A TV series reaching its 100th episode is definitely a milestone worth celebrating, though how that’s done obviously depends on what you’re watching. For Legends of Tomorrow, it’s celebrating this accomplishment by bringing in many former cast members. We learned last week that Wentworth Miller will reprise Leonard Snart/Captain Cold for the 100th episode, i.e. Season 7’s third episode, and now six other familiar faces have been unveiled.
Along with Wentworth Miller and Legends of Tomorrow Season 7’s main cast, the series’ 100 episode will also feature the return of Arthur Darvill’s Rip Hunter, Victor Garber’s Martin Stein, Franz Drameh’s Jefferson Jackson (who made up Firestorm with Stein), Falk Hentschel’s Carter Hall/Hawkman, Brandon Routh’s Ray Palmer/The Atom and Courtney Ford’s Nora Darhk. Take a look at everyone back together on the Waverider set below:
New Legends and old Legends, all together for our 100th episode! pic.twitter.com/byMUQwXtGZOctober 13, 2021
For those of you who haven’t learned yet what Legends of Tomorrow’s 100th episode holds in store, Season 7 sees the Waverider’s AI Gideon becoming human, with the character’s voice actor, Amy Louise Pemberton, also portraying her in flesh and blood form. However, in this particular episode, Gideon has a meltdown, and to reboot her, Olivia Swann’s Astra Logue and Lisseth Chavez’s Spooner Cruz delve into Gideon’s memories to help her remember the Legends. During their mental journey, Astra and Spooner will witness unseen moments from Legends of Tomorrow past, hence the presence of these former crew members.
You’ll notice that with the exception of Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford, all the former Legends of Tomorrow cast members who are returning for the 100th episode exited in Seasons 1, 2 or 3, before the show really leaned into its present-day comedic sensibilities. As co-showrunner Keto Shimizu informed EW, this milestone episode served as a way for these actors who departed years ago to enjoy Legends of Tomorrow’s “wild and playful tone” that wasn’t as strong in those earlier seasons, saying:
It was a real chance to celebrate the evolution of the show. We really wanted to take viewers back to what it was and not despairingly. For a story that is thematically about growth and change and embracing the new, and what challenges turn you into — the blossoming — it was really imperative that we had those people come back to both live in the new tone of the show, but also to show like, 'Hey this is what the show was and look how far it's changed and evolved since then.'
Bringing together so many people for Legends of Tomorrow’s 100th episode certainly wasn’t easy, especially since the show shoots in Vancouver, Canada, and international visitors have to quarantine for two weeks upon entering the country. As such, co-showrunner Phil Klemmer revealed that they did “cast first and wrote second,” since who would be available would dictate what Gideon’s memories would be. After getting as much of Season 7’s third episode “on the board” as possible ahead of casting, Klemmer and the writing team moved to hashing out this season’s fourth episode. Once that was done, the returning actors for the 100th episode had been nailed down, allowing the writers to finish the story.
Phil Klemmer also mentioned how they would’ve “loved” to get people like Ciara Renée’s Hawkgirl, Dominic Purcell’s Heat Wave and Casper Crump’s Vandal Savage back for Legends of Tomorrow’s 100th episode, but this is still an impressive lineup that’s been assembled. While Purcell exited as a series regular at the end of Season 6, it’s been indicated he’ll recur during Season 7, so presumably Legends of Tomorrow fans don’t have to worry about this season being entirely Heat Wave-less. And sure, it would nice to see other familiar faces, like Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Keiyan Lonsdale, but seven former cast members alongside Season 7’s main cast is nothing to scoff at. From what’s been revealed so far, the 100th episode is shaping up to be something special, even by this show’s standards.
Legends of Tomorrow Season 7 premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on The CW, and the 100th episode will play at the same time on October 27. Be sure to browse through our fall 2021 TV premiere schedule to discover when your other favorite shows are airing.
