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All The Bombshells – Recapping Arrow 3.22: "This Is Your Sword"

By Rich Epstein

Wow, this week's Arrow isn't wasting any time with the bombshells. It turns out that Maseo Yamashiro (Karl Yune) handed the Alpha and Omega virus to Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable). Apparently after watching the virus destroy his city and kill his son, Maseo decided to turn it over to an organization called the League of Assassins. Because surely it would be safe in their hands. That's only part of the reveal, however, as Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) has a reaction to hearing this. Gone for just a moment is the stoicism that we have see from Al Sah-Him, replaced with the shock of a man who cannot believe what his friend did. It seems as though Oliver is not as dedicated as Ra's thinks.

We return to Starling City to see John Diggle (David Ramsey), chasing after a gang member. He turns a corner to run into a whole lot of gang members with guns at the ready. Only John wasn't caught in the trap, he was setting the trap. He puts in earplugs just in time to avoid getting disoriented by the Canary Cry. He and Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) quickly defeat the 8 or so gang members, only Diggle doesn't stop beating them. This is probably the first time I have seen Diggle lose control as he just keeps whaling on an unconscious thug until Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) calms him down over the radio.

Thea Queen (Willa Holland) is packing her bags to go see Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) as her father, Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) tries halfheartedly to talk her out of it. It doesn't work and she leaves.

It's time for a pre-wedding feast, only Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law) doesn't feel much like eating. She still considers Oliver to be a "pretender" to the throne and isn't too happy with her father for ordering her killed and then forcing her to marry a man she hates. Some people can be so touchy. She tells him that she will never bear Oliver's child, when Ra's tells her that she will, and "you will have no more say in it than your mother did." Wow. Oliver looks more than a little uncomfortable. I don't know, maybe hearing that your father in law raped your mother in law, and expects you to do the same to his daughter could be a little jarring. On the other hand…nope. No other hand. That is a pretty messed up family that he is joining.

Oliver says he needs to go for a walk to think about the marriage, and turns down the offer of protection. Is a secret meeting afoot? As Oliver gets up, Nyssa grabs a knife from the table. For Oliver or for herself?

Oliver is attacked on the way, and handles it with ease. As Malcolm Merlyn takes off his mask, Oliver tells him that he's late. Do they really need to meet in person? Can't they have some kind of a dead drop, or a hidden radio of some kind Oliver can dig up to communicate? It just seems to me that this is a big risk. If they are seen together for even a second, it's all over. The reveal was a bit clunky. Oliver going for a walk and refusing an escort made it pretty darn obvious. It's a little surprising that he's meeting with Merlyn, only because we just saw Merlyn with Thea. How long does it take to get from Starling City to Nanda Parbat, anyway? Is Nanda Parbat actually a suburb of Starling City? Nyssa and Merlyn seem to be able to make the round trip in like an hour.

Oliver tells Malcolm Ra's' plan, only it is happening much sooner than either of them expected. Oliver says that they will need help, but Malcolm tells him that he did too good of a job convincing his friends he had gone dark. Oliver says that he knows somebody that they will trust. So, it's either Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) or Roy given that they are the only two that weren't a part of last week's mayhem. I'd bet on Ray at this point, as I think they will keep the two plots (stopping Ra's and the Thea/Roy reunion) separate.

Flashback…Akio's immune system is not strong enough for the inoculation to work. He speaks in Japanese to Tatsu Yamashiro (Riley Fukushima) and she begins to sing to him. Maseo wants to go after Shrieve, in the unlikely hope that he has a cure. Oliver agrees to help.

Thea arrives (somewhere) looking for "Jason." He's working as a mechanic, and they go back to his place to "talk."

Felicity arrives at Palmer Technologies and talks to Ray. He offers to talk about Oliver, telling her she is a friend and he will always be there for her, but she doesn't want to cross that line. He asks her to sign some papers which she does, without reading them. He tells her it's "just some corporate stuff." Yeah, I'm not buying that. I have the distinct feeling that something major just happened, seeing as how shows like this never show somebody signing papers without reading them unless it's important. Felicity gets a text from Malcolm and goes off to meet him. The camera pans to the papers that Felicity just signed, and it's a transfer of ownership for Palmer Technologies. Damn. She breaks his heart and he gives her a billion dollar company? Boy has got it bad for her. Either that or they need to get him to leave Starling so that he can star in a new show.

Oliver_MaseoMaseo and Oliver have a heart to heart about the virus. Maseo had grabbed it from the truck they took out. It was supposed to be revenge against Shrieve (how?), but he used it to get into the League instead. Oliver asks if he would go back to Tatsu if he could, but Maseo won't answer. Instead, he says that there is no escape from the prison he is in.

The Scooby Gang is together, summoned by Malcolm Merlyn. He knows that they won't believe him, but he needs to tell them the truth about Oliver. He brought along a friend of Oliver's…Tatsu. Ok, so I was wrong. But why exactly would they believe her? Have they ever met her? Why would they believe a complete stranger? This makes absolutely no sense. She tells them that she saved Oliver when he was stabbed by Ra's, tells them about Akio and the virus. Malcolm gives them the data on the virus, and tells them to meet him at the airport if they are coming.

Diggle, Felicity and Laurel are looking at Merlyn's info, including the Hong Kong attack. Apparently the Chinese government said it was a chemical spill, that's why nobody ever heard about it. Funny, I just kind of assumed that Arrow takes place in a universe where there had been a terrorist attack in Hong Kong. They argue about whether to believe Merlyn, when Felicity points out that he has lied so many times already it should be a drinking game. Diggle is willing to go, and Laurel agrees, but Felicity can never go back to Nanda Parbat.

Ras_NyssaRa's tells Nyssa about her mother, Ameena Raatko. It basically came down to "I saw her, I wanted her, I took her." Ted Mosley's story was a little bit better. He gives Nyssa an incredible diamond necklace that he had given to her mother when she was born. Nyssa tells him that she won't marry Oliver because of some trinket, so he tells her that she will "marry al Sah-Him because it is my will. You defy that and I will see you suffer the pain of a thousand deaths." Just a reminder, that is his daughter.

Tatsu talks to Felicity about Oliver, and how he spoke of her after his fall. Felicity believes that Oliver is all in on Ra's and there is nothing left to fight for. Tatsu tells the story of how she didn't even try to fight for Maseo and asks Felicity not to make the same mistake. It works, and they all prepare to depart for Nanda Parbat.

Gang2They arrive, with Tatsu in full Katana costume, and make their way to the plane Ra's is using to reach Starling. Malcolm tells everyone to be quiet, and quickly shoots someone that nobody else had heard approaching. He kills a second Assassin, but now they are coming from everywhere. Diggle shoots a few down, and Malcolm tells Tatsu and Felicity to head for the plane so that Felicity can sabotage it. Malcolm and Laurel each take on a few Assassins while John continues shooting. They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves (man these Assassins are awful), when Maseo appears and warns them to surrender so that they might live. Tatsu confronts him, and he says that Maseo is but a memory. All of the Assassins are killed, except for Maseo, who goes one on one with his wife.

Felicity's tablet is shot as the plane takes off, but luckily she had some insurance come along. Insurance as in a guy in a metal flying suit (that really isn't Iron Man, they swear) and he takes out the plane before crashing back to Earth. Luckily, he is ok.

Meanwhile, Maseo defeats Tatsu, only I kind of wonder what the point is since all of the other Assassins were defeated and the plane was brought down. He tells Tatsu to send his regards to Akio and raises his arms high to deliver the death blow. Big mistake. She uses the time to roll up to him and stab him through the chest. He thanks her for releasing him as he dies in her arms.

Ra's al Ghul appears, with the rest of the League and Oliver. He tells them that they have failed. Ra's shows them that the bioweapon wasn't on the plane, and Oliver tells his friends to surrender or die. So, wait a second. Did Ra's just let a whole lot of his Assassins die fighting the heroes for no reason? I guess it really doesn't matter since they were pretty useless anyway.

TheGangOliver leads his friends through the corridor to Ra's. Felicity tries to ask him what is going on, but he tells her that if they speak they will all die. They need to trust him. Ra's wants to know how they knew of the virus. Tatsu blames it on Maseo. Ra's promises to show mercy as it is the eve of the wedding. Some way for Felicity to find out about Oliver and Nyssa. Meanwhile, Luca Brasi thanks Ra's for inviting him to the wedding.

Roy and Thea are in bed, and Roy wants to know why she came. She tells him what happened and that things slip away easier when she is with him. He doesn't think she can run from her problems. Says the man who is literally running away from his life in Starling.

Diggle is brought before Oliver, who commands the guards to leave. Diggle is a little pissed about how Oliver kidnapped Lyla and left his daughter alone last week. Can't say I blame him. Diggle tells Oliver that he lost his trust and his respect before the guards burst in to say that Ra's has demanded that Diggle be returned to the cell.

Flashback Oliver and Maseo make it to General Shrieve, who can't be bothered to look up from his desk at the armed intruders. They demand the cure, but Shrieve only talks about why he did it. As they continue to threaten, he tells them he has a cure, but only he knows the ratio to give it. They drag him back with them.

Malcolm_RasMalcolm is brought before Ra's, who seems ready to kill him. So, Malcolm does the only thing that we could expect from him, he gives up Oliver to try to save himself. Oliver enters, and Ra's confronts him. Oliver points out that he has killed for Merlyn, pushed his friends and family away beyond recovery. Ra's promises that they will see who is telling the truth.

Thea wakes in Roy's apartment, alone. She goes down to the garage, but he isn't there. He left her a note. He tells her how she made him want to be a better person, but he wants more for her than a life on the run. He also tells her that he left the suit for her. So, I guess Speedy is born.

Malcolm is led back to the cells, where Ra's promises mercy. His death will be a lot faster than that which was originally planned. Ra's throws the virus into the cell, and orders Oliver to seal the room. He does.

Back in Hong Kong, they are too late. They make it back to Akio with the cure, but he is already dead. It didn't matter anyway, because there was no cure. It was a trap, Shrieve's soldiers followed the duo back to where Tatsu was.

WeddingOliver's wedding is at hand, as his friends feel the effects of the virus in the cell. Nyssa has other ideas and tries to stab Oliver, but he is too quick for her and the wedding continues. As the union is sealed, Oliver's friends appear to die.

DeadOk, I think we can all agree that they probably aren't really dead, right? I mean, you don't usually kill off all of your supporting characters in the penultimate episode. Of course, the preview they ran literally seconds after the episode ended killed even the tiniest bit of suspense.

Another good episode as Arrow wraps up its third season. Ever since Ra's was revealed as the big bad the season has been rolling. We're even to the point where Laurel isn't ruining things. Of course, it's a bit silly to watch her fight off three or four trained League Assassins, but still. There were a bunch of other things that made no sense, but that's kind of par for the course with this show. The action and plot just move along so fast that you just get swept along and forget about the plot holes. Most of the stuff I complained about in this article, I had completely forgotten about until reading my notes.

So, time for the predictions of the season finale…we know Barry will be there to help, and that Oliver's friends are alive. My guess…Oliver switched the vial with some kind of sleeping gas. We also know that there will be four vials of the virus in the city. My guess…Barry tracks down one. Ray finds and disarms another. Diggle and Laurel take the third. Merlyn flees to save his own skin. That will leave Oliver to fight Ra's for the final vial. He will win, with help from Nyssa. We won't have a happy ending though, as too much damage has been done. The League of Assassins will kneel before Oliver as the new Ra's, but his friends will turn their backs on him, no longer able to trust him.

Will any of that be right? Probably not. Whatever happens will probably be insane and incredibly fun.

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


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Hannah Means ShannonAbout Hannah Means Shannon

Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Independent comics scholar and former English Professor. Writing books on magic in the works of Alan Moore and the early works of Neil Gaiman.
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