Article originally written for Seat42F.
ARROW is dead, long live “Al Sah-Him.” Those are not words
you’re likely to hear from any of Team Arrow, whose leader, Oliver Queen
(Stephen Amell), is gone. But it is a chant that could be uttered within the
walls of Nanda Parbat, the place where the man formerly known as The Arrow is
now residing. Is there any chance of getting Oliver back, or is he lost to his
loved ones forever?
It doesn’t take much time for “Al Sah-Him” to establish how
good Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) is at brainwashing. A mere three weeks since
Oliver agreed to become the next Ra’s, Ra’s has him murdering a man he thinks
is John Diggle (David Ramsey), his best friend. It seems like Oliver has been
completely erased from the body of this man, and whether Oliver knew what he
was signing up for or not, his immersion into the new life is proceeding as
Ra’s wants.
This causes much distress among Team Arrow, understandably.
While Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) helping Diggle find the bad guys for him
to take down seems to be working all right, the gang is definitely operating on
a shoestring. Starling City is somewhat vulnerable to attack, its hero not
returning and the third member of the team gone, too.
Which means they are not prepared when Al Sah-Him comes home
and kidnaps Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson), something he would never have done as
Oliver. His goal is to nab Nyssa (Katrina Law), who must face justice from her
father, Ra’s, for abandoning The League of Assassins. But even with Laurel
(Katie Cassidy) and her new scream, as well as Felicity and Diggle, standing up
for her, Nyssa stands no chance escaping from Al Sah-Him. Thankfully, Ra’s has
forced marriage in mind for Nyssa, intending to wed her to Al Sah-Him, rather
than death. But she’s still being held against her will and Team Arrow cannot
save her. Like I said, the city needs a hero again.
In fact, Starling needs saving more than any of the good
guys know. Ra’s reveals to Al Sah-Him that the last thing he needs to do to
erase Oliver Queen’s existence is destroy his home, meaning to kill everyone in
Starling City. Ra’s himself did this once upon a time, and has the virus that
Oliver, Maseo (Karl Yune), and Tatsu (Rila Fukushima) narrowly escape from,
with grave consequences, in this week’s unnecessary flashback. Al Sah-Him may
have forgotten himself enough to murder a friend, but is he so brainwashed that
he would slaughter millions without blinking?
One bright spot of hope in “Al Sah-Him” is when Thea (Willa
Holland) dons the hood and shoots Al Sah-Him through the arm before he can kill
Diggle for real. I’m sure Team Arrow is resisting letting Thea in, as they did
Laurel before her, but Thea is quite capable at this point. With the roster
feeling empty, it’s time for recruitment, and Thea is the best candidate
around. If she pitches in, Starling might just survive this.
“Al Sah-Him” is an emotional hour. Thea, Diggle, and
Felicity all still have deep feelings of affection for Oliver, and only believe
he’s been lost to them when they see his behavior. The acting in this
installment is terrific, proving the cast is capable of more than just running
around and shooting arrows. ARROW doesn’t have the best cast on television, but
the group is certainly well used, the show playing to the strengths of what it
has. And the story couldn’t get much better, high stakes with bold choices.
ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.
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