‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Recap ‘Return of the Mack’

Legends of Tomorrow Recap ‘Return of the Mack’

The Legends are off to London, 1897, after Nate discovers a sort of pattern to the anachronisms. There are two outliers on the map, one in 2042 and another in 1897. Since the 2042 had a rogue time-traveler, the Legends think that there might also be another one in 1897. They pull up the reports from London and their anachronism is a vampire. Mick is ecstatic because he has always wanted to kill a vampire. He even has a stake at the ready.

They’re off and investigating the deaths when they end up at the morgue. The coroner has a piece of future tech, which the Legends take back. The coroner explains that a dead man fell out of the sky and was wearing that watch (a piece of Palmer tech from 2017). He says that they buried the guy, but then the next day, the grave was empty and they had their first vampire victim. Sara uses the mind-wipe device, then she, Mick, Jax, Ray, and Nate head to the graveyard. They are examining the empty grave when someone comes crawling out of it. It’s Rip and he needs their help.

Rip explains that the Time Bureau doesn’t know that he is in 1897 because they don’t believe in the Mallus threat. He is investigating this “time-traveling vampire” in order to prove that Mallus exists. Rip asks for their help, but they are definitely less than accepting of their previous captain. Sara agrees, but only if Rip gets the Time Bureau off their backs. They shake on it.

The Legends decide to use Nate as bait in capturing the vampire. A man comes up to Nate and it is Stein. But not our Stein. It is Sir Henry Stein, an actor. He kidnaps Nate. When Nate wakes up, he is strapped to a table and Sir Stein tells him that he is the last piece of the puzzle. Nate calls the team and tells them that he is in some lab with a painting of a red moon on the wall. They dig through some books and determines that there is a resurrection ritual that is performed during a red moon, which just so happens to be tonight.

The Legends track Nate to a fancy dinner party being hosted by Sir Stein. A woman comes out who claims that she can communicate with the dead. She ends up channeling the spirit of Zari’s dead brother, which really freaks her out. Zari has already been having a hard time adjusting to the idea of not being able to save her family via time travel, but now she has to relive the final moments she shared with her brother. Meanwhile, Sara and Rip try and find Nate, recreating a moment from Season 1 in which they pretended to be drunk then beat the snot out of the guards. They rescue Nate, who is about to have his blood drawn by a creepy doctor (who’s not a vampire). They then go to the giant tank holding the man they were trying to bring back to life. And it’s Damien Darhk. Unfortunately, Zari blows their cover and they are forced to retreat.

Back at the Waverider, Rip and Sara get into an argument over their next course of action. Rip thinks that they should let the resurrection happen because it might bring Mallus out in the open. Sara thinks they should kill him. She knows what it’s like to come back from the dead. Darhk was powerful enough without having to deal with any blood lust side-effects. Rip goes against the Legends’ wishes, locking them aboard the Waverider. However, not all the Legends were aboard. Zari sneaked away to speak to the woman again. But the woman was expecting Zari, knocks her out, and takes the Totem.

The ceremony begins and just as their about to resurrect Damien, Rip steps forward and demands to speak to Mallus. The woman laughs, saying that Mallus is all. She then becomes possessed by his spirit and speaks to Rip. Mallus says that they aren’t prepared for what’s coming. Some portals open up and the Time Bureau rushes in, but they’re not fast enough to stop Damien’s return. After that, Damien is pretty much unstoppable. He kills every member of the Time Bureau and is about to kill Rip when Sara and Amaya (who managed to get off the Waverider) swoop in. Sara and Rip take on Damien while Amaya goes after the woman. The woman is about to hurt Amaya when Zari yells that the Totem is hers. It comes off of the woman and flies into Zari’s hand (that’s a neat trick). Damien stops Rip and Sara, saying that he can’t wait to kill them, but the woman runs up to him, holding the same black rock Kuasa had. Damien throws Rip and Sara aside, then time travels away.

Later, Rip apologizes to Sara, but she’s not having any of it. She scolds Rip for everything he’s done and tells him that they can no longer trust him. He has abandoned so many organizations that he’s claimed to belong to and believe in. Sara tells Rip that he had one last lesson to teach her and that was how to be cold. Ava and Director Bennett appear. They formally dismiss Rip from the Bureau. Before they depart, Ava says that the Legends are free to do as they please.

I really enjoyed this week’s episode as it balanced the comedy with the darker moments. Mick made me laugh several times throughout the episode. Zari struggling with the death of her family and her place on the team was well done. She and Amaya had some good bonding moments this week as they both learn more about their Totems. We also have Jax’s ongoing struggle to separate himself from Stein. As much as he wants to break apart Firestorm and let Stein go be a grandfather, he doesn’t want it. All this build-up to Stein’s departure is going to make it even more heartbreaking when he does leave.

I have never been a huge fan of Rip and it was nice to have Sara finally put him in his place. He really has only caused more trouble for the Legends by keeping the truth for them. He’s also preached doing the right thing, but then lets one of the most dangerous men come back to life. I know Sara was especially angry that once more Damien is back in her life. I’m interested to see if Rip will come back again near the end of the season.

For those who may not have picked up on it, the woman who brought Damien back is his own daughter, Eleanor Darhk. Her name was never mentioned in the episode, but we knew before the season started that Courtney Ford had been cast as his daughter. Ford did a great job at being evil. She is definitely her father’s daughter. I’m interested to see more of her and her creepy ability to channel the dead. We also got our first taste of Mallus because of Eleanor and I’m intrigued by the main antagonist.

Next week’s episode is entitled ‘Helen Hunt.’

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