'Legends of Tomorrow' recap: 'Freakshow'

On the latest episode of Legends of Tomorrow, the Legends go back in time to stop an anachronism at P.T. Barnum's circus.

Last week on Legends of Tomorrow, the team, minus Amaya, got back together and stopped Caesar. They all agreed to stay together and help fix the displaced beings across time called anachronisms.

“Freakshow” begins with a flashback of Amaya and Nate on Nate’s birthday, six months before. Amaya is making donuts, but the two end up knocking the batter off the counter when they start making out. Nate goes out to buy donuts. Amaya sees her granddaughter Mari, the present day Vixen, on television. When Nate returns, Amaya is gone.

Back in the present, Ray tells Jax and Nate about the stolen tech Rory took from the Time Bureau. He shows the men his new gadget, which they dub a shrink ray. They then join the rest of the Legends, and look at the data they have of all the anachronisms throughout time. The anachronisms are sorted by levels and the Legends decide to take an easy one, a level one. Jax points out a level one in 1870 Wisconsin and the team agrees.

They arrive in 1870 at P.T. Barnum's circus. The group starts searching for the anachronism and see Barnum talking to the crowd. Nate, Ray, and Jax continue looking and find feline feces. Ray figures out that they belong to a sabretooth tiger and he and they find the tiger. He brings out his shrink ray while Nate opens the cage door. Ray shoots, but accidentally enlarges the animal instead of shrinking due to sneezing, as Ray is allergic to cats. The tiger escapes its cage and runs away.

The team returns to the Waverider, Sara is upset and Gideon tells the team the anachronism level is now a level four. Sara notes none of them have animal experience and takes a shuttle back to 1942 to see Amaya. She asks her to help with one last mission.

Sara tells Amaya she needs the mission to go well because otherwise, the Time Bureau will take the Waverider away from the Legends. Amaya is hesitant to go, then a child comes into the building, bringing a helmet of one of the men Amaya attacked in the previous episode. She flashes back to that moment, and then tells the child to go to bed. Sara accepts Amaya’s decision, but Amaya stops her as she leaves, asking if Nate knows she is coming. Sara lies, saying Nate is happy Amaya is returning.

Back on the Waverider, the men are playing a card game when Sara and Amaya arrive. Everyone but Nate is happy to see Amaya. Sara asks Ray for his shrink ray and says she and Amaya will take care of the sabretooth tiger.

Amaya and Sara find the tiger in the woods. Sara is able to shrink the tiger to the size of a housecat. The two take it back to the Waverider.

Jax and Ray take Nate drinking. Nate moans about his relationship with Amaya and the two continue to tell him to talk to Amaya.

In the same bar, Barnum talks to some of his people about losing the tiger. He believes the show is in trouble if they cannot find more exciting acts. A man bumps into the bearded lady, and a drunk Nate demands he apologizes. The man punches Nate, and Nate turns to steel. Barnum laughs and the room claps. A drunken Nate tells Barnum about their powers and Barnum invites them back to the circus. Barnum and his performers knock Jax and Ray out.

On the Waverider, Sara wakes up Nate, who is lying passed out on the floor. Amaya asks where the others are, and he tells them he does not know and then throws up. Nate remembers them heading to the circus. The group leaves to find Ray and Jax.

At the circus, Ray and Jax are locked up. Barnum does not believe them when they have no abilities, so they say they cannot do anything without their partner or gear. Barnum says they will be useful.

Nate and Amaya talk, but Nate denies even being upset about her returning. He notices an advertisement that promotes Ray and Jax as a new freakshow act.

RELATED: ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Premiere recap: ‘Aruba-Con’

Sara notices a man watching them at the circus. It is Gary, one of the Time Agents. She takes him back the ship and asks him why he is there and he admits Ava Sharpe sent him to watch the team. Sara calls Nate and Amaya and asks for a status report. They have find Ray and Jax, but Nate is unable to bend the bars. Amaya and Nate are attacked and captured.

Nate and Amaya talk. She tells him about going to Detroit to see Mari. Amaya saw how much good Mari does as a superhero. Amaya reveals Rip told her if she stayed in 2017, Mari would fade from existence. Nate shares his anger, and Amaya admits she wanted him to hate her so he would not come after her and make everything harder.

Back on the ship, Rory makes a sandwich and opens the cage door to give the tiger a piece of meat. The tiger escapes.

Agent Sharpe calls Gary and Sara holds a gun on him as he makes his excuses. He claims he made everything worse, not the Legends. Sharpe offers to send backup, and Gary declines. Once he hangs up, Sara knocks him out. She and Stein are getting ready to go rescue the group when Sharpe arrives. Sara sends Stein to the circus while she distracts Agent Sharpe. Sharpe says the Legends are under arrest. The two banter, then begin to fight.

After fighting for a long time, Sara and Sharpe decide to stop. The two sit at the table and drink, watching the tiny tiger wander around. The tiger then reverts to its giant size. Sharpe runs and Sara saves her using stolen tech and transports them to Gary’s cell. Sharpe is angry and almost reveals why Rip is keeping the Legends around.

At the circus Stein and Rory listen to Barnum introduce Jax and Ray to the crowd as a pair of Siamese twins. The two try to juggle, and are met with boos. Stein is left on his own to rescue the two as Rory back away, afraid of the clowns. Back by the cages, Barnum threatens Amaya to make Nate agree to be in the freakshow.

Barnum starts shooting at Nate, amazed as the bullets do nothing to his steel shell. Amaya gathers her strength and breaks out of the cage. She attacks Barnum's man and chases after Barnum. Stein disguises himself as a clown to save his teammates. The other clowns realize he is a fake and start approaching him, but Rory attacks the other clowns. Stein gets close to Jax and the two form Firestorm.

Barum runs out into the performing area and Amaya follows. Amaya goes for Barnum and looks ready to kill. Firestorm tries to stop her, but they fail. Nate talks her down and the two hug. Barnum plays the situation off like it is part of his circus act to the crowd.

The Legends get back to the Waverider and get Sara, Sharpe, and Gary out of the cell. Gideon tells the group the anachronism is fixed. Sara asks to talk to Sharpe in private and asks what Sharpe almost said earlier. Sharpe says the Legends are not able to handle the situation. Sara reminds her not to forget Gary.

Nate talks to Amaya and says their conversation helped him feel better. She decides to talk to the group about the trouble with her powers. Amaya admits to killing a group of soldiers and is now afraid of losing control. She worries about hurting people. The group says they want her to stay. Then, Sara tells the group that Rip is hiding something from the Legends. They all laugh, and joke about what could be worse than what they have already faced.

The episode ends with a hooded woman muttering an incantation. A woman appears from the water and the hooded woman calls her Kuasa.

I enjoyed this episode of Legends of Tomorrow, though I do not think it was a great episodes overall. Nate’s moaning over Amaya, while somewhat understandable given how she left him, was a bit much. He knows she has to go back to her time at some point and that she has a child someday as Mari is her granddaughter. I thought Gary was a fun bit of comic relief. Also, I am enjoying the Sara/Sharpe interactions.

Catch new episodes of Legends of Tomorrow on The CW on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m.

Check out the trailer for the next episode of Legends of Tomorrow below.