The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 17 - Duet

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Team Flash is surprised when Mon-El and Hank Henshaw emerge from a breach with an unconscious Supergirl in tow.They tell everyone about The Music Meister - a new telepathic villain who put Kara under his spell. Soon Barry is similarly enscrolled and both heroes find themselves trapped in a world right out of a musical. And if they hope to get out of this one gracefully, they're going to have to sing and dance their way to the end of the story!

Influences

The Mayhem Of The Music Meister! episode of Batman: The Brave And The Bold, the MGM film version of The Wizard of Oz (various lines refer to songs from it, Barry notes that the people around them in the dream world look like people from his and Kara's lives) and various Mr. Mxyzptlk stores from the classic Superman/Supergirl comics (Music Mesiter's powers and general M.O.)

Goofs

Very little about The Music Meister makes sense in terms of powers, power limits and motivations. But hey, it's a musical, so don't worry about it.

Performances

The entire ensemble does a great job with the musical numbers.


Artistry

The set design, costuming and lighting of the musical dream world are fantastic.

The original songs are toe-tapping numbers that will stick with you after the episode is over.

Flash Facts

Grant Gustin (who plays Barry Allen), Melissa Benoist (who plays Supergirl) and Darren Cris (who plays The Music Meister) all previously appeared together in the musical comedy/drama Glee.

The Music Meister was originally created for the cartoon Batman: The Brave And The Bold. A powerful telepath who was bullied for his love of singing and musicals as a child, he discovered that he could control the minds of other people by singing. This resulted in the people under his control bursting out into song, as if they were in a musical production. The episode in which he appeared - The Mayhem Of The Music Meister! - was nominated for an Emmy and frequently places in the top rankings on lists of Television History's greatest musical episodes.

Precisely what The DCTVU version of Music Meister is never explained. J'onn says he was an alien, but his species is never identified. He is able to steal both Barry and Kara's powers and clearly possess some kind of telepathic abilities - presumably how he is able to know so much about everyone and their secrets. He claims his motivations are purely to help mend Barry and Kara's broken hearts. This makes him very much like Mr. Mxyzptlk, whom Kara has already fought once. Oddly enough, nobody else makes this connection in the episode.

The songs featured in this episode include Singing In The Rain from Singing In The Rain, Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's, Put A Little Love In Your Heart by Jackie DeShannon and More I Cannot Wish You from Guys And Dolls.

The backstage area where Barry meets Kara features several posters for Thurston The Great Magician. This is a reference to Howard Thurston - a stage magician who was certainly the most famous of his time and one of the "Royal Dynasty" of magicians.

John Barrowman - who plays Malcolm Merlyn on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow - appears in the dream world as club owner/gangster "Cutter" Moran.

Jeremy Jordan - who plays Winn Schott on Supergirl - appears in the dream world as Grady The Piano Player.

Carlos Valdes - who plays Cisco Ramon on The Flash - appears in the dream world as Pablo The Waiter.

Victor Garber - who plays Dr. Martin Stein on Legends of Tomorrow - appears in the dream world as Digsy Foss's husband/ Millie Foss's other father (who is never named in the whole episode!)

Jesse L. Martin - who plays Joe West on The Flash - appears in the dream world as crime boss Digsy Foss.

Candice Patton - who plays Iris West on The Flash - appears in the dream world as Millie Foss.

Chris Wood - who plays Mon-El on Supergirl - appears in the dream world as Tommy Moran.

The original song - Superfriends - was written by actress/singer/songwriter Rachel Leah Bloom, who is perhaps most famous for her work on the show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The original song - Runnin' Home To You - was written by Pasek and Paul, who also wrote the 2017 Academy Award winning song City of Stars for the movie La La Land.

Technobabble

Kara's vital signs are low after a few hours in The Music Meister's trance.

Caitlin determines that the Speed Force levels in Barry's cells and the amount of solar radiation in Kara's body have been severely depleted by their comas. She speculates that their powers are being drained by The Music Meister.

Dialogue Triumphs

Barry: Who are you exactly?
Mon-El: My name's Mon-El. I'm Kara's...(struggles before spitting out the word) friend.
(Barry just raises an eyebrow.)
Mon-El: We're more... more than... friend?
(Barry looks to Wally.)
Mon-El: We've been kissing a lot.
Caitlin: Oh! She never mentioned she had a boyfriend.
Mon-El: It's a recent thing, so...
J'onn: I thought you two broke up?
(Mon-El looks away as everyone goes awkwardly quiet.)
H.R.: (laughing nervously) I'll tell you what. I know enough not to mention the break-up between Barry and -uh-
Iris: (quietly) H.R.?
H.R.: Sorry...

(Kara and Barry speculate on where they are and how to escape.)
Barry: We just need to figure a way out.
Kara: (smiling) I guess I could click my heels together three times?
Barry: Yeah!
Kara: I was kidding.

(Wally runs into the lab. Everyone is watching Music Meister on a monitor trying to break into a bank with his stolen heat vision. Cisco has changed into the leather jacket for his Vibe costume.)
Mon-El: We've got to bring him in.
Wally: No. Not we. Me. I'm the reason Barry got whammied.
Cisco: We win and we lose as a team. I'm coming with you.
J'onn: I'm coming too.
Cisco: Look, John - I respect this whole special agent situation you've got going on, but this problem right here needs someone with...
(Without saying a word, J'onn shape-shifts into his Martian form.)
Cisco: ... green skin and a sick-ass cape.
J'onn: Call me The Martian Manhunter.
Mon-El: I think you'll find that J'onn is a lot more than just a pretty face.

Millie: Dads, there's no reason to be concerned!
Barry: (stunned) Dads?

Millie's Dads: (in unison) You got a problem with that?
Barry: No. I love musicals. So...

Barry: Wow. Things really are easier in musicals.

Barry: I'll be there in the nick of time if you're ever in a spot.
Kara: And if you're not there in time, you can just go back in time, and give it another shot.
Barry: (spoken) I'm actually not supposed to do that any more.
Kara: (spoken) Oh. Okay.

Continuity

This episode immediately follows the events of S216.

The episode opens with a flashback to Barry's childhood, where he is seen watching Singing In The Rain with his mother.

Kara did not say anything about Mon-El to the heroes of Earth One during the Invasion! storyline.

Kara and Barry are powerless in the dream world.

According to The Music Meister, Kara and Barry created their shared dreamworld together due to their shared love of musicals.

Cisco is revealed to have the power to vibe other people into the dreams of other people.

The Music Meister escapes, with no explanation as to who or what he is.

Kara and Mon-El seem to be back together again as a couple.

Barry proposes to Iris again. She accepts.

Location

The opening flashback takes place at some point in Barry's past before his mother died.

The Bottom Line

Those hoping for a full musical ala the Once More With Feeling episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer may leave this episode sorely disappointed since there's only two original songs and nothing within the context of the original action of the show. Those hoping for something as funny as the classic Brave And The Bold Episode with the cast being forced into a kick-line will be likewise let down. Taken on its own merits, however, this is a solidly amusing episode... except for my own personal opinion that there's better chemistry between Kara and Barry than their respective love interests.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2, Episode 10 - The Legion Of Doom

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 



Plot

The Legends are determined to find and rescue Rip Hunter but first they must find the Spear of Destiny. Professor Stein has some ideas on how to accomplish that but they require bringing in a new teammate - his daughter Lily! Meanwhile, Merlyn and Darhk realize that The Reverse Flash is pitting them against each other and decide to renegotiate their partnership.


Influences

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (three bad men in an uneasy alliance slowly turn on each other) and The Flash comics of Grant Morrison and Mark Millar (presence of The Black Flash)


Goofs

In the opening narration, Darhk says he was removed from the timeline 31 years before his death in 2016. In Episode 205, he left the timeline in 1987, which is 29 years before 2016.

So neither Professor Stein nor his wife told their daughter that he was time-traveling in the adjusted reality?

For that matter, in the new reality, Lily Stein knew nothing about her father's work on his FIRESTORM project or learned of how he became Firestorm during the months he was missing following the Particle Accelerator explosion in Central City?


Performances

John Barrowman, Neal McDonough and Matt Letscher all manage the neat trick of being menacing and funny in equal measure.


Artistry

It's a minor point in the script but I love how Mick Rory is the one to congratulate Professor Stein on the birth of his daughter in Hebrew and nobody bats an eye at the psychopathic arsonist saying "Mazel Tov".

The sword-fight between Darhk and Merlyn is well-executed.

The script overall is a work of art, with lots of witty dialogue that covers up the fact that most of this episode is devoted to explaining away various plot-holes from The Flash regarding the nature of time-travel and the various defenses Time is supposed to use to deal with rogue speedsters.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

The episode title comes from from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Challenge Of The Superfriends, where the heroic Superfriends fought a villain group called The Legion of Doom.

The episode opens with an entirely new narration - this time given by Damien Darhk.

Instead of the usual icons for The Legends coming together for the Legends of Tomorrow logo, the icons include the Reverse Flash's red lighting bolt inside a circle insignia, a red arrow icon for Merlyn and some sort of mystic symbol for Darhk.

The "monster' which is chasing after Thawne resembles The Black Flash - a being from the comics who is the angel of death for speedsters.


Technobabble

The Longinus Medallion gives off low levels of ionic radiation.

Lily Stein developed an ionic transmographer that fits in her purse. Martin Stein says he never saw one smaller than a house. Lily says she had an idea of how to hyper-miniaturize the technology while on vacation in Tahiti.

A short-wave ionic pulse activates The Longinus Medallion.

Lilly refers to The Waverider as "a temporal navigation vessel".

The Longinus Medallion's information feed mainlines 1.2 zetabytes of data directly into Gideon's brain.

A mnemonic archive is a piece of future technology (invented in the 22nd century that stores a person's memories.

Time wraiths are creatures that hunt down speedsters who alter the timeline and destroy them before they can cause serious, permanent damage.

Lily Stein is working on developing a new series of synthetic proteins.


Dialogue Triumphs

Darhk: (voice-over) My name is Damien Darhk. In 2016, I was murdered by The Green Arrow. But I was removed from the timeline 31 years before my death by a speedster from the future named Eobard Thawne. Together, with Malcolm Merlyn, the former head of The League of Assassins, the three of us are going to locate The Spear of Destiny - a mystical object which can rewrite reality itself. With The Spear in our possession, we will change our past and our future and the world as you know it!

(Merlyn turns off the TV, where he just saw news footage of Green Arrow killing Damien Darhk. He goes to his couch, pours himself a glass of some kind of liquor, sits down and sighs. Suddenly, Damien Darhk and Eboard Thawne run into the room.)
Darhk: This is the great Malcolm Merlyn? I am unimpressed.
Thawne: Well, he's fallen on hard times. But this man used to be Ra's Al Ghul.
(Merlyn just stares at the two men, as if to silently ask what the hell is going on.)
Thawne: Ah - we haven't met. I'm Eobard Thawne. I'm from the future.
(Merlyn slowly rises from the couch, ready to voice the obvious question.)
Merlyn: What the hell is going on here?
Darhk: Excellent question. Here's another. Do you believe in second chances?
Merlyn: I just watched you die.
Darhk: Yeah. I hear 2016's not my best year but I plan on fixing that.
Thawne: Yeah. But the question for you Malcolm is... do you wish to see your fortunes similar reversed?
Merlyn: By time travel?
Thawne: No. No, something MUCH better.
(Merlyn looks to the smiling Darhk and downs his drink.)

(Merlyn claims he can use his hypnosis training to break down the walls in Rip Hunter's mind.)
Thawne: Is this some... technique you picked up with the League of Assassins?
Merlyn: The League didn't call me "The Magician" for nothing.
(Darhk sighs and rolls his eyes as he looks out the window.)
Thawne: Well, be quick about it. Speedsters aren't known for their patience.
(Merlyn glowers at Thawne as he leaves the room.)
Darhk: What's to stop Hunter's crew from finding the rest of the Spear before Merlyn finishes unscrambling Hunter's brain?
Thawne: The workings of the medallion are lost to history. Trying to get it to reveal its secrets will prove difficult. Plus, we have an additional advantage over them.
Darhk: Enlighten me.
Thawne: (shrugs) They're idiots!

Thawne: This is what I get for relying on a washout and a dead guy.

(Merlyn and Darhk are arguing about the best way to go about robbing the Swiss bank.)
Merlyn: Hunter is an asset! One that we can use to gain access to our objective! To not use him is foolish!
Darhk: Oh! Well, in that case I would have to defer to your superior expertise in foolishness. But if your plan goes south, it's not our speedster friend you need to worry about.
Merlyn: One thing I hate more than taking orders from him... is being threatened by you.
(Darhk and Merlyn glare daggers at each other. Merlyn suddenly smiles.)
Merlyn: Luckily, Damien... I don't find you threatening.

Every single "Why are you looking at me when you say that? gag.

Ray: Wait - she wants to try networking the ancient amulet with an advanced AI system? I'm totally helping!

Merlyn: What do you think's going on with him?
Darhk: It's simple. His mind is pudding.
Merlyn: Not Hunter. Thawne. It's strange how he never stays in one place for very long.
Darhk: Perhaps that's why they refer to them as speedsters?
Merlyn: (smirking) What? You think he left us behind in 1967 Los Angeles because he had a more pressing engagement? What about what he said to us earlier?
Darhk: That he wanted to kill one of us?
Merlyn: No! That he didn't know why he was relying on us! I mean, fair question - why does a time-traveling speedster need to rely on anyone? Thawne's hiding something. (grinning) Wouldn't you like to know what it is?
(Darhk chuckles along with Merlyn and then goes cold dead serious.)
Darhk: Thawne said we knew each other back in 2016. Do I really become so stupid that you think these mind tricks will work on me?
Merlyn: I am not trying-
Darhk: In a trio such as ours, turning one against each other for your own benefit is not only obvious but cliche!
Merlyn: Thawne does not treat us as equals to him. And until he does, neither of us is getting what he wants.

(Merlyn and Darhk are struggling, blades at each other's throats.)
Phil: Okay! Stop! Stop! Time out! Time out! Can't you see that this is what your boss wants! For his underlings to be at one another's throats? Like... literally?
Merlyn: He is not our boss!
Darhk: (To Merlyn) Did he just call us underlings?
Phil: Oh, I'm sorry.  Uh...Henchmen.
Darhk: (pointing his sword at Phil) Try again.
Merlyn: Wait, wait, wait... what if he's right?
Darhk: Oh, you actually care what this pudding-brain hippie has to say?!
Phil: It's just like the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Three bad guys. Nobody knows who to trust so they all end up screwing each other over.
Darhk: (To Merlyn) It's an interesting theory. (To Phil) Which one are we?
Phil: The point is that neither of you are Clint Eastwood and so neither of you end up going home with the gold.
Merlyn: We're not after the gold.
Phil: Yeah, I know, I now. I know what you're after. (To Merlyn) You - you want to change your past. (To Darhk) And you - you want to change your future. And the fast guy is the only one who can make those two things happen.
Merlyn: (To Darhk) I told you! Thawne doesn't treat us as equals. Even the hippie knows it! And he also knows that the only way to stop Thawne from screwing us over is for us to work together.
Darhk: Two former memebers of The League of Assassins versus a speedster?
Merlyn: I am liking those odds.

Jax: (staring at Stein's mug) Is that whiskey?!
Stein: Of course it's not whiskey! It's brandy! What do you take me for - a sailor?

(Merlyn and Darhk have strung their trap on Thawne.)
Thawne: It seems you two have formed an alliance. There's just one problem...
Merlyn: That you're the only one who can give us what we want? Yes. We know.
Darhk: You're always so quick to remind us how much we need you, Eobard.
Merlyn: But clearly you need us.
Darhk: You could have gotten into this vault all by yourself. Why didn't you?
(The alarm on Thawne's wrist starts beeping. He looks down at it, clearly nervous.)
Merlyn: And for that matter, why would a man who can travel through time always be in such a hurry?
Thawne: We don't have time for this!
Darhk: Oh, I've got all the time in the world...


Continuity

It is confirmed that the version of Malcolm Merlyn working with The Legion of Doom was pulled from time from the end of Arrow's fourth season. (i.e. May 2016)

Merlyn is trained in the art of hypnosis.

Sara still refuses to call their enemies The Legion of Doom.

Merlyn is unable to use hypnosis to retrieve Rip Hunter's memories because there's nothing to retrieve.

Darhk finds a barcode engraved on one of Rip Hunter's teeth. It turns out to be account information for a security deposit box in Switzerland. The box was last accessed in January 2025.

The rest of The Legends learn about the existence of Lily Stein.

Lily Stein learns about her status as a Time Aberration, brought about because of Martin Stein's talk with his younger self in 205,

Rip Hunter's security deposit box number is 4587.

The photos of the Speedsters The Legends analyze include Kid Flash, The Rival, Trajectory, Jesse Quick, The Flash and Jay Garrick - The Flash of Earth 3.

The food replicator on The Waverider is capable of simulating anything except for American Cheese. Ray finds this ironic, given that American Cheese is already synthetic.

Stein says the reason he and his wife originally never had children was because he was afraid that he would be as distant and cool as his own father was in raising him.

Nate hits upon the idea that their speedster enemy is the opposite of Lily Stein - someone whose existence was erased due to a time aberration rather than being born as a result of one. This spurs Stein's memory regarding the battle between Team Flash and Eobard Thawne.

Stein relates the events of F123 and how Eobard Thawne was erased from existence thanks to his ancestor, Eddie Thawne, committing suicide. He also explains how The Speed Force acted as a buffer which protected Thawne to a point.

Nate theorizes that the reason Thawne needs Merlyn and Darhk to help him is that Thawne has to keep moving so that reality doesn't catch up with him and erase him from existence.

Thawne later confirms this, making mention of The Time Wraiths (first seen in F217) and how he is being hunted by a being that is similar yet far worse.

The creature hunting Thawne resembles the villain Zoom following his abduction by Time Wraiths in F223 - a zombie-like being in a black Flash costume. The creature tracks speedsters in motion and cannot sense them if they stand perfectly still. The creature also has a physical form, as Thawne is successfully able to push it into a bank vault. (While not confirmed this being greatly resembles The Black Flash from the comics - the angel of death for speedsters.)

The episode ends with Rip Hunter, in 1776, attempting to assassinate George Washington.


Location

Star City - May 2016
Undisclosed Location sometime after 2025. - Eight months after Merlyn left 2016 from his perspective.
Central City - January 2017.
Zurich - January 2025.
New Jersey - December 25, 1776.


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode which puts our villains in the spotlight and lets them run wild to great effect.

Arrow: The Dark Archer #7 - A Review

I don't think I'll be reviewing any future chapters of Arrow: The Dark Archer. This is not because I don't enjoy the series. I do! But the pacing of the story lends itself better to a novel than a weekly digital comic. There's little point in summarizing the individual chapters, when nothing really happens beyond "Merlyn keeps telling his life's story."


With that being said, the story by John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman is a good one. And the artwork by Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran and Kyle Ritter will please those readers who remember their work on Green Arrow and Batgirl. I may not be writing about this book in the future but don't think for a moment I don't love it!

Arrow: The Dark Archer #6 - A Review

Faced with his former lover Lourdes, Malcolm Merlyn continues his tale of how he came to abandon the group called The Hidden. It was his first step on a winding road. One that would lead to his eventually joining the League of Assassin!


John and Carole E. Barrowman have built a rich mythology for this story. Unfortunately, this issue is light on action and heavy on exposition, which may prove disappointing for many Arrow-heads. Still, Indiana Jones fans may be pleased by the attention to detail in the story. And the artwork is still as amazing as ever.

Arrow: The Dark Archer #5 - A Review

The man once known as Arthur King continues his tale. It is a story of romance and intrigue, as he describes once searching for a long lost tomb as a member of The Hidden - a group with a lineage as long as that of The League of Assassins.


Sadly, The Dark Archer has lost what momentum it had. And it didn't have that much to begin with, given that this story is set in between Seasons 3 and 4 of Arrow. We already know that Merlyn survives this story!

A larger problem is that John and Carole E. Barrowman - in their efforts to craft a more impressive origin story for Malcolm Merlyn - have begun throwing in more material than they can possibly hope to build on. A key example of this is the revelation that animal-telepathy powers are something that exist independent of the rules regarding metahumans and magic thus far explained in the mythology of the DCTVU.


Thankfully, the artwork is as strong as ever. Daniel Sampere delivers the same quality penciling that made him a fan-favorite on Batgirl and Green Arrow. Juan Albarran's inks find the perfect balance between dark and light. And Kyle Ritter's colors are perfectly chosen throughout.

Arrow: The Dark Archer #4 - A Review

At the mercy of Saracon of The Hidden, Malcolm Merlyn must tell a story. A story of the time when he was a man called Arthur King. A story of how he first encountered The League of Assassins...


John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman are spinning a rich and intricate tale with this mini-series. The scope of this story is cinematic and the art team do a fantastic job of depicting the action of the script. The action is lain out well and the colors perfectly suit each scene. And you don't have to be a fan of the Arrow series to enjoy it!

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 13 - Sins Of The Father

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

With Thea's bloodlist having sent her into a coma, Oliver is desperate for anything that might cure her condition. Enter Nyssa Al Ghul with a solution and an offer - kill Malcolm Merlyn and the cure for Thea's condition is yours!. But can Ollie easily sell out Merlyn, who - in spite of everything that has passed between them - has proven to be a reliable ally where Thea is concerned? Meanwhile, Felicity tries to mend the bridge between herself and her estranged father, not knowing that he is the murderous master-hacker known as The Calculator.


Influences

Green Arrow: Year One (the flashback sequences on Lian Yu) and Hamlet (Oliver's conflict on whether or not he can justly kill Merlyn mirrors the central conflict of the play.)


Goofs

Again, we have to wonder why Nyssa hasn't killed Laurel, given her role in resurrecting her beloved as a soulless monster. Logically she should hate Laurel second to no one but Merlyn at this point.

Calculator's arrest at the end of the episode was incredibly anti-climactic.


Performances

Katrina Law gives her usual stellar performance as Nyssa.

Charlotte Ross hasn't been given much to do besides play comic relief as Donna Smoak. But she nails the speech where Donna advises Felicity that people don't change. You see that bubbly facade fade away and see the woman who - though she's not too bright - was determined to give it all to provide for her daughter after she was abandoned by the man she loved.

Stephen Amell gives a Shakespearean performance here, really making Oliver's conflict over what he must do in this situation apparent without descending into angst.

While verging into melodrama occasionally, John Barrowman's turn as Malcolm Merlyn in this episode reminds of the vicious insanity of the character, which hasn't been apparent in recent episodes. It isn't subtle but damned if the performance isn't effective.


Artistry

The fight scene in which Team Arrow finds themselves on the streets of Star City, caught between two groups of assassins with innocent people in the crossfire was amazing.

The script for this episode is very well written, with multiple levels and thematic parallels and a lot of witty dialogue. The key question of this episode - Can People Change? - is repeated throughout both storylines and goes to the very core of what Green Arrow is about. Because what is Oliver Queen's story if not that of a man who tries to change himself for the better?


Trivia

The episode's title comes from a phrase repeated throughout The Bible (primarily in the books Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers), regarding the mistakes of one generation passing on to the next.

We're told Felicity had a stuffed toy bear called Mr. Square Bear whens he was a girl. Square Bear was also the name of one of the bears on the classic cartoon Help!... It's The Hair Bear Bunch!

Nyssa and her group of assassins are based in an abandoned complex located at 7th and Rucka. This is a nod to writer Greg Rucka, who co-created the character of  Nyssa.

One of the stores we see in the background during the street fight sequence is called Janson's Collectibles. This is a nod to writer/artist/inker Klaus Janson, who co-created the character of Nyssa.


Technobabble

Felicity describes Curtis Holt's T-Sphere as an autonomous communications device, three generations beyond Bluetooth. There are no seams in the casing, as it was built from a single piece of aluminum. The entire surface connects to an induction charger. Calculator inquires as to how they achieved the heat sink but Felicity doesn't answer him.

Calculator tries to leave an IR burst receiver - an incredibly advanced device that can suck the data out of any room you put it into - in the Palmer Technologies R&D lab.


Dialogue Triumphs

Oliver: If you cared about Thea, then curing her bloodlust wouldn't come with any conditions.
Nyssa: Thea is my sister-in-law. You are my husband.
Oliver: I'm not your husband!
Nyssa: But war does not know family bonds nor friendly sentiments.
Oliver: Who are you at war with?
Nyssa: I just told you I want you to kill Malcolm Merlyn. Try to guess.
Oliver: If you have a problem with Malcolm Merlyn, deal with it yourself! Do not involve me or my sister!
Nyssa: You put the Demon's Head ring on Malcolm's hand! You—
Oliver: You can't defeat him.
Nyssa: But you can. You have!
Oliver: And that was before I knew that he was my sister's father.
Nyssa: So he dies so his child might live. Didn't your father make a similar bargain? I'm sorry, Oliver. I would not resort to this if I had any other choice.
Oliver: Nyssa, my sister is dying because of something that your father did. I think you have every choice.
Nyssa: Thea is dying because of what her father did. I am only following events to their inevitable conclusion.

Calculator: And you know why the police were after me? The type of criminal I was?
Felicity: Mom never went into detail. I assume petty stuff. Anything else requires commitment.

Assassin: We found her (Laurel) at the perimeter. She claims to be a friend.
Nyssa: And she speaks the truth. At least until she defiled my beloved and stood idly by while I was left to rot in a dungeon.

Felicity: Is it possible that he's not the guy we thought he was, that maybe he's better than we thought he was?
Donna Smoak: No. Felicity, I would love to think that your father didn't show up with some ulterior motive in your life right now, but I've been where you are more times than I care to admit, and it always ends the same way. He tells you exactly what you want to hear, and you get sucked in, and the next thing you know, you have no job, no money, and a sweet 7-year-old daughter who needs a new pair of shoes and wants to go to Space Camp. People don't change, even if you want them to.

Nyssa: You come dressed for battle, Al Sa-Her.
Merlyn: Just for the occasion.
(Merlyn slips the Ring of Ra's Al Ghul off his hand and holds it up.) 
Merlyn: In exchange for my daughter's life.
Nyssa: (holding up the bottle of The Lotus) I'm glad you've finally seen reason.
Merlyn: Sadly, the only thing I have seen is your quick and speedy death.
Oliver: Malcolm!
(Merlyn's assassins enter the room.)
Nyssa: I knew you couldn't be trusted!
Merlyn: You knew? And yet you didn't prepare. And here you are out-numbered, out-gunned, out-maneuvered. Per usual.

Oliver: Taiana, I know what you're going through. It's this feeling in the pit of your stomach. It's an emptiness—
Taiana: Don't you dare try to help me mourn my brother that you took from me!
Oliver: Please... just listen...
Taiana: You know nothing about how I feel! A man with a heart as small as yours is incapable of such things!
Oliver: My father sacrificed himself so I could survive. So that I could right his wrongs. He did it by pulling out a gun and shooting himself in the head, not three feet from me. Since that day I have lost four more people that I loved... that I cared so much about. It never gets easier. Ever.
Taiana: I could see it in your eyes. From the moment we first met.
Oliver: That I was good?
Taiana: No. That you were lost, shattered. (Breathes deeply) There is a Russian saying-- "Tot zhe molot chto drobit steklo, kuyet stal." "The same hammer that shatters glass forges steel." If you want to be the man that your father wishes you to be, then this is how you'll get there. You'll save us from Reiter. But you cannot do so shattered.

Oliver: You set a trap for him as a test.
Felicity: Unrestricted access to Palmer Technologies' R&D lab. He flunked with flying colors. I don't even know why I'm surprised.
Oliver: You're surprised because you're hoping that he's the parent you've always wanted him to be... the parent you deserve.
Felicity: In an extremely ironic role reversal, my mother was smarter than me. She said, "People don't change, no matter how much you want them to."
Oliver: Some people don't.
Felicity: Uh-huh.
Oliver: I'd like to think that there's hope for the rest of us. Or I did as far as Malcolm is concerned. John thinks I should kill him.
Felicity: If it'd help save Thea, I agree.
Oliver: Yeah, and I'd agree if he wasn't Thea's father, but he is.
Felicity: We are in this mess because of him on, like, a million different levels. Let's not pretend that this is a typical father-daughter relationship. He brainwashed her into killing a friend!
Oliver: I know all this. I do. And I'm still holding out hope that with--with-- with time and with how much he says that he loves her that maybe they have some chance at some type of normal relationship. If I kill him... my sister never gets that chance.
Felicity: Thea's father is no more likely to change than mine is.

Oliver: Malcolm!
Merlyn: The Lotus effect is wearing off. She will pass by sunrise. I would like to be by her side.
Oliver: This has to end. No more games! You give Nyssa the damn ring!
Merlyn: She was 4 months old when we first met. Your housekeeper... Raisa, I believe, was picking you up from our house with Thea in a stroller. I peeked my head into the bassinette and Thea, all of 16 weeks, she stuck her tongue out at me. I always knew I was connected to her... as if on some primal level I knew I was her father.
Oliver: A real father wouldn't let their child die just to keep his hands on power!
Merlyn: That is not what I am doing. What's unfolding here is larger than I and it is bigger than my daughter. It's not just her life that hangs in the balance, Oliver. For all your dealings with the League, you still remain ignorant to what it is they do for the world.
Oliver:  Enough about the League. You're a group of Assassins!
Merlyn: It is a force of change silently manipulating global events for hundreds of years, and I cannot, I will not put that kind of power into Nyssa Al Ghul's hands! (pauses) Let me ask you something. If Damien Darhk came to you and told you to lay down your bow, let him finish his plan for Star City, would you do it? Even if it meant saving William's life?
(Oliver looks stunned as Merlyn nods in confirmation that he knows.)
Merlyn: I know everything about you, Oliver. I am Ra's Al Ghul. But back to the matter at hand. You will never sacrifice your city to save your son, and believe me when I tell you that I am only making the same choice.
Oliver: I would look for another choice, and I wouldn't stop looking until there was a third option! (pauses) Malcolm, what if... what if you could have the Lotus and keep your ring?
Merlyn: I don't see how. Nyssa's forces are stronger than I care to admit.
Oliver: Not by herself. You challenge her to a trial by combat.
Merlyn: You do realize your plan would end in her death?
Oliver: We're all backed into a corner, Malcolm. Nyssa made her bed.

Merlyn: In deference to good taste, we will forgo the removal of shirts.

Felicity: When I was a girl, I hated myself. I thought I was broken! That no one could or ever would love me! It's the only way a child can grow up when their father abandons them!
Calculator: Felicity...
Felicity: All I ever wanted to know was why. What was so wrong with me that you would leave?
Calculator: There was nothing with you, sweetheart! There was everything wrong with me. The police, the FBI... they were never going to stop looking for me. I realized a life on the run, that wasn't the life that I owed you or your mother. So I disappeared.
Felicity: You thought you were doing the right thing for us.
Calculator: Exactly.
Felicity: I have waited my entire life for that explanation, And the thing is I don't even know if I believe it.
Calculator: It's the truth.
Felicity: There is only one part of your story that I know to be true, and that is that you are wanted by the police.
(Quentin Lance enters the room with a uniformed police officer.)
Calculator: Felicity...
Felicity: I just need you to know one thing. You are wrong. I am nothing like you.
(Felicity turns around and  leaves the office, holding back the tears as Quentin begins to read Calculator his rights.)

Merlyn: I thought of you as a son once, Oliver. I had more in common with you than my own blood. But that's not the reason why I'm not going to kill you. Neither the fact that you are my daughter's brother. The reason you get to live is because death would be a mercy compared to the debt I now owe you!

Darhk: I don't like to be kept waiting.
Merlyn: My apologies. I don't have the resources I once had.
Darhk: Yes. I'm aware of your recent reversal of fortune. I take it that's why you asked for this meeting?
Merlyn: Well, I haven't come empty-handed.
Darhk: So to speak.
Merlyn: I have some information that you might find of particular interest. I know who Oliver Queen cares about more than anyone in the whole world.
Darhk: Yeah, so do I. We did a pretty good number on her over the holidays.
Merlyn: It's not Felicity Smoak.
Darhk: Who?
Merlyn: His son... William.


Continuity

Nyssa refers to Oliver's defeating Merlyn in 123.

The Calculator abandoned Donna and Felicity 18 years earlier.

Calculator figures out that Felicity is Overwatch and reveals himself to her.

Oliver refers to his father's suicide from 101, as well as Tommy's death due to Merlyn's undertaking (123) and Sara's death (301). These are referred to several times by other characters as well.

In the flashback, Taiana gives the stone Oliver got from Shado after his dream vision to Baron Reiter.

Oliver says he mades arrangements with a family friend named Dr. Lamb to have Thea moved. Dr. Lamb was the Doctor who privately examined Oliver at Moira's request in 101,

Felicity had a stuffed animal named Mr. Square Bear when she was four.

Malcom refers to a queen family housekeeper/nanny named Raisa, who appeared in 101,

Malcolm knows about Oliver's son, William.

Oliver cuts off Merlyn's left hand.

Thea is cured of her bloodlust by The Lotus.

Malcolm tells Damian Darhk about William's existence.


The Fridge Factor

The main conflict of the episode is spurred by the fact that - despite being trained from birth in the League of Assassins - Nyssa cannot beat Merlyn in a straight fight and needs Oliver to kill Merlyn for her.


The Bottom Line

A solid script more notable for what it sets up rather than what it offers directly. Nevertheless, some effective performances sell it and the thematic elements - particularly Oliver's rejection of the idea that people cannot change themselves despite all evidence to the contrary - get to the core of everything this show and the character of Green Arrow is about.

Arrow: The Dark Archer #3 - A Review

The chase continues as Malcolm Merlyn flees into the ancient catacombs underneath his secret mountain lair. His mysterious enemies are in hot pursuit. But will the dangers of the ancient caverns claim them all?


The action is hot and heavy in this third chapter of The Dark Archer but explanations are few and far between. John and Carole E. Barrowman have thrown out a lot of information but very little of it has paid off. Indeed, we don't discover whether or not Merlyn knows the woman leading the forces that are trying to kill him until nearly the end of the issue. Even then, we don't know anything about their relationship. This wouldn't be so bad in a weekly title, but the story so far is dragging a bit for a series that is published bi-monthly.

Thankfully, the artwork continues to be as impressive as ever. Daniel Sampere does a fine job choreographing all of the action in his artwork. Juan Albarran finds the perfect balance between simple highlighting and enhancing the original art with his inks. And Kyle Ritter's color palettes are well chosen, denoting heat and warmth with amazing subtlety.

Arrow: The Dark Archer #2 - A Review

Malcolm Merlyn is a man of many secrets, for whom deception is as vital as oxygen. Yet the truth may be the only thing that can save him when he is locked in a death trap by an unknown enemy and bidden to tell the whole story of his exciting past. Here now is the untold tale of the man who would become Ra's Al Ghul... a man once called Arthur King.


It might strain credibility that Malcolm Merlyn could have been part of a secret society long before he became a billionaire industrialist and joined The League of Assassins. Thankfully, the rich tale spun by John and Carol E. Barrowman proves so riveting you'll gladly suspend your disbelief for the sake of a good story. And this is a good story!

That good story is matched by the artwork. Daniel Sampere perfectly captures the likeness of John Barrowman and draws a mean fight scene. Juan Albarran's inks are just right - not too light or too heavy. And the colors by Kyle Ritter are perfectly chosen, creating a cool aura as Malcolm lies chained in freezing water and a warm feeling as the metaphorical heat is building outside his bunker

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 20 - The Fallen

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

With Thea near death, Ra's Al Ghul has finally made an offer Oliver Queen can't refuse. For Nanda Parbat houses The Lazarus Pit - a magical pool that can heal those near death. Oliver will gladly sacrifice himself to save his sister's life, but will his allies - particularly Felicity - allow him to make that choice?

Five years earlier, Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu race to stop the release of the Alpha/Omega bio-weapon on Hong Kong.


Influences

Son of the Demon. Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (the ritual involving the Lazarus Pit and the scary fortress - as Felicity calls it - having a secret passageway out through the catacombs). Various stories involving The League of Assassins by Dennis O'Neil. Ollie and Felicity's night together is reminiscent of the night shared between Oliver Queen and Marianne in Green Arrow #76.


Goofs

Thea's leap from The Lazarus Pit involves some rather obvious - and clumsy - wire work.

Apart from giving Katie Cassidy an excuse to appear in this episode, there seems little reason for Felicity to unburden herself on Laurel Lance of all people.  To quote the woman herself, "Are we friends now?" Cassidy's wooden reaction to Emily Bett Rickard's breakdown doesn't help how unnatural the scene feels.


Performances

Stephen Amell does some great wordless acting during Thea's surgery and in the scene immediately after the title cut.  It's the first time we've seen Ollie so shaken and he conveys it well without saying a word.

John Barrowman is famed for his campy performances but his reaction to Thea's injuries as Malcolm show that he can play it subtle when needed.

Emily Bett Rickards dominates this episode as Felicity shows a new fire in her efforts to save Oliver as he's saved her so many times before.

As before, Matt Nable plays Ra's Al Ghul perfectly, with just the right sense of menace and sympathy. You really believe he regrets the actions he's taken to push Oliver to this point, even before he tells his own tale of how he came to join The League of Assassins.


Artistry

The chase scene in the flashback as Ollie and the Yamashiros go after a military vehicle is a thing of beauty.


Trivia

In the comics, The Lazarus Pits are naturally occurring pools of an unspecified chemical mixture. The Lazarus Pits are capable of restoring the near-dead to life and Ra's Al Ghul has used the pits to extend his life for several hundred years.  The effects of The Pits are temporary, however, and they lose effectiveness over time.

In the comics, The Lazarus Pits cause temporary insanity in the person resurrected by them. They also give them a measure of super-human strength while they are possessed by the madness. On the show, this seems to be true of Thea as she leaves The Pit.

On one occasion, a dying Joker was placed in a Lazarus Pit and it temporarily restored his sanity.

On another occasion, Black Canary was placed in a Lazarus Pit and it healed the damage to her vocal cords that prevented her from using her Canary Cry.

In the comics, each Lazarus Pit can only be used once.  However, Ra's daughter Nyssa discovered a way to make The Pits last forever though these pits had more unpredictable effects. For instance, one of Nyssa's pits changed Mr. Freeze's wife Nora into an insane lava monster.

There is some suggestion The Pits may cause permanent insanity with extended use, though it is possible Ra's Al Ghul was mentally unstable before his discovery of The Pits.

In keeping with the DCTVU version of Nanda Parbat, The Lazarus Pit here is a special healing spring ala The Fountain of Youth.

Malcolm Merlyn claims Ra's has used the waters of Nanda Parbat to live for over 100 years and that in rare instances those waters can be used to raise the dead. He further claims the waters change a person's soul and that the person who comes back will not be the same as the one that died.

The Pit leaves the resurrected Thea with a wildly erratic form of amnesia. She recognizes Malcolm Merlyn as her father and calls him Dad, apparently not remembering her reasons for hating him. She doesn't recognize Oliver but does believe her brother Ollie to be dead. She doesn't remember that her mother Moira is dead and seems to believe that she and Merlyn are on good terms.  She seems to be fully recovered by the time she returns to Starling City. At the very least, she's back to hating Merlyn.

Ra's story to Felicity about his past suggests that the League of Assassins was founded long before he joined it. In the comics, Ra's founded the organization.


Dialogue Triumphs

Felicity: Oliver...
Oliver: I'd prefer that we didn't do our usual 'Please don't go' dance.
Felicity: We're not going to. Because I'm coming with you.

Felicity: I need a favor. A really big favor.
Ray: The last time you asked me for a big favor I had to loan you my helicopter.
Felicity: Don't need your helicopter.  I need your jet.

Diggle: (scoffing) League of Assassins. You're feared for your bravery. And power. But all I see are a bunch of weak men running from their lives. Trying to escape. That's not powerful Maseo. Or brave. It's cowardly.
Maseo: Do not presume to know me until you've held your dying child in your arms. Until you've told him everything would be okay. So that the last words he'd ever hears are a lie. You know nothing!
Diggle: I'm sorry.  What was your child's name?
Maseo: Akio
Diggle: Do you think Akio would be proud of his father right now?

Ra's Al Ghul: You have a great fire within you. I can see now why Oliver loves you.
Felicity: If you knew the first thing about love you would not be ripping Oliver away from his family.
Ra's Al Ghul: I am merely helping him fulfill his destiny.
Felicity:  Yeah. I know all about the "Survive My Sword" prophecy. And I am here to tell you that I could really give a crap. Me and John and - God help me - Malcolm are not going to let this happen. And we have resources. And we will go to war to get Oliver back.
Ra's Al Ghul: You know, many lifetimes ago I loved a woman immeasurably. And she loved me. And we had a son. And then a daughter. And for many years I felt I was the most fortunate man in the world. My life was bliss. And one night a man came to my door and gave me a horrible choice. To leave without saying a word to them. Or to stand and watch them tortured and then killed. And I left without a farewell. And to spare them pain, I endured an agony worse than death
Felicity: Sounds like you gave up too easily.
Ra's Al Ghul: There is one immutable truth about life - it is often more cruel than it is fair. And it rarely provides an opportunity for any of us to find closure. And all your posturing and all of your threats of war... they merely delay the inevitable, causing you to forfeit the opportunity you have which was denied me. You need to tell Oliver goodbye. Tell him how much you love him.Tell him whatever it is your heart needs to express. And do it now. Before he is lost to you forever.

(After Felicity and Olvier make love)
Felicity: So... that happened.

Oliver: Hold! I am Al Sah-Him! Wahreeth Al Ghul! Heir To The Demon! And you will obey!

Diggle: Oliver... Oliver, I don't know what to say.
Oliver: I do. John, you're the best man I've ever known. Whatever happens, you're my brother.
(The two slowly hug)

Ra's Al Ghul: The word "assassins" has fallen victim to many abuses of language. It's real meaning hidden beneath the sediment of lies and falsehoods. In truth, Assassin comes from Hashishiyya, which means "Those who stand apart from society". Now, every man and woman in here have renounced their past life and forfeited their identity in the name of something new. And it is a cleansing only achieved by fire.


Continuity

The address of Thea and Ollie's apartment is 455 Merced, Unit 10.

The League of Assassins use smoke signals to communicate.

Ray Palmer owns a private jet as well as a helicopter.

Ray refers to the events of 319 and Roy's farewell to Felicity.

Malcolm Merlyn suggests consulting with STAR Labs to see if they might be able to help Thea.

Ollie tells Felicity about the events of the flashback scenes in 314 and how he briefly returned to Starling City and killed Thea's drug dealer.

Ollie's name in the League of Assassins is Al Sah-Him - The Arrow.

Felicity drugs Oliver using the same powder used on Thea following the resurrection ceremony.

Oliver takes on the title Wahreeth Al Ghul - Heir To The Demon.

Maseo/Sarab confesses to aiding in Oliver's attempted escape. Ra's forgives him, for the actions were those of Maseo - not Sarab.

Oliver is branded with an arrow-shaped brand below his right shoulder.

In the flashback, the vial containing the virus breaks during Ollie's struggle with the soldier holding it.


Location

Nanda Parbat


The Fridge Factor

Thea is reduced to being a damsel in distress for the entirety of this episode  And the soul-changing effects of the Lazarus Pit doesn't seem to have changed her much at all.


The Bottom Line

An episode that is far more than the sum of its parts, though some of the individual parts are unforgivably weak. For all of Merlyn's warnings about The Lazarus Pit changing people, Thea seems fine by episode's end after spending the entire episode in such an inert state she could be replaced with a house plant and nobody would notice.  That said, Emily Bett Rickards and Stephen Amell knock it out of the park with this episode and David Ramsey and John Barrowman do surprisingly well with the little they have. This episode wasn't much for big reveals but it has set the stage for the end of the season and the final battle.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 13 - Canaries

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Oliver Queen is used to calling the shots and making the rules. But in his absence, Team Arrow has grown past him and is reluctant to return to the way they were before.  This is especially true for Laurel, who Oliver doesn't see as being part of the team at all.  But when the new Count Vertigo escapes and starts putting his drugs out on the street again, The Canary will take action - with or without The Arrow.  At the same time, Oliver makes a fateful decision regarding Thea that will change their lives forever even as The League of Assassins make their first move in coming after them.

In the flashbacks, Oliver and Maseo plan their escape from Hong Kong - needing to flee both Chien Na Wei's followers and ARGUS.


Influences

The Green Arrow/Black Canary comics of Andrew Kreisberg


Goofs

As Assistant District Attorney, Laurel has no authority to speak on behalf of a convicted criminal who is speaking to the press and say that he has no comment.  If she was defending him, it would be another story.

Thea's turning on Merlyn seems somewhat abrupt, given that last week she was defending everything he'd done - even The Undertaking - because Merlyn had risked his life to save her during The Seige of Starling City.

For that matter, Roy's agreeing with Thea's sudden change of heart is quite a change from last week when he was the one person on Team Arrow willing to suggest that Malcolm could be reasoned with.

Felicity's analysis of Sara's motivations vs. Laurel's motivations seems hopelessly flawed, with Felicity claiming that Sara wore a mask to hide her demons but that Laurel (whom Felicity has barely interacted with until recently) has some kind of light inside of her. This in spite of Laurel's motivations being entirely driven her inner demons - i..e. rage and guilt over Sara's death

Oliver tells Laurel that there is something he can tell her that she doesn't know. We never do find out what this is, though.


Performances

Willa Holland steals the show this time around, as Thea finally learns the truth about Oliver's secret life.


Trivia

As in the comics, members of the League of Assassins will frequently commit suicide before allowing themselves to be captured alive.  Chase demonstrates this, as he poisons himself before Merlyn can kill him.

Felicity tracks Count Vertigo to Daggett Pharmaceuticals. This may be a reference to Roland Daggett - a corrupt businessman from Batman: The Animated Series. He was the one responsible for creating Clayface.  Daggett also appeared in the movie The Dark Knight Rises, as the businessman who hired Catwoman and Bane as part of a plan to bankrupt Bruce Wayne.


Technobabble

Chlorine Trifluoride is a colorless, poisonous, corrosive and extremely reactive gas.  It is used as a component in rocket fuel and is surpasses the oxidizing abilities of pure oxygen!

According to Merlyn, noblemen frequently used red wine when poisoning someone because the strong smell of the wine can hide the scent of various poisons, particularly cyanide.


Dialogue Triumphs

Illusion Sara: Dinah Laurel Lance.  Selfish Bitch.  You're not a hero.  You're a liar. A fraud. And an addict.

Oliver: Will you think for a second about what it will do to your father if something happened to you?! What you're doing is selfish!
Laurel: Fighting for your city isn't selfish!  It's what a hero would do.
Oliver: You're not a hero.

Oliver: I know that this isn't going to mean much. I've give you no reason to believe me when I say it.. But I've lied all this time to protect you.
(Thea looks at the case holding The Arrow costume)
Thea: You're... you're him.
Oliver: Yeah.
Thea: That night with the- the hoods and... that woman in black... that...
Oliver: Was Ra's Al Ghul's daughter.
Thea: That was you. All those times I got so mad at you for being a flake or telling me something I knew that had to be a lie... you were saving someone's life.
(Thea moves to hug Ollie) 
Thea: Thank you.  Thank you, Ollie.  Thank you.

Laurel: I know what you're going to say. But I risked my life for this city while you were gone. That should earn me some respect.
Oliver: This isn't about respect. And it's not about you risking your life.  I understand that you miss Sara. And I understand that when you go out there like this, all that pain goes away.
Laurel: It's the only time it ever does.
Oliver: And that relief isn't real. It's a drug.
Laurel: If you're implying -
Oliver: You are an addict. And just like with booze and pills, that high you're chasing every night is endangering your life.
Laurel: Go to hell, Oliver! You don't get to play that card with me!  Ever! And if there is anyone who is using adrenaline to hide the pain of real feelings and real life, it's you!

Thea: You smell like smoke.  Korean barbecue?
Ollie: C4.  (pause) Yeah.
Thea: It's nice that we can tell each other this stuff now.
Ollie: It is, actually.

Quentin: Have you heard  from Sara lately?
Laurel: No.  Why?
Quentin: I ran into her a few weeks back and something just felt a little... off.  Then I ran into that friend of her's. You know, the one with the, uh.. boy hair?
Laurel: Sin.
Quentin:  Yeah, Sin. That's it. She said something strange. She said that the woman in black isn't Sara.
Laurel: That doesn't make any sense. 
Quentin: No. (pause) I mean, I just want to talk to her, you know.  Sara or not.

Thea: I felt pretty lame not recognizing my own brother just because he's wearing a hood. I can't believe you knew before I did.
Roy: He saved my life, Thea.
Thea: He saved a lot of peoples lives. (pause) He thinks we need Merlyn's help.
Roy: Hmm.  And what do you think?
Thea: I think I want to get as far away from Malcolm Merlyn as I possibly can.
Roy: Well, there's your answer right there.

Diggle: What I know, Oliver, is that you started something.  Something strong enough to live on past you.  Question is... can you live with what it's become?

Illusion Quentin: You lied to me, Laurel!  Straight to my face!  My own daughter! Sara was my daughter! I deserved to know! I had a right! To grieve! To mourn! Who do you think you are to take that from me, huh? Who do you think you are?!  You keep my own daughter's death a secret just because you think I'm too weak for the truth?!


Dialogue Disasters

Felicity: I think Sara wore her mask just as much to hide her demons as she did to help people. And I don't see that with you. You have a light inside of you that Sara never had. So maybe you should stop trying to be Sara and just be yourself?


Continuity
We see the new Count Vertigo for the first time since A301.

Oliver reveals his secret identity to Thea.

Thea refers to The League of Assassins trying to kill her in A304.

Oliver tells Thea about their mother knowing his secret, which was revealed in A220.

Thea refers to the events of A309 and how Ollie broke the window of her apartment.

Oliver can survive being water-boarded for ten minutes.  Most special forces soldiers do not last three minutes, according to Amanda Waller.

Quentin refers to the events of A311 and A312 regarding his meetings with "Sara" and Sin.

Quentin figures out that Sara is the new Canary on his own.

Laurel tells Quentin about Sara's death.

At the end of the episode, Ollie and Thea travel to Lian Yu.

Maseo turns himself in rather than let Oliver take all of the blame for their escape after he learns of Oliver's capture by ARGUS.

In the flashbacks, Waller escorts Oliver to Starling City.


Untelevised Adventures

Oliver makes reference to running into Laurel in costume sometime between the events of last week's episode and this episode.


The Fridge Factor

Pretty much the everything involving Laurel in this episode is dedicated to showing how she's incompetent as a vigilante as well as being "a selfish bitch, a liar, a fraud and an addict".  And it isn't entirely wrong, Ollie's dislike of vigilantes he hasn't trained to the contrary.  Hell, the only thing that saves her at the end is Vertigo's drug eventually triggering her fight response and her getting the jump on him.

Had Laurel shown any signs of guilt for her past behavior before now, this might have been an effective way of showing that.  As it is, the whole thing comes off as incredibly forced.  At least Laurel finally comes clean to her father at the end but the fact of the matter is that Laurel is still a pretty terrible person whose only reason for being a vigilante is as a means of coping with her guilt and rage over her sister's death.


The Bottom Line

The weakest episode of the series in quite some time. The writing is sub-par, with most of the cast seeming out of character and spouting opinions that are totally the opposite of what they were saying in the last episode. The fact that the episode is called Canaries when most of the action is focused upon Thea and how things change now that she knows all about Ollie's secret life says it all.  Still, at least a lot of the stupider plot points of Season 3 have been resolved (i.e. Laurel's going through increasingly ludicrous ends to hide Sara's death from her feather and Thea's obliviousness to what's going on around her own nightclub.)  and the next episode promises to move the plot along.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 12 - Uprising

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

Oliver Queen is a long way from healing but he knows that his city has need of him. Brick's gang has been in control of The Glades for a week and Team Arrow is fighting a desperate war to try and keep the peace. Help may come from an unlikely source, but will they be willing to accept the aid of Malcolm Merlyn?

In the flashbacks, we see how Merlyn came to kill his first victim - the man he thought had murdered his wife - and how he came to seek out the League of Assassins.


Influences

The Green Arrow/Black Canary comics of Judd Winick and Andrew Kresiberg and every Robin Hood legend where Robin is presumed dead only to miraculously survive.


Goofs

One wonders why the governor of whatever state Starling City is in hasn't seen fit to do something about a mayor giving away land to a crime boss. You'd also think they would have sent in the National Guard to deal with Brick by now.

For that matter, why haven't ARGUS and Amanda Waller taken action, given what happened the last time some bulletproof madman started tying to take control of Starling City?

It seems somewhat unlikely that Captain Lance can recognize Roy Harper as Arsenal and not make the connection between Oliver Queen and The Arrow at this point.

Laurel apparently votes against accepting Merlyn's help, despite arguing in favor of the idea before Roy tells the rest of Team Arrow about Merlyn's saving Thea from Deathstroke's men.

You'd think, even if Kendrick Weller had reasons for not killing Merlyn after Merlyn tried and failed to attack him, he'd have stolen Merlyn's gun.

Why did all of Team Arrow save Laurel go back to the Arrow Cave once Ollie showed up at the fight with Brick's men? Even if things were under control, you'd expect them to be there for Ollie's big speech to the city.


Performances

Honestly, the entire cast get at least one great moment in this episode.  Here's a list of the best.

Paul Blackthorne: Quentin Lance snarking at Roy Harper's efforts to hide his secret identity.

John Barrownman: Every damn moment of every flashback scene.

Colton Haynes: Roy attempting to convince the rest of the team that Merlyn can be trusted in so far as protecting Thea and Starling City are concerned.

David Ramsey: John Diggle telling off Malcom Merlyn.

Willa Holland: Every scene of Thea trying to convince Merlyn that he is better than he thinks he is.

Katie Cassidy: Laurel's moment of inspiration, using the people of The Glades as an army to fight Brick's men.

Emily Bett Rickards: Felicity's speech to Oliver at the end of the episode.

Stephen Amell: Oliver's wordless response to Feliicty's big speech.


Artistry

The script for this episode may be the best ever, with a lot of quotable lines.


Trivia

One of Brick's thugs asks Arsenal if he's "The Red Streak" he saw on TV.  This is a reference to The Flash.

Ollie mentions Tatsu's skill with a sword - a reference to her identity as the heroine Katana in the comics.

We see a blue neon sign on the outside of Ted Grant's gym that resembles his mask as Wildcat in the comics.

In the comics, Merlyn was known as Merlyn The Magician among The League of Assassins for his near-magical accuracy with a bow.


Technobabble

Felicity says walkie-talkies operate on the FRS (family radio service) somewhere between 462-467 MHz. She uses a frequency burst to triangulate their position.


Dialogue Triumphs

Thug: Looks like we got ourselves a real live superhero here. You that Red Streak I've been hearing about on TV?
Arsenal: Wrong city.

Captain Lance: Arsenal? What, are you guys just pulling names out of a hat now?

Arsenal: (voice deepened by voice modulator) Captain Lance.
Captain Lance; Harper.
Arsenal: I'm not sure what you -
Captain Lance: Look, I've seen you wearing a red hoodie. I've seen you shooting arrows at people. You think I don't recognize you with a little extra leather and lace?
Arsenal: Well, I guess I won't be needing this anymore... (turns off voice modulator)

Tatsu: Only the student has a hope of defeating the master.

Laurel: Do you think that you could - I don't know - use those signals to locate Brick?
Felicity: You haven't been down here that much.

(To Thea, as he finds her leaning on the rail of the balcony overlooking Verdant)
Roy: You stole my idea. I was going to lean here and wish my problems away.

Roy: Oliver is gone. And there's only so much the four of us can do. I just found this out but ...the night of the siege Malcolm saved Thea's life. He didn't have an ulterior motive. He didn't have an agenda. He just wanted to protect what he cared about. He cares about this city.  He just went about it in a completely unimaginable way. So just like Thea did on the night of the siege, we need him.
Felicity: I can't think of a world or a universe or a plane of existence where Oliver would agree to any of this.
Roy: Well, Oliver isn't here anymore, so we need to stop pretending like his is.  We need to make decisions on our own. I genuinely have no idea how else we're suppose to stop Brick!
Felicity: And I genuinely don't know how we live with ourselves if we go about doing it this way!

Merlyn: Has the jury reached a verdict?
John: It has. Guilty.
Merlyn: I guess that means 'no' then.
John: You were expecting something different, Merlyn?
Merlyn: What?  That you'd have some measure of common sense?  Yes!
John: You really thought we'd throw in with you? After what you did to Thea? To Sara? To Oliver?
Merlyn: To save your precious city? Yes.
John: Well, that's the thing. Once we let the ends justify the means, that's just the first step.
Merlyn: Towards what?
John: Becoming you.

Thea: You protected me! Risked your life for me! Just like my mother did!
Merlyn: Thea, I know you want to believe there's more to me than a killer. But the fact is, there's not. That man died with his wife.

Laurel: We made the right choice, right?  By refusing Merlyn's help?
John: I don't know if we made the right choice, Laurel, but we definitely did the right thing.

Felicity: Is what we're doing crazy?
Arsenal: I've learned it's better to ask that question when I'm not wearing a mask.

Brick: My two favorite trick-or-treaters. Look at that - Didn't anybody tell you Halloween was three months ago?
Laurel: Daniel Brickwell....
Arsenal: You have failed this city.
Brick: And you seem to have failed in your maths. Can't you see that there's a lot more of us than there is of you?
(Brick's men line up behind him.)
Sin: Guess again, Brick-head!
(Sin, Wildcat and the people of The Glades walk up behind Arsenal and Laurel)
Brick: Is this little parade supposed to mean something?  I'll tell you what it means. It means that the population of The Glades is gonna plummet severely. Get 'em!

Laurel: (To Ted) You're going to be fine. It's okay.
Ted: It's a good thing you fight better than you lie.

Arrow: Drop the gun! No more death!
Merlyn: That's easy for you to say. You just returned from the grave.

Merlyn: Thea will never forgive me.
Arrow: Then start giving her reasons to.

Arrow: I've been gone and I'm sorry. Sorry for what the city has had to endure in my absence. But you did endure it!  And the evidence of that struggle is lying at my feet. You did not fail this city! And I promise I will not fail you by leaving it again!

Thea: Are you okay?
Merlyn: I am, in fact. I didn't do it.
Thea: For me?
Merlyn: For me. But because of you.

Ollie: I'm sorry.
Felicity: For what?  Maybe you could be a little more specific? For letting us believe you were dead? For weeks? Or for abandoning every principle you claim to have by getting into bed with Malcolm Merlyn?
(Ollie tries to step forward but Felicity shakes her head)
Felicity: Uh-uh.
Ollie: That's not why you're upset...
Felicity: While you were gone, for almost a month... I allowed myself to... fantasize.. to dream that maybe, just maybe, Merlyn was wrong. That you were alive. And that you would come back. And that you would be different. That almost dying would give you a new perspective on life. That you would just do things differently!
Ollie: Things between us, you mean...
Felicity: Before you left, the last thing you said to me... was that you loved me. Now you're back. And the first thing you tell me is that you're working with the man who turned your sister - a woman you're supposed to love - into a killer, who killed a woman you used to love! I don't want to be a woman that you love.


Continuity

As the episode opens, it has been one week since the SCPD were pulled out of The Glades.  Halloween was three months earlier and Oliver Queen has been gone for nearly a month.

After watching Laurel beat up several thugs, Arsenal notes that "Grant must be some teacher."  Ted Grant was last seen in A306.

We see Sara and Roy's friend Sin for the first time since A220.

Merlyn believed his wife's killer was a man named Kendrick Weller.

Felicity refers to herself and the rest of The Arrow's support team as Team Arrow - a nickname she first used in A212.

Quentin Lance refers to The Arrow's support team as The Hood Squad.

Danny Brick used the same gun to kill Alderman Ford in A311 and Rebecca Merlyn - Malcolm Merlyn's wife.

Rebecca Merlyn was killed 21 years earlier.

Malcolm Merlyn planted a hidden camera in the Arrow cave.  It is through this he overhears that Brick was the real killer of his wife.

Thea tells Roy about how Malcolm saved her during the events of A223.

Brick killed Rebecca Merlyn to gain membership in The Orchid Bay Butchers.

Sin tells Captain Lance that another woman is impersonating Sara.

Oliver tells Thea that he was in Bludhaven and in jail for the month he was gone.

Oliver asks Merlyn to train him so that he can fight and kill Ra's Al Ghul. Merlyn agrees.

We find out the origin of Merlyn's League of Assassins' name: Al Su-her - The Magician.  It is because he performed slight-of-hand magic (the coin behind the ear trick) to amuse Nyssa Al Ghul as a girl.


Location

The cabin where Tatsu cares for Oliver's injuries.


The Fridge Factor

Ted Grant is seemingly killed by Brick in order to give Laurel one more person to feel guilty about dying in order to push her transformation into Black Canary.


The Winick Factor

Granting that there's a long tradition of corrupt or incompetent politicians running Star City in the comics, it still seems somewhat unlikely that any mayor hoping to be reelected or avoid serious issues with the state or federal government would ever hand over part of their city to a crime boss.  It seems even less unlikely that the police officers would agree to such a demand.  Especially with Quentin Lance in charge.


The Bottom Line

Logically, very little of the scenario for this trilogy of episodes makes sense.  But the cast sells it through sheer charisma and the snappy dialogue more than makes up for the holes in the plot of this third act.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 23 - Unthinkable

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

The good news is STAR Labs' cure for Mirakuru works, as a fully-recovered Roy Harper proves.  The bad news is that Amanda Waller is calling in an airstrike to destroy Starling City.  And the only back-up Oliver Queen has to save his hometown are kill-happy members of the League of Assassins.  As John Diggle and Lyla Michaels race to ARGUS HQ to try and buy the rest of Team Arrow more time, Oliver Queen will have to make several unthinkable choices.  For Slade Wilson has promised to kill the woman he loves... whoever she might be.

In the flashbacks, Oliver Queen confronts Slade Wilson for the first time.  Will Oliver choose to save his former friend?  Or will circumstances force his hand to take another path?


Influences

Green Arrow Year One (The flashback sequences), Green Arrow: Quiver (The trailer for The Flash), Green Arrow: Heading Into The Light (Green Arrow and his allies fighting a running battle as supervillains destroy his city), Green Arrow: Road To Jericho (Deathstroke takes the woman Oliver Queen loves as a hostage) and David Goyer's SuperMax (a high-security super-villain prison, contained on an island like Alcatraz).


Artistry

Both of the battles between Slade and Oliver - the one five years ago and the one in the present - are inter-cut beautifully.  The fight choreography is amazing and well-shot by the cameramen - a welcome change from other action shows where the cameras are right in the actors' faces and the action is too poorly lit to see anything.


Trivia

As in 221 and 222, this episode does not begin with the standard "My name is Oliver Queen" introduction.

The group of soldiers Amanda Waller sent to take control of The Giordano tunnel out of Starling City is referred to as Easy Company.  This was also the name of a fictional WWII US Army infantry unit, headed by Sgt. Rock in the comic Our Army At War.  The commander of this Easy Company is Sgt. Gomez.

The Giordano Tunnel is named after Dick Giordano - an artist and inker at DC Comics, who later became Vice President and Executive Editor.  He won the 1970 Shazam award for Best Inker for his work with Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series that majorly redefined the character of Oliver Queen.  Among his many creative works, he also drew a Black Canary mini-series, two issues of Birds of Prey and one Green Arrow annual.

When Diggle and Lyla break into ARGUS HQ, it is 52 minutes until the time of impact for Waller's drone - another New 52 reference!

Deadshot makes use of Amanda Waller's nickname from the comics - "The Wall".

The trailer for The Flash TV series contains a callback to Green Arrow: Quiver by Kevin Smith.  That story revealed that Oliver Queen and Barry Allen used to amuse themselves by "racing" Ollie's arrows against Barry's super-speed, with Barry having to catch Ollie's arrow before it hit its target.

The "Super-Max" prison that Ollie leaves Slade locked in is a reference to a movie script by Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer.  Originally titled SuperMax, the title was changed to Green Arrow: Escape From SuperMax and would have detailed Green Arrow being framed for murder, locked in an inescapable prison for super-villains and having to escape to clear his name.  The design for the prison was inspired by Alcatraz - an island prison - which seems similar to the jail that ARGUS seems to have created to house Slade Wilson and - presumably - other super-criminals that cannot be kept in a normal jail.

Unlike previous episodes, Roy Harper seems to be competent with a bow in this episode.


Technobabble

Oliver has a number of "Injection Arrows" which can be custom-fitted with any liquid - in this case, the Mirakuru cure.


Dialogue Triumphs

Thea: If you're going to kill me, just.... get it over with.
Merlyn: Kill you?  Why?  Because you shot me?  I'm glad you did!
Thea: ... you're sick!
Merlyn: Perhaps.

Sara: To fight the unthinkable, you have to be willing to do the unthinkable.

Ollie: How are you feeling?
Roy: Ready to serve up some payback.
Ollie: Then remember your training.  Remember everything you've learned.
*Ollie hands Roy a box.  It contains a mask, like Ollie's but red instead of green*
Roy: Are.. are you for real?
Ollie: Someone... a friend... once told me that if you survive a crucible, you grow the stronger for it.   This is to remind you of that.

Quentin: Look, I know you said you're trying another way and I respect that.  But Slade Wilson and his men - they're monsters!  And monsters, they need to be destroyed!  You've killed before.  Tonight, I suggest you get back in the habit.
*Quentin leaves the room*
Felicity: He's wrong.
Ollie: He's right.  I've lost everything because I'm fighting Slade Wilson with one hand tied behind my back.  The man murdered my mother.  I have to kill him.
Felicity: You told me you had a choice.  That years ago you could have cured Slade but you chose to kill him instead.  This isn't happening because you're not willing to be a killer.  It's happening because you were one.
Ollie: You're right.  That's how this started.  That's how it has to end.  The only move he's left for me is to kill him.  I can't cure him!  I can't capture him! I can't even out-think him!
Felicity: Then don't!  Make him out-think you.

Ollie: Slade took Laurel because he wants to kill the woman I love.
Felicity: I know!  So -
Ollie: - so he took the wrong woman.
Felicity: ... oh.
Ollie: ... I love you.  (pauses) Do you understand?
Felicity: ...yes.

Deadshot: What the hell is this?  Early parole?
Diggle: Waller's looking to bomb Starling City.  We need your help to stop her.
Deadshot: As much as I'd love to show The Wall what we think of her, there's still the little matter of "tick tick BOOM!" Okay?  We've all got minature bombs on our spines!
Lyla: You'll have to trust us.
Diggle: And Lawton?  No dropping bodies.
Deadshot: Yeah, sure... take the fun out of it.

Ollie: It's over, Slade!  Your army is broken!
Slade: And I pity them.  But once again, you miss the point.  I have the one you love.  You're going to meet me where I say.  Otherwise I am going to kill her.
Ollie: Yeah, you do what you have to.  I'm done playing your games!
Slade: You are done when I say you are done! I was surprised I thought you had a thing for stronger women.  But now that I've met her I can see the appeal.  She is quite lovely... your Felicity.

Slade: When her body lies at your feet... her blood wet against your skin...THEN you will know how I feel!
Ollie: I already know how you feel.  I know what it's like to hate.  To want revenge.  And now I know how it feels to see my enemy so distracted that he doesn't see the real danger is right in front of him.
*Felicity stabs Slade with a syringe full of the Mirakuru cure*

Nyssa: I know the power of a father's love and I would die before I let anything happen to your daughter.
Quentin: Well, here's hoping.

Thea: Roy - I'm sorry.  I made a mistake.  I thought I could still be with you.  I thought I could still be Thea Queen.  But Thea Queen was trusting.  And I don't trust you.  Or anyone.  Not anymore.  Thea Queen was also weak and no matter what it takes I will be strong.  Don't try to find me. You won't.  Even I don't know where I'm going.  I only know one thing.  I am never coming back.

Slade: Where am I?
Ollie: As far away from the world as I could get you.  Where you can't hurt anyone ever again.
Slade: That's your weakness, kid.  You don't have the guts to kill me.
Ollie: No.  But I have the strength to let you live.
Slade: Oh, you're a killer.  I know.  I created you.  You've killed plenty.
Ollie: Yes, I have.  You helped turn me into a killer when I needed to be one.  And I'm alive today because of you.  I made it home, because of you.  And I got to see my family again.  But over the past year I've needed to be more.  And I faltered.  But then I stopped you.  Without killing.  You helped me become a hero, Slade.  Thank you.
Slade: *pounding on the bars* You think I won't get out of here?!  You think I won't kill those you care for?!
Ollie: No, I don't.  Because you're in Purgatory.
Slade: *pouning on the bars* I keep my promises, kid!  I keep my promises!


Continuity

We see Lyla Michaels for the first time since 216.  She flies to Starling City to save Diggle in an ARGUS helicopter, armed with a bazooka.

It is revealed that Thea did shoot Malcolm Merlyn at the end of 222.  It is further revealed that Merlyn was wearing a Kevlar vest.

Merlyn refers to the events of 123 where Tommy pulled a gun on him but did not fire it.

Felicity lies about Roy having been out-cold since his kidnapping in 219, avoiding talking about the events of 220.
Nyssa al Ghul - last seen in 213-  shows up with six members of the League of Assassins.  They agree to help protect Starling City in exchange for Sara rejoining them.

Felicity graduated from MIT in 2009.  No word on what her precise degree was in or what level it was at.

Ollie refers to what Sebastian Blood told him about crucibles in 204.  After some hesitation, he refers to Blood as a friend.

Nyssa seems to kill Isabel Rochev.  It is unclear, however, if Rochev was given the Mirakuru cure before Nyssa delivered what was seemingly a death blow.

Despite Ollie's instructions to sink the Amazo after waiting one hour, Anatoly waits two hours before launching his last torpedo.

Thea tells Roy about how Sin told her about how he was injected with "some drug" as Roy begins to tell her the truth.  This happened back in 220.

Sara is washed out to sea again as the Amazo sinks, in the exact same way she was washed overboard as The Queen's Gambit sank in The Pilot.

Waller reveals that Lyla Michaels is pregnant with John Diggle's child.  The gender of the child is not revealed and Diggle doesn't choose to reveal this information to Ollie and Felicity later.

Flashbacks during Ollie's confrontation of Slade reveal that Ollie found the hidden cameras Slade placed in Queen Manor during 215 and that he passed Felicity a syringe full of the Mirakuru cure while confessing his love in front of one of these cameras earlier in this episode, hoping that Slade would miss the slight-of-hand due to his fixation on killing Ollie's true love.

We find out that Ollie defeated Slade five years earlier after Slade became trapped under a piece of the Amazo as it was sinking.  He taunted Ollie, who had the Mirakuru cure in one hand and an arrow in the over, and told Ollie that even if he was cured he would still kill Ollie's loved ones.  Ollie drove the arrow into Slade's eye by hand.

Sara leaves with Nyssa and the other assassins on the ship The Nordic Pearl.  She gives Laurel the leather jacket from her Canary costume, saying that she thinks it will look good on her.

Quentin collapses shortly after Sara leaves.  A flashback suggests he suffered some kind of internal injury during his fight with Slade's men earlier in the episode when Laurel was kidnapped.  He complains about a pain in his stomach before he collapses and that he can't breathe afterward.  His lower abdomen also shows signs of bruising.

Thea discovered a bow and quiver that Roy had hidden in his room while packing.  This spurs her to leave Roy and leave Starling City with Merlyn.  She leaves Roy a Dear John letter saying she is leaving town and never coming back, saying nothing about Merlyn's return.

Slade is imprisoned in a new facility built by ARGUS on Purgatory island.  Diggle calls it Super-Max.

Ollie knows how to fly a plane.


Location

In the flashbacks, it is revealed that Ollie was taken to Hong Kong after being rescued from the sinking Amazo.


The Fridge Factor

Rochev goes down far too easily and her death - if she truly is dead - is rather anti-climactic.

Laurel doesn't do anything apart from be a hostage for the entire episode.  This only serves to make the scene at the end where Sara gives Laurel her leather jacket and says she thinks she can fill it even more painful to watch.


The Bottom Line

A great conclusion to a great season.  With the possible exception of Detective Lance, there are no fridgings and no unnecessary melodrama heading into Season Three.  October cannot come soon enough.