Arrow Arrow #3.21: “Al Sah-him

[DCMarv37]

It kind of makes me wonder though.

I mean for those that have seen the recent Flash Trailers (which I'm assuming most of us here have done by now), we know that Oliver is going to help Barry soon in his fight against the Reverse Flash.

But Oliver (in his current state) doesn't look like he'd give a rat's ass about anyone other than the League at this point. And even if he somehow regains some of his conscious, would he still be allowed to be a part of the league if his morality came back to the point where he'd be willing to help Barry again?

I've never watched Flash - (yet, will watch it in its entirety after the season Is over) - but I'm wondering if maybe Oliver, sorry "Al Sah-him", isn't sent by Ra's to help, but for an ulterior reason. Like, stealing something or helping Barry helps themselves (somehow).

 

[Herolee10]

I'm surprised to see so many people around the net act as if Nyssa/Oliver getting hitched means that she is no longer bi-sexual/lesbian.

Well if their honeymoon night goes without a hitch, then Oliver's list of lovers on this show will grow yet again. Plus, it would fill the show's strange quota of having Oliver sleep with at least two different women for the duration of a season.

I wonder if this show would have been better off had it been broadcasting on a television station that isn't known for providing teen/romantic angst?

 

[vantheman77]

Oliver being evil reminds me of AJ Styles when he also went dark. Time to play the theme song, Evil Ways.

 

[kvz5]

 

[Pokkle]

An better episode than the previous. t:
But the wedding is only there to have felicity's love drama.

Make Damien Wayne Darhk a heir to Ra's al ghul, the Batman comparaison never gonna stop. t:

 

[Deltron3030]

Edited*** found my answer

 

[Primal Slayer]

Fans are already speculating that they are going to switch out Nyssa with Felicity during the wedding.

 

[Herolee10]

Well you can't say that Oliver and Nyssa don't have some striking qualities on paper alone.lol

1. They're both master Archers

2. They both wear hoods

3. They were both trained by Ra's Al Ghul when it comes to using a sword

4. They've both used the term "Heir to the Demon"

5. They both like Blonde Women

 

[Seb]

So Oliver's plan to save his sister is going swimmingly, then.

Step one: Bring sister back from brink of death.

Step two: get brainwashed into becoming a tool for an evil bastard.

Step three: kill everyone in your old home, including your sister.

10/10, would plan again.

As for the episode as a whole, I was into most of it, though Felicity continues to annoy me, and Ra's continues to make seemingly terrible decisions that seem to have no real goal. Am I missing something, or does the league have no other purpose than to survive like a virus, sucking in new recruits, often by force, from the world around it and destroying whole cities for no reason. How exactly are they any better than HIVE? Ra's seems to make big speeches about regretting decisions and being in it for the greater good, calling Merlyn out for destroying the Glades and killing hundreds of innocents, then commanding Ollie to wipe out the entire city.

Please, if anyone has an idea what Ra's' actual mission is, enlighten me, because so far he seems like a relatively one dimensional plot device, shifting to whatever story the writers want to tell this week.

 

[The Sage]

I was fine with this episode until the end...Oliver has to destroy Starling City to become the next Ra's?

Isn't that why Merlyn was hunted by the league? Because of the destruction of the Glades? Huh? So what is it? Is it because he did it without the league's permission?

 

[ThePreface]

It kind of makes me wonder though.

I mean for those that have seen the recent Flash Trailers (which I'm assuming most of us here have done by now), we know that Oliver is going to help Barry soon in his fight against the Reverse Flash.

But Oliver (in his current state) doesn't look like he'd give a rat's ass about anyone other than the League at this point. And even if he somehow regains some of his conscious, would he still be allowed to be a part of the league if his morality came back to the point where he'd be willing to help Barry again?

The League is all about rules, rites, and tradition. Maybe he finds a loophole where he remains Heir to the Demon but is allowed to return to Starling.

 

[ThePreface]

I was fine with this episode until the end...Oliver has to destroy Starling City to become the next Ra's?

Isn't that why Merlyn was hunted by the league? Because of the destruction of the Glades? Huh? So what is it? Is it because he did it without the league's permission?

I'm not feeling this plot point either. I guess it's League tradition, but damn if it isn't overboard. Besides, doesn't the League have bigger fish to fry (Damien Darhk, HIVE)?

 

[Omegabat]

Yes because Batman took Ra's offer and became heir to the demon.

He did,and news flash these stories were written in Batman comics not Green Arrows, GA never got the offer because the offer isn't just as offer,it's the core of the Batman/Ra's dynamic,the same reason Luthor envies Superman and not Shazam or Flash even though that can be transplanted from Superman to the latter two as well.

Arrow isn't a ripoff,it's a pathetic ripoff at this point.

 

[Omegabat]

I wonder if these guys are even aware of what GA represents as character or even bothered to pick up a GA comic,so far it's a we couldn't afford Batman show.

 

[Slade W]

I love how at times, for just brief moments, they show that Ra's has a softer side and is still human (sort of). Like when he says a prayer for the people he kills, when he spoke to Felicity about his old wife and kids and then told her to make the most of her last moments with Oliver and how he hesitated to kill Damien Darhk. These moments are far and few between his general ruthless self and make no mistake, despite these moments, he is ruthless. Oliver almost killed Nyssa, his daughter, under his order. He has killed lots of people (and his first kill came at age 11), he killed Thea and had the entire Starling Police Department after Oliver just to get him to join the LOA, the way he has taken Oliver from his friends and family and is now stripping Oliver of his soul and everything that made him who he was in front of their very eyes (for a lot of people, it would be preferable for their loved one to die rather than become the unrecognisable monster that Oliver is becoming) and now he plans to exterminate Starling City.

The Ra's Al Ghul picture that the Arrow writers are painting is one of a man who is back and white in how he is uncompromising in his judgements, but there are also grey areas in regards to him. In his own mind he clearly believes he is doing the right thing and that his way is the way the world should be ran. After his experience with Darhk, he sees reluctance and hesitation to kill as a mistake that can have serious consequences and as a result, you cannot leave anything to chance and you have to eliminate any potential threats and leave no bad deed unpunished. He believes the only way the world can be a good place (or a place that is run how he sees fit) is if it is ruled with an iron fist and for no prisoners to be taken, for the League to achieve its goals by any means necessary, by hook or by crook. Emotions such as love and kindness are weaknesses in his eyes that prevent you from doing what must be done and hinder you from reaching your true potential as a warrior. I suppose he summed his philosophy up nicely when he said that he "replaces evil with death". All of this, is to achieve what is right and what is justice in his mind. From his point of view, he is the good guy and the judge, jury and executioner of the world and his vision is what is best for everyone. He has had innocent people killed but in his eyes it is to make thing better for others and to stop more deaths in the future. He would kill his own daughter and have her replaced by someone more suitable for the task at hand, if it meant that the world would be a better place so it is not as if he has double standards and only applies his severe rules to everyone else and keeps people that he may have grown fond of alive because it suits him. The sacrifices that he thinks it is necessary for other people to make, he is willing to make himself if needed. I love how Matt Nable has portrayed him. The two live action adaptions of Ra's Al Ghul have been fantastic.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Darth Oliver!

I love the way they have gone all in with this arc for Oliver and the stuff with him and Digg was intense, it will be interesting to see how they come out of the other side. Of course someone really needs to watch Temple of Doom to see how to wake Ollie up!

Matt Nable has really grown on me as Ra's and has brought a regal and enigmatic presence to the role, the way he is currently working Ollie is great and as Slade W says, he is a man of grey areas much like Ra's in the books.

Loved seeing Thea and Felicity interact, we've not really seen them in scenes much before. I liked seeing them at Digg and Lila's home, it was cool to see them all trying to deal with Oliver's loss.

Speaking of Thea I am glad to see her taking an interest in being on the team and debuting as Speedy.

The Nyssa and Laurel dynamic is the best thing Laurel has had going on since her pairing with Tommy, they play off each other well and it allows a different side of Laurel to be showcased. Hopefully they continue with Nyssa training Laurel in season 4.

I had a feeling Ra's was going to opt for the Assassins wedding and the big test for Ollie with the task of killing everyone he loves is going to epic, I wonder what will break through to him or if it will simply be his own will.

 

[Prep Time]

So does Thea leave & her & Roy team up in another city ?

 

[Justin]

Having watched Arrow all the way through i just couldn't buy into this at all. Couldn't buy into him killing someone he thought was Diggle so easily and couldn't buy into him being so ready to kill nyssa and anyone who got in his way.

The only way I'd believe this is if he was faking but he's obviously not. Arrow has just gotten too silly and too far fetched for me to follow now. Plus all this shipping has turned it into 90210 with bows and arrows which isn't really my thing. I'll give it until the end of the season then probably get out. Shame, S1 was amazing television, i think they should have stuck with the grounded approach and kept him on the island for five years of flashbacks.

 

[Prep Time]

That shot of Felicity alone crying. Should be the new gif used on here. When we are pissed

 

[dude stannis]

Love Laurel's evolution into a fully fledged hero. Sacrificing lives was just not an option for her. Her kindness to Nyssa feels genuine too.

Thea as Speedy was one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen.

In regards to the hypocrisy of Ra's wanting to destroy Starling but wanting Merlyn's head for the same, I think it's more of a way to finalise Oliver's ascension. Ra's himself had to destroy his home village, so must Oliver destroy Starling.

Best episode they've done since the Brick arc. Coincidentally the most Olicity free one.

 

[Slade W]

Both Neeson's and Nable's portrayals of Ra's are excellent. Neeson's was more sophisticated while Nable's is more rough around the edges and more willing to get his hands dirty. I thought Neeson's was a bit more arrogant (although I would consider Nable's Ra's to be arrogant too) and had more of a sense of hatred and bitterness towards people about him. He seemed to look down on people more than Nable's does. Neeson's Ra's chose to become the Head of the LOA in order to gain vengeance, whereas Nable's Ra's had the role forced upon him (although as you can see, he has embraced the role and immersed himself wholly in it).

 

[Slade W]

I thought the "Evil Oliver" was believable. It was still Oliver, but even more serious than he normally is as well as being more ruthless and unrelenting. It is not like he became a completely new character or anything. He wasn't sadistic and he did not give the impression that he enjoyed or took pleasure from what he was doing so I am not sure I would even call him evil. He was still Oliver Queen, just a more efficient and ruthless version that would not take prisoners or mess around and give people second chances or let emotion cloud his judgement. This Oliver would get the job done by any means necessary, by hook or by crook.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I liked the episode. Hasn't been as good as last season but I've been enjoying it. Not sure why everyone hates it so much

 

[Hunter Rider]

I liked the episode. Hasn't been as good as last season but I've been enjoying it. Not sure why everyone hates it so much

Agreed, this section has sadly become toxic.

 

[chamber-music]

Oliver using some smoke bombs.

Looking forward to Damien Darhk and Hive next season. I wonder which Spartacus/Doctor who actor will play him?

The way he just dropped off the ledge made me laugh.