It’s insane to think that alcohol was illegal in the United States, but this was the case under American Prohibition for the entire 1920s. Ironically, such restrictions only led to increases in organized crime and normalized the vice and crazy culture of the Roaring Twenties iconicallydepicted inThe Great Gatsby. Matters only escalate when pushed up against limitations, as the cavalierLegends of Tomorrowknow all too well, being stuck in a situation that requires small, careful footsteps through the timeline, making them want to rapidly run through it all the more.
After their uneasy locomotive ride in“The Need for Speed,”the Legends arrive in Chicago, an epicenter of illegal 1920s activities. “Speakeasy Does It” impedes their progress to the Big Apple, however, partly due to Gary’s (Adam Tsekhman) generous-for-1925 tipping and the continued notoriety ofThe Bullet Blondes. Sara (Caity Lotz) and Ava (Jes Macallan) need to get some wigs, although doors already closed on the Legends due to their racial diversity (alongside the small joke of the press assuming Sara and Ava are “sisters” instead of lovers). Luckily, the Legends stumble across a speakeasy where they can find out, an area that opens foranyone who knows the password(which is “password”).
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In “Speakeasy Does It,” the speakeasy becomes a safe space from the harsh and voyeuristic gaze of outside society. Inside everyone is there to relax together, enabling an integrated harmonious area. As the handsome and sensitive owner Eddie explains to Zari (Tala Ashe), he knows greetings in multiple languages due to his varied clientele, whose unique singular experiences he helps provide. The Legends also provide him with liquor, courtesy of theinfinite Whiskey supplyfrom Constantine’s “House of Mystery” pocket dimension, that gives them funds for the rest of their trip.
However, Eddie gets into trouble when his mob connection Ross Battoni discovers he’s found an alternative source of bootleg booze. Battoni beats up Eddie and shuts his speakeasy down, prompting Zari to try andthrow a fundraising partyin his honor. It’s another instance of the Legends getting involved in altering history, but Zari righteously points out that they’ve already put Eddie out of business, so they may as well screw up for the better. Zari puts her Social Influencer skills to use, organizing an open-secret soiree inside the House of Mystery.
Meanwhile, the other half of the Legends – Astra (Olivia Swann), Spooner (Lisseth Chavez), and Gideon (Amy Louise Pemberton) – are racing to catch up with the team, and fall into a scenario straight from a classic film about the 1920s,Some Like It Hot. At least in terms of hiding out aboard a train with a band of female musicians (without as much cross-dressing). The sassy spitfire of a lead singer, Maude, helps out her new gal pals but shrinks away from her oafish manager or upon receiving word for her boyfriend, Ross Battoni. Astra’s knowledge and conviction as a former Queen of Hell helps free Maude from her unfair contract, and understand how evil and abusive Battoni can be.
All of theLegends are in Chicago, albeit at competing parties. Spooner telepathically senses how scared Maude is of Battoni, and they help her slip out before her big performance, with Gideon – mostly quiet in “Speakeasy Does It” as therecently-human computeris still learning about subterfuge – being a “masked singer” to distract Battoni. Meanwhile, the robotic J. Edgar Hoover finds Zari’s speakeasy.
But the group keeps Hoover from gate-crashing through an excellent action sequence, which cross-cuts between Gideon’s song, Nate (Nick Zano), and Gary defending the door as they bicker about relationship advice, and Ava and Sara’s sexy showgirls routine that leaves Hoover wrapped up in curtains. The well-coordinated number elevates the already solid “Speakeasy Does It” into a more memorable episode, even if it’s not synchronized enough that Spooner, Astra, and Gideon just miss the Legends leaving for New York.
Legends of Tomorrowoften involves interfering with the past, but “Speakeasy Does It” narrows the scope into issues of racism and domestic abuse. These are not great historical figures, but stray civilians that the Legends come across and want to assist. It helps that Eddie and Maude are played with strong personality by Hamza Foud and Aubrey Reynolds, respectively, with the episode selling the importance of necessary intervention and disposing of abusive relationships to carve healthy safe spaces.
Although Nate and Gary were bickering about how Gary seemingly “gets off” on being bossed around by an assertive Zari. Gary flatly intones back “you’re just figuring this out now.” Gary also responds about Nate’s own unexplored issues with Zari 1.0 – so unexplored you easily forget about their relationship – and how he’s stalling any progress with her. But having captured the robot Hoover, Zari switches back to her alternate-Earth self, meaning those hidden underground rooms will have to be entered and explored sometime soon.
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