Welcome back from beautiful scenic Feudal Japan, Legends fans. Congratulations all around for not accidentally starting an international incident before America was even a nation at all. That would have been a really weird edit to make in the history textbooks.

But more importantly—talk about a whole lot of status quo shifting going on in an unplanned detour. We’ve got major changes for both Ray and Nate, a new mission care of Amaya and the JSA, a lead about a big secret Rip had been hiding from the crew, and an ominous message from a future Barry Allen. Phew.

So, with all that in mind, it’s time to take some inventory, because, man, we’ve got no shortage of new and exciting things to keep track of—and plenty of questions to ask. Let’s break it all down.

First up, we finally got an answer to the “will Nate Heywood get powers?” question and it was a resounding “yes.” I talked pretty extensively about Nate’s family legacy in case you’re still a little foggy on the finer points of the Heywood family tree. Nate’s powers are actually a modified version of his comics-verse abilities, done up in a far more utilitarian fashion. In the comics universe, Nate’s powers are unable to turn on and off, instead just making him a heavy, invulnerable metahuman with literally no sense of feeling (and therefore, no way to judge or limit his own strength) —a problem that is solved by creating his costume out of molten metal to limit his speed and strength by force. This new, remixed version of his metal shell is a really clever (not to mention useful) nod. Now, let’s just hope Nate figures out how to really use his new abilities before he accidentally gets himself killed.

Also, a side note: It looks like Nate’s adopting the code name “Steel” rather than his comics-verse double’s “Citizen Steel” (though he did consider it for a hot second). Steel (with no modifiers) is also a Heywood family super hero name, but in the comics-verse, it belonged to Nate’s cousin.  So, if you find yourself Googling the Heywood boys, don’t let yourself get too caught up in the confusion. These legacy heroes can be tricky.

Then of course, we have poor, poor Ray, who has had a really rough couple of days. I can’t say I’m really going to miss the Atom armor—that thing was becoming more of a liability than it was worth at this point, honestly—but I do really feel for the guy. I think Ray’s heroic “imposter syndrome” is super relatable, and as much as I may not agree with him or his choices most of the time, I do really think he’s earned his place on the crew. Maybe losing his armor will help shift Ray’s focus around a little. I think it’s pretty safe to say that he’s got more talents and uses to the team than he realizes. I mean, he did do a pretty decent job of mentoring Nate once he got his feet under him, so that’s definitely something, right

Then we have Amaya and her quest for revenge providing a new long-term mission for the team. Time travel’s a pretty finicky thing to work with, as Sara so eloquently explained, so who knows if we’ll ever actually get to see Rex alive and well again, or where that actually leaves the rest of the JSA. Amaya certainly proved herself both against the team and against the team’s enemies, but I can’t help but worry that she’s woefully unprepared for what her quest for vengeance might actually entail.

And honestly, that quest for vengeance begs the question: What, exactly, is the Legion of Doom’s play here? Obviously, the Askaran Amulet was important enough to risk infiltrating the JSA headquarters for, so whatever occult power it holds has to be pretty valuable...but to what end? So far, we’ve got the Legion time traveling (obviously), cooking up Nazi super serum (like you do), and making off with occult relics. There’s really no way to slice that particular combo where everything ends up okay. Something very big is going on here, and we have yet to even encounter the final two confirmed Legion members, which is a little nerve-wracking.

Which, speaking of nerve-wracking, is it at all possible that the Legion’s long term goals could have anything to do with Rip’s hidden arsenal or the mysterious message from future Barry Allen? Or is that something altogether separate? Whatever was in the message was clearly dire enough to make Jax and Stein decide against letting the rest of the crew know, which, considering how well things had been progressing on the teamwork-and-honesty front for the Legends as a whole, is kind of a big deal, right?

Regardless of Barry’s message, just the fact that Rip was apparently secretly armed to the teeth is disconcerting in and of itself. What sort of threat makes a person prepare like that? Or, more specifically, what sort of threat makes a person prepare like that and keep it completely secret? Whatever the answer is, it’s a little (alright, a lot) creepy.

So, that’s kind of a lot to consider. Let’s break it down as a handy little list:

• What will Ray’s newly depowered role on the ship be?
• Is Rex’s fate sealed and where does that leave the rest of the JSA?
• What is the Legion of Doom really planning?
• Why was Rip hiding his arsenal?
• What was Barry’s future message about?

I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to some answers. But at the same time, something tells me that we don’t have all the pieces to any of our puzzles just yet. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

And finally, this week’s #DCTV Secret was, well, kind of the entire episode. Surprise! If you were listening closely to the end of the episode where Masako’s father gives their family name, you might have had your radar pinged, because… Surprise! The team’s time in feudal Japan doubled as an origin story for the iconic weapon of none other than Team Arrow’s (and Suicide Squad’s) own Katana, Tatsu Yamashiro.

Even cooler, this isn’t the first time Legends has given a nod to the heroine. Eagle-eyed viewers may have been able to spot Katana’s mask hanging out in the background of Rip’s collections on the Waverider. Hmmm… what could that mean?
 

Meg Downey covers DC's Legends of Tomorrow as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. Look for Meg on Twitter at @rustypolished. DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST) on The CW.