Legends of Tomorrow EP Talks About Tonight's Shocking Death

04/01/2018 12:58 pm EDT

Warning: Spoilers ahead for tonight's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, titled "The Justice Society of America."

Tonight's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow brought the story of one Golden Age superhero to a screeching halt.

After saving the lives of the Justice Society of America, whose destiny had been altered by an anomaly in the timeline, the Legends got back on board the Waverider, leaving Hourman Rex Tyler behind with the Askara Amulet, a mystical relic that Hitler had hoped to call his own.

After he put the item on display at the headquarters of the Justice Society of America, Tyler was attacked by Eobard Thawne -- The Reverse-Flash -- who murdered him, erasing him from the timeline. His "flicker" out of time (and existence) when he encountered the Legends at the end of season 1 (seen not then, but in flashback this week) was explained by changes to reality itself.

"When we introduced Hourman, we actually had a whole bunch of different potential scenarios," executive producer Marc Guggenheim told reporters at a recent screening of tonight's episode. "One of the things we talked a lot about was at what point do we show the audience the moments just after the end of 116? We talked a lot about how we were going to reveal the information, all the different ways to deal with the ramifications of 116. We had a lot of different notions that were fighting their way to prominence in the writers' room, and this is obviously the one we went with."

Consequences to Tyler's death will continue to be felt throughout the season: Vixen (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) will join the crew of the Waverider in order to root out her teammate's killer -- even if it seems she might not entirely trust the people she'll be allied with.

"We'll deal with it very directly in episode 203," Guggenheim said. "You have a clue to it in Rex's final words to her. If you're Vixen and you've got Rex Tyler dying in your arms and you heard the words 'time traveler,' who would you think is responsible?"

It will be a while before she actually comes face to face with the actual time travelers behind her friend's death: Guggenheim also told reporters that it would be the mid-season finale before all of the Legion of Doom members -- Thawne, Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn, and Captain Cold -- are in one place.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

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