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Arrow Recap And Review – Season 3, Episode 22: This Is Your Sword

By Nick Tylwalk

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We’ve already had one wedding on Arrow this season, so what’s one more?

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Well, when both participants are unwilling, it’s not quite the same. Oliver Queen, or Al Sah-him, as Ra’s al Ghul prefers to call him, is arranged to be wed to Nyssa al Ghul. Can Team Arrow stop them? Will there be anything left of Team Arrow after this week?

Heck, I’m just as in the dark about all this as you. Let’s watch “This is Your Sword” and see if we get any answers.

On-the-Mark Recap: So how did Ra’s al Ghul get the Alpha/Omega anyway? We find out right away when he reveals to Oliver that Maseo gave it to him.

In Starling City, the remnants of Team Arrow are still on the job. Diggle get lured into what appears to be a trap by a cocky criminal, but the smile is wiped off his face by the Canary Cry. Diggle and Black Canary easily take down the whole gang, but Felicity Smoak has to talk John out of beating one of them to death.

Later, they gather and talk Diggle’s anger issues. He’s still justifiably pissed about Oliver kidnapping his wife, and possibly in denial. Speaking of denial, Diggle and Laurel call Felicity out on her belief that “her” Oliver died the night he joined the League of Assassins. She says she has to believe that.

As Thea Queen packs, she talks to her dad, Malcolm Merlyn, about going to seek out Roy Harper. He’s surprisingly not that disapproving of her leaving to find him, and she wouldn’t be likely to listen even if he was.

In Nanda Parbat, the pre-wedding dinner gets awkward when Ra’s talks about how he wants Nyssa to bear Oliver’s children. That would mean they’d have to … yeah, I don’t see that happening. Oliver says he needs to clear his head by going for a walk alone, and much to our surprise, he meets Malcolm Merlyn on the outskirts.

The two men talk about how the timetable has been pushed up something fierce, with Merlyn figuring Ollie would have months as the new Ra’s al Ghul to dismantle the League from within. They need help, and while Malcolm correctly points out that he doesn’t have much credibility with Team Arrow, Oliver thinks he knows someone his friends would trust. Maseo happens upon the campfire, but Malcolm is already gone, and Oliver says he was merely alone, thinking.

Thea arrives at her destination and finds “Jason.” They briefly speak in code, Roy explains he had to do what he did, and they leave to talk somewhere else. And, uh, maybe do other stuff.

Felicity goes to visit Ray Palmer, who is still tinkering with his Atom suit. He has Felicity sign something after she says she’d rather not talk about Oliver, and we see that the form says “Transfer of Ownership.” However, she never sees that because she gets a call from Merlyn.

Oliver asks Maseo about the Alpha/Omega, and he says he grabbed it from the truck before they blew it up in Hong Kong. Upon mention that he could be released from his oath to the League once Oliver ascends to lead it, Maseo simply says that there is no escape from the prison he has made for himself. I think I heard that in a Creed song once.

Malcolm meets with all of Team Arrow, and sure enough, they aren’t trying to hear anything he has to say. He introduces Tatsu, but even she has a hard time convincing them that Oliver has hatched a secret plan and only let Merlyn in on it. She does leave them video evidence of the Alpha/Omega attack on Hong Kong, though, so they can decide for themselves. Malcolm says that if they want to help, they need to be at Ferris Air by sunrise.

Back to Roy’s place, where he tells Thea that he’ll have to move on soon. He hasn’t been crimefighting at night, and he’s admittedly bored. She brought his Arsenal costume so he can change that, and she also brought something else to give him. Use your imagination!

As Team Arrow watches video of the Hong Kong incident, Diggle says that if there’s even a chance that could happen to Starling, he has to sign up. Laurel is in too, but not Felicity. She says she simply can’t go back to Nanda Parbat.

Ra’s drops in on his daughter, hoping to persuade her that the wedding won’t be so bad by showing her some jewelry he gave to her mother. That doesn’t work, so how about some threats instead?

And for a final plea to Felicity, here’s Tatsu. While she says there’s nothing she could say to convince Felicity of the truth, she appeals to her hart instead. Tatsu regrets not even trying to save Maseo from the League, and she begs Felicity not to repeat that mistake.

At sunrise, Tatsu shows Malcolm her katana. Katana, yeah! All of Team Arrow shows up for the flight, including Felicity, though she vows to expose Malcolm’s existence to the world if he double-crosses them.

It doesn’t take long for the team to run into trouble once they’re in Nanda Parbat. You know what that means … big fight scene! A bunch of League assassins versus our heroes, all while Katana and Maseo square off. The plane intended to deliver the Alpha/Omega is the target, and while it lifts off, Felicity had some “Atomic” back-up come along. Ray takes out the plane but crashes hard in the process. Meanwhile, Maseo thinks he has Katana defeated and tells her to say hi to Akio for him. She tells him to say hi for himself and runs him through. Maseo thanks his wife for releasing him from his prison. Tears follow. Alas, it appears it was all for naught, as Ra’s anticipated trouble of some sort and still has the Alpha/Omega. So, surrender or die, I guess.

As our heroes are all led away in chains, Oliver tells Felicity to trust him. He also says that if any of them talk, they will all die. Ra’s lines them all up and asks about who spilled the beans on his plan, and Tatsu says it was Maseo. Convenient that it was the dead guy. One good thing is that heirs to the Demon usually grant mercy on their wedding nights, so it appears they aren’t going to die just yet.

Back in an undisclosed location, Roy asks Thea what’s really up. She fills him in on what Oliver had to do, but Roy replies that he doesn’t think she can run away from this. He just wants what’s best for Thea.

Felicity can’t believe Oliver is going to marry Nyssa, while everyone else is worried about, you know, getting out alive. Malcolm asks to speak to Ra’s, while Oliver has the guards bring him Diggle.

Their reunion doesn’t go well, as Oliver admits that kidnapping Lyla was his idea to prove his loyalty to Ra’s. John says that Oliver has lost his friendship and his trust. And like that, the conversation is over, because Ra’s has demanded that Diggle be taken back to the others.

Elsewhere, Malcolm is busy being the weasel we all know he is, selling Oliver out to Ra’s al Ghul. He offers his fealty to the Demon’s Head again, because he’d do anything to save his own skin. When confronted about these allegations, Oliver sticks to his guns, pointing out that he’s done everything asked of him so far. That seems to be working.

Thea wakes the next morning to find that Roy is gone. He’s left her a letter explaining that a life on the run is not what Oliver intended for her, and while he was grateful for the Arsenal suit, red was always more her color.

Things haven’t gotten any better in Nanda Parbat. Reasoning that Katana has already been innoculated against the Alpha/Omega, Ra’s has her taken somewhere else. He then has Oliver toss what sure looks like the bioweapon into the room, and despite his friends’ cries, he has the room sealed. Cold-blooded!

Later, Ra’s tells Oliver that by the end of the night, he’ll be the Son of the Demon. A strangely semi-traditional wedding ceremony follows, with Nyssa doing her own version of not holding her peace by trying to stab Ollie. He stops her, and it looks like they are betrothed. We see all of Team Arrow succumb to the gas at the same time, with Diggle the last one to fall. Well, it was a fun series!

Just kidding, it can’t end this way. Right?

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong: It’s chaos in the streets with frightened and sick people trying in vain to evacuate, but Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu manage to make it to a pharmacy. Akio can’t be vaccinated though, since he’s already been exposed. Even though Maseo says it’s unlikely there’s a cure, he has to try finding General Shrieve and seeing if there is. Ollie says he’ll help.

Shrieve’s base has been reinforced, but remember who we’re talking about here. Oliver takes out the guards with his bow, and they find Shrieve. He’s not too helpful until they shoot him in the shoulder, at which point he gives up the cure. They decide to take the general with them to help them administer it.

They return to Akio, but despite their best efforts, he passes away. As it turns out, there is no cure, and the stuff in the vial was insulin since he’s diabetic. He is happy he found them though, since he hates loose ends. And there are red dots on their chests, so … Uh-oh.

Favorite Moment: Not too many feel good moments in this one, given the seriousness and the stakes. Even the seeming return of Arsenal faded away fast. So I’ll go with the Atom as insurance, which worked out well for at least a moment.

Final Thought: Obviously we know that Team Arrow hasn’t been killed off, and that Oliver is playing a more dangerous game than ever out of necessity. But man, it’s going to be tricky for this all to end even semi-happily, and his relationship with his friends may be damaged for good. Both Katana and Speedy might have a hand in the finale, so it could be an awesome night for females kicking ass. Can’t wait!

Next: Previously, on Arrow: our recap of Al Sah-him

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