"Daddy Darhkest"
Original Airdate: February 12, 2018
This midseason opener begins differently than we are used to. We see Star City in 2017 and spooky things are afoot. So is John Constantine. He visits a psychiatric hospital where there is a little girl named Emily who needs his help. It turns out she’s possessed by a demon and he seeks to extract it from. The demon threatens to ensnare Sara Lance as well. Before he can do anything else, Constantine’s busted by the hospital staff. He hypnotizes them and makes his escape, off to find Sara.
On the Waverider, Sara introduces Constantine to the rest of the team — which is amusing as Constantine flirts with, well, everyone, much to Rory’s consternation. Constantine explains to Sara why he’s there, but she insists that she doesn’t need saving from any demons. Nate points out that they are currently fighting a demon named Mollus. Sara wants to join forces with Constantine because they need information so they join him on the trip to save the little girl.
Agent Ava Sharpe contacts Sara and fills her in on what’s been going on with the Time Bureau and Rip (who is still imprisoned). They flirt a little before signing off, which Leo notices and teases Sara about. She tries to argue but Leo isn’t having it. That aside, the team — minus Ray and Zari — move in on the hospital. Kuassa intercepts them so Amaya fights her to give the team a chance to get the little girl to room 237 so they can work. Once there, they learn from Zari that the little girl is not named Emily after all. She’s actually Nora Darhk. She was placed in child protective services and the demon preyed upon her, finding her a vulnerable soul.
Nate goes to help Amaya while Leo and Rory hunt down some drugs to help revive Nora. Nate freezes Kuassa before she can hurt Amaya and while she’s upset at what he’s done to her relative, he suggests they get her on the Waverider before she melts. Constantine, Leo, and Sara wake Nora and ask her what the voices in her head were telling her. All she has is “6,” which is the number of the beast, so Constantine summons Mollus using his name and a diagram drawn on the floor. The demon again uses the girl and taunts Sara. Constantine is unable to get anywhere with him, telling him his tricks won’t work. The girl does an incantation and draws on the floor and the symbol teleports the team away.
The team finds they are still in the hospital, but in 1969. They’re stuck, since they can’t tell the rest of the team where/when they are. They decide to use the paintings to try to communicate with the Waverider, hoping they’d notice a note written on the back. Rory takes over on the Waverider, telling everyone what to do but mostly just because he wants peace and quiet. In the hospital, Ray and Zari find Sara, John, and Leo missing but they discover the symbol that Nora drew. Gideon interprets the symbol and Nate realizes they’ve been sucked into the timeline. Nate wants to try to calculate where the group went, but Zari wants to ask Nora. She talks to her, trying to get through, to find out where their friends were sent. But the girl doesn’t know. And she’s afraid she won’t be able to stop the demon the next time and they’ll lock her up and give her more drugs. Ray is reluctant to remove her from the hospital, but Zari is insistent that a place like that isn’t good for someone with mental problems.
In 1969, Mollus taunts Sara, alarming John and Leo. Constantine warns Sara against letting Mollus get to her. Leo writes a message on the back of the painting but he’s intercepted by the hospital staff who shoot him full of drugs. The doctor believes he’s crazy, given the note he was trying to leave. Constantine warns Sara against giving into the fear that Mollus is trying to use against her. He’s able to ward off the demon and they have a little chat. He opens up to her about his own inner demons and how believes he’ll be going to hell himself when the time comes. He’s seeking redemption. He asks if she’s forgiven herself and she says she hasn’t — she doesn’t deserve it. They have this in common. He gives her a card, something that will help her keep the demons at bay. And then they make out. And, well... you know what happens next.
On the Waverider, Amaya releases Kuassa and they have a chat, grandmother to granddaughter. Kuassa wonders why she won’t use time travel to save her own people in Zambezi. Amaya argues that she can’t interfere in her own timeline, but her granddaughter tells her what happened in 1992 anyway: Men stormed the village, killed Amaya, and set the village on fire. Mari left with her mother, leaving Kuassa behind (and believed dead).
Zari and Ray take Nora to Jitters and they see a news story about Oliver facing indictment for murder. Before they can do anything, Mollus arrives again in Nora’s body. Meanwhile, back in 1969, Leo is about to get a lobotomy but is rescued by Sara and John. Sara tells John to summon Mollus into her so they can fight him, but he’s opposed to that plan.
Possessed Nora wreaks havoc on Jitters. Ray and Zari could obviously use a little help, but Rory is watching a football game and Nate is upset to learn that Amaya is with her granddaughter. She learns that the totem bearer she was meant to protect isn’t Zari, but her. She’s family. Nate rushes in, ready to protect Amaya and Kuassa takes him out. A fight ensues and Amaya protects Nate.
Sara finally talks Constantine into summoning Mollus. Sara is yet against transferred to the other plane and her drawing on the floor shows up in the hospital. She sees Nora while she’s there, crying. She stops drawing the diagram on the floor to chase the sound. She finds the girl and talks to her; she doesn’t want to hurt Ray and Zari. When Zari grabs her arm, it burns and she tells her that she’s “one of the six.” Totem bearers? Is that a clue to how to defeat Mollus? Do they need more of them?
Sara talks Nora into fighting Mollus and — in the present day — the girl is released. In 1969, however, things are heating up as Sara finishes the diagram. Leo and John grab Sara and they are transported back to the year they’d left: 2017. On the Waverider, Amaya pleads with Kuassa to release Nate and she does — albeit a bit reluctantly. She promises to help her, and change her fate.
At Jitters, Darhk shows up and Nora is confused. Darhk tells her that Mollus isn’t bad — he’s going to help her, make her powerful, and will allow her to bring him back to life one day. What he says sounds good to the girl and she embraces her father. He takes her back to the hospital. The doctor heads something called “The Order.” They’ll groom her. So this was basically always meant to happen. Sucks for poor Nora though.
On the Waverider, John is still worried about Sara but she assures him she’s fine. He agrees with Zari that “one of the six” means being a totem bearer, and it might be the key to defeating Mollus. John promises to look into who the other bearers might be before he leaves. He also tells Ray to keep working on his anti-magic gun; they might need it, because Sara will likely succumb to that demon eventually. Leo, meanwhile, decides to return to Earth-X to marry his boyfriend. Sara decides to call Ava and invite her over to “chat,” but Ava tells her that Rip has escaped from prison.
All in all, this was a strong opener for the back half of the season of Legends of Tomorrow. We have movement on the season-long arc, a reasonable plan for how to defeat the baddie, and some good threats looming on the horizon as well. Constantine was a fun addition to the team and I hope we see him again. He brought a fun energy to the group. I’m also enjoying the team-up between Zari and Ray. Plus, next week’s “time loop” episode looks like it’s going to be hilarious!
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