The Legends travel to Camelot to find another piece of the Spear of Destiny before the Legion does.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Sexuality: Turns out the love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot wasn't exactly what the traditional legends describe, as the marriage between Arthur and Guinevere is revealed to be more of a military/political alliance, while Guinevere states she rather more prefers Sara Lance, a lot.
- Age Lift: In the Arthurian tales Galahad is the son of Lancelot but here he's much older.
- Anachronism Stew: Unlike other versions of Arthurian Legend which give no explanation as to why knights are running around Britain wearing full-plate armour that wouldn't be developed for at least several centuries, and in this specific case 700 years or more, this one gives some justification in that Courtney/Stargirl/Merlin was responsible for creating Camelot.
- Arc Words: "Command" has been uttered a lot throughout the episode, with leadership and Mind Control being the central premise. Then there's The Stinger (see below)...
- Artistic License – History:
- It is used SO MUCH that it's even Lampshaded constantly in-universe by Nate, the team's resident historian. All part of the fun, though. Also justified by Star Girl (as Merlin) intentionally creating the legendary Camelot because she knew it would be better at protecting the Spear than a minor kingdom.
- One grievous use of it is the death of Galahad. The show plays this off as unfortunate, but nothing more. However, Galahad is possibly the most important character in the Arthurian Cycle, as he is the only one deemed worthy to find the Holy Grail. Never mind the fact that his canonical father was dismissed as a pun.
- Ascended Fanboy: Ray lives out his childhood fantasies of being a knight in King Arthur's court.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: According to Nate's history book after their trip through Camelot, Ray might actually be named a king as Sir Raymond of the Palms.
- Back for the Dead: A time-scattered Doctor Midnite reappears in Detroit in CE 3000, only for Rip to kill him for his piece of the spear.
- Bad Boss: Darhk leaves behind an injured Rip when it's clear they are losing the battle.
- Beethoven Was an Alien Spy:
- "Merlin" is none other than Stargirl of the JSA who used her knowledge of science to help build Camelot. She's also in love with Arthur.
- Damien Dahrk is one of the incarnations of the Black Knight.
- It takes a bit before it sinks into the gang that Sara Lance will be remembered in history as "Lancelot."
- The end of the Sword in the Stone is revealed to be the blade of the Spear.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Jax threatens to kill Rip if he touches one of his friends again.
- Big Damn Heroes: Nate, Sara and Amaya arrive at the site of the battle in dramatic slow motion.
- Black Dude Dies First: Dr. Mid-Nite is the first (and so far, only) JSA member Rip recruited to hide the pieces of The Spear of Destiny to be killed off.
- Black Knight: The Legion's army literally wear black armor. Also, Damien is outright called the Black Knight.
- Blatant Lies: When Amaya claims that Courtney allowed her to take her piece of the spear, Sara sees right through it.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: There are actually two blondes with Sara and Courtney. Queen Guinevere fills the redhead role, while Amaya amps her Aloof Dark-Haired Girl credentials throughout the episodenote .
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Arthur and several of his knights become mind-controlled pawns of Rip using technology from the year 3000.
- The Bus Came Back: Dr. Mid-Nite and Stargirl make their return after eleven episodes.
- Call-Back: Just as in season 1 of The Flash, Gideon can obey both friend and foe alike. Back then, she obeyed both Eobard Thawne (her current user) and Barry Allen (her original creator), despite the two being mortal enemies. Now, she obeys both Sara (her current captain) and Rip (her primary user).
- Combat Pragmatist: Darhk isn't above bringing a gun to a swordfight. Similarly, Ray sees no reason not to wear his ATOM armor underneath the traditional armour.
- Continuity Nod:
- Just like in the first episode of the season, Sara seduces/is seduced by the famous wife of a famous king.
- The picture of Ray's knighting is very similar to the one Nate first showed Oliver in the first Season 2 episode.
- Cool, but Inefficient: Ray's ionised sword looks awesome, but in combat it's no more effective than regular blades.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: After breaking free of the brainwashing device, King Arthur deals with Rip in one swift strike.
- Enhanced Archaic Weapon: Ray uses his Atom armor to focus ionic energy through Galahad's sword, which is explicitly called a saber made of light by a knight who sees (which is a little odd, since sabers are curved, single-edged, and wouldn't be introduced in Western Europe for another millennium).
- Evil Laugh: During the duel with Ray, Darhk gives us one that would make Hugo Weaving jealous.
- Fiery Redhead: Queen Guinevere.
- Foreshadowing: Guinevere's sexual preference is strongly hinted at when she describes the benefits of her marriage to Arthur in practical terms rather than emotional ones.
- Fun with Acronyms: A twisted example. Rip writes his (first) name using Dr. Mid-Nite's blood after killing him. Of course, it could also read as Rest In Peace in addition to him boasting about his kill.
- The Future: The episode begins with Rip's murder of Dr. Mid-Nite in the year 3000.
- The Future Will Be Better: While we don't see much of the year 3000, it seems Detroit gets better by then. Furthermore, with Savage gone, the world is likely no longer a hellhole. No word on the Thanagarian invasion, though.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Right before Rip gives the finishing blow to Dr. Mid-Nite, it cuts to the Title Card.
- Hero-Worshipper: Ray is a big fan of everything connected to the Camelot myth.
- Hollywood Costuming: Wonderfully played with. Nate lectures the team on how the real medieval period is nothing like in movies, and is happy that he is dressed appropriate to the era instead of "looking like a Renaissance Faire." When he meets the Knights (in full armor, which Nate says shouldn't exist), Guinevere assumes Nate is a leper because of how he dresses.
- Honor Before Reason: Ray is hellbent on becoming part of Arthurian Legend and refuses to stick to the mission. As Nate puts it:I came to fight for a friend. A really dumb friend.
- Hot Blade: Ray has one of his photon blaster units set up in his gauntlet and uses it to energize Sir Galahad's sword that he stole. It's mostly just fancy lights, except for one moment. In the fight with Damian Dahrk, the energized blade broke Dahrk's sword.
- Hypocrite: When Sara says that the Legends aren't killers, Stein is quick to remind her that both Mick as well as herself are killers.
- Hypocritical Humor: Ray warns a knight on not calling his Laser Blade "Lightsaber" due to trademark issues despite actually saying the word.
- I Choose to Stay: Ray refuses to just run away with the piece of the spear and thus abandon Guinevere and her men in battle. Courtney also chooses to stay at court for good, having found a new home and a king she loves.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The brainwashed King Arthur kills Sir Galahad by stabbing him with a sword.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: Inverted. Doctor Mid-Nite remembers that Rip once said the Time Masters are not to be trusted and thus sees through his deception to take his part of the spear.
- Irony: Despite the bulk of this episode taking place in Camelot, the character named Merlyn (and born Arthur King at that) is absent.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Darhk pretends to surrender when Ray beats him in a sword fight, then whips out a gun and shoots him.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Almost directly to the Trope Namer film. Ray is a huge fan of Arthurian Legend, and overjoyed to be alongside his heroes.
- Laser Blade: Ray creates one. He urges the other knights to not call it "Lightsaber".
- Literary Allusion Title: The episode title refers to the 12-issue series Camelot 3000 published by DC Comics in 1982-1985.
- Mind Control: Arthur and several of his men are under the control of a mind controlling device of the Legion.
- Moment Killer: Ray enters the tent during Sara and Guinevere's intimate moment. Subverted as he urges Sara to kiss Guinevere before they head back to the Waverider.
- Mythology Gag: Camelot is well established to exist in the DC comic verse, despite Nate's protests it shouldn't exist. Jason Blood and Morgaine Le Fay originate from there. In fact, the episode title directly refers to the 12-issue series Camelot 3000, which isn't part of the DCU.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: Subverted Trope. It appears that Amaya may be unable to wrest Excalibur from the stone (not identified as Caliburn), but instead, she cheats by calling upon the strength of a gorilla.
- The Place: Directly referring to the two settings (Camelot and the year 3000) the episode takes place in.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: One of the main characters of the Arthurian family, Morgan, doesn't appear in the episode. This is probably because she is a villain of another story, and that there was no room for her. (Alternative theories include that she couldn't be included because she's also a DC character — Morgaine le Fey — and because of the fact that her most famous portrayal's actress is part of the Arrowverse.)
- Properly Paranoid: Rip didn't trust the Time Masters not to use the Spear so he took and hid it of his own initiative.
- Pun-Based Title: It's a Literary Allusion Title to the 12-issue series Camelot 3000 as well as referring to the The Places where the episode is set, namely Camelot and (briefly) the year 3000.
- The Reveal: The reason the JSA dissolved was because Rip enlisted their aid to guard the spear. He took one piece to guard himself and the other three were scattered across time with a JSA member to guard it.
- Rousing Speech: Queen Guinevere gives one to her men before the battle.
- Samus Is a Girl: Or rather, Merlin is Stargirl. Also, Sara Lance is Lancelot.
- Shout-Out:
- Ray uses his ATOM tech to turn a sword into a makeshift lightsaber (though he says not to call it that, due to trademarks).
- At the end, a character named Ray/Rey battles the villain in a snowy forest, and the villain's sword/lightsaber blade gets cut in half. Are we talking about this episode or The Force Awakens?
- Possibly unintentional, but in Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory, it is said of Excalibur that the blade "...was so breyght in his (Arthur's) enemyes eyen (eyes) that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys."
- The gauntlet Ray takes from the stator might make you think of the Infinity Gauntlet.
- When talking about the Brainwashed and Crazy King Arthur, Dahrk says the King has left the building. He's annoyed that nobody else gets it.
- Ray does the titular Spartacus' trademark jumping slash during the climatic battle.
- Ray uses his ATOM tech to turn a sword into a makeshift lightsaber (though he says not to call it that, due to trademarks).
- Snow Means Death: The climatic battle takes place while it is snowing. Ray and Damien's ultimate showdown in particular takes place in a very snowy field.
- Stable Time Loop: Stargirl taking the role of Merlin and forming the Knights of the Round Table based on the legends is presumably what created those legends in the first place. Plus, Sara was the inspiration for Lancelot. Additionally, the historical drawing of Ray being knighted is one of the clues Nate uses before the start of Season 2 to discover the existence of the Legends. Since he then joins and helps them, Ray becoming a Knight of the Round Table is partly dependent on Nate doing all this.
- Statuesque Stunner: All ladies look great, but Guinevere (5'9 1/2/) and Courtney (5'8 1/2/) notably towers over both Sara and Amaya (both 5'6).
- Stealth Pun: King Arthur mainly obeys Rip after being mind-controlled. Rip is, of course, played by Arthur Darvill.
- Sticky Fingers: Professor Stein can't resist the temptation of looking at 3000 AD technology, so he helps himself to Dr. Midnite's mind transmitter...to Rory's approval. Also Ray is such a big fanboy of Galahad that he takes the dead guy's sword when everyone was too busy to notice.
- The Stinger: The episode ends with an imprisoned Rip talking to an apparently still loyal Gideon.
- Subordinate Excuse: Courtney chooses to stay in Camelot so long as she'll be with her beloved King Arthur.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Doctor Mid-Nite briefly appears in the opening scene and is then killed off-screen by Rip.
- Take Up My Sword: Played with. Ray makes friends with Sir Galahad and then witnesses Galahad's death by King Arthur's sword. So Ray steals Galahad's sword and uses it in battle.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In typical Legion fashion, there are some tensions between Rip and Damien, ending with Damien leaving Rip behind to die.
- Tempting Fate: Jax states that Rip is no longer the captain of the Waverider and no longer owns the ship. He could not be more wrong. Because once he has left:
- Theme Music Power-Up: When Amaya pulls the sword out of the stone, the theme from Vixen plays.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Sir Galahad is killed by the Brainwashed and Crazy King Arthur.
- Two Girls to a Team: Guinevere and Courtney are the only women in Team Camelot during the climatic battle (well, if you don't count The Legends, who themselves fit this trope).
- Unrequited Love: Courtney is in love with King Arthur, who is already spoken to Guinevere.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Sir Galahad gets killed after one short dialogue with Ray by his own mind-controlled king.
- Wham Line: Rip calling for Gideon and the latter responding.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Amaya gives one to Sara for prioritizing her feelings over tactics by not capturing Rip in 1776 and indirectly leading to Doctor Midnite's death in the future. Later, she gives another one to Sara for prioritizing tactics over her feelings by leaving Ray behind on the chance that it could give them an advantage over the Legion.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: In-Universe, even putting aside the various historical inaccuracies he comes across, Nate takes particular umbrage at Ray’s attempt at a medieval knight accent.Nate: Your dialect is way off.
- White Shirt of Death:
- Dr. Mid-Nite was killed by Rip while wearing a typical white labcoat.
- The brainwashed King Arthur kills Sir Galahad, who is wearing a white armor.
- You Are in Command Now: Queen Guinevere has to lead the troops into battle herself after Arthur is being taken by the Legion, which is a big burden for her.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Darhk abandons Rip when they're defeated on the battlefield.
- You Will Be Beethoven:
- Invoked Trope with Stargirl, who takes up the role of Merlin when using her scientific knowledge to appear to be a wizard in Arthurian times and create the mythical Camelot.
- Sara Lance is known in history as Sir Lancelot.
