La Brea Review: Legacies
Laura Nowak
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La Brea keeps raising the stakes, and the two-hour episode provides romance, adventure, death, and on-the-edge-of-your-seat cliffhangers.
During La Brea Season 2 Episode 11, Ty and Paara got married, and their friends finally shared some romance and adventure, too. By comparison, La Brea Season 2 Episode 12 offered heart-racing and action-packed cliffhangers.
Levi was hellbent on revenge, no matter who he hurt, and it almost destroyed the Harris family.
Ty has suffered so much that he fears someone will destroy his happiness. Now that he's recovering from his brain tumor, he deserves a romantic wedding surrounded by family and friends.
Ty: I’d like you to be my best woman. You’ve seen me at my very worst and at my best. I know we haven’t known each other long, but it’s happening.
Eve: Ty, I would be honored. I would.
Unfortunately, many people were waiting in the wings, wanting to exact revenge.
I'm unsure who's more dangerous, Kira or James. Kira craved power and thought Ty would help her get it by discovering the truth from James.
Once Ty served his purpose, she cut him loose.
He could have returned to his new wife, but he was determined to help his friends find a way home.
That put Ty at risk from Kira, James, and Levi's games.
James fooled everyone. He made everyone believe that he had changed. After watching James bond with Gavin and Josh, I thoroughly thought he appreciated his new relationships.
James: I’ve come to realize as of late that mistakes happen in every relationship. All you can do is apologize, hope you learned a lesson, and move on. Can’t move backwards.
Gavin: I like this version of you.
James: Look at us, three generations altogether. I wouldn’t trade this day for anything.
It was such a pleasant surprise seeing all three Harris men discussing relationships. We've rarely seen Gavin and Josh together one-on-one, and it felt like a new beginning for all of them.
However, James and Gavin still had so much ground to cover if they ever got past mistrust and betrayal.
It saddened me that Gavin thought James could kill Caroline after all the progress they had made. While he didn't kill her, Gavin was right to be still wary of his father.
James tricked Eve and Gavinto, trusting him, so he could use Gavin's access to upload Project Blue Moon.
I had hoped he had been sincere about letting that go, but he wouldn't let anyone stand in his way of reliving his fantasy life with Caroline and Gavin.
James: I’m fixing what I broke. This way, I never lose Gavin or his mother.
Eve: You’re trading your family for your own, James.
Part of me felt sorry for James since we've all lost a loved one, and we'd love some time to relive those days. However, with time travel, Gavin and Eve will never have their family if his plan succeeds, and Ty won't marry Paara or become cured.
While James taunted Eve for holding a knife to him, he should be more afraid of what Gavin will do to him for attacking his wife. Their relationship is already fraught, and Gavin always defends Eve.
I've hated Levi's return and how his revenge has caused cracks in the Harris family.
While I'm sympathetic that Levi lost his family, many others did too because of the sinkholes, and it wasn't entirely James's fault.
If Levi had to kill James, he should have done it alone without involving Eve. The minute he involved Eve, he put her in a difficult position since she was working on her marriage and vowed not to keep anything else from Gavin.
If he’s right about James, he can save my children. All of us can go home. Why is this so important to you?
Eve
Levi stood out at the wedding like a sore thumb. He should have had more experience with being discreet. Even the way he wanted to share a drink with James was suspicious.
I don't blame Gavin for feeling betrayed by his best friend and wife again. Luckily, he and Eve worked things out, but Levi's decision ended their friendship forever.
I can forgive him for what happened with you because I had a part in that. But what happened yesterday jeopardized our best hope of keeping you safe and getting everyone home.
Gavin
I was confused about why Izzy suddenly cared about Levi's well-being since she had acted so cold towards him since she learned about his and Eve's affair. She still doesn't know they were together the afternoon of her accident.
Suddenly, the series decided to reference Izzy and Levi's close relationship and how he helped her encourage her to walk again after her accident, which we saw in La Brea Season 1 Episode 3.
It seemed convenient to reference it again, as Levi was about to blow up the Lazurus. He would never hurt Izzy after losing his own daughter, but he couldn't stop the bomb. Will he lose his family anyway?
I really liked seeing Josh and Riley and Lucas and Veronica share some sweet and romantic moments at the wedding. We haven't seen Josh and Riley have any romance since they were in 1988.
It's a shame they wrecked it by having him overhear her talking to Sam. Josh didn't need to act so childishly by storming off.
We hadn't seen Sam act that fatherly before, so I liked him asking Josh about his intentions and encouraging him to work it out.
A lot of this relationship crap boils down to one question Do you want to be right, or do you want to be together?
Sam
I also appreciated that Riley and Veronica started becoming friends. They're both so isolated down there and could use a female friend to confide in
Riley: I do miss having someone to talk to.
Veronica: What’s going on?
Riley: I got into a fight with Josh. I’m just bummed. I don’t know how to fix it. But I’m glad I could be here with you.
Veronica needed Riley more than ever in La Brea Season 2 Episode 12 as the yellow jackets attacked. The only constant in Veronica's life was Ella, and Veronica was so afraid of losing her.
It was also a pivotal episode for Riley since she doesn't interact with people besides Sam and Josh often. Seeing her make new friends and use her intelligence to try and get to Ella was refreshing.
Both she and Scott understood the urgency of getting an epi-pen to Ella, and Scott was prepared to do anything to save their friends.
Neither was expecting to learn that both sisters were stung and they may need to decide which one of their friends to save.
I'm still angry with what the series has done with Ella in La Brea Season 2. She's felt like a prop for Veronica to better herself. She went from being the little sister to the wise older sister.
In fact, she made it her mission to save Veronica and ensure she was happier.
It’s your turn. I came down here to save your life. Don’t take that away from me now.
Ella
I'd hoped they would show Ella and Ty's close relationship, but even though she made Paara's ring, they couldn't be bothered to show her at the wedding. How will Ty feel losing another person?
Veronica struggled the last time without her sister. Is she strong enough to survive independently with some new friends and make better choices?
I know no one can fill Ella’s shoes, but if you want, I’m here to talk.
Riley
The series has upped the stakes. How will anyone return home without the portal room, and how will Gavin save Eve? They also have to contend with three villains -- Kira, James, and Levi.
Do you think everyone made it out of the building alive? How will Gavin react when he learns James uploaded Project Blue Moon and attacked his wife? Comment below.
Watch La Brea online via TV Fanatic to watch any of the Clearing's adventures.
La Brea airs at 9/8c on Tuesdays on NBC.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.
