'Arrow' Recap: Wedding Bells for Oliver

Warning: This recap contains storyline and character spoilers for this week’s episode of Arrow.

Well, obviously Oliver hasn’t gone over to the Dark Side; he’s been working on destroying the League of Assassins from the inside out. But just because he has good intentions, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to pan out. As of right now, he’s foiled zero of Ra’s al Ghul’s plans, and even if he does manage to save Starling City, it doesn’t look like he or the city will escape unscathed.

The Plot

Diggle, Felicity, and Laurel are trying to handle Oliver’s betrayal by beating down criminals in Starling City. Thea deals with her emotions by tracking down Roy, who’s working anonymously as a mechanic somewhere. After a night together, he leaves again, realizing she needs to handle things on her own.

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Oliver, meanwhile, has been working behind Ra’s al Ghul’s back. He sends Merlyn back with Tatsu to convince the team return to Nanda Parbat and stop the release of the Alpha Omega bioweapon. During the fight, Tatsu kills Maseo and sings him the lullaby she sang Akio as he died.

Everyone is captured, and Merlyn tries to sell out Oliver. Ra’s throws them into a cell with the Alpha Omega, and the episode ends with Oliver marrying Nyssa.

The Flashback

Maseo and Oliver kidnap General Shrieve (Marc Singer) in hopes that there’s a cure for the virus. By the time they return to Akio, he’s already dead. In any event, there is no cure; the general accompanied them so his men could track and finish Maseo, Oliver, and Tatsu off.

Malcolm Merlyn: Betrayer or Double Agent?

It’s a well-known fact that Emily Bett Rickards was not intended to be the series regular she is now from the outset. Her chemistry with Stephen Amell led fans to immediately embrace Felicity, and she came onboard full time. Is it possible the same thing is happening with John Barrowman?

It’s not often that a Big Bad gets to stick around a show after they’re defeated, but if they do, they have to reform. If he’s going to be around for Season 5, his betrayal of Oliver has to be part of their plan. If not, we may see the last of Malcolm Merlyn next episode.

Speaking of Betrayal…

There has been a lot of lies and double-crossing this season; it’s really one of the main themes of the season, as identities are exposed and the consequences tear apart old relationships. Has it reached the point of fatigue? Or do you like that they’re not a sunshine-y happy family?

In many respects, it shows that Oliver is more than just shredded abs and a jaw that could cut glass; he’s using his intellect to fight the League when brute strength won’t do. But does the resulting domestic drama work for you?

Smoak Stacks, Inc.?

Of course, the most pressing question of the episode: What will Felicity rename Ray’s company now that, apparently, he’s signed it over to her? Ollie Industries (with a little heart for the dot on the 'i’)? FelicitInc? The boring answer would be to change it back to Queen Consolidated, but SmoaQueen Gun Tech has a nice ring to it, right?

Inside Comics Moment

At long last, Tatsu wields the family sword and dons the modern Katana mask (the white half-mask with the Rising Sun insignia). Though she never mentions the sword by name (“Masamune” is the name of a legendary Japanese swordmaker), in the comics, its name is Soul Taker. After killing her husband with the blade, she starts talking to it as if he were inside it.

It’s hard to imagine she’ll be sticking around next season to join Team Arrow, since it’s kind of hard to make a katana non-lethal, so we may not get to see that happen on the show.

Next Week

The Flash himself, Barry Allen, returns for the Arrow season finale. It’s going to be a pretty long time before we get sick of seeing these mini-crossovers. It’s one of the great joys of comic books, and it’s a critical element missing from every other comic book show on TV — so critical that it’s a major reason Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was such a disappointment early on.

If the Arrow/Flash spinoff airs concurrently with the first two shows, who knows what sort of awesomeness/insanity/awesome insanity could result?

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.