TV Review: LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: Season 3, Episode 5: Return Of The Mack [The CW]

Legends Of Tomorrow Return Of The Mack Review

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3, Episode 5: Return of the Mack sees the return of some familiar faces as well as the triumphant debut of a new one.

Well actually, we don’t get to see said new face. Speaking through the body of Eleanor Darhk (Courtney Ford), we get our first taste of Mallus, the presumptive big bad of the season, who turns his host’s eyes dark red and transmogrifies her voice into something utterly demonic as he inhabits her. It’s a surprisingly effective technique that reminds one of Zoom, another dark-eyed, demon-voiced villain,  from the program’s sister show The Flash and makes one eager to see more of the character.

In case you haven’t guessed, it’s no coincidence that Darhk shares a name with that other Darhk, the dark magic-wielding Damien (Neal McDonough). In fact, she is nothing less than the daughter of the one-time Legionnaire of Doom, and manages to revive him so that he may bedevil the Legends once again. At this point, I have to guess that the producers are really taken by the character for them to use them as much as they do, although I must say I don’t see the attraction. It’s great that they built on the mystical elements first introduced in Arrow with him but the flippant, almost Jim Gaffigan-esque attitude  McDonough uses for a character that’s supposed to be as powerful and menacing as Darhk is makes it hard to take him seriously.

This is seen very clearly in the battle that occurs right after Darhk’s resurrection, wherein he makes short work of Time Bureau agents trying to apprehend him to the accompaniment of Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack”. While the song’s title might suit the scene, it’s tone certainly does not: if we’re really supposed to be as shocked that Darhk has risen from the grave as the build-up to his revival wanted us to be, then perhaps his return should have occurred to the accompaniment of something other than a 90’s hip hip song.

On the flip side, we also see Rip (Arthur Darvill) return after spending the past few episodes in absentia. Unlike Darhk, I am very happy to see him again, as he has not only been one of the most consistently engaging characters on the show, but one of its most unpredictable as well. This leads to interesting interactions between him and others like Sara (Caity Lotz), continuing to act as if he is leader of the Legends even though he cut them loose. Not only that, but his issues with the Time Bureau are certain to be a key point of interest in future installments of Legends of Tomorrow.

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