We first heard Wallace’s name earlier in the season when Gellar suggested there might be a link between a manifesto the cyberterrorist posted online about his desire to create chaos in the world and Al-Mahsi’s actions, which begin with him leading Palestinian Syrians into Israel.

In the series, we learn that Wallace is a former academic with ties to Russia. He taught at the university Al-Masih attended, and it was his book Al-Masih quoted during his trial. Among his crimes was a hack of Wall Street in 2009.

However, when Gellar speaks to Wallace on the phone in Episode 9 of Messiah, she discovers that Al-Masih, or to use his real name Payam Golshiri, is not a follower of Wallace, though the pair do know each other and have spent some time together.

When Gellar speaks to Wallace, he reveals he is following Golshiri, rather than the other way around, and that Wallace’s book is dedicated to “PG”: Payam Golshiri. In his conversation with the CIA operative, Wallace says that he is not the dangerous one, hinting that it is in fact Golshiri who is the mastermind with a plan to create chaos across the world.

Viewers see him tell Gellar: “Between him and me, I’m not the harmful one. I’ve been completely happy to serve his trigger.”

This seems to hint towards a theory posited by many viewers of the Netflix series, particularly those who speak Arabic. Ever since Al-Masih’s name was announced, fans have drawn comparisons between the character of Al-Masih ad-Dajjal, an Islamic equivalent of the anti-Christ. Wallace’s warning seems to be our greatest hint yet that Golshiri may be a force for evil rather than good, especially after we learn he has the power of resurrection in Episode 10.

Throughout the series, we learn that Wallace’s aim has been to destabilize the public’s faith in institutions and bring in a new world order⁠—presumably led by Golshiri if the revelations of Episode 9 are anything to go by.

The beginning of the emergence of this new world order may be seen in Messiah Season 2. Though this has not been confirmed by Netflix, the social media reaction seems to suggest the show has been a hit for the streamer, so we may hear an announcement about a new season soon.

Messiah is streaming now on Netflix.