SPOILER ALERT! (stop reading if you don’t want to know what happens in this episode)
It was the episode I’ve been waiting for and it surely didn’t disappoint! A lot happened in this episode so I had to section some things off and combine them to help with the flow. Check out the recap below!
We finally get some Malcolm Merlyn flashbacks. We go back 21 years to when Tommy is a young boy. Malcolm has just returned home and is tucking him in when the doorbell rings. It’s the police telling him about his wife’s death. At the grave site we see a mini Tommy and Oliver interaction. Malcolm’s associate tells him that he has a friend in the police department who knows who killed his wife and gives him a picture of a guy.
Malcolm confronts the guy in the picture in the alley at night and asks him why he steals from people. He pulls out a gun but the guy doesn’t think he’ll shoot him. He pretty much kicks his behind and tells him to go back to his rich neighborhood. As he’s walking away Malcolm picks up the gun and pulls the trigger.
Malcolm returns home to pack and leave when his associate arrives with his getaway money. He asks him if he killed him and he tells him he did but it didn’t do anything to take away his anger. He tells him that he’s going somewhere where they’ll help him with his anger. Tommy comes downstairs and asks him where he’s going. He tells him he’s going somewhere where he’ll be able to make sure no one else hurts them again. We see him leave and then meet a young Nyssa al Ghul.
The Glades Lockdown
In Starling City, Brick has The Glades held hostage. Arsenal and Black Canary seem to be the only help the people of The Glades have as Felicity and Diggle tell them where to go. While out fighting we see Sin who has no idea that Sara is dead and thinks that Black Canary is her. Malcolm is continuing his training with Thea to prepare her for whenever the League attacks. She tells him that she didn’t sign up for this but he warns her that they will show no mercy and this is what she has to prepare for.
Roy meets up with Quentin to get the evidence the police has on Brick. Quentin tells him to lose the voice distorter since he knows he’s the Red Arrow. Back at the lair with the evidence Felicity uncovers that the Brick’s gun in evidence is the same gun that was used in the murder of Malcolm’s wife and he overhears this since he has the lair bugged.
All the Lies
Thea walks in on Malcolm sharpening his knife and asks him what’s going on. He tells her that he recently found out that the person who killed his wife is still alive which means he killed the wrong person and the past 21 years have been a lie. She tells him that she doesn’t understand and he tells her it’s because he’s not a killer but he is.
Back at the lair, Diggle throws it out there that they should maybe just hand Brick over to Malcolm but Felicity tells them that she hasn’t been able to track them down. Roy and Laurel mention that his men had been communicating by walkie talkie and Felicity uses the radio waves which tracks them to The Glades precinct.
Brick is talking to the men that Laurel and Roy took down at the bar and he tells them that if they take him down first they walk out alive. Of course they don’t and he kills one of them. When he goes to kill the second one the power goes out thanks to Felicity. Brick and his men search the precinct as Roy and Laurel take them down one by one.Brick shoots flares at them which knocks them down and is about to kill them but Malcolm shows up and shoots him with an arrow as flaming debris falls down. He turns to Roy and Laurel and tells them they need to talk.
Back at the lair, Malcolm tells they have a common enemy since he knows Brick killed his wife. He wants them to team up with him to take down Brick. They realize he’s been watching them and that he wants to kill him. He suggests they weigh their options before coming to a decision. Roy talks to Thea and she tells him about Malcolm knowing who killed his wife. She also reveals that during the Mirukuru destruction he saved her life. She asks if she can help him with anything and he tells her he already has.
Downstairs, Laurel is trying to make a case for using Malcolm’s help to point Brick in his direction. Felicity is totally against this but Roy walks in and tells her it’s the only way. He tells them about Malcolm saving Thea’s life because he protects those he cares about. Felicity isn’t having it and tells them that Oliver wouldn’t do it. Roy tells her that he’s not there and suggests they vote.
As Diggle is leaving, Malcolm walks up and asks him what the verdict is. He tells him that they voted no and he pretty much calls them stupid. Diggle tells him that they’re not like him, he killed Sara and put Thea in danger and that them working with him would be the first step in the direction of them becoming a killer like him.
Oliver’s Journey Home
Oliver is over being in isolated recovery and is ready to return to Starling City. Tatsu thinks he needs to rest but he disagrees, telling her that his sister and city needs him. He tells her to come with him to make sure he drinks his Penicillin tea but she declines and tells him to be well. He has obvious issues traveling through the woods and realizes that Tatsu is following him. She stays with him and they talk about Ra’s al Ghul and she tells him that to beat him he must think like him– only the student has hope of beating the master. Tatsu stays with him until he’s able to get a ride back to the city. He asks her to come with him but she declines and tells him that he will have to discover what it is that will help him defeat Ra’s. They hug and he turns and gets in the truck.
Thea returns home to and asks Malcolm what’s wrong. She tells him that she told Roy about saving her because he cares about her. He tells her that she may want to think there’s more to him than being a killer but there’s not. Back at the lair, they ask Diggle how Malcolm took it. Roy thinks they made the wrong decision but Laurel suggests they use the people of the city to help them take down Brick. Laurel goes to Ted (Wildcat) and Roy goes to Sin to enlist their help.
The team has a quick talk in the van to settle their fears then Arsenal and Black Canary exit. Brick walks out of a building and Roy shoots an arrow at him. They tell him he’s failed the city and his men come out then the people of The Glades come out before them. He releases his men on them and it’s an all out street showdown. People are going punch for punch and kick for kick. Wildcat takes on Brick and he’s doing pretty good but Brick gets the upper hand. He’s about to shoot him but Roy shoots him with an arrow.
Brick runs but comes face to face with Malcolm in the alley. All of a sudden an arrow comes out of no where and everyone is all like Oliver? Back in the alley Malcolm has Brick on the ground and reminds him of his wife. He reveals that he murdered her to get into a gang and because she was weak. He’s about to shoot him when Oliver shows up and tells him to drop the gun. Malcolm tells him he doesn’t understand– if he had killed him years ago it would’ve changed everything. Oliver tells him to make a different choice now for Thea.
Oliver Returns
Oliver returns to the chaos and hops on top of a car, with a battered Brick at their feet, to make an announcement to the people of The Glades (which is now live news coverage) apologizing for being away for so long and tells them that he will not leave them on their own again before shooting an arrow in the air and swinging away.
The police return to The Glades and Sin tells Quentin that the woman running around as Black Canary isn’t Sara. He doesn’t believe her but she tells him she’s positive which is why she’s telling him. Malcolm returns to Thea’s place and tells her that he didn’t do it for himself. Oliver walks in asking if his room is still available and tells her that he was away dealing with a friend. He and Malcolm keep it cordial and Malcolm thanks him for not making it hard for Thea. He tells him that he wasn’t always like that and Thea is his chance of redemption.
Oliver tells him he made his sister a killer and Malcolm tells him that he really thought it would be a different outcome. Oliver tells him that Ra’s will come for him and he’ll find out the truth.
Oliver returns to the lair and apologizes for not coming sooner. Felicity runs and hugs him and he tells them they did good protecting the city and saving The Glades. He reveals that Malcolm is going to help him eventually defeat Ra’s but Felicity isn’t having it and doesn’t take it well at all. She leaves him with a few harsh words before going outside for some air. He follows her and apologizes and she asks him for what.
He tells her that that’s not the reason why she’s upset and she tells him for the past month she fantasized that Oliver was still alive. That he would come back wanting to do things differently. She tells him that before he left he told her that he loved her but he wants to get in bed with the person who turned his sister into a killer and murdered Sara both women that he loved. She tells him that she doesn’t want to be a woman that he loves before turning to leave.
Some takeaways…
– Oh Felicity. I knew that Oliver’s return would change some things but she was too emotional for me this episode. Like I get it. Malcolm is pretty f-d up and you thought Oliver was dead but if we’re going to bring Ra’s al Ghul down we’re going to have to work together. I’ve been team Felicity since the first episode we met her but maybe she should work with Ray for a little bit just to get those emotions under control.
– So much happened and this was such a good episode but next week– it looks like it’s going to be good. Vertigo is back and we have Laurel hallucinating with Sara visions. The writers are not playing with us during this back half of the season and I’m ready for every second of it!
Should Oliver be working with Malcolm to take down Ra’s al Ghul? Let me know in the comments!
Photos: The CW
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