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“Arrow” recap (3.20): Where There’s Smoak, There’s Fire

Previously on Arrow, Oliver refused Ra’s al Ghul’s offer to become the next Demon’s Head, so Ra’s terrorized Starling City and stabbed Thea to bully him into changing his mind. Also Ray tried really hard to get Felicity to love him and it almost worked but not quite.

Post-impalement, a bloody and broken Thea Queen tries her darndest to drag herself over to the phone, but can’t quite make it. Luckily, Oliver shows up just in time and calls 911 for her, carrying her out to meet the ambulance to save time. The doctors do their best to save her, but after losing her for a minute, the best they can do is get her into a coma she probably won’t wake up from.

A teary-eyed Oliver tells his sleeping sister that he’s sorry, so sorry, because this is the opposite of what he wanted, what he’s been fighting for. Malcolm comes in and sees Thea and cries, too. He practically just got his daughter back, and he’s already lost a son.

Oliver goes into the hallway and is staring at a wall when Felicity and Diggle show up. Oliver is stunned that Ra’s just left her there to die, and for a second his friends panic that he means she’s truly dead but he says she’s not, she’s just in rough shape.

Oliver sees purple smoke outside the window and storms out, asking Diggle and Felicity to stay with Thea.

It was Maseo sending the purple smoke signal, and as soon as he sees him, Oliver clocks Maseo in the face, just in case it was him who sliced his baby sister open. Maseo didn’t do it, but he has a message from the man who did; if Oliver takes his rightful place as the leader of the League of Assassins, Ra’s will bring Thea back.

Team Arrow goes to Thea’s apartment, and Oliver tells them the new plan. Merlyn confirms that what Maseo suggested is possible, that there are waters Ra’s has been using to live forever, and that they can sometimes bring people back to life. It’s called the Lazarus Pit. Felicity’s like a) this “magic hot tub” business sounds shady at best b) if this exists why the FUCK is Sara dead and buried? Merlyn says it’s not as easy as it sounds, and that the waters change a person’s soul, and that the Thea that comes out of the water won’t be the same Thea as the one that went in, but Oliver doesn’t give two hoots what Merlyn has to say. Felicity is growing increasingly stressed about the whole situation, but Oliver says he doesn’t want to hear her usual spiel about not throwing himself into a dangerous situation. She says good because she had every intention of throwing herself in with him this time. Step one, get to Nanda Parbat.

Felicity goes to find Ray and asks if she can borrow his jet for a hot second while they fly to a secret location into a den of murderers to dunk her dead friend into something called a Lazarus Pit. He says sure but also by the way he knows she loves Oliver and that she’ll never love him like that while Oliver is still in the picture. She can’t even deny it, she won’t; she already feels bad enough, she didn’t mean to hurt him, she really did try to love him. But Oliver is the closest thing to being with Sara she can get, since he was with her too and Nyssa keeps disappearing into the night. He smiles sadly and tells her to take the jet and suddenly I feel bad I ever called him McSkeezy.

While loading the unconscious Thea onto the plane, Merlyn suggests making a pit stop at Star Labs, since the hospital thinks they’re taking her to Central City anyway; maybe Caitlin and Cisco can make her a metahuman or something. But Oliver says absolutely not. Merlyn would rather her die than live a post-Lazarus life but that is not an option Oliver is willing to consider. Also shut up because he’s lucky he’s allowed to come along in the first place.

Oliver tells Felicity about the time he came back to Starling City during his “dead” five years, how when he saw that Thea had a drug problem, he killed her dealer to try to protect her. It’s all he’s ever wanted, to protect the people he has cared about, and he has failed. And this is so much deeper than failing a city. Felicity knows there’s no use arguing him on this one, because when Oliver Queen wants to shoulder the blame for something, there’s nothing you can do to ease his burden.

When they get to Nanda Parbat, Oliver carries Thea’s lifeless body while his team follows close behind him. They are greeted by the most menacing welcoming committee I’ve ever seen; assassins as far as the eye can see, standing in neat, orderly lines that would make the Unsullied proud. When Ra’s comes out to meet them, he welcomes Oliver home, and the entire League goes down on one knee to show their future leader some respect.

Once they’re inside, Maseo takes Thea from Oliver, who apparently weighs 20 pounds even as dead weight, judging from the way it looked like they were passing off a pillow. Then Maseo shows everyone to their rooms, trying to reassure Diggle that Oliver will be comfortable here at Nanda Parbat; I mean, how could one be sad in a place with so many CANDLES, eh?? But Diggle doesn’t buy it, and calls the League a group of weak, escapist cowards who hide from their problems behind swords and masks. Maseo says Diggle knows about as much as Jon Snow and that until he holds his own dying child in his arms, he can’t presume to understand him at all. Diggle asks Maseo if his son would be proud of him right now, and Maseo makes a face that implies no, no he wouldn’t.

Everyone meets around the Lazarus Pit for the resurrection ritual. A woman chants while Oliver and Maseo slowly lower Thea into the water. Once she’s under, their ropes snap out of their hands, and Thea comes FLYING out, kicks Oliver in the face, then perches on the of the Pit, her eyes wild.

She pounces on Oliver and screams and fights until she’s injected with something that makes her fall asleep. Ra’s is like, “I held up my end of the bargain, you never said your sister couldn’t be feral. Your turn, buddy.”

Later, in bed, Thea wakes up as though from a nightmare. She doesn’t recognize Oliver, saying Ollie is dead silly, but calls Malcolm dad and asks where her mother is. Oliver says the confusion will pass but Merlyn still thinks this was a big mistake. Oliver starts talking about how everyone will take care of Thea in his absence and Felicity decided she has heard about enough. She spins on her heels and storms out of the room, strutting right up to the Demon’s Head, the centuries-old man with thousands of assassins at his beck and call, and SCOLDS him.

She says taking Oliver away from them, away from his family, is wrong and it’s unacceptable. And that they’ll go to war for Oliver if that’s what it takes. Ra’s says she has a fire in her and tells her about a few lifetimes ago; he had a woman he loved, a daughter, a son. And one day a man came and told him he had to choose between leaving without saying goodbye or watching his family get tortured, so he chose to leave, he chose his own suffering over theirs. He thinks he made the brave choice but Felicity thinks he should have looked for a third option; because she’s not the type to just lie back and accept that life’s not fair – because it often isn’t, as Ra’s tells her; it’s often cruel. But Felicity Smoak is going to fight for what she believes in for as long as she’s able, with everything she’s got. She’s going to squeeze every last drop of fairness out of this life, for herself and for everyone she loves.

Ra’s tells her to stop shouting at him and go say goodbye to Oliver, and tell him how she really feels about him, because it’s now or never. He’s giving her the chance for closure that he was denied.

Felicity goes to see Oliver and asks him if he truly believes this is the right thing to do, to become the next Demon’s Head, but he doesn’t know. All he knows is that, despite all his best efforts, everything he’s done has lead him here, to this place in this moment. He doesn’t know what it’s all for, but it doesn’t matter, because Felicity knows. She always knows. She says she’ll be devastated to leave him here and go back to Starling City, but she doesn’t regret a single second of their time together. He has saved and changed countless lives; she met Sara because of him, she has grown braver because of him, Laurel is a kickass vigilante instead of a sad, alcoholic lawyer; everyone is better for having known him.

Felicity tells Oliver that she loves him, and he takes off her glasses and kisses her, kisses her like she’s always wanted him to kiss her, as if they have nothing to lose, because at this point they really don’t. Then he puts his arrow in her sheath, if you know what I mean.

After, Felicity can’t believe the thing she has fantasized about many times since the first wacky inexplicable favor this perfectly sculpted man with the glittering eyes asked her for actually really happened to her, Felicity Smoak.

She finds a bottle and says they should drink it, which he agrees to because surely random bottles left around an assassin castle is completely innocuous. They toast to them, to Olicity, and he downs his cup but she just watches him. She apologizes as he starts to lose consciousness. “I can’t lose you,” she whispers. “I won’t.”

Diggle and Merlyn come in all WTF did you do?! Felicity is like I DID THE HARD PART, TIME FOR YOU TO FIGURE OUT WHAT’S NEXT LESSGOOOO. Merlyn says they’re dead if they get caught but Felicity marches right up to him and looks him in the eye and tells him she doesn’t want to hear excuses or whining, she wants to hear plans. Her desperation has reached critical mass and she’s going to get Oliver out of here and they’re going to help her or the phrase “you don’t have the balls” will be applicable to them both figuratively AND literally. She knows this place has to have a secret exist, because bad guy lairs always do, so tells Merlyn to go get Thea and get his ass in gear.

Diggle carries Oliver and Merlyn leads a dazed Thea by the hand as they weave through tunnels. Merlyn fights a few assassins, Diggle shoots one, Felicity hits one with a stick. She doesn’t need her computer to be a vital member of the team. Maybe she should get her own costume. Just when things start to look a little impossible, Maseo shows up to help them. Diggle’s insults inspired him after all.

Felicity is trying to support Thea as they sneak through the tunnels, but she starts to have a panic attack and can’t keep going.

Then a bunch of assassins show up, almost like Thea sensed it. Things seem impossible again, until Oliver pops up and uses his new status to order the League to put their weapons down. He tells them to tell Ra’s he’ll be right back and thanks Felicity for trying, but this is the way it has to be.

Oliver walks them to the edge of the property to say goodbye. He tells Thea he loves her and that Merlyn was going to look after her now. She still looks out of it, but accepts his hug. Oliver tells Diggle he’s the best sidekick a vigilante could ask for, and like the brother he never had. He tells Felicity not to give up on squeezing the most out of life, because the only way he’s going to be okay is if he knows she’s out there doing her best to be happy. Felicity asks why they seem destined to say goodbye to each other on loop for all eternity, so instead of goodbye this time, Oliver just kisses her.

Felicity walks away and she doesn’t look back because if she looks back she might not be able to leave.

Thea wakes up in her apartment more confused in some ways but less confused in others. For example, she remembers she hates Merlyn.

But she doesn’t understand where Oliver is. Merlyn gives her the Cliff’s Notes version of it and promises to take care of her. Which will be easier now that the League of Assassins isn’t actively hunting them down.

Felicity goes to see Laurel, her voice shaking, and says that while Laurel was signing autographs and getting her gear upgraded with Cisco, Oliver joined the League of Assassins and isn’t coming back. Then she just breaks down. Laurel has loved the two people she has also loved and lost. Laurel has been there this whole time, Laurel understands. So Felicity breaks down and Laurel wraps her arms around her.

Ra’s asks Oliver why he shouldn’t kill his friends for pulling that stunt and Oliver says because it’s part of their deal, the ones he loves are safe now. Ra’s tells Oliver that he has to forget that he was ever Oliver Queen, and all the people who made him Oliver Queen, and that there will be a ritual to help him do that. During the ritual, Ra’s says “assassin” originally comes from a word that means “those who stand apart from society” and everyone in that room has erased their former selves to be part of the League. Oliver is branded, given an arrowhead to wear around his neck, a full hooded suit, bow and arrow, and a new name. Oliver Queen is dead, but the Arrow still lives. For he is now Al Sah-him. Heir to the demon.

What did you think of “The Fallen”?

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