squidprincess

I think it depends on how the characters see the mission. It's hard to say that Sara's missions are "more successful" when we're comparing them to the first season which had a different, far more specific goal. "Killing Vandal Savage" vs. "Preserving the timeline." We only saw one of the time preservation missions that Rip led in the six months between seasons. That seemed to go reasonably well, though Rip had frustrations. It's hard to measure "success" though. Rip's mission, that we saw, led to the proper conception of a historical figure. One of Sara's involved a historical figure dying ten years early, solely through the team's actions without an external aberration in sight. But we haven't seen any negative fallout from that, so Rip might well consider that a qualified success too. Rip also seemed to have kept a better eye on the team's attempts to alter their own personal timelines. Martin, Snart, Mick, and Jax had all either accidentally or actually attempted to change their pasts. But we didn't see anything like what happened to Martin this time. (To be fair, I don't think Rip would have had any better luck than Sara at actually stopping Martin, but I think he might have monitored more closely and been able to identify the after effects.) Sara, on the other hand, has been better at keeping more of them alive. :-) Since Rip is the actual Time Master here, and it's his quest and initiative, as well as his ship, I think they would follow him again if he wanted to take the Captain's chair. He's the only reason any of them are mucking about in time at all. But I'm sure they prefer Sara as an actual field commander, with Rip's role being more directive: Here's the problem, here's what we need to do, here's what we need to prevent. Oh god, what have you done to the timeline now? And really, I bet that's how it'll shake out no matter which of them actually keeps the title of "Captain".

Honestly, I'd be very surprised if they chose to go any route but co-captains. They've spent a lot of effort building Sara up as a natural and capable leader of the team. At worst, I'd imagine her giving the center seat back to Rip but finding herself in a command role with the others by default. Basically, a de facto first officer position, if not co-captain. I don't think they could go full on subordinate with Rip, because even if he decided to take her orders, there's still an unspoken implication that he could take back over. No one knows the Waverider like he does (even with Jax's six month training course), and Gideon isn't likely to choose anyone else over him. But he's only ever really been a commander by default, not nature. It's his quest and expertise, so he called the shots, but he never really seemed to enjoy it like she does. That said, it could be pretty hilarious if he does try to be her subordinate, because Rip isn't really any better at taking orders than the rest of his team is. As Druce and the Time Masters can attest. I think I'm okay with any outcome, as long as there isn't some kind of major power struggle. I think that would be a disservice to both characters and their respective personalities. Besides, I think they respect each other too much for something like that.

How many Arrow and Flash crossovers have we had that didn't, in some way, reference Barry and Felicity's brief flirtation? If the network intends Sara to remain bisexual, I'd expect either a flirtatious interaction with a man (and Oliver would be most likely, for obvious reasons) or some passing reference to her past relationship, as is generally customary in these sorts of crossovers If we get neither of those things, that would be a pretty clear indication of the direction that the network intends to take Sara, namely downplaying her relationships with men in favor of her relationships with women.

This is the CW. That usually means we'll get some kind of flirtation or innuendo in between shooting/punching aliens.

I don't know if anyone else will be happy to hear this, but this clip from the Rhode Island Comic Con seems to indicate that Rip will be back. There is another clip from the same event where he talks briefly about filming this season and it certainly sounds like he's talking about having filmed more than one episode, but I can't seem to find the link for it. (ETA: found it.)

I'll post the link in the speculation thread, since this is Sara's thread, not Rip's. :-) Back on topic: I'd imagine the crossover will provide some clarity to the official stance on Sara's sexuality, given that she'll be interacting with Oliver.

Given this crew, I figured they stole them. :-)

Yeah, but why bother to throw the bone at all? They could have easily left them flirtatiously platonic without it. This might be a little strange, but I actually thought this season had more fuel for a Sara-and-Rip set up than last season did. He might be gone, but she is the character that tends to mention him the most. And if she stays captain or co-captain when he comes back, that would eliminate the slightly uneven power dynamic that existed last season. But that's all speculation which wouldn't be proven until he comes back. (Arthur Darvill did apparently confirm that he is coming back at his Rhode Island Comic Con appearance last weekend.)

I didn't actually read the tweets as saying that Sara is now a lesbian rather than bisexual (or that the network wants her that way.) It seemed like the tweets were referring to her discussion some months back about letting Sara say the word "bisexual". I suppose it will remain to be seen, but given that they did go out of their way to set up the sorta-romance with Snart last season (and how popular they were as a couple), it seems like a very strange reversal.

Yeah, he didn't say he was attracted to her, or even that she was beautiful. Just that he knew he loved her. It makes sense that Martin wouldn't necessarily connect that emotion to fatherhood because he's never been a father. He has something similar to that with Jax perhaps, but that's a recent development for him. Not the same as raising someone from childhood.

I think the big difference for me is that for all that James may be disillusioned about his job, he's still good at it. Every time that we see him acting as photojournalist or editor, he's good at his job. Nate combines an really strange lack of enthusiasm for the major part of his job, and doesn't seem to be particularly good at interacting with various time periods. Like you said, it's like most of his knowledge comes from movies. That bugged me too. As did his really weird glee in Compromised when he realized that Amaya was in love with Rex. I mean, yes, he did figure a major puzzle out, but showed a decided lack of empathy for the fact that the man was dead. I remember a lot of folk criticizing Rip for being callous last year, but there's a difference between someone who's so wrapped up in their grief that they're occasionally cruel, and someone who is this cavalier at loss of life.

In Out of Time, Nate mentions to Ollie that he first started looking into Timeline changes due to, or with the help of, a friend who is a physicist.

Honestly, Nate's dislike of research (and the weird way he compares it to high school...when he's a doctorate!), combined with his behavior in previous episodes are making me seriously wonder if he is who he says he is. Nothing about this guy seems to fit. At this point I am honestly expecting the "physicist" who Nate mentions in Out of Time to be Eobard Thawne. I wasn't bothered by Jonah's seeming lack of concern about Rip. He's a taciturn guy, so the fact that he mentioned him at all was enough for this 'shipper.

I have only the barest idea of how these things work, but I think they're paying Darvill regardless of whether or not they actually use him on the show. And I can't see how Rip as a character would be more expensive than Firestorm, the Atom suit, or Amaya and Nate's special effects. Unless that's one hell of a coat. :-)

I wonder if Rip actually has any interest in reclaiming the leadership role. He might not. For all that I've wondered about Sara's prior leadership experience, Rip likely has even less. Everything we've seen of the Time Masters indicates that they're more solo operatives than team players. Sara's got more control over the group than Rip has ever had, or even has ever seemed to want to have. He might enjoy playing the role of team veteran/mentor. He'd still get to warn of dangers and guide them, but might get to have more fun if he gets to be one of the cats rather than try to herd them.

I think that's a possibility. But it occurs to me that if the team continues carelessly blundering the way they have been, there may not be a timeline to save for much longer. They've been very careless and it's consistent enough that I think it's intentional. And probably going to bite them in the ass. Whether or not there's a continuing place for Rip on the team after that may depend on how it plays out. Right now, I think they've done a pretty good job of justifying a need for his presence. They've also mentioned him or alluded to him in every episode, which seems to imply that they want us to notice his absence. It does make me wonder about Nate though. Because if Rip does come back, then Nate's skill set won't be useful anymore. But then I'm not sure his was all that useful to begin with. His expertise was useless in Shogun, and he only served to complicate the plot. Sara would have done just as well with General Grant if Nate wasn't there at all. He was moderately more useful in this episode, since he got the team to the 1980s. But that was an adventure that basically got Eobard everything he wanted (an allegiance with Darhk), Darhk ends up with future knowledge of his fall, and the team possibly causing a bigger disruption in the timeline than they'd come to solve. Nate's likable and played by a good actor, but he doesn't have a whole lot unique to him. He acts like Ray. His skill set is a less successful version of Rip/Gideon's. And his powers have got to be expensive to render in CGI. If Rip does come back, I'd be a little nervous about Nate's chances of staying with the team at the end of the season.

I was thinking they might be co-captains. They each have expertise in areas where the other lacks. He's got the temporal expertise and know-how, she's got the tactical expertise and people skills. And really, Rip never seemed to be all that happy being a leader, and never seemed to be particularly interested in trying to enforce his commands, so he'd probably appreciate that Sara's stepped forward and actually has managed some control of the group. She can focus on that part, while he keeps them from being quite as careless as they've been in the last few episodes. Given their temperaments, it could work really well.

The opening credits comment is interesting. He's not in the opening credits of Shogun, Abominations, or Compromised. He is however in the opening credits of JSA (since he appeared in flashback), and it was his standard listing. No "guest starring" or "special appearance by". To me, that sounds like he's still a regular, it's just that there's no contractual obligation to list him in the episodes that he doesn't appear in. It's similar to how Dominic Purcell wasn't in the credits for Night of the Hawk, last season. Of course, god knows if any of that means anything at all. But as a Rip fan, I tend to think the network silence is a good sign. If he were off the show for good, I think they'd just say so. They've never had any problems doing that before.

Yep, that was a Time Sphere, which is Rip Hunter's invention and main means of transportation in the comics. Per Eobard, in the Flash season finale, he'd designed/invented it in the television universe as well. One imagines the Waverider is a much more comfortable means of travel. The Time Sphere doesn't generally require a speedster in order to work. It wouldn't be very practical for Rip if it did. But it's possible that Eobard is just using his own speed as some kind of jury-rigged workaround. I'm guessing this is a fairly big clue as to Rip's current location. Eobard had needed Cisco's help to build the one from the Flash, and I think that got destroyed in the paradox. So how did he get ahold of this one?

I really enjoyed this episode. Obsidian was my favorite part though and I wish there'd been a way to keep him around. I love cranky old superheroes. I think the cold gun might not have been precise enough for that kind of work. (Kind of like how Snart didn't/couldn't use it to hold down the mechanism in Destiny.)

Todd! And getting to see a new animal! That will be fun!

He is capable of doing that, IIRC. In the third episode last season, he shrunk down to enter Kendra's bloodstream to zap the pieces of the dagger that Savage had left inside when he stabbed her. But it's probably a bit different when you're going inside an unconscious person, than when you're fighting an active opponent.

It wasn't Ray's fault that he couldn't help Sara. They were in a bit of a crisis after all. I admit, Nate's screw ups tend to bother me more than Ray's. With Ray's, I generally see how they happen. He's not used to the idea he can crash land in Japan and someone can steal his suit. He's not used to having to restrain a zombied teammate. But Nate is the actual historian. One who has specifically studied both time periods that we see him in. But in both cases, he seems to have no idea how to conduct himself appropriately or respectfully given the cultural setting that he's supposed to have an expertise in. It'd be one thing if I thought Nate was supposed to have social awareness issues, like Ray does, but I don't get that same sense with him. I really want to like Nate. I love the idea of a newbie perspective on the team. And I really do like his enthusiasm and the sheer joy he has in time travel. But I don't really see what his area of expertise brings to the table that Gideon didn't. I don't see where his social blunders are necessary when we have characters like Ray (for awkwardness), Amaya (for temper) or Mick (for...being Mick), to potentially cause trouble when they get to their destination. The invulnerability is at least unique and it was used well in this episode, but the show managed just fine without an invulnerable character before, so I'm not sure why he's necessary. I mean, I look at Amaya, and I can see immediately what she brings to the table: she has a new ability, a different and more disciplined approach, she has an outsider's perspective for both time travel and the others' home era, she's a source of internal conflict, and she is generally competent. She's also a woman of color, which is helpful when you have a team of so many white men. I don't get as much from Nate. Though I admit, I could also be biased and resentful because my favorite hasn't been around for a few episodes. :-)

I don't think Ray and Martin asked her. Though I feel like season 1 Gideon would have volunteered this information. However, it also occurs to me that she didn't warn about Amaya stowing away last episode either. I've been wondering if there wasn't something wrong with her, since she hasn't been nearly as helpful/communicative this season.

I was glad to see them paying lip service to the timeline at least this time. But what happened to the missing time pirate? He seems like a bit of a loose end. Gideon hasn't been speaking a lot this season. I miss her.