Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer is leaving Legends of Tomorrow this season, but writing him out is a bad idea. Legends of Tomorrow has certainly come a long way since its first season, and many of the changes can be attributed to the show's rotating cast structure. Unlike other Arrowverse shows, such as Supergirl and The Flash, an integral part of Legends of Tomorrow is the interchanging cast.
Since season 1, Legends have come and gone and the roster has fluctuated, which has allowed different personality combinations and superhero abilities to be showcased onboard. For the most part, the shifting cast has worked to the show's advantage - when characters fall flat, it's easy to phase them out. On the other side of the equation, it also makes it easier to integrate new characters and test them out - characters like Zari Tomaz and Nate Heywood didn't start right away, but they're still some of the most well-loved and integral figures. Unfortunately, however, the creative team behind Legends of Tomorrow has decided to give Ray Palmer the boot - and that's a mistake.
For starters, Ray is one of the few original legends left on the Waverider - other than Sara Lance, Mick Rory, and the ship's AI Gideon, every other main cast member has left the show. As such, Ray has become a core part of what makes Legends of Tomorrow what it is. It was Ray's charm, innocence, and kind spirit that made the show stand out in the early seasons when it was having difficulty finding its footing. Instead of focusing on broody heroes and "realistic" action like on Arrow, embracing Ray's childlike spirit helped the show to grow and become what it is now - a colorful, bombastic joyride through time and space.
By getting rid of Ray, Legends of Tomorrow loses one of the "founding fathers" of the team - he's a beloved character and has chemistry with everyone on board. So from a writing perspective, it's odd that the show would choose to ax somebody who can fit into virtually any storyline. Ray's aforementioned childlike personality is another central part of why he should stay - he is the only eternal optimist on the ship in the current roster, and getting rid of him could drag the tone down. While Behrad seems to be shaping up to fill the "easygoing, cheerful" persona this season, everybody else on the Waverider is fairly intense and has their own personal baggage to deal with. They're sarcastic, moody, and troubled - so they need someone bright and bubbly to balance them out so things never get too dark. Typically that character would be Ray; his genuine heart and kind spirit have softened the harsh edges of characters like Nora, Mick, and even Captain Cold back when he was on the show.
Additionally, by cutting Ray, Legends of Tomorrow also loses Nora. The duo comes as a package deal (considering that Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford are together in real life, it's no surprise), so Legends will be down not one but two unique characters in just a few short episodes. With Nora and Ray gone, that will rid the show of one of the few steady relationships - and while Ava and Sara are great, there's nowhere near as much depth to their romance as Nora and Ray have. Sadly, Brandon Routh has also made it clear that Ray leaving wasn't his decision, which makes the character's exit that much more tragic. While Legends of Tomorrow may not plummet initially, in the long run, the writers may be kicking themselves for deciding to get rid of a unique, well-loved character out of nowhere.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2w3baxG
No comments: