Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season One of the CW's Legends of Tomorrow.
I absolutely adore Leonard Snart, or "Captain Cold," from "Legends of Tomorrow." He's been my favorite since I started watching the show. I hadn't seen "The Flash" yet when I first started watching Legend's, so this was my first introduction to Wentworth Miller's portrayal of Snart.
Leonard Snart is also very, very dead at the moment. Which is unfortunate. It's been weeks since the episode that ended with him sacrificing himself, but I continue to mourn him. So, to try to work through that pain, here are my favorite things about Leonard Snart.
1. The Way He Talks and Holds Himself
I find the way Wentworth plays Snart in terms of physical actions, movements, and voice interesting. He drawls out everything he says, in this bored, lazy voice. You can tell it's a facade for Snart though because he drops it when talking to his younger self and one or two other times during the season.
If you pay attention to his movements during each episode, you can also see that Wentworth has a set of hand motions, sitting positions, etc. that he always uses for Snart. There's several facial expressions that Wentworth using frequently for Snart as well. I'm not sure how much is intentional and how much is just Wentworth, but the detail that appears to be put into how Snart talks and walks is amazing.
2. His Relationship With Mick Rory
Whether you see them as friends or more, the relationship between Snart and Rory is interesting. You don't really understand how deep their relationship lies until midway through the season. First, you see it in how Snart handles removing Rory from the team and then his reaction to Rory coming back as Chronos and being set on killing everyone on the team, including Snart. You see it again when Snart finally goes to "talk" to Rory after Sara insisted that he did. Of course they don't talk, neither man is comfortable with that. Instead, Snart offers himself to Rory. He makes a deal he knows he can't win. Snart knows he would most likely lose a physical fight with Rory, but that isn't what makes him suggesting the deal so heartbreaking. What shows how complex their relationship is is how Snart doesn't even try to win. He lets Rory knock him to the ground and then kick and kick. Then Rory stops. To me, this is Rory remembering the fourteen-year-old "Lenny" he met all those years ago in juvie. As I watch The Flash, I realize how much more they explored this relationship in Legends, so I'm very happy both were on Legends because their relationship is so complex to me.
3. His Relationship with the Rest of the Team
At first, Snart doesn't care much for the team. Yet, as the season goes on you can see him become attached to several of the members. Primarily Sara, as the two seem to understand each other. He also warms up to Ray as the season goes on. Snart (and Rory) also appear to become very protective of Jax. They are the ones who protest letting Jax go with the bandits in "The Magnificent Eight." Several episodes later, Snart tells a quickly-aging Jax that he "deserves better" than being used by Rip to fix the Waverider.
4. His Death Scene
I would be completely OK with Leonard Snart not returning in any way solely because of how well-written and well-acted his death scene was. You didn't see it coming until Rory pushed Ray away. That's when I realized, anyway, that of course Snart was going to sacrifice himself. No way was he letting Rory do it. I liked how he tossed his cold gun to where Rory was lying unconscious. Then Sara arrives onto the platform, and you can see the moment she realizes what he's doing, and you can hear the pleading in her voice as she says 'no.' He doesn't reply. Instead, they share a kiss, which probably says enough. The real kicker of his death is his final line. I feel like the writers were taking a note from Marvel's book with the line "there are no strings on me." After that, you see a huge explosion. The explosion is a victory -- until you realize who was at the center of it.
I patiently await the return of "Legends of Tomorrow" this Fall, as well as the supposed return of the great Captain Cold.
