The heroes of Legends of Tomorrow have a tall order this season: stop the demon Mallus. Not only is the shadowy, mysterious presence want Sara (Caity Lotz), he also is incredibly powerful and bent on subjecting the world to unendurable pain.
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But while we know at least part of what Mallus wants and that it is going to take a massive effort to stop him, we don’t exactly know who Mallus is. We’ve explored a handful of theories as to who the evil entity might be, including that Mallus is actually Zari (Tala Ashe), but thanks to the events of last week’s “Here I Go Again” some are reconsidering that theory for another: it’s Zari’s brother who is the big bad this season.
In “Here I Go Again”, Zari tries to run a simulation program through Gideon that will let Zari figure out how to prevent the dismal, dystopian future she’s from in 2042. Specifically, Zari is looking for a loophole that will not only save the future but save her brother Behrad as well. As we’ve learned this season, Behrad bore the Air Totem in 2042 and operated as a vigilante in the A.R.G.U.S.-controlled future. He died, presumably in A.R.G.U.S. custody, with Zari using the Legends to break into the facility to steal her brother’s totem in the episode “Zari”.
While most of “Here I Go Again” is taken up with Zari having to work her way out of a time loop — one we later discover is created by Gideon and wasn’t real — it’s revealed that the only way that Zari can prevent 2042 is to stay with the Legends. While this little tidbit of information alone isn’t enough to point fingers at Behrad as Mallus, there are a few other hints that, when added together, seem pretty suspicious. For starters, in “Return of the Mack” Eleanor Darhk (Courtney Ford) needs Zari’s Air Totem to complete a ritual that allows her to raise Damien Darhk from the dead. That ritual involves Mallus, and Eleanor uses the idea of summoning of Behrad’s spirit as the method of getting the totem. But why would Eleanor need the Air Totem? Mallus, as we saw in the midseason premiere, was already possessing Eleanor and giving her immense power. The Air Totem also seems like a really unlikely object for the raising of the dead, especially when there was a second totem available as well, Amaya’s (Maisie Richardson Sellers) Anansi Totem.
However, if Mallus were Behrad, the Air Totem may have some additional significance for the demon. It would also make sense that Mallus, via Eleanor, was able to convince Zari that she was speaking with the spirit of her brother if Mallus is, in fact, Behrad. We also know that the totems have some sort of specific importance for Mallus, with the demon referring to Zari as one of The Six when the pair meet again during the midseason premiere. And speaking of the midseason premiere, we found out in that episode that defeating Mallus will take all of the Legends plus help. While defeating a demon definitely feels like an all-hands-on-deck situation, theoretically Zari would only play a limited role (not accounting for the Air Totem). However, with Gideon indicating that the only way for the dystopian future to be stopped is for Zari to stick around, it seems to be a pretty clear indication that Zari is crucial to defeating Mallus and, by extension, defeating Mallus could well be the thing that prevents the future. This makes Zari incredibly important to the mission — potentially because she has a far more personal connection to the demon than anyone yet realizes.
Of course, if Behrad really is Mallus, that could put Zari in a very difficult position — save the people she has come to love as her family as well as the future itself by defeating the brother she’s trying to save the future for in the first place. That would be a heavy moment for the show in a season where fans have already endured the loss of beloved teammate Martin Stein (Victor Garber and said goodbye to Jax (Franz Drameh,) but hey, it’s just a theory. Mallus really might end up being Gary, making the fan-favorite Time Bureau agent’s time in the trash compactor last week even more funny than it already was.
Legends of Tomorrow airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.
