The Legends deal with Genghis Khan in 1990s Hong Kong while also attempting to save a dying Constantine, who tries to strike a deal with Astra, and confronting Charlie, who comes clean with the reason for her recent erratic behavior and about her past.
Tropes
- Ambiguous Situation: It's not clear whether "Bully" is a magical artifact actually talking to John, or if the stress of his impending death is just making John hallucinate. In either case, Constantine isn't very surprised when Bully starts snarking at him.
- Ambiguously Bi: Zari, much like her pre-Cosmic Retcon self; after finding out that Charlie is a shapeshifter, she seems very interested in the possibilities.
- Ass Shove: When Bully starts talking back to him, Constantine threatens to shove the cane up his own ass just to make it shut up. Bully replies that John would probably just enjoy that, and John concedes the point.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Ava and one of the female cops during the shootout in the teahouse.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Rather than wait out the clock, Constantine speeds up the process by drinking poison and leaving himself with only a minute left to live.John: (holds up the flask of poison) John Constantine...he always goes out on his own terms. (collapses)
- Big Damn Heroes: Nate arrives on his scooter to save the day when Ava and the Hong Kong cop run out of ammo.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Constantine gives one to Gary after Astra gives him another chance."I feel like a new man! (pauses) I can't believe I was going to leave my house to you."
- Black Comedy: After hearing that he's dying of late-stage lung cancer, Constantine tries to spark up a cigarette; no point in quitting now, he reasons. He still doesn't get to smoke it onscreen.
- Brown Note: Charlie claims that the sight of her true form would make the mortals' eyes explode, and her voice would destroy their ears.
- Bullet Catch: Behrad is able to stop a bunch of bullets aimed at Charlie with his powers, which he at first couldn't believe earlier on in the episode.
- The Bus Came Back:
- The Pùca briefly returns, trying to heal John.
- Sara returns at the end of the episode.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Ava once again when she tries to command the group.
- Gary, as usual. He spends most of the episode either in hysterics or tears over John's impending demise. He's also left with John's home in his will, which John regrets doing after getting his lifetime back.
- Character Development: While some of his nicer treatment of them could just be due to being on death's door, it's clear that Constantine holds Ray and Gary as his closest confidants, if not friends. A far cry from the perpetual loner he used to be.
- Companion Cube: John is seen talking to a cane with a dog head, he calls "Bully". Whether he is just imagining him talking back or if the cane is a magical artifact isn't clear.
- Continuity Nod:
- Marie Antoinette is still on the ship.
- Ray mentions he was once knighted by the court of Camelot when Constantine requires a knight for a cure.
- Khan's sword appears to have the same properties as Bugsy's gun.
- Behrad and Charlie had a fling not long after the Heyworld show they put on.
- Deal with the Devil: Constantine cuts a deal with Astra, promising to use the Loom to undo her family's awful fate in exchange for her sparing him.
- Determinator:
- Even on the verge of death, Constantine is not one to die in bed.
- Genghis took 700 years to dig himself out of his grave.
- Disney Death: Constantine is literally seconds away from dying of lung cancer, but Astra decides to resurrect him after he promises to fix the mess he did to her family.
- Disturbed Doves: Part of the bar shootout Shout-Out to John Woo.
- Ear Ache: Genghis cuts off one ear of the Triad boss's nephew.
- Easily Impressed: Most of the other Legends flip out over Nate's scooter rather than the fact that Ava came up with a way to detect Encores.
- Everyone Can See It: With the exception of Ava (who needs a few euphemisms from Nate and a Meaningful Look from Zari before she catches on), everyone immediately picks up on the sexual tension between Behrad and Charlie. Even Genghis Khan notices.
- Face Death with Dignity: When Constantine accepts his fate, he apologizes to Ray and Gary for snapping at them, settles down to a meal with them and shares a last drink, then poisons himself so he can go out on his own terms.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Behrad and Nate are sitting in a car and talking, with one of the Khan's men tied up in the backseat, their prisoner gets a little bit of screentime before the camera focuses exclusively on the other two. Then it cuts to a wider shot outside the car, and viewers paying attention will notice that one of the rear doors is now open. Seconds later...Nate: Where's our prisoner?
- Foreshadowing: Zari reads up on the news in 1997 Hong Kong about the UK returning ownership of the country back to China. Guess how it ties in to Ghengis Khan's schemes?
- Forgot About His Powers: When Charlie and Behrad fail to capture Ghengis after it's established that all the guns in the room are out of ammunition and the syringe containing the sedative is smashed, they let him just walk away, even though Behrad still has his Air Totem and could subdue the Encore with it.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: schemes
- John's will mentions - in addition to Gary inheriting his house - leaving possessions to Chas and Papa Midnite, both of whom haven't appeared since Constantine's titular series. Nommo, who made a small guest appearance in the fourth episode, is also a beneficiary.
- The specific possessions that he leaves to Chas are the shards of the Black Diamond that was causing trouble in one episode.
- Funny Background Event: When Charlie flirts with Zari (see Power Perversion Potential below), Behrad can easily be seen rolling his eyes as his one-time fling (whom he's clearly still hung up on) hits on his sister right in front of him.
- Giver of Lame Names: Ava calls her Encore detector, "The Prognosticator". On the other hand, Nate dubs his scooter "Scoots McGoots", which, while not much better, the Legends are much more impressed of.
- Guns Akimbo: The three undercover cops at the bar all dual wield pistols. Ava gets in on the action after picking up two dropped guns.
- Hero of Another Story: Turns out, while the Legends were undercover at the Triad bar, a trio of cops were also undercover at the bar, and them leaping into the fray ends up being the distraction the Legends need.
- Hidden Depths: Zari develops an interest in the local history, to history geek Nate's excitement.
- Historical In-Joke: Genghis describes an undercover cop as "unambitious" for only having one child; Genghis himself fathered so many children in his life that 0.5% of all men in Asia can trace their lineage back to him.
- Humanoid Abomination: According to Charlie, her true form is enough to make mortals' eyes explode just from looking at it, which is why Charlie prefers to stay in a human form.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Genghis ends up destroyed by his own sword after Charlie swipes it.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: After their initial attempt to capture Ghengis is botched, Charlie and Behrad are quick to storm off for a drink and a smoke, respectively.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Charlie wants to leave the Waverider, as she doesn't wish to put her friends in danger from her sisters. They aren't having any of it, however.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Played for laughs. When John seems doomed to his fate, he confides in Ray and Gary and says how much they mean to him and leaves the latter his house in his will. However, after he convinces Astra to let him live in exchange for reuniting her family and is cured of his cancer, he celebrates before telling Gary that he can't believe he would've left him the house.
- Kick the Dog:
- John begins to act very rude towards Ray and Gary when they offer to be there for him, not apologizing until the end. He later snaps at the Pùca when she tries to heal him.
John: So what's the verdict? Can ya heal me? (Puca shakes her head) Well then, screw you.Gary: (taking the dejected Puca away, sotto) He didn't mean that...John: Yeah, I did. (coughing worsens)- Genghis Khan forces a female cop to help him locate Prince Charles by threatening to murder her child. Once she complies, he kills her instead.
- Locked Out of the Loop: The other Legends are completely unaware that Charlie has switched places with Prince Charles, because she apparently left the prince with Mick, with instructions for Mick to tell the rest of the team, but Mick decides to prioritize his 'beer break', despite Charles's pointed reminders.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Invoked. As an immortal Fate, Charlie is extremely reluctant to start a relationship. Hence, she's been avoiding Behrad after their fling.
- Mexican Standoff: A brief one breaks out in the Triad bar, with Genghis pointing a gun at Charlie and Behrad pointing one at him while Charlie has the syringe with the sedative meant for Ghengis.
- Mundane Made Awesome: The scooters that Nate, Genghis, and his gang ride are treated like cars or motorcycles in an action movie.
- No Body Left Behind: What Genghis's sword does to a victim, first to an unfortunate female cop, later to himself, courtesy of Charlie.
- Noodle Implements: Whatever potentially life-saving ritual John was trying to perform, it apparently requires a Medieval knight. Whether said knight is circumcised or not is apparently a factor.
- Noodle Incident: John tells Gary and Ray about one time where he met Winston Churchill's ghost.
- Out of Focus:
- Once again, Sara, as her actress directed this episode. She returns at the end, tripping over the scooters used during the climax.
- Also Mick, who appears in exactly one cutaway, watching over Prince Charles. He took a backseat due to being lovesick.
- Pet the Dog: For the first time since she appeared on the series, Astra shows a moment of kindness, when she lets John live, providing he can save her mother.
- Power Perversion Potential: Charlie flirts with Zari by pointing out that she can shapeshift into anybody with a very suggestive tone. Nate is also very interested in the implications of sex with a shapeshifter.
- Refuge in Audacity: Even after learning his time is short due to lung cancer, John still decides to light another cigarette.
- The Reveal:
- Charlie is actually Clotho, one of the three Fates (Moirai) in Greek mythology. She had scattered the Loom of Fate across multiple Earths, but the events of Crisis caused them to merge into a singular Earth, making them easier to be found.
- Behrad and Charlie hooked up sometime after the Heyworld incident, but started avoiding each other since.
- Right Behind Me: No sooner had Charlie unveil her story to her friends while deriding the Paragons for undoing her efforts to hide the Loom of Fate, did Sara (one of the aforementioned Paragons) show up.
- Ripped from the Headlines: When hearing about Genghis's plan to make Prince Charles sign Hong Kong over to him, Ava remarks that an authoritarian power trying to control Hong Kong sounds familiar, making an obvious reference to the current conflict between Hong Kong and mainland China.
- Saying Too Much: Nate, trying to cheer up Behrad, says he'd date a female version of his friend in a heartbeat.Behrad: [slightly disturbed] Like...my sister?
Nate: [oblivious] Exactly! - Screw Destiny: Charlie, or rather Clotho, dismantled the Loom as she believes humans should be allowed to dictate their own fate.
- Shout-Out:
- Given the setting, there are a number of references to Hong Kong action films. The bar shootout scene is practically one long love letter to John Woo.
- The three Hong Kong policewomen attack like Charlie's Angels.
- The obligatory one, once Nate discovers Khan's plan to conquer Hong Kong with scooters:Nate: KHAAANNN!
- John mockingly calls Ray Captain America.
- As Genghis's Mooks escape, they're shouting "Run awaaaay!"
- The Slow Path: Genghis Khan ended up in 1297note due to being trapped in his tomb and had to dig his way out for 700 years when he revived.
- Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter: Constantine tries to call upon the archangel Gabriel when he's low on options. He doesn't answer.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Once again, the episode runs on two equally important storylines.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Behrad and Charlie develop some, after revealing they slept together shortly after the events of season 4.
- We Can Rule Together: Genghis offers Charlie to become his newest wife and rule the world with him. After hearing that she slept with Behrad, however, he tries to execute her. She isn't interested, anyway, because she's already had the power of gods and it wasn't what it was cracked up to be.
- The Worf Effect: Neither Nora nor the Pùca could cure John.
- Would Hurt a Child: Genghis threatens to kill the son of the female cop if she doesn't help him locating Prince Charles.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After forcing a cop to help him find Prince Charles, Genghis kills her with his infernal sword.
