This Is Your Sword

This Is Your Sword" brings the season closer to its climax, as Oliver-now Al Sah-Him-prepares to marry Nyssa al Ghul and unleash Ra's' ultimate plan: a bioweapon attack on Starling City. The stakes are global, but the heart of the episode lies in deception, loyalty, and whether Oliver has truly turned.

Team Arrow believes Oliver is lost, but Malcolm Merlyn reveals a critical twist: Oliver has been faking his loyalty to the League all along. It's a risky play that only a few people, including Malcolm, are in on. The tension builds as Oliver must keep up the act while preparing to destroy the virus from within.

There's strong emotional drama too-Nyssa's resistance to the arranged marriage, Felicity's heartbreak, and the growing fear that this plan might get everyone killed. Meanwhile, Maseo shows signs of doubt, torn between his League loyalty and his past life.

The episode ends with a major cliffhanger: Ra's boards a plane headed to Starling City with the virus-and Oliver is on board, seemingly powerless to stop him.

On whole, I've enjoyed season three, and think it gets a lot of unwarranted flak, but it has had its flaws, and I thought this season really needed, in this episode, to step up its game to season two level and hammer down with the awesome stuff fans were in desperate need of. It did.

One problem the Arrow writers will forever face is the sheer division of its fanbase. You have the "Olicity" group, then the group adamantly against them and think its soiling the show, then the Black Canary lovers and haters, and then comic fans, etc, etc. It's simply a matter of fact you can't please them all.

But I truly think "This is Your Sword" came pretty close, with a little something for everyone but not too much for those who didn't want it. What was brilliant above all was seeing Arrow return to its roots as a comic show, not the romance one it was slipping towards (romance is an important part of the comics, but it's never at the forefront). It was emotional, it felt real and human, the story was well written- there was some occasional spotty dialogue, from Felicity mainly, but she was definitely back at her game as the Felicity Smoak fans of her have missed, not the crying version she was sliding towards. And, above all, it was action packed- it felt like I was watching a superhero show. And that's what I tune in for and have loved this show for.

I feel like this week's amazing cliffhanger would have been that much more awesome if we went completely without a promo for next week, cruel as that would be, but you can't hold the writers/producers to that. The promos are done by an entirely different marketing department. The last scene was raw with emotion and wonderfully shot. The score was excellent, too. Roy and Thea wrapping up was a highlight as we saw the end to what I think was the best and most organic romance on the show (opinion, of course). The CGI was great, and the choreography was excellent. Also, finally, the flashbacks really showed some substance and gave us some needed explanations.

I'm excited to see the show move towards Green Arrow, now that the Arrow is dead, and Oliver Queen is a changed person. Great, enjoyable, edge-of-your-seat kind of episode which complimented and featured all of the cast fairly and finally gave us the superhero show we've missed back. Bring on the finale.