TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 03 Episode 22: This Is Your Sword

Say what you will about this season, the endgame is incredibly compelling. As the penultimate episode, “This Is Your Sword” have the heavy task to not only set up the finale, but make it meaningful in numerous ways. And aside from a few weird moments and dialogue scenes, it did just that.

Ok, let’s get the sad part out of the way. Yes, Oliver was playing Ra’s. Although to be fair, he was willing to sell it big time. It was fun seeing him and Malcolm talk about their “plan” and how even Malcolm couldn’t have predicted how fast Ra’s would train Ollie to be his heir. This of course ruined any hope of a slow dismantling of the League, and instead would force an all-out confrontation.

Seeing the remains of Team Arrow struggle to keep the norm after what Ollie did to them last episode was good stuff. Diggle especially was riveting, as he let loose his anger toward what happened to Lyla on any thug who got in his way. Oh, and another Canary Cry scene!!! Just saying. It was fun to see them all react to Merlyn “summoning” them, and then meeting Tatsu and saying “why should we trust her?” It was all good stuff. But…

Felicity!!! Why are you acting this way!?!? Yes, I understand she’s heartbroken over Ollie, but if she truly loved him, and there was even a .001% chance of him coming back to her…don’t you think she would take it? The Felicity I know would. Thankfully, Tatsu was there to encourage her cooperation, but in doing so showed just how tortured Tatsu is over what happened to Maseo. Speaking of whom…

The flashbacks for this season truly became meaningful last episode when the Alpha-Omega virus was shown with Ra’s. But, that raised a big question. How did he get it? Not one to dawdle, Arrow revealed the horrifying truth…Maseo gave it to him as his price for entering the League. I bet no one saw that coming, even Oliver was surprised! True, it sort of spoiled the ending of the flashbacks for this season, but there’s still a lot to tell.

Maseo and Tatsu were a key part of this episode. One that culminated in Team Arrow vs. The League of Assassins. With the main event being Maseo (in his Scorpion mask) vs. Tatsu (in full Katana gear!!! Yay Katana!!!!). In some ways you could have expected this, but I think as fans we were hoping that a small piece of Maseo still remained in him. One that would help his wife and not fight her. Alas, it was not to be, and Tatsu was forced to kill him, which is apparently what he wanted. Maseo and Tatsu truly lived out a tragic tale in season 3, and now Tatsu must find a new purpose for living again. Not that that will be easy…

Why? Cause Ra’s proved just how boss he was when the “plan” he devised to spread the virus was in fact a ruse. All to show if there were any dissidents in his ranks. This lead to another fun interaction with one Malcolm Merlyn, who tattled on Ollie in an attempt to save his life. I was seriously yelling at the TV when this happened. Guess a leopard can’t change his spots after all.

Despite this “revelation”, Ollie played it cool, and the wedding with Nyssa (who was still none too happy about the situation) went forth. Oh, and Team Arrow was locked in a room with a shattered vial of the Alpha-Omega drug…by Team Arrow!

Yes, we all know that they will live, but how is still to be seen. I sense a lot of shadow play here, and you wonder what the ramifications of Ollie’s long con will be. As Dig has basically renounced their friendship, Felicity had her heart broken numerous times, Laurel doesn’t know what to believe, and so on. Fun, fun, fun!

A lovely little side-story for this episode was the reuniting of Roy and Thea. Though short and simple, it really did highlight their now two-year on-again/off-again relationship, and showed why they are good together. But, as this was Roy’s truly last episode, you knew things wouldn’t last. And true to form, Roy sacrificed himself to save Thea from a life on the run, all the while encouraging her to wear the red hoodie. It was more her color.

The flashbacks showed just how bad things had gotten, as Maseo and Ollie made a desperate attempt to find a cure to save Akio. True to form, things didn’t go as planned, and Akio passed. Oh, and they’re all in the sights of snipers. This will be fun to see how it closes out.

“This is Your Sword” delivered powerful story moments, an epic action scene, and plenty of mystery as we enter the finale next week. How will this all end? I don’t even think Ra’s Al Ghul knows.