DC's Legends of Tomorrow type TV Show network The CW genre Superhero

The Time Council has been destroyed. Leonard Snart is dead. Kendra and Carter are missing. And despite his season-long mission to prevent immortal threat Vandal Savage from rising to power, Rip Hunter still ultimately lost his family. With all that in mind: Will the Legends of Tomorrow defeat Vandal? That’s the big question of Thursday’s season finale. And it won’t be an easy feat.

In the wake of Snart’s (Wentworth Miller) death and the destruction of the time council, Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) lets the team decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to save the world, which is why he drops them back off in 2016, months after first leaving on the mission. What awaits them at home? And will they finally defeat Vandal? EW turned to executive producer Marc Guggenheim to get the scoop:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Talk about the team having to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice in the finale.

MARC GUGGENHEIM: The finale really begins with everyone not just reacting to Snart’s death, but also reacting to the fact that Rip’s family is dead, Kendra (Ciara Renée) and Carter (Falk Hentschel) are in Savage’s clutches, Savage has disappeared in a time ship. To use a dramatic term, the team is basically f—ed. The beginning of the finale is basically everyone recognizing that there’s nothing to be done. They’ve lost. It’s over. Everyone has to decide if they’re willing to accept that reality. Spoiler alert — I don’t think I’m spoiling anything — of course they’re not going to accept this reality. But that’s really how they feel at the beginning.

What does that final showdown with Vandal look like?

It’s completely unique. It’s the type of showdown that could only take place in a time travel show. You cannot do this showdown on a regular show.

Everyone is returned to 2016 a few months after they were initially picked up. What do their lives look like upon their return?

Everyone is coming back to different circumstances, but for sure — and we always knew we were going to do this and we always knew it was something that the audience would expect and demand of us — Sara (Caity Lotz) is going to show up and get the news about her sister, Laurel (Katie Cassidy). I think Sara’s journey in this episode, and what she goes through, it’s really the heart and soul of this episode, in many ways.

That comes in the wake of Sara kissing Snart and then losing him, too.

We loved doing that. When we wrote the pilot, we never planned on a Sara-Snart relationship. There was actually a moment we cut from the pilot for time that we later released on the internet, which I’m sure will be on the DVD, where it was the beginning of Sara and Snart flirting with each other. They’ve always had a terrific rapport between the two of them, even when he’s pulling his gun on her and she’s saying, “Fine, kill me.” They’re very compelling together and we were excited to be able to have them kiss before Snart went off into the sunset.

And yet, Wentworth Miller is still in this universe. This is a time travel show. Should we expect to see him in different decades or different iterations next season?

I will say that the season finale totally gives you the answer to that question.

We’re also going to meet this mysterious hero played by Patrick J. Adams. What can you tease of how his presence sets up next season?

Have we said he’s a hero? I don’t know if we have. First of all, Patrick’s a wonderful guy and it was such a blessing to have him on the show. He really arrives to give the audience a really strong indication of what our plans are for season 2.

The season finale of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Check back after the finale for more scoop on season 2!