ray discover something interesting about Ava, while Nate teams up with an unlikely ally to get Amaya’s totem.
Previously on Legends of Tomorrow, Sara was possessed by Mallus through the Death Totem. She attacked her teammates and was saved by a team effort from the Legends, Ava, Gary and Constantine. In the end, Sara felt guilty and ended up breaking up with Ava.
“I, Ava” begins with Sara trying to take a break from the team for a day or two so she can clear her head. Amaya, Nate, and Ray all argue she should stay, but she says Amaya can take over while she is away.
Zari tries to play games but Rory is distracting her by heating up food with his new powers thanks to the Fire Totem. He offers her food, forgetting that as a Muslim, she does not eat pork. Amaya comes in and says she is ready to start their training, but Rory claims he is doing fine. Nate calls Amaya to the library so she asks Zari to help Rory instead and Zari reluctantly agrees.
Amaya arrives in the library to find Wally and Nate looking at some news. Her granddaughter Mari was injured in a fire. They realize the timeline must be changing since Amaya lost her totem. Amaya says she needs to see her, despite Nate’s objections. Nate and Wally offer to go in her place and she accepts.
Ray confronts Sara about trying to hurt them when she was possessed, and Sara argues it was the real her but their conversation is interrupted. Gary transports in, eyes covered looking for Sara. He says he did not want to walk in on her and Ava, and she tells him they broke up. Both Gary and Ray are surprised and Sara denies that is why she is leaving. Gary says he cannot find Ava and covered for her the past couple days. He starts freaking out, wondering if she is hurt or dead. Sara tells him they will find Ava.
Wally and Nate arrive in present-day Detroit to check up on Mari. They meet her foster father Chuck McCabe at the hospital and pretend to be reporters. Chuck says he wants Mari to be more careful. Nate sees Kuasa and excuses himself to follow her down the hall. Wally and Nate find Kuasa and Wally ends up knocking her down. Kuasa says she is there to protect her sister.
Gary, Sara and Ray go to Ava’s office. Ray hacks into her computer and discovers her personal fine was deleted on the Waverider. Sara thinks Ava must have done it, though Gary disagrees. They search her trash and find a birthday message from her parents in Fresno.
Ray, Sara, and Gary go to Ava’s parent's house, but they say they have not seen her in a couple months. The group goes inside and Sara notices something is wrong with the couple. She questions them about various pictures of Ava until she gets to one Pam Sharpe claims is of Ava’s fifteenth birthday party. Sara pulls a knife on Pam, saying she knows Ava went paintballing for that birthday. Pam and Randy say they are actors and were hired four years ago. They were told to act like Ava’s parents and find it an easy gig since she comes to visit so little. They do not know who hired them but they are paid every month.
The group gets back to the Time Bureau and finds Ava, who is confused to see Ray and Sara. They explain Gary was worried about her and Ava claims she was visiting her parents. Ava rushes away and Sara tells the others they will figure out what she is hiding.
Meanwhile, Kuasa takes Nate and Wally to Mari’s place and the three talk. Kuasa agrees to join forces because she wants to protect her sister. Kuasa suggests using Nate as bait to get the Spirit Totem back from the Darhk’s. Amaya calls and Nate tells her Mari is doing fine and that he and Wally are staying for a bit. Wally wants to tell Amaya, but Nate and Kuasa both say no. Nate tells Wally to go watch over Amaya.
Sara, Ray, and Gary look up Ava’s traveling info and find she went to 2313, where only the director is allowed to travel. Sara wonders if Ava is an anachronism and the three steal the mothership.They arrive in 2313 and see many Ava’s. Ray sees a billboard which shows that Ava is a clone. Advanced Variant Automation (AVA) is portrayed as the “perfect woman.”
The group goes to AVA headquarters and find various Ava clones beneath white sheets. Ray explores and finds the machine that makes Ava clones. Sara wonders about her relationship with Ava and Ray assures her what they had was real. An Ava clone awakes and fights Sara because the three are in a restricted area. Sara knocks her out and tells the others to tie her up.
Moments later their Ava transports in and is very confused when they tell her they know. She sees one of the Ava clones and faints. When she wakes, she does not remember seeing the clone. Ray and Sara discuss what to do while Gary talks to Ava. They all hear a noise and find the Ava clone gone. Sara insists they leave before backup comes to attack. Ava is confused but follows the others.
Kuasa injects Nate with something to keep him from turning to steel. The Darhk’s appear and Nora is still covered in marks and filled with Mallus’s power. Kuasa asks for the Spirit Totem in exchange for Nate. Nora agrees saying she needs no totem because she has Mallus. Kuasa tells Nate he is the biggest threat to her family because he loves her grandmother. She betrays him and asks the Darhk’s to kill him slowly.
Nora tells Damien to get Nate to talk and then tortures him for a moment before leaving the room. Damien talks about Nora’s possession as he starts torturing Nate. He stops saying torture fails to bring him joy anymore. He tells Nate that the closer Mallus gets to being freed, the more he takes over Nora. Damien does not want to lose his daughter and is at a loss. Nate talks him into sharing his feelings and putting down the cattle prod.
Back on the Waverider, Zari tries to handle Rory, but he continues to push her buttons. Zari is fasting because of Ramadan and he offers her food. She looks at it and sees more pork and is annoyed with her teammate. Zari tells him to light a fire to one target and he destroys everything but it on the desk. She finally loses her temper and he insults her, so she attacks him using her powers.
In another part of the ship, Wally and Amaya chat. They walk on the bridge to find Kuasa, who gives Amaya the Spirit Totem. Kuasa and Wally tell her about the plan, and Kuasa says she left Nate behind. She accuses Amaya of being selfish and ruining their family. Amaya pushes back and tells Kuasa she cannot be redeemed and Kuasa leaves.
Back in 2313, Ava stops Sara and admits she took their breakup hard and lied about visiting her parents. She went to see her ex and also made a dating profile. She says she wants to tell her the truth. Ava is interrupted when an army of Ava clones appear and the group tells her the truth. Sara supports Ava when she starts breaking down and gives her a pep talk.
Ava pretends to be part of the clone army and says she is taking the intruders. The Ava clone the group encountered earlier appears and says Ava is an imposter. Sara and Ava fight the clones. Ava says Sara is right about her not being a mindless clone as she takes down the final clone.
In present day, Damien is still pretending to torture Nate and instead of talking to the Legend. Nora realizes and attacks her dad. She starts attacking Nate, but Wally and Amaya speed in to save the day. Wally speeds towards Nora but she zaps the speed from him and knocks him out of commission. Amaya uses her totem but something is wrong and she falls down in pain.
Nora says the totem is still under her control, but Amaya fights back. Kuasa appears and frees Nate. The Legends stand before Nora and she knocks them down with Mallus’s power. Mallus speaks through her and says they will never defeat him because in his true form he is much stronger. Kuasa tries to protect the others and Mallus is angry she betrayed them after he brought her back to life. Nora/Mallus rips the Water Totem from Kuasa’s body and Kuasa dies in Amaya’s arms. Wally grabs the other Legends and speeds away.
Back on the Waverider, Zari spins Rory around in a tornado wind. The two realize something is wrong with their totems and sense Kuasa’s death. Later Zari prepares her meal to break her Ramadan fast and offers Rory some salad, but he eats a sandwich instead. They talk briefly of Kuasa, then she shares that observing Ramadan makes her feel close to her family again.
Ava, Gary, Ray and Sara get back to the ship and Ray takes Gary to get his mind wiped. Sara and Ava have a drink together and Sara encourages Ava to be strong. Ava is confused about what happened to her memories and Sara believes Rip is behind the lost memories. She says she will help Ava find out what happened.
Nate and Amaya talk about what happened and both blame themselves for Kuasa’s death. Amaya talks about what would have happened if she had never joined the Legends and fell in love with Nate. Later, Amaya goes to the jump ship and sets a course for 1992 Zambesi, when her home was attacked. Gideon tries to dissuade her, but Amaya replies she has to save her family. Gideon plots the course and Amaya leaves.
Legends of Tomorrow tackles Ava’s origin in an entertaining and amusing episode. Given the episode title, I was assuming robots, not clones. I still hope Sara and Ava get back together, but at the very least it was nice to see the two fighting side by side again. I loved the Orphan Black reference. The Zari and Rory side story was good, if short. Nate and Damien’s interaction was surprisingly funny. I am unsure how I feel about Kuasa’s death. It feels like we barely got to know her character. Kuasa's final act definitely helped Amaya decision to go back to save her family and home, but it has been building this entire season. I worry that if she changes the past, it will be the final crack that frees Mallus.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW. Check out the trailer for the next episode “Guest Starring John Noble” below.
‘Riverdale’ recap: ‘Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hills Have Eyes’