Warning: stop now if you haven’t already seen the second episode of Legends of Tomorrow. Major spoilers ahead.
The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow made it clear from the very first promos there would be plenty of twists and turns, and the size of the ensemble of Legends meant that the odds of somebody dying by the season finale were pretty good. Still, few of us could have imagined that one of the Legends would be killed off in only the second episode of the series, and the death of Carter Hall – also known as Hawkman – was a huge surprise. According to actor Falk Hentschel, the death is super important for the future of the show.
I think it’s very important for the show. It’s a catalyst for everyone else to say, ‘Listen, I know we bicker, I know we’ve got issues, but one of us has died. So let’s band together.
So, basically, Carter Hall was to the Legends of Legends of Tomorrow was what Coulson was to the good guys in The Avengers. Hey, it worked for Marvel on the big screen. Why shouldn’t it work for DC on the small screen?
It’s nice to see that Falk Hentschel can see the sunny side of his grim situation. His interview with The Wrap certainly showed him to be a good sport about being killed off early in what looks likely to be a successful series for The CW. Of course, Rip Hunter and the rest of the crew have already broken the rules of time travel a few times over the first two episodes, and Hawkgirl still seems to have plenty of flashbacks to go. Carter currently being dead doesn’t mean that Hentschel is permanently out of a job on Legends of Tomorrow.
Falk Hentschel certainly has a point that Carter’s death managed to unify the good guys into joining Rip’s mission to defeat Vandal Savage. We could have used more time for the crew to form bonds with one another for his death to feel impactful enough for everybody to sign on, but if somebody was going to die, Hawkman was the way to go. He was the last of the Legends to be added to the ensemble, so he really lifts right out more easily than any of the others.
Time will only tell what Carter Hall’s death might mean for the series aside from unifying the other Legends. Considering that reincarnation is in the mix along with time travel, his death might throw some wrinkles into the show that even time traveler extraordinaire Rip Hunter and immortal evildoer Vandal Savage did not expect.
Or he might just be dead and gone for good. We’ll see.
Legends of Tomorrow airs on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
