History Recap / LegendsOfTomorrowS2E15FellowshipOfTheSpear

** This episode heavily implies that aspects of the Spear of Destiny inspired the One Ring in Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. In real life, he only started writing about what would become the "[[Literature/TheSilmarillion First Age]]" of his [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-earth universe]] during World War I. ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set in the "Third Age", and he only started writing it in 1937 as a sequel to [[Literature/TheHobbit a book]] which wasn't even originally part of the universe. (His writing process can be seen in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.)

* PatrickStewartSpeech: Rip gives an epic one to both sides of the war (that he cribs several lines from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' for), which convinces them to make a ceasefire.

* PopCulturalOsmosis: A lot of the Tolkien-themed ShoutOuts are more directly to the movie versions, not his books, most notably the scene riffing on Aragorn's Black Gate speech (the book scene had rather the opposite vibe to the movie scene, with no time for a speech and the good guys more grimly DefiantToTheEnd). Plus his stuff being referenced is only the stuff that got movie versions (LOTR/Hobbit), not the stuff that hasn't (Silmarillon, Unfinished Tales, etc.) due to [[SmallReferencePools catering towards general audiences]] who are more likely to just have watched the movies, not read the books.

** Tolkien realizes that the place to destroy the Spear was "the '''middle''' of hell on '''Earth'''".

* ShownTheirWork: Tolkien's surname is correctly pronounced "Tol-keen". Lots of his fans say it wrong, since ironically for an author who created detailed {{Con Lang}}s, his (German-derived) name itself had NoPronunciationGuide.

* IdiotPlot:
** The Legends knew they could find Tolkien during his time as a soldier in World War I, but what about the entire rest of his life? Similarly, once they knew where the blood was kept, ''they have a freaking time machine!'' They could have simply gone back and retrieved it ten years earlier, without a war going on all around them.
** While the vial is smashed, the pieces would be covered with varying amounts of the blood of Christ. A scientist or ex-"hemophiliac" would recover the bloody pieces.

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!!Tropes

* AllGermansAreNazis: Mick calls the German soldiers Nazis, Nate is quick to correct him.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: Stein is at first sceptical again about Mick seeing Snart, despite BackFromTheDead not being such a big deal in this universe, though Mick having hallucinated Snart before does make it plausible that its another one.

** Then there's the fact that a Knight of the Round Table (established a few episodes previously to have existed in the early 6th century) apparently went on Crusade (the Crusades started in the 11th century, in reaction to the rise of Islam - the Prophet Muhammad wasn't even ''born'' until the late 6th century). Given how calmly everyone accepts this, the history books in this universe must be ''very'' different.

* CassandraTruth: Past!Snart finds it hard to believe that he had actually gone through some heroic CharacterDevelopment and willingly performed a HeroicSacrifice.

** When Mick torches the Spear, it reveals writing hidden underneath...just as putting the One Ring into fire revealed elvish writing on it. In fact it's implied [[BeenThereShapedHistory seeing it done with the Spear is what inspired Tolkien to put it into his book]].

* SkywardScream: Thawne after the Waverider takes off, with the Legion's spear fragments on board.

* TastyGold: While searching the bombed out church for the Blood of Christ, Mick finds a chalice which he bites in order to determine that it is gold.

* JerkassBall: Grabbed firmly by Jax and Stein, more than anyone else. Apparently they chose to [[UngratefulBastard forget the countless times that he saved their lives]] and immediately regard him as no different from a common thug. This applies to Stein even more, considering that Mick told Stein about his hallucinations and Stein didn't believe him.

The Legends journey to safeguard TheSpearOfDestiny brings them to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and a young soldier named Creator/JRRTolkien. Meanwhile, the Legion of Doom recruit a new member: A still criminal Captain Cold.

* BigNo: Thawne has one after the Legends manage to abscond with the Legion's two pieces of the Spear.

* BirdsOfAFeather: Nate instantly hits it off with Tolkien, being fellow historians.

** The Legends return to the Vanishing Point, the Time Masters' former containment cell for the Occulus and where Leonard Snart made his HeroicSacrifice last season. The Legion actually fashioned it into their SupervillainLair.

* GuestStarPartyMember: The Legends actually convince Tolkien of their mission, causing him to help them in their cause.

** Eobard has a big one when the Legends steal the last two parts of the spear from his grasp.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: While the rest of the Legends try to come up with a plan to find the blood and using it on the spear, Amaya suggests using the Spear's power to kill the Legion pre-emptively. The rest of the team (minus Mick) turn her down since their worried about the power of the spear corrupting the wielder.

* WhamEpisode: A pre-Legends Leonard Snart is extracted from the timeline (most likely the version during ''Series/TheFlash2014'' Season 1's time frame), and Mick betrays the Legends to defect to the Legion, taking TheSpearOfDestiny with him.
* WhamShot: Snart punching Rory, and the latter is now bruising, confirming in-universe and out that Snart is not a hallucination this time.

** This episode heavily implies that aspects of the Spear of Destiny inspired the One Ring in Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. In real life, he only started writing about what would become the [[Literature/TheSilmarillion "First Age"]] of his [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-earth universe]] during World War I. ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set in the "Third Age", and he only started writing it in 1937 as a sequel to [[Literature/TheHobbit a book]] which wasn't even originally part of the universe. (His writing process can be seen in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.)

* TheBadGuyWins: The Legion of Doom, now with five members (including [[FaceHeelTurn Mick]]), acquires TheSpearOfDestiny and prepares to use it to rewrite reality.

** The Legends return to the Vanishing Point, the Time Masters' former containment cell for the Occulus and where Leonard Snart made his HeroicSacrifice last season.

* ContinuityNod: Mick's hatred for Nazis is slightly brought up.
* TheCorrupter: Snart who, with some help [[NiceJobBreakingItHero The Legends]] is able to convince Mick to join the Legion and use the Spear to rewrite his own destiny.

* DarkestHour: Things look very bad for the Legends at the end of the episode. Mick has betrayed them, the Legion has the spear and is about to use it, and they have lost the only way to destroy it.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Deconstructed with Mick; despite his simple, thuggish appearance, he picks up pretty quickly that the rest of the team [[DudeWheresMyRespect treats him like a wild animal]] despite the fact that he's saved them time and again, and thus Snart has an easy time convincing him to betray them.

* MythologyGag: A time-displaced Snart joins the Legion of Doom. He (as simply Captain Cold) was part of the ''original'' LegionOfDoom from ''[[WesternAnimation/SuperFriends Challenge of the Superfriends]]''.

** When Mick torches the Spear, it reveals writing hidden underneath... just as putting the One Ring into fire revealed elvish writing on it. In fact it's implied [[BeenThereShapedHistory seeing it done with the Spear is what inspired Tolkien to put it into his book]].
** The Spear tempts people to use it, with even people intending to use it for good becoming corrupted by the power.

* CelebrityParadox: Given that Creator/JRRTolkien is the GuestStarPartyMember, the episode gives gazillion of {{Shout Out}}s to his literary works, incuding ''Franchise/TheHobbit''. Creator/ManuBennett (Slade Wilson) plays a major antagonist in [[Film/TheHobbit its film adaptations]].
* CombatMedic: Sara and Amaya disguise themselves as nurses and fought soldiers in those attire.

* OhCrap: Eobard has a big one when the Legends steal the last two parts of the spear from his grasp.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Tolkien's real life condition is referenced when Nate slams a book down and he jumps at the noise. He then echoes the belief at the time that the condition was just an excuse for cowardice, but Nate assures him of its legitimacy with his present day view.

** When Mick torches the Spear, it reveals writing hidden underneath...just as putting the One Ring into fire revealed elvish writing on it. In fact it's implied [[BeenThereShapedHistory seeing it done with the Spear is what inspired Tolkein to put it into his book]].

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: While the rest of the Legends try to come up with a plan to find the blood and using it on the spear Amaya suggests using the Spears power to kill the Legion pre-emptively. The rest of the team (minus Mick) turn her down since their worried about the power of the spear corrupting the wielder.

* TookALevelInJerkass: The entire team acts particularly dickish towards Mick this episode, which makes his FaceHeelTurn more believable. Everyone forgets all the times Mick has saved them, and all the bonding moments they shared. Stein especially, who thinks Mick's serious mental traumas are no excuse for making a mistake, and Ray who is normally TheParagon.
** At least Ray recognizes their mistake at the end of the episode, reestablishing his status as TheParagon.

* WhereItAllBegan: The Legends recruit Tolkien, plucking him out of the Battle of the Somme to help them find the Blood of Christ, which can destroy the spear. After finding Gawain's grave and the clue therein, they soon figure out that the vial containing the blood is right back at the Somme.

* CallBack: The Legends return to the Vanishing Point, the Time Masters' former containment cell for the Occulus and where Leonard Snart made his HeroicSacrifice last season.

** When Mick torches the Spear, it reveals writing hidden underneath...just as putting the One Ring into fire revealed elvish writing on it.

* ButterflyOfDoom: Indirectly referenced. When the team suggests going directly to the source to get the blood of Jesus in order to destroy the spear, Rip shoots that idea down immediately. As he puts it, there are certain moments in history cannot be changed in any way whatsoever, as the damage stemming from that could be ''catastrophic''. Everything having to do with Jesus is one of them, including his crucifixion and death.

* CosmicRetcon: Due to being recruited into the Legion prior to joining the Legends, Snart's CharacterDevelopment from the first season is completely undone and he actually starts developing into a ''more'' villainous character.

* CasandraTruth: Past!Snart finds it hard to believe that he had actually gone through some heroic CharacterDevelopment and willingly performed a HeroicSacrifice.

* DramaticIrony: After hearing about his future, pre-Legend Snart believes that the Legends left him to die, when his future self actually pulled a HeroicSacrifice. Also, Snart tells Mick that he's gotten soft for working with the Legends, unaware that his future self had done some pretty heroic things himself.