DC TV Watch: Another ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Star Exiting

Welcome back to The Hollywood Reporter‘s weekly DC TV Watch, a rundown of all things DC Comics on the small screen. Every Saturday, we round up the major twists, epic fights, new mysteries and anything else that goes down on The CW’s Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Black Lightning, and Fox’s Gotham. Note: The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning have wrapped for the season.

Legends of Tomorrow

Bye (for now) | Despite Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) finally finding the perfect home for Kid Flash on Legends of Tomorrow after struggling to find his place as a second speedster on The Flash, Lonsdale has announced that he’s exiting both series. The actor will not be returning to Legends of Tomorrow or The Flash as a series regular next season. Revealing the news in an Instagram post, Lonsdale explains that he made the choice to step back from playing Wally West full time for personal reasons.

“It’s definitely not a total goodbye or ‘see ya never’ situation, cause Wally West will still be round when you need him the most! It’s just that it won’t be full time anymore,” Lonsdale says. “I’ve changed a lot in the past year (as you’ve probably noticed lol), and for infinite reasons my perspective on life & what I want from it now is just completely different. Because of that, my heart told me it was the right time to continue my journey on an unknown path, and I’m so damn grateful to both shows for honouring & respecting that with me.”

As Legends has already upped Matt Ryan and Jes MacCallan as series regulars next season, the Waverider won’t be lacking in numbers. But Lonsdale’s absence will definitely be felt as Wally West added a wonderful layer of joy and frivolity to the team that will certainly be missed. 

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DC TV Watch: 'Supergirl' Spoils Its Biggest Twist Yet

Supergirl

Good intentions | Supergirl has always made it a point to be as socially aware as possible, presenting relevant sociopolitical themes through the lens of a superhero series. But while this week’s focus on gun control had good intentions, the execution just didn’t work. When James (Mehcad Brooks) encounters a criminal using a DEO-issue weapon on the streets while patrolling as Guardian, he and J’onn (David Harewood) are shocked that a civilian could get their hands on such a dangerous gun. Investigating the manufacturer uncovers an NRA-like way of thinking and sparks a debate among various characters about gun control. But like Arrow‘s earlier failed attempt at a gun-control debate episode, Supergirl fails to come up with anything new to say about the age-old conflict and just ends on a vague compromise that doesn’t solve anything. It’s not up to a CW superhero series to solve something so real and as tricky as gun control, but if an episode is going to focus on the issue then something new needs to be said. Otherwise, why bother? And as for making the criminal turn out to be someone who passed a background check and had no history of mental illness, that is an odd choice in an episode that seems to be rallying for more gun control (as evidenced by J’onn getting rid of all the DEO guns by episode’s end in favor of nonlethal weapons). 

New superhero? | Kara (Melissa Benoist) got much more than a reunion with an old acquaintance in this week’s episode with her childhood friend Thara Ak-Var (Esme Bianco). Comic book fans know that name to be much more important than just an old pal of Kara’s from Argo City, as Thara is also known as the superhero Flamebird in the source material. Flamebird and popular DC Comics hero Nightwing worked side by side in the comics, which means Supergirl could be the TV show to finally bring Nightwing to the small screen (if Titans doesn’t do it first). 

The reunion we’ve been waiting for (or not) | Just as THR predicted, the inevitable Kara and Mon-El (Chris Wood) romantic reunion has arrived, for better or worse. While living out the dream Kara had at the beginning of the season in the green field reuniting with her mother, Alura (Erica Durance), as well as Mon-El, Kara seems to achieve the peace she had been searching for all season long. That’s when Mon-El finally confesses that he still has feelings for her despite still being married to Imra (Amy Jackson). Kara strokes his face and says that all she wants is to have him back, and now he is. But before she finishes that thought, they are interrupted by the Worldkiller cult, and Kara still has yet to say what she was thinking. Was she about to get back together with Mon-El, or could she have been about to say that her feelings have changed to friendship? Supergirl seems to be saving this moment for a big finale reveal, so it could go either way.

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DC TV Watch: 'The Flash' Finale Kickstarts Season 5 With More Time Travel

Gotham will return for season five on Fox. Supergirl airs Mondays, The Flash will return for season five, Arrow will return for season seven, Legends of Tomorrow will return for season four and Black Lightning will return for season two, all on The CW.