DC's Legends of Tomorrow Recap: Here's Everything You Missed in "Bay of Squids"

The sixth season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow may just be getting started, but three episodes in, [...]

By Nicole Drum - May 23, 2021 09:09 pm EDT

The sixth season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow may just be getting started, but three episodes in, and things are already complicated for the Arrowverse's zaniest heroes. While Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) remains in space having been kidnapped by aliens, back on the Waverider, the rest of the Legends are not only trying to sort out how to find and rescue her, but are having to deal with aliens released into the timeline. While cleaning up temporal messes is something the Legends are pretty well-versed in at this point, Sara is dealing with a challenge like no other. While she's not alone -- Gary Green (Adam Tsekhman) turns out to be one of the aliens responsible for her abduction) -- last week's episode saw Sara come face to face with a seemingly human man who claims he's been waiting a long time for her.

This week, while Sara's situation unfolds in space, the Legends will find themselves headed back to the Cuban Missle Crisis to deal with another alien in the timeline. With the Cuban Missle Crisis one of the tensest moments in contemporary history, an event that is widely considered as the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear conflict, the stakes have never really been higher for the team.

Need to get caught up on the major details and stories from this week's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow? We're here to help. Here are the major plot points for "Bay of Squids". Warning: Full spoilers for the episode beyond this point. Read on only if you want to know.

Welcome to the Cuban Missile Crisis, now with aliens

The episode opens with Cuban soldiers tracking what they believe to be a US ICBM coming in, but instead what has actually crashed is one of the alien pods. They decide to alert their leader and tell him the invasion has begun. In Washington DC, President Kennedy meets with a general who shows them recon of the Waverider, though he tells the president that it's a new Soviet bomb.

Mick gets a lead on the alien who kidnapped Sara and lets Ava know. They inform the team who lets them know the plan with Mick taking control of the mission. They head out to intercept the alien's transport. Behrad remains unconscious inside the Waverider having taken a weed gummy to sleep. Their ambush of the transport is messy but weirdly effective but they end up not getting the alien pod at all. Instead, they've taken a nuclear warhead. It's then they realize they've wandered into the Cuban Missle Crisis.

The plan

On the Waverider, Nate tries to reassure Ava about the situation, reminding her that he wrote his doctoral thesis on the Cuban Missle Crisis. Zari is also prepared to go along, having dressed for the occasion. Mick and Spooner track down the actual pod on its way to Fidel Castro's headquarters. Ava drafts a now-awake and very chill Behrad to help her while she tasks Mick and Spooner with getting the nuke back to the Soviets.

Nate and Zari go to Washington

Nate and Zari head to DC. Zari gets taken for a secretary and Nate meets with both JFK and Bobby Kennedy as well as a bunch of other major historical figures. Nate sees the recon that they have and tries to dissuade them from pursuing things regarding the Waverider. Nate then uses a football story to try to convince JFK to not fire warheads. However, the president gets a call about a stolen nuclear missile and the Soviets accuse the US of attacking with a "steel man" -- Nate as Steel. Nate tries to convince them it's fake, but the General insists that it's real and a result of the DARPA program. The General tells JFK to call for a preemptive strike and JFK tells them to go to DEFCON 3.

"Jay Guevara"

Ava gets taken to the alien where she's expected to start vivisection on the alien. She stalls, trying to come up with another plan but when she cuts into the alien, a sliver fluid comes out and Behrad can't handle it. When he leaves, he gets mistaken for Che Guevara and he is taken to see Castro. He tries to play off that he's Che's cousin, but he's welcomed by Castro, no issue. Castro tells him about the nuclear missile he has as well as his plan to use it. Behrad eats one of his gummies and Castro sees them quickly eating a handful. Behrad plays a stoned Castro a song on a guitar -- Peace Train. It inspires Castro to call JFK but he opens the door and is nearly eaten by the alien. It prompts him to prepare the missiles for immediate launch.

Angry alien

Meanwhile, in the operating theater, Ava cuts the laughing gas line and knocks everyone else out. She uses it as an opportunity to steal the alien. Mick and Spooner encounter Castro's forces and they demand that Mick and Spooner take the warhead to their base. When they get to the base, though, Spooner starts sensing the alien and can even hear it, realizing that it's angry. They go to find Ava, arriving just in time to save her when the alien wakes up.

Escalation

All the storylines start to come together. DC goes on DEFCON 3. Castro prepares to launch. Ava is informed that Spooner and Mick had to hand over the nuke to the Cubans. JFK is starting to crack. Nate tries to suggest that it is all a misunderstanding but the General wants JFK to attack the Soviet Union so they go to DEFCON 2. Zari offers to type the order because she types faster. Meanwhile, Castro gets a call from Che, which outs Behrad who takes off running. Ava tells Mick to go back to what he's good at -- meaning killing people. Spooner and Mick find the alien and Spooner thinks it wants to get off the planet. It thinks it can get off Earth on the missile, but the alien starts to listen to them when they talk about being able to get it to a spaceship. Mick says he'll take her there in exchange for help finding Sara and the alien asks what kind of fuel the Waverider takes.

The ultimate game

Castro launches the missile, but the General gets a call that makes him realize that Zari sent a message sending everyone on vacation instead. The General then pulls a gun and has the nuclear football brought to the president. JFK decides he wants to talk to Khrushchev and the General decides to take matters into his own hands, prompting Nate to reveal he's Steel. It turns into a mini football game, on the ball is the nuclear football. Nate and the Kennedys against the military men for control of the nukes. With an assist from Zari, Nate gets the football and gets it to JFK. The US does not launch. Zari and Nate prepare to die. However, the General is the only one who dies. He ran out onto the White House lawn and is struck by the missile which does not explode -- turns out Mick stole the plutonium out of the ship.

Rory returns with the alien, but tells Ava that he's going alone with her to find her ship. Ava hugs him. On the Waverider, the alien put son a ring and puts herself into human form, taking Mick's beer.

The Legends come back together, but Mick has taken the Waverider, leaving the rest of the team to seek out John to stay with him.