Tonight’s Season 4 finale of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow saw one part of screwball team of heroes attempt to stop the demon Neron and his nefarious plans while the other part was literally stuck in Hell and while that alone sounds like a set up full of chaos and surprises, there was one surprise in particular that provided a clever throwback all the way to Season 1 that few fans would have seen coming.
Spoilers for tonight’s Season 4 finale of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, “Hey World”, below.
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After retrieving Ray’s soul from Neron’s vault by way of a deal with Atra, Constantine and Nora go to rescue him from the pit. When the find him, he’s not being tortured though. Instead, he’s playing giant Jenga with none other than Vandal Savage. Vandal had been sent to torture him, but Ray’s just so darn likeable that they ended up having fun playing games instead. With Ray’s soul retrieved, Gary’s wish is fulfilled and Constantine, Nora, and Ray’s soul coin returned to the Waverider.
That’s right, Vandal Savage made a return appearance in tonight’s episode. It seems that after Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) killed the villain by electrocuting him in Season 1, Vandal ended up in hell, apparently with the job to torture souls. The idea that in Hell the villain is actually a much more likeable guy — and one that could have fun playing Jenga with Ray — is a seriously surprising turn. However, it isn’t just Vandal’s fun games night with Ray in Hell that is a surprising return of sorts. While in the vault to get Ray’s soul coin, Astra swiped quite a few other soul coins, including those of some of history’s worst figures in what could end up being a hint of what’s to come next season.
“We [have] established that everybody’s welcome on the Waverider because it’s a place where people come to find second chances,” showrunner Phil Klemmer told ComicBook.com last week. “But I think next season, we’re going to deal with some of the historical pieces of s–t that don’t deserve second chances, and it’s probably going to be a tough thing for the Legends to realize. Maybe they’ve started to drink their own Kool-Aid and feel that Genghis Khan was just misunderstood, because whatever he did, he didn’t get a pony for his birthday.”
Of course, now that we know for sure Vandal went to Hell, he himself may end up being one of those people who cannot be redeemed as well. After all, “Crisis” is coming and inn the “future newspaper” on The Flash that reveals Barry Allen’s disappearance in Crisis, Hawkwoman has been noted as being part of the heroes who come together to fight the Anti-Monitor. Back in Legends Season 1, Vandal Savage was bent on killing Hawkman and Hawkwoman throughout time. If the villain comes back, it may also lead to the Hawks returning as well — just in time for the Arroweverse-changing event when it arrives this fall.
Were you surprised by Vandal Savage’s return in tonight’s Season 4 finale? Let us know in the comments below.