Legends of Tomorrow has the distinction of being the weirdest and most unique of all the Arrowverse shows, largely thanks to its fun cast of characters and time-traveling plots.
The most recent episode, “The One Where We’re Trapped On TV”, took the titular Legends and stuck them in hilarious television parodies.
While the characters sought to escape Star Trek and Downton Abbey-inspired shows, the Arrow reference came in a Friends homage, when Nate (Nick Zano) revealed he had auditioned to play “Robin Hood in Arrow, a show about a vigilante.” In response, Zari (Tala Ashe) simply said, “That’s dumb.”
It Was Marc Guggenheim’s Idea
Arrowverse fans were likely delighted by this quick reference, and it turns out that Guggenheim himself was responsible.
Guggenheim made his directorial debut with “The One Where We’re Trapped On TV”, and he told EW after the episode aired that he put in the Arrow dig.
“I think the only two audibles I called in terms of adding in Easter eggs were the joke that’s at Arrow’s expense when Nate describes the Hood show and Zari says it’s dumb,” Guggenheim revealed. “That was my ad-lib.”
Of all the Arrowverse shows, Legends of Tomorrow is the one most likely to go meta when it comes to their jokes.
The series is known for making jokes about the Arrowverse’s yearly crossovers, even when they’re not even in them, as was the case with 2018’s Elseworlds. Legends of Tomorrow also isn’t above referencing other CW shows, as this season alone featured something of a crossover with the long-running series Supernatural.