SPOILER ALERT! (stop reading if you don’t want to know what happens in this episode)
Things escalate quickly on this episode with Nyssa after Merlyn’s place in the League and Thea literally on her death bead. I’ve got all of the details below in the recap!
The Flashback
Oliver tells Taiana that he was attacked by her brother and didn’t have a choice in killing him. He shows her the rock with the symbols and tells her that he believes he has something Reiter wants. She snatches it away and calls for the guards who got to get him. Reiter shows up and takes the rock telling her that there is no deal for her to get free. She is to stay and take care of Oliver and if his health gets worse then she will join him in his fate. Oliver tells Taiana about how his father sacrificed himself for him and how it doesn’t get easier the more people he loses. She tells him that he’s lost and if he wants to be a good man then he must save them from Reiter.
Nyssa tells Oliver that she will give him the Lotus if she kills Merlyn and tells him that she indeed cares about her because she’s her sister-in-law and Oliver husband. Oliver tells her to cut the crap and realizes that she’s only coming to him because she can’t defeat him. She tells him that Thea is only dying because of what her father did to her.
Felicity has dinner with her father Noah, aka The Calculator, who tells her that he was in the city for a job and realized that she is Overwatch. She tries to leave but he stops her making the case that they’re more similar than she thinks. He asks her to give him a chance to prove he’s not a bad guy and gives a a USB drive with a list of his previous hacks.
Back at the lair, Diggle and Laurel are all for killing Merlyn but Oliver tells them that he’s not going to take Thea’s father away from him. He tells them that all Nyssa wants is control of the League and he just needs to convince Merlyn to turn it over. Merlyn is skeptical about Nyssa’s intentions but Oliver tells him that he checked and the elixir does indeed exist. Merlyn is still not convinced and believes she’s playing games and tells him to stop wasting his time so he can figure out a way to save his daughter.
Laurel pays Nyssa a visit and tells her that if she wants Merlyn dead then she needs to be the one to do it otherwise she needs to take a different approach. She tells her about Oliver’s plan and Nyssa agrees but she tells her that Merlyn won’t agree to it. She then tells her that if Merlyn doesn’t agree then there will be war and they will kill whoever she deems is their enemy.
At the lair, Felicity tells the team that her father is The Calculator and expresses that she wish she could there was a test for him. This sparks an idea for Oliver and he tells them he has a way to test Merlyn and goes to Nyssa for proof that the Lotus is real. She gives him a small sample which will give Merlyn the assurance he needs. They inject it into Thea and it immediately heals her wound. He asks what Nyssa’s terms are and he agrees to meet her.
Donna visits Felicity at home and she tells her that her father is back. She asks her if it’s possible that he’s not who they though he was but she tells her that he tells you what you want to hear to get what he wants. Felicity invites Noah to Palmer Tech and shows him around telling him that they’re going to take baby steps.
They meet and Merlyn takes off his ring as if to exchange but he puts it back on calling for his soldiers. A fight breaks out but Nyssa’s team is outnumbered so she tells them to retreat. Oliver stops Merlyn from going after her telling him to think about Thea but he tells him that she is all he’s thinking about. The team regroups and try to figure out a way to diffuse the tensions and Oliver determines that they need to take down the heads of both organizations.
Quintin calls Oliver because there’s a trail of dead robed bodies and Diggle intervenes telling him that the problem is Merlyn. He tells him in order to stop all of this he needs to kill Merlyn. Laurel tracks Nyssa and tries to stop her but the League shows up spilling the fight out onto the streets. Oliver and Diggle show up for back out and after taking down their pursuers Diggle shoots Nyssa with a tranquilizer.
Nyssa wakes up in a cell and Laurel asks her where the elixir is. Nyssa won’t give it up and Laurel tries to break her resolve telling her that she’s not the kind of person who would let an innocent person die. Felicity returns and tells Oliver that her father left a device behind at Palmer Tech which copied all of the tech in the lab. She tells him he clearly failed her test and her mother was right but Oliver tells her that some people can change. He then tells her that Diggle thinks he should kill Merlyn and Felicity agrees but he tells her that he’s holding out some hope that if he gives him a chance he’ll be a good father. A locator goes off and the see that Merlyn is downstairs with Thea.
Oliver tells Merlyn that he needs to give Nyssa the ring for the elixir but he goes off on a tangent of memories he has of Thea an tells him that she will pass away in the morning. Oliver tells him a real father would save his daughter but Merlyn tells him that it’s bigger than what he thinks because he would be handing over too much power into her hands. He asks him what if he was in the same position and it was Darhk he had to make a deal with for his son’s live.
Oliver asks him what if he could get the elixir and still keep his ring. He tells him that he should agree to a trial by combat. Merlyn agrees and he’s about to face off with Nyssa but Oliver interrupts telling them that in the eyes of the League he is Nyssa’s husband. He tells them that he will fight in her place.
Nyssa tells him that she doesn’t let anyone fight her battles but he tells her that he’s been forced to choose and he chooses her life over Merlyn’s. Merlyn tells him he’s very disappointed but Oliver tells him he brought them to this place and after three years they’re going to finish it. Oliver gets the upper hand and gives him one more chance to yield but Merlyn tells him to kill him. He cuts off his hand and gives the ring to Nyssa who in turn hands over the elixir.
They give Thea the elixir and she wakes up feeling better. Oliver tells her that the elixir cured her bloodlust but he holds off telling her about her father’s hand. Noah stops by Felicity’s office but she tells him that they’re done trying to reconnect. He asks him what was so wrong with her and he tells her there wasn’t anything wrong with her it was all him. She ten tells him that what she knows is that he’s wanted by the police and they enter arresting him.
Oliver and Laurel meet with Nyssa who tells them that she realizes she’s not her father. Merlyn shows up and she throws the ring into the fire pit telling them that she disbanded the League of Assassins. Merlyn turns this around on Oliver and tells him that the only reason he gets to live is because death would be a mercy compared to the debt he owes him. Oliver tells him he that he better not turn it around on him. Oliver returns home and asks Felicity why they’re waiting when everything is now quiet. She tells him that she’s in for a small wedding.
Merlyn meets with Darhk and tells him that he knows who Oliver cares about more than Merlyn. He gives him William’s name and tells him that he’s his son.
Some takeaways…
- Welp, at least we know Merlyn is still Merlyn. The fact that he just threw a child, not an adult, but a kid into Darhk’s path says a lot about the type of person we’re dealing with. While the truce between Oliver and Merlyn was cute it’s nice to see things kick back up again. Merlyn is the original baddie.
- Not going to lie, Oliver and Nyssa being “married” definitely slipped my mind. Kudos on the writers for bringing that full circle.
- It looks like we’re going to be getting a wedding sooner than we thought… well that is if Felicity doesn’t go crazy over the news of Oliver’s son. I think I’m more interested in seeing how that plays out because it might not be pretty.
Were you surprised that Merlyn gave Oliver’s son’s name to Darhk? Let me know below and on Twitter!
