'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5 Episode 9: Should we have seen Behrad's fate coming?
Spoilers for 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' Season 5, Episode 9 'Zari, Not Zari'
On the latest episode of 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow,' Atropos (Joanna Vanderham) notes that Behrad Tarazi (Shayan Sobhian) has cheated Fate, thanks to the rewriting of the timeline by his sister, Zari (Tala Ashe). On her quest to restore order to the world through the Loom of Fate, Atropos makes sure that this cheat is rectified by cutting the thread of Behrad's life. It's a shocking moment for such a lighthearted show but were things leading up to this all along?
There are those who would argue that with Zari's return to the ship, Behrad becomes redundant. After all, there's only one Totem and Behrad has barely used it since the show began. With Zari's memories of another life slowly returning to her and her final comprehension and acknowledgment of the other timeline, Behrad's redundancy is underlined. With Zari starting to return to her status as a Legend was Behrad's exit from the show inevitable?
It shouldn't have to be. Though he was introduced late, Behrad has taken to the show rather quickly. It genuinely feels like he's been on the Waverider for a while, despite the fact that that's only as far as this reality goes. While it's true that there is only one Totem between the Tarazi siblings, the use of powers has never been a vital requirement for being a Legend. Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) and Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) have none and in all honesty, even the ones who have powers rarely get to use them. There's no reason why Behrad and Zari could not have worked side by side.
In a way, Behrad's death does a major disservice to both his and Zari's characters. His death renders the old Zari's sacrifice meaningless. The new Zari, whom Tala Ashe has differentiated remarkably from the old Zari, has now been relegated to more or less the same role that the old Zari had - a sister who wants to change the timeline in order to save her brother. It's a baffling retread for a show that has done so much good work into making the new Zari such a unique character in her own right.
With the Loom of Fate being such a difficult thing to put together, it seems unlikely that we are going to be seeing Behrad return anytime soon. While it's not surprising that his character was killed the moment Zari takes up her call to heroism, it is disappointing. Behrad's death was far from inevitable and we can only hope that Zari is successful in returning her brother to life and maybe this time, make it stick.
The next episode of 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' airs April 28, on The CW.
