Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: arrow, cw, entertainment, Malcolm Merlyn, Nanda Parbat, oliver queen, Ra's al Ghul, television

The Six Important Moments From This Week's Arrow – Nanda Parbat

We've got spoilers, yes we do… we've got spoilers… so go away if you haven't watched Arrow this week.

If you watched Arrow last night then you saw what the executive producers called the biggest twist in the series since tossing Oliver Queen off a mountain. I have a feeling that some folks saw that coming, but it was probably a big surprise to the rest. But we'll get to that later as it is one of the important moments of the episode…

1) A lot of what drives this episode are the choices made by Thea Queen after discovering she killed Sara Lance. She is riddled with guilt and decides the best course of action it to tell Laurel Lance what happened. Laurel's response is to not blame Thea but rather Malcolm Merlyn who is the cause of it all… but this convinces Thea she must go a step further to deal with her guilt and turns her father over to the League of Assassins. This is the domino that starts everything.

2) Oliver Queen reacts poorly to finding out that Thea told Laurel  But he's shocked to learn that Thea sold out Malcolm. He fears the guilt from causing her own father's death will haunt Thea forever and is one of the deciding factors in his wanting to go rescue Malcolm. But we learn later that there is more to it, that since his defeat by Ra's al Ghul, its been stuck in his head that someone out there beat him. He wants to face Ra's again to get his confidence back. Its the same part of him that allows Oliver to put on a mask and face off against bad guys.

3) Before he is taken by the League, Laurel goes after Malcolm on her own and stands no chance against him. Add that to her having seen how good a fighter Thea has become in a short time training with Malcolm and Laurel and Nyssa finding common ground with their love of Sara. Throw in how the episode ends and I think this will lead to Nyssa needing to find a new purpose in life and perhaps taking up Laurel's training. The producers talk about how Laurel isn't the Black Canary yet… I think we've seen the seeds of how she makes that final step laid right here.

4a) Meanwhile back at Palmer Technologies… Felicity Smoak is watching Ray Palmer obsessing over something a lot like Oliver does. But where she can't stop Oliver, she finds a way to stop Ray and make him slow down. And Ray not only accepts her guidance by appreciates it. This leads to the two of them in bed together. But the question is, does Felicity have feelings for Ray or is he a more attainable stand in for Oliver. Obsessive millionaire with a guilt driven urge to save people as a vigilante… except Ray stops to make time for her. Between Oliver, Ray and Barry… Felicity definitely has a type.

4b) The intimate moment with Felicity and Ray It brings him the clarity he needs to finish his suit and we get to see him fly. We knew he'd get it to work eventually, though I think most folks want to see him shrink… but this also raises the fantasy level on the show, bringing it a bit closer to The Flash. The metahuman door has been pushed open just a little further.

5) By the end of the episode, Thea realizes that sending Malcolm to his death didn't change anything. She can't deal with the guilt and takes the next extreme step. She tells Nyssa that she was the one who killed Sara. Which is true, but she was being controlled my Malcolm. But by leaving that part out, she is asking for Nyssa to kill her. As I said above, I think Nyssa is in for a major life change whether we see it in the show or just get glimpses of it over time, I think she will come out very different and I think it starts right here. I can't see her killing Thea. So what happens next for both of them will be interesting.

6) And finally we get to the twist. If you are a comic book reader familiar with the Character of Ra's al Ghul then this probably wasn't a huge surprise since Arrow mirrors Batman in a lot of ways. In the comics Ra's wanted Batman to take over the League and be with his daughter Talia. Here we see a Ra's who wants Oliver Queen to take his place… not sure about the daughter part. The idea that Oliver would be interested may seem far fetched, but he has put together a small group of decently trained fighters to help save his city. Imagine what he could do with a large group of well-trained warriors? This is something Oliver will have to really think about.

Though it seems like he won't have a long time to think about it as we get to meet the DC comics villain Murmur and his gang in the next episode… which won't be airing until March 18th.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/sxFqn0f0PaU[/youtube]

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