Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: arrow, entertainment, john barrowman, stephen amell, tv

The Whole Scoobie Gang – Recapping Arrow 3.21: "Al Sah-Him"

By Rich Epstein

"My name was Oliver Queen. For three years, I worked to save my city. To save my sister, I had to become someone else. I had to become something else." A nice touch by changing the opening voiceover for this episode. It really helps to underscore just how much changed in last week's episode.

We open with Oliver Queen Al Sah-Him (Stephen Amell) (yeah, I'm going to keep calling him Oliver btw) undergoing his League of Assassins training, which seems to consist mostly of brainwashing and sword fighting. He is repeatedly told "Oliver Queen is alive only in the past. He is forgotten." After three weeks, he begins to repeat it. We will see whether he is playing along or the training is actually taking. He has been beaten and tortured many, many times, so it seems hard to believe that he would be a convert after only three weeks.

His training with Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable) is interrupted by Maseo Yamashiro (Karl Yune) and two other Assassins. They have found an intruder, John Diggle (David Ramsey). Diggle tells Oliver that they are lying, that he was never freed, but was a prisoner for the past three weeks. Ra's tells Oliver to prove his fealty. Oliver orders Maseo to remove John's chains and give him a sword as he will not kill an unarmed man. Diggle continues to plead with Oliver, but it is to no avail as Oliver strikes Diggle down. I guess that answers the question of whether Oliver is truly a convert.

Of course, it wasn't Diggle after all. Oliver has been drugged over the past three weeks with an ancient herb that caused his conscience to come to the forefront, making him see what wasn't really there. This probably would have worked a little better later in the episode. I doubt anyone believed that they would kill off Diggle in such a quick manner five minutes into an episode. Of course, Oliver did actually kill some unknown, random innocent person, so…

Ra's tells Oliver of how he had a friend when he joined the League, Damien Darhk, who became a rival. When Ra's was chosen as heir he hesitated at killing his rival, allowing him to escape with his loyalists and water from the Lazarus Pit. He now has an organization filled with a HIVE of agents. Hmm, another Hive reference. Ra's will not allow his own heir to make the same mistake he did and hesitate to kill his rival. In other words, he is sending Oliver after Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law). Man, that's cold. His own daughter. No emotion whatsoever from Ra's.

We return to Starling City to see the Black Canary, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) taking on a mugger. She thinks she has the upper hand when he pulls a knife and slashes her arm. Before he can do any real damage, he is captured by Nyssa who instructs Laurel on what she did wrong. Laurel returns the favor by instructing Nyssa in the decadent ways of America. Laurel then tells Nyssa that Oliver agreed to become the next Ra's. Nyssa is none too happy, and walks out. Did Laurel learn nothing about keeping secrets from people you care about? First her father, now Nyssa.

Dinner at the Diggle's (please tell me this is a sitcom on CW next year). Thea Queen (Willa Holland) and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) are at John and Lyla's (Audrey Marie Anderson) place. Apparently, John has been filling in for Oliver. The talk turns to Thea, who misses her brother. She blames herself, which she shouldn't. I mean, it was to save her, but if not her, it would have been someone else. In fact, Oliver could have escaped with them. He didn't, because he knew they could never be free. The next time, it could have been Thea, or John, or Felicity.

Flashback…the virus is out, and people are dying in the streets. Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu (Rila Fukushima) are trying to make their way to Akio when they notice American soldiers giving vaccinations to the people. Only the three know that the soldiers don't have a vaccine, they are actually just infecting more people. They fire into the air to warn the people away, when the soldiers open fire in return. And miss. They really stink at shooting. It is weird to see Oliver with a gun. Of course, the trio easily take out all of the soldiers and get the truck.

Laurel finds Nyssa sharpening her sword. Nyssa tells Laurel she should go. It appears that she has no illusions as to her father's sentimentality. She knows Oliver will come, and not alone. She's right, we see Oliver, Maseo, and a half dozen other Assassins appear on a rooftop in Starling City.

Nyssa heads to Palmer Technologies to talk to Felicity and Diggle. She tells them that Oliver Queen is dead, that the League would have brainwashed him (although she puts it differently). Diggle and Felicity don't want to believe that Oliver would hurt Nyssa, but I have a feeling that will change by the end of the episode. Nyssa goes to face Oliver. Laurel remains behind, she is scared for Nyssa and wants to help. Diggle agrees, although he still doesn't think that Oliver would hurt them.

Thea walks in on Felicity as she is providing support to Diggle and Laurel. She wants to help, after all, vigilantism runs in her blood. Felicity tells Thea what Nyssa said about Oliver. Thea wants to talk to Oliver, to try and reach him, but Felicity won't let her, telling her it's not what Oliver would have wanted. Who cares? She's a grown woman who has as much right to face her brother as anyone else.

Nyssa meets Oliver on the rooftop where Sara was killed. They fight, with arrows and then with swords. Oliver wins, and has a sword to her throat, when he is stopped by the Canary Cry. Diggle points a gun at Oliver, tells him they won't let him hurt Nyssa. Oliver steps off the roof (I assume not to his death) as Felicity looks on via security feed in tears.

Nyssa is not exactly overcome with gratitude. She knows that it is only a matter of time until the League catches up to her, and now Laurel has gotten herself involved. She has a cut on her neck which is a nice touch as it shows just how close Oliver was to killing her. He wasn't merely threatening her, he was cutting her throat. Nyssa thanks Laurel for showing her that there was a life away from the League, if only for a little while.

Thea needs help, so she turns to her father, Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman). He tells her that it is true, Oliver is back in town to kill Nyssa. Thea wants to stop him, but Malcolm tells her it's suicide. Still, he offers to help.

John and Felicity return to the Diggle residence, and immediately John knows something is wrong. Sara is crying in her crib, but Lyla is nowhere to be found. John receives a call, it's Oliver, with instructions to bring Nyssa to a warehouse in exchange for Lyla.

John goes to Nyssa and screams at her. He asks her to hand herself over to the League. Laurel doesn't want to hand over an innocent, but Diggle points out that she's not innocent. Nyssa has the blood of hundreds on her hands. He just wants Lyla back and doesn't care what he has to do to make it happen. Nyssa agrees to turn herself over.

The four of them arrive at the warehouse, and Oliver has Maseo search them. Felicity tells Maseo not to touch her and Oliver says she does not need to be searched. Hmm. Lyla is brought out. Felicity tries to reach Oliver, tells him that she knows he is in there somewhere, but it doesn't work. He instructs the Assassins to bind Nyssa and frees Lyla, who runs straight to Diggle. John tells her that he "told Felicity it was just like Jarkata" and then Lyla goes to hug Felicity. She then pulls two guns off of Felicity, turns, and takes out two Assassins. Finally, someone who can shoot. At the same time, Nyssa gets the jump on the men holding her and steals a sword. A melee breaks out, with Oliver fighting Diggle. Nyssa is retaken as Oliver beats Diggle. He has a sword over John, who is on his knees, when he is shot through the wrist with an arrow. It's Thea, and she tells Oliver to get away from John. He does, pulls the arrow out, and departs with the other League members.

I couldn't tell if Oliver was going to kill John or not. His arm raised slightly before Thea shot him, but whether or not he was going to deliver a death blow is debatable.

The Scooby Gang regroups at Palmer Technologies, faced with the reality that their friend may be lost to them forever. John points out that there is only one thing left of Oliver, them.

Nyssa is brought to face justice before her father. Ra's asks if she has been searched, and Maseo says "it does not appear to be on her person." Ra's takes her sword and opens the hilt to reveal a compartment. Ra's promises to remember her as the warrior she was rather than the shell that stands before him. She is forced to her knees as Ra's instructs Oliver to do what must be done. Oliver draws his sword and is about to plunge it into her heart when he is stopped by Ra's. He sees Nyssa quivering, and knows that she has been broken. Instead of death, Ra's proposes a marriage in order to unite their houses.

Flashback…they find Akio, and are trying to make their way out of Hong Kong. As they start to drive away, Tatsu notices blood dripping from Akio's mouth.

Felicity walks in on Thea, who wishes that Oliver had let her die. Felicity says that she still loves Oliver, despite everything. Felicity tells Thea that Roy is still alive. Again, secrets. It's been three weeks. She tells Thea that Roy is starting a new life, one that hopefully includes Thea if she wants it.

Ra's tells Oliver about the final act of ascension…the destruction of their former home. Oh goody, a threat to destroy Starling City that happens to take place in the Spring for the third consecutive year. He shows Oliver what Nyssa had in her sword, it's the bio-weapon from the flashbacks. And Oliver is to unleash it on Starling City.

Another solid episode. Once the League came to the forefront, the season has been rolling. The only problem was the flashbacks, which have been a problem all season long. They just aren't very compelling, with bad action scenes (soldiers that can't shoot or fight), and no real drama since we all know what happens to Akio, Maseo and Tatsu (not like in past years where there were additional characters in the flashbacks whose whereabouts we didn't know).

So, it's become pretty clear that HIVE is being setup as the big bad for next year. Not really sure how I feel about this…it was described in this episode as an offshoot from the League, so it seems way too similar. It would be nice for Diggle to get some closure for his brother, though.

Rich Epstein writes for Bleeding Cool. He can be found on twitter at @kaspe_r11.

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