Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Season 5 finale of Legends of Tomorrow. Come back once you've caught up!
Legends of Tomorrow fans will know that the series has leaned on storylines, easter eggs and nods at pop culture that veer toward the blissfully insane for most of its five season run. And, last night's finale was no different, giving us all the wacky twists and superhero weirdness that we've come to expect from LOT. While we did get to experience some emotional moments as two characters decided to step away from that Waverider life, we also got, well, Sisqó, who was there to lend a soundtrack to the big fight scene between some Encores and the Legends. But, it turns that his cameo was almost a disaster.
The show revealed that Sisqó would be a part of the finale just last week, and that the thong enthusiast would be part of an exhibit in a museum, with the actual entertainer (live and in the flesh) coming on to lend some authenticity to the proceedings. Right before the Legends had to try taking down the Encores that the Greek Fate Lachesis brought back to life to do battle with them, Nate passed by the Sisqó exhibit and activated the display.
This led to a performance of "The Thong Song," which was as good a song as any for them to do battle to, seeing as how many of the Legends were using popular late '90s / early '00s items like the Shake Weight to fight. So, how did this epic Sisqó scene almost give us a Legends of Tomorrow disaster? Here's what co-showrunner Phil Klemmer told TV Line:
I was out of the room when we were talking about the Museum of Bad Ideas and what we could find there, and all of a sudden, the name Sisqó was up on the board… Then you’re like, ‘Oh my God, the thing that was a joke on the board is now completely integral to the finale of the season, and we haven’t even called Sisqó.’ We were totally back-against-the-wall, and we’re like, ‘This is not a joke anymore. This is completely load-bearing. Our final action sequence requires a soundtrack and an animatronic Sisqó.’
Oh, LOT, I just adore how fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants you nutty folks are! So, it sounds like Phil Klemmer and his team made a pretty big error when planning this episode (appropriately titled "Swan Thong"). When coming up with cool things the Legends could see in this museum, someone thought to add Sisqó and his silver-haired rendition of his major 2000 hit. Take that, Shake Weight!
Unfortunately for Klemmer and his LOT team, those infamously odd weight training devices are far easier to come by than an actual, living human. And, because the writers took the mention of Sisqó and ran with it, they soon realized that an important part of the finale revolved around the R&B singer...and yet, no one had checked to see if said singer would even be interested in helping them out. I'm getting the flop sweats just thinking about being in charge of this mess.
Luckily for Legends of Tomorrow fans, I wasn't in charge of that mess, and Phil Klemmer knew what to do. He sprang into action, and gave Mr. Sisqó a ringy-ding:
It was the most terrifying call I’ve ever made in my life, because I had to try to explain Sisqó what our show was and, you know, our show’s batshit… and he was just like, ‘Yep, totally, I get it. Yeah, I’ve got that outfit from the video. Yeah, I’ll dye my hair silver.’ All the actors went completely berserk and were crowding around video village, filming the monitor as he performed. You’re just like, ‘This was not guaranteed. He could have said no. He could have not still been the Sisqó we remembered.’ There are times where you are just like, ‘God, we don’t deserve the good luck that we get on this show,’ but man, bless Sisqó!
I love so much about this. The admission by Klemmer that LOT is pure batshittery. Him acknowledging that he was terrified to try to explain the show and what they wanted Sisqó to do. His willingness to admit his fear that Sisqó would agree, but not look anything like the man we remember so well from 20 years ago. Bless Sisqó? Bless Phil Klemmer!
Like many of the other shows on The CW, Legends of Tomorrow will be back on the air in 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest. For more on what you can watch in the coming weeks, check out our summer TV premiere guide!
