By: Matt Spaulding
One problem Arrow has had lately is the problem of too many story lines going on at once. I am pleased to say that isn't a problem in this week's episode.
The main focus of this week's episode is Oliver's determination to save Thea, who is dying from the negative effects of the Lazarus Pit. If you recall, because she refuses to kill anyone, she isn't getting the life energy needed to keep her from dying again. Nyssa al Ghul claims to have a cure called the Lotus Potion, which she will give up if Oliver kills Malcolm Merlyn, rendering Nyssa Ra's al Ghul and head of the League of Shadows.
Oliver, of course, doesn't want to kill anymore. He thinks he can talk Nyssa and Malcolm into an arrangement where Malcolm willingly gives up the title of Ra's al Ghul in exchange for the Lotus. Oliver truly believes Malcolm will value Thea's life more than the title of Ra's al Ghul. You can imagine how that turns out.
The other plot (and it's actually very minor) deals with Felicity coming to grips with her father (who is the criminal known as The Calculator) being back in her life after so many years being gone. She believes it's possible he's changed and sets him up with a test to determine if this is true.
Oh, and of course there was the flashback portion like always.
The episode was much more focused and interesting than the past few weeks, and that was a huge plus. The addition of two rather shocking moments towards the end was even better.
What I Liked: Lots of good character moments, great twists, good fight scenes (as always)
What I Didn't Like: A few really cheesy moments/group shots involving Nyssa and the League of Shadows (a line of them walking down a very obvious sound-stage street, for example), John Barrowman absolutely chewing the scenery in a couple places and not in a good way.