Arrow "This Is Your Sword" Review

Wedding Bells are in the air as Al Sah Him is about the wed the woman of his dreams, his ex-girlfriend's ex-girlfriend! (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Oliver/Al Sah-him (Stephen Amell) finishes his training and is left with two final tasks to become the next Ra’s al Ghul. Ra’s (guest star Matt Nable) threatens Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law) and delivers some shocking news. Meanwhile, Malcolm (John Barrowman) makes a surprising offer to Team Arrow and Thea (Willa Holland) goes to see Roy (Colton Haynes).

High Points:

• Diggle and Canary should team up more often.
• Dinner with the Al Ghuls is not as fun as dinner with the Diggles.
• Oliver isn't as brainwashed as we thought. Having him have to team up with one of his worst enemies, Merlyn, to take down Ra's really shows how desperate Ollie is in this situation.
• Roy is a damn sexy mechanic!
• Shit always heats up when Roy and Thea are alone together. To quote Nick Fury these two bang "like Catholic Rabbits".
• Who is the better Dad: Ra's Al Ghul or Joe Jackson?
• Did you see the sign for Ferris Air Baggage? With so many references to Coast City and Ferris Air popping up on The Flash and Arrow, Hal Jordan is all, but confirmed to show up on the CW next fall.
• Enter Katana!
• Ray Palmer is the greatest human being to ever live. The massive spinoff Legends of Tomorrow is gonna be a kick ass show with him as the lead.
• Katana and Maseo's showdown would have been even cooler if the flashbacks actually made us give a shit about them.
• Always good to see some Roy and Thea pillow talk.
• Malcolm Merlyn is always playing his cards close to his chest. Whatever moves puts himself in the best position is the move he is going to make a 100% of the time. Allegiances and loyalty don't mean shit to this guy. Makes him such a slimly yet lovable character.
• Felicity's face when hearing of Oliver's impending nuptials was priceless.
• Attempted murder always makes a wedding ceremony more exciting.
• Solid cliffhanger.

Roy and Thea's theme song

Low Points:

• Felicity is so self righteous it's fucking sickening. She "always" has to be right. She always has to be the voice of reason. Season 3 has ruined her forever.
• Was not invested enough in Maseo and Katana's kid to give a shit that he died. (Sometimes I can be a real cruel prick.)
• The flashbacks just need to stop. I understand that Maseo + Ollie came across the virus a few years back. We got the information we needed. No need for more useless backstory.
• Shrieve sucks. Just another faceless Army drone for Ollie to beat down.
• Leaving Thea naked in your bed? I thought you were a gentleman, Roy Harper?

Season 3 Felicity's state of mind

Verdict: Oliver is in a tight spot. Ra's has pushed him to the edge. With his back against the wall there is only one man that Oliver can turn to. Everyone's favorite terrorist, Malcolm Merlyn! This was a nice twist by the Arrow writers. Oliver being forced to turn to his enemy for help shows how desperate he really is right now. What is that old saying: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." 

          Well, this revelation that Ollie was working with Merlyn the whole time leads the team back to Nana Parbat. In order to stop the Alpha Omega from being released upon Starling they must infiltrate Ra's crib. Serious question, how many raids on Nana Parbat have we seen this season? 4 maybe 5? I'm just tired of seeing of beating down LoA goons. These guys go down pretty damn easily. I guess what I am saying is that I want Ra's Al Ghul to pick up his sword and fight some fools. 22 episodes in this year and we have only seen Ra's battle 2 times. Don't want more of the Demon, I need it. Though seeing Katana suit up and murder her husband was a pretty sight amongst the other meaningless fighting. The emotional fallout from her killing Maseo didn't land that much, but the brawl sure was cool. So points to the stunt team on that sword battle.

            To keep appearances Ollie was then forced to capture his compadres. Ra's Al Ghul then poisoned those poor bastards with the Alpha Omega virus. Then Ollie gets married while his friends die in the next room over. This was such a massive dickhead move by Ra's. "This Is Your Sword" did a good job of showing us that the Demon's Head is not a good guy. He is a villain that needs to be taken down. (Unlike Shrieve, who is using the Nazi's excuse). All of this lead to a solid cliffhanger of not knowing if Team Arrow would survive the Alpha Omega.

          That was until I saw the preview for next week that aired immediately following the episode. It showed all of Team Arrow safe + sound and in Starling next week. I hope there is some sort of fallout from the Alpha Omega being released and that it is not concluded by some twist in which Oliver or Maseo replaced it with sleeping gas or some shit. Please have some consequences occur in that storyline, okay?

         Overall " This Is Your Sword" did not really light my fire and I'm giving it a  7.0 out of 10. Now onto next week, Ollie is technically married and I can't wait to see him fight it out with his new father in-law next week. Arrow has had two great finales and I hope "My Name is Oliver Queen" will be another triumph. 

Thanks for reading! Are you excited for Oliver's showdown with the Demon? Do you cry when a child dies on TV? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews. 

Jane Fonda would have made a great Ra's Al Ghul