'Legends of Tomorrow' recap: 'Return of the Mack'

In the newest episode of Legends of Tomorrow, the team travels back to London in 1890s to find a vampire, and instead meet a familiar face.

In the previous episode of Legends of Tomorrow, the Legends traveled back to the '80s to save Ray’s life. Also, Stein’s grandchild was born, and Zari began to fit in with the team.

“Return of the Mack” begins in 1985 London. A man follows a woman through the streets until she finds a dead body. The man is Rip and he makes observations about the dead man and believes the killer is a vampire.

On the Waverider, Ray and Jax talk about how to break the Firestorm bond. Ray gives Jax a shot of a serum he created to help break the psychic bond between the two men. Ray mentions side effects including short-term memory loss, but Jax realizes the serum works because it is breakfast time and he is not craving grapefruit.

In the kitchen, Stein sits at the table eating grapefruit. Zari questions why they are all eating bland breakfast foods when the ship can create any food. She happily gets some pancakes and sits down with her teammates. She asks about returning to her time to save her family. Stein, Amaya, and Sara all start to explain why they cannot change anything they want, but Nate interrupts their talk by calling for a meeting over the intercom.

Nate announces he found a pattern in the anachronisms. There are two outliers; one is 2042 where they found Zari, and the other is in 1895 where they are reports of a vampire. Nate shares the newspaper articles and tells them multiple bodies were found drained of blood. Rory is ready, brandishing a stake and saying he has been waiting for this moment his entire life.

They arrive in 1895 London disguised as cops and start looking around. Jax is confused and asks Ray about the vampires. Ray realizes Jax is suffering from short-term memory loss because of the serum.

The group goes to the coroner and questions him, but Rory stabs the victim in the heart, making sure he will not return. The coroner realizes they are not cops, but then music starts playing. Ray realizes it is a smartwatch and takes it from the coroner, who says he found it on a dead man who fell from the sky. The team discovers the man died right before the vampire killings and Sara wipes the coroner’s memory.

They go to a graveyard to find the dead man but find a grave already dug up. They hear a noise and then Rip fulls himself out of the grave. He tells the Legends the Time Bureau does not know where he is and asks for their help.

Back on the Waverider, Jax is still suffering from memory problems and wonders when Rip arrived. Ray rambles to take attention off Jax and takes him to work on getting information off the watch. Stein follows them and asks what is going on, but Lily calls and asks him to sing his grandchild to sleep. Seeing Stein, Ray agrees to continue to help Jax.
Amaya talks to Zari about their conversation that morning. Zari gets angry and their totems light up and connect momentarily. Amaya says she does not know how, but they are connected.

Rip tells Sara, Rory, and Nate that he has been chasing down leads about an evil being named Mallus for the past five years. He believes Mallus is recruiting throughout time and says the Bureau is not convinced. They agree to work with Rip if he tells the Bureau to leave them alone. Rip agrees and they decide to use Nate as bait for the vampire, as Rip believes the vampire is Mallus’s target.

The four walk through London and discuss vampires over their comms. Nate is attacked by two people, one who he thinks is Stein. The group searches for him, finding one of the men but not Nate. Nate wakes tied to a table and realizes the man is not his Stein as he talks about bringing back his master. He is able to contact the others and tells them about the man who looks like Stein.

On the Waverider, Gideon tells them the man holding Nate is Stein’s great-great-grandfather Henry Stein, a stage actor. Nate says Henry is into the occult and wants to bring someone back to life. He shares what he can see and mentions a picture of a red moon. Rip shares information about a secret society called the Order of the Shrouded Compass and the belief that Nate will be used as a blood sacrifice.

The group arrives at a party thrown by Henry Stein and looks around. Henry introduces the guest of honor, Madam Eleanor, who speaks to the dead. Eleanor looks at Zari and says a family member wants to talk. Zari sits at the table with the others but is visibly skeptical of Eleanor’s powers. Eleanor's eyes go blood red and she channels Zari’s brother, who says horrible things to Zari. Amaya and Rory threaten Eleanor and she goes back to normal.

Back on the ship, Ray and Jax work on the watch. They find four fingerprints on the watch: the coroner’s, Ray’s, an unknown set, and Oliver Queen’s. The two decide to contact Oliver’s team to get answers. Curtis Holt from Oliver’s team tells them he found a match.

Nate sings to himself as he waits for his team to rescue him, then tells Sara to hurry when a lab assistant comes in talking about the resurrection. Nate discovers the vampire is actually the assistant, who invented a pair of needles that look like a vampire bite. Sara and Rip take out a couple guards and break in just in time to save Nate. The three open the chamber to discover Damien Darhk’s body. The team fights to escape the occultists and make their way back to the ship.

On the Waverider, Rip argues with the team about Mallus and Darhk. He believes Mallus is the ultimate threat and thinks keeping Darhk’s body around will allow them to get to Mallus. Sara believes Darhk is far too dangerous and they cannot risk him being resurrected. The Legends agree with Sara, who then talks to Rip alone. The two argue, but Rip relents.

Amaya talks to Zari about the seance, saying that was not her brother. Zari says she left her brother alone to die and says the totem is a reminder for her that she should have died.

Jax talks to Ray and says he sort of misses feeling Stein’s emotions. Stein comes in and discovers what the two are doing. He is upset that Jax and Ray are working on breaking up Firestorm behind his back. Stein runs into Rip, who says sorry. Rip leaves the Waverider, but not before initiating a lockdown protocol. Unbeknownced to Rip, Zari is not aboard the ship.

The team discovers they can still fly, just not leave the ship. Sara tells Gideon to get the weapons ready, despite the team reminding her Rip and Zari are probably in the building.

Zari returns to the house to speak to Eleanor and asks to speak to her brother again. Eleanor agrees, but asks for something of his to use to channel energy. Zari hands her the totem, and Eleanor uses its power to knock Zari out.

The ceremony begins and Eleanor tells the crowd her power comes from Mallus. Rip pulls a gun and demands she stop the ceremony, then a group of Time Agents emerges. One frees Zari as Rip asks about Mallus. Eleanor says he is everywhere in all time: living, dead, and resurrected. He demands to speak to Mallus and Mallus takes over Eleanor’s body and speaks to Rip for a moment. The blood moon ceremony finishes and Damien Darhk is resurrected.

On the ship, Sara tells Gideon to fire on their own cargo bay, thinking it is the only way to escape. The team handles the action in their own ways. Jax and Stein apologize to each other. Rory wants to finish the last page of Dracula. Ray and Nate hold hands, while Sara and Amaya brace for impact.

Meanwhile, Darhk and Eleanor attack all the Time Agents. Rip uses a freezing bomb and grabs a knife to attack Darhk, who wakes moments before everyone else. Darhk admits he remembers everything as he starts strangling Rip. Sara and Amaya rush in and save Rip. Zari tells Eleanor the totem is hers, and suddenly it is in her hands. She uses it against Eleanor. Sara fights Darhk, but he and Eleanor are able to escape. Sara surveys the scene of dead Time Agents and looks at Rip.

Later on the Waverider, Jax and Stein eat grapefruit together. The two talk about Stein wanting to be with his family and how Jax can feel his pain. They agree to work on the problem together.

Zari tells Amaya about her brother again, saying she could feel him when she got her amulet back. Amaya shares the knowledge her ancestors imparted about the totems getting stronger when threats are bigger. Amaya says they will defeat any evil together.

Sara confronts Rip about the dead agents, his lack of trust, and his betrayal. Time Agents arrive including Agent Sharpe and Director Bennett. Bennett tells Rip he is suspended and being taken into custody. Sharpe agrees the Legends are free to continue doing what they want since they gave up Rip’s location. Rip tells Sara the Legends need to be ready for Mallus before the Agents drag him away.

This episode is an enjoyable one, though I do not like that Damien Darhk is back. I think the Arrowverse has a problem with continually bringing back villains. I want something fresh and fun, which is part of the reason I like Legends of Tomorrow the most out of the Arrowverse shows. The Amaya and Zari friendship is good and I hope the show continues to have Zari get closer to a teammate each episode. Rip betraying the Legends was not surprising and I agree with Sara’s choice because she must protect her team.

Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW. Check out the trailer for the next episode below.

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