Warning: spoilers lie ahead for the Season 5 finale of Legends of Tomorrow on The CW, called "Swan Thong."
Legends of Tomorrow has officially wrapped as the only Arrowverse series of the 2020 spring season that managed to finish production. The Season 5 finale concluded in about as bonkers a way as fans have come to expect out of Legends of Tomorrow, and without bringing in a giant Beebo to save the day! In the process, though, Legends seemingly said goodbye to not one but three heroes.
The Legends managed to defeat the Fates to take out the Loom of Fate, but not without an epic battle against some of the most memorable Encores (including Courtney Ford's villainous Marie Antoinette) with a musical assist from Sisqó. Saving the day didn't mean a totally happy ending for the Legends, however, due to what happened with Charlie, Zari, and Sara. The good news? Comments from Legends of Tomorrow co-showrunner Phil Klemmer shed some light on whether the goodbyes are forever.
Charlie
"Swan Thong" was the culmination of Charlie's arc as one of the Fates, which saw her go back and forth on whether or not humans were better off with the freedom of choice or the peace of control. Her friends and fellow Legends helped her see that choice was most important, and Charlie was finally able to move on from her troubled relationship with her sisters, even realizing that she could forgive.
The Legends got to unwind with a performance by Charlie's 1970s London punk band, The Smell, but were dismayed to learn that Charlie had decided it was time for her to put down some roots and stay in one place. She was going to stay behind while they continued to their next adventures. Legends of Tomorrow co-showrunner Phil Klemmer spoke with EW about the Season 5 finale, and addressed the departure of actress Maisie Richardson-Sellers:
Maisie's got a career she's pursuing now. We would love to have her back at any occasion, but at the same time we're just thrilled to see what she has planned for herself as a filmmaker. We've been talking to her for years now about what her sort of five-year plan was, and she has more direction and ambition as a twentysomething than certainly I do as a fortysomething. She's like a force to be reckoned with, and we just wanted to not stand in the way of all the things she wants to do. Man, we'd love to have her back for a little check-in, but also we're super-excited just to see where she goes with her career.
The good news here is that Maisie Richardson-Sellers has a thriving career, Charlie got to say an open-ended goodbye without dying, and Phil Klemmer would "love" to bring her back at some point. The bad news is that Legends of Tomorrow wasn't messing around with Charlie's goodbye. She really is gone from the show.
Zari 1.0
Legends of Tomorrow seemingly brought back Zari 1.0 only to say goodbye to her almost right away. The Season 5 finale saw both Zaris and Behrad face the consequences of clashing timelines. While Nate was thrilled to have Zari 1.0 back and the bizarre sibling trio was making it work, they discovered that Zari 1.0 remaining out and about was too much for the timeline, and Behrad was dying because of it. Zari 1.0 decided that she would return to the totem to save her brother's life. But will it stick?
Phil Klemmer weighed in on the complications of Tala Ashe having to play two versions of the same character on one show:
It would probably kill Tala Ashe to do all of those makeup changes constantly and having the poor camera crew do little motion-control tricks and split-screens and all the rest of it — it's tremendously painstaking, so yeah.
The co-showrunner didn't rule out Zari 1.0 ever returning, even though her farewell to Nate and the rest of the Legends felt pretty final. It just sounds like Legends would rather stick with one version of Zari at a time, and Zari 2.0 is the one they chose to keep for the time being. If Zari 2.0 leaves the Waverider, dies, or takes a break of some sort, perhaps Zari 1.0 could take a vacation from the totem. For now, Tala Ashe seems like she'll be exclusively on Zari 2.0 duty, and probably even more scenes with Matt Ryan!
Sara Lance
Surprisingly enough, Sara is the one whose life was seemingly in jeopardy at the end of the finale. Just when it seemed like the Legends would be able to happily stagger back to the Waverider before dealing with the next day's hangover, Sara -- who had fallen slightly behind -- was abducted by aliens. Yes, she was trapped and levitated up in a beam of light to what I can only assume is a flying saucer, and none of the Legends noticed before she was already gone. So, what's up with Sara's future?
Phil Klemmer didn't drop any details about how long she'll be with the aliens or what fate awaits her, but he did tease how Nate of all people will help Ava deal with Sara's abduction:
Not that he's gonna give up on love, but with Sara being kidnapped by aliens at the end of the finale, you can imagine that Ava's gonna be in a rough spot starting next season and it seems like Nate is uniquely qualified to be there [for her] having experienced so much loss himself, and giving Ava the strength to believe that her separation from Sara won't be forever.
After losing Amaya, his father, his grandfather, Zari 1.0, Ray, and Zari 1.0 again, Nate really is the Legends of Tomorrow expert on dealing with loss. All things considered, it sounds like Sara's return is only a matter of time, and the same can't be said for Charlie or Zari 1.0.
Fortunately, Legends of Tomorrow has already been renewed for Season 6, so Sara's abduction cliffhanger won't go unresolved forever. Less fortunately, the resolution to the cliffhanger won't come until 2021, when Legends and the rest of The CW's Arrowverse series are ready for the airwaves after the atypical end to the 2019-2020 TV season.
For now, you can check out our 2020 summer premiere schedule for some non-superhero viewing options!
