Oliver is forced to destroy Starling City and marry Nyssa before becoming the worthy heir of Ra’s al Ghul. In addition, Thea seeks out Roy, who is in hiding.
Spoilers ahead.
Oliver is revealed to have been faking his loyalty to Ra’s al Ghul, working together with Merlyn and present-day Tatsu to dismantle the League from the inside. His restraint in the previous episode hints to this, though he is still willing to go to great extremes to keep up the charade. Team Arrow attempts to stop the chemical attack, but they are attacked and taken prisoner. Oliver marries Nyssa and the others are poisoned.
This plot actually moves to a good pace. Though Oliver’s intentions are good, his methods have earned him the mistrust of his team. The melodrama unfortunately touches Diggle at the beginning, but his character improves when he confronts Oliver alone about the threat to his family. Felicity’s whiny attitude still reeks, but it is better contained in this episode than before.
Thea meeting up with Roy, or “Jason”, is a better farewell to his character than the one he received a few weeks ago. Thea was the only character that did not know about his situation, yet also the closest one to Roy. It makes sense for her to meet up with him for the last time, and it was a smart move to avoid more melodrama by having Oliver hold this from her for a long time.
Tatus returns as Katana. Her reunion with Maseo is as tragic as it was fated to be. This interpretation adds an interesting wrinkle as she is the one who kills him. This bit of drama is the only one that is genuinely touching in this episode. Katana’s New 52 suit does not translate well in live action, particularly after a better costume has been revealed for the upcoming Suicide Squad film.
The flashback story finally reaches to Akio’s death and another confrontation with General Shreeve. However, dragging this out feels like a waste at this point since we already know the fates of the characters involved. They just feel like time fillers at this point.
One small nit-pick: If Felicity is so wary of Merlyn, then why does she have him on her phone’s contact list, with a picture and everything?
“This Is Your Sword” ends on an effective cliffhanger, despite the reassurance that everyone on the cast will be fine. The real casualty is the broken trust between Oliver and his team, as well as Nyssa’s love of her father. Even if Oliver saves the day from Ra’s al Ghul’s plan, he may not be able to save his relationships.
What did you think of this episode? How do you think the team will get out of being poisoned?
Let us know by commenting below!
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