Shinichiro Watanabe’s Lazarus contains a colorful cast of characters that only seems to grow more interesting with each new episode. The anime follows Axel, a convicted criminal serving an 888-year sentence, who is recruited as part of a special team dedicated to finding the man who might have already singlehandedly ended the world. While Axel is Lazarus’ main character, his mission to find Dr Skinner would be utterly impossible to achieve without the help of the four other members of the Lazarus team, all of whom have spotty pasts of their own.

As more has been revealed about team Lazarus with every episode, it’s become apparent the very skill sets which make each member so vital to the team are part of what got them into trouble in the first place. The most surprising example of this is the group’s hacker and computer expert, Eleina. While the most unassuming member of the group by far, Eleina has gradually proven herself to be extremely vital to their success. Not just that, the surprising reality of Eleina’s past might become the deciding factor in whether they actually find Dr Skinner or not.

Eleina is The Most Soft-Spoken and Quiet Character in the Lazarus Team

Lazarus’ Token Hacker is The Group’s Biggest “Wild Card”

Eleina is easily one of the most enigmatic characters in Lazarus, and definitely the most mysterious of the main Lazarus Team. Her initial introduction in Lazarus Episode 1 was all business, as she served as the tech support for the group in their attempt to track down and capture Axel. Even from that first episode, Eleina never showed much emotion. When Axel was brought back to the group’s hideout at the end of episode 1, Eleina was even shown hiding from Axel, showing a shy and socially awkward aspect of her personality. While she was definitely a quirky and strange character, nothing about Eleina seemed to indicate her lawless past.

It’s not until Lazarus Episode 2, “Life in the Fast Lane”, that Douglas reveals some shocking truths about Eleina which completely alter how she’s seen by the audience. As Douglas explains, out of everyone in team Lazarus, Eleina is the one who has committed the most unbelievable crimes warranting her arrest. In Douglas’ own words, “Eleina is not minor league… she’s a notorious hacker who’s committed crimes on a global scale.” As he goes on to assure Leland, Eleina is the “biggest wild card” of the group.

While Axel seems to be the one who would be most likely to do the unexpected, Douglas makes it clear that Eleina is the most unpredictable due to her criminal past. While the exact nature of her crimes is still a big question mark, hacking into systems that have a global impact is truly an impressive feat. Maybe Eleina got her hands on classified government documentation that undermined the national security of multiple nations at once. It’s also possible her crimes could’ve actually been something more benevolent in nature, which would follow the theme of the Lazarus team being misunderstood.

This is something best demonstrated in Douglas’ personal crime, which was punching the racist Dean of his university in the face during his time as an academic researcher. It’s possible that Eleina’s crime, while unlawful, could have at least been understandable like Douglas’. Eleina could have leaked some shocking information to the public that exposed corrupt government officials, or cracked a security algorithm that showed a weakness in international cybersecurity protocol. Whatever her crime, the fact it was such a big deal in Douglas’ eyes proves – if nothing else – Eleina is talented at what she does.

Eleina Reveals Her Old Hacking Handle in Lazarus Episode 3

Lazarus’ Hacking Expert is The Best Person For The Job

Eleina’s past as a lawbreaker came to the forefront in Lazarus Episode 2, but it’s actually Episode 3 that helps solidify everything Douglas hinted at in his original conversation with Leland. In Episode 3, the group tries to discover the culprit who has been hacking security systems around the world and juxtaposing Dr Skinner’s face onto thousands of people via video feed. To that end, Eleina explains that there are only three people in the world capable of such an impressive feat of hacking skill. Their hacking aliases are Popcorn Wizard, Dr 909, and Mad Screamer. Eleina then goes on to reveal that Mad Screamer was actually her own alias.

This shows that Eleina was likely one of the three best hackers in the entire world. Given how much Eleina has already done for team Lazarus, her immense skill as a hacker can’t be underrated. Eleina’s knowledge of hacking makes her a vital member of the Lazarus team. She was the person who actually was able to track down Axel in Episode 1, and she was also the person who originally discovered the lead that led the group to Kobayashi in Episode 2.

In Lazarus Episode 3, Eleina ended up being the person who realized where Skinner’s Grandmother might be living based on the lack of security cameras in the area. In pretty much every phase of the mission so far, it has been Eleina who made the initial breakthroughs, proving that the team’s progress in the mission would be completely stagnant without her essential input. In fact, Eleina’s past as a hacker may even be the key to finding Dr Skinner in another way. As Dr Skinner’s trail was impossible to follow due to how the world’s security systems were hacked into, Douglas realizes that one of the three hackers Eleina knew must be in cahoots with Skinner.

One of Eleina’s Rivals Seems to Be Working With Dr Skinner

Eleina Might Have a Personal Connection With One of Skinner’s Associations

Since Eleina was one of the only three hackers capable of pulling off Dr Skinner’s face-swap, that leaves only two potential hackers who could be working with Dr Skinner: Popcorn Wizard or Dr 909. Judging by their aliases alone, Dr 909 sounds like a fairly good bet to be working with a Dr Skinner. In fact, considering Dr 909’s real name remains a mystery, it could even be that Dr 909 is actually Dr Skinner himself. After all, Dr Skinner was a genius scientist, so it wouldn’t be a major leap to presume he was also extremely knowledgeable in computer systems.

On the other hand, the ending of Lazarus Episode 3 appeared to hint at the person who might’ve been behind Skinner’s disappearing act. While in the home of Dr Skinner’s Grandmother, Axel discovered a hidden camera on a bookshelf in her house. This camera was being watched by a still unknown person, and it wouldn’t come as any surprise to find that this person was actually Dr 909. Lazarus uses strong spiritual symbolism, and in numerology, the number 909 represents transformation and embracing personal change. That being the case, it would make sense Dr 909 would be the one to change Dr Skinner’s digital footprint and transform him into thousands of other people on video to throw the Lazarus team of his trail.

Given her familiarity with the world’s top hackers, Eleina could even be the one who actually makes the major breakthrough that allows team Lazarus to find Skinner’s true location on a more personal level. It could be through a personal relationship with Popcorn Wizard or Dr 909 that Eleina is able to uncover Skinner’s hiding place. It would actually be fitting that, even despite her antisocial disposition, it’s actually the social relationships Eleina made with another like-minded individual that leads to her biggest clue yet.

Douglas referring to Eleina as the “biggest wild card on the team” in Lazarus Episode 2 seemed to be a rather overt means of foreshadowing a greater role for Eleina somewhere down the line. Considering how instrumental Eleina has already been in jump-starting the search for Skinner in every episode of Lazarus, she could very well be the most vital member of the team. Each member of team Lazarus has an important part to play of their own, but Eleina continues to be the major wild card who might end up being the true key to finding Dr Skinner.

Shinichiro Watanabe’s Lazarus is currently streaming on HBO MAX.