Check out Josh’s recap of Season 3 Episode 15 of Arrow, titled Nanda Parbat, along with Josh’s and Violet’s thoughts after the jump!
Don’t need the Arrow episode recap for Nanda Parbat? Click here to jump directly to Violet’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Josh’s thoughts on this week’s Arrow episode, Nanda Parbat, click here to get directly there!
Episode Recap of Arrow, Season 3 Episode 15: Nanda Parbat
So in the last episode of Arrow, there was a lot going on. The episode begins with Nyssa informing Ra’s Al Ghul that Oliver Queen is still alive. Ra’s doesn’t seem too bothered by it, since he knows that Oliver isn’t responsible for Sara’s death. Nyssa condemns Oliver for lying to the League though, and seems bent on making sure that Oliver dies regardless. Ra’s gives Nyssa a hard time about her relationship with Sara. All this takes place while Ra’s is bathing in what is presumed to be his Lazarus Pits (check out the history of Ra’s al Ghul to learn more about these).
Meanwhile, back in Starling City, Thea is still struggling with what happened to Sara herself. She is hating Merlyn more and more, and has a heart to heart with Roy. He shares that he knows about her unwitting murder of Sara, and Thea is pretty annoyed that she was the only person who didn’t know. Roy tries to calm her down though, telling her that he also killed someone, and would rather have not known he had done it.
This doesn’t sit well with Thea though, and she pays a visit to Laurel. She decides to come clean to Laurel and tell her what really happened to Sara. Laurel takes it surprisingly well, and acknowledges that Thea was just a pawn. But Laurel is upset about one thing—that Thea and Oliver are working for Merlyn despite what he has done regarding getting Sara killed.
Laurel decides to confront Oliver, and demands that he stop working with Merlyn. Oliver insists that he needs Merlyn to be able to beat Ra’s Al Ghul when the leader of the League of Assassins comes for himself and Thea.
Since Laurel is thoroughly frustrated with Oliver’s unwillingness to budge, she takes matters into her own hand, and confronts Merlyn. She puts up a pretty pathetic fight, and gets beat down pretty badly. Lucky for her, the League shows up. This is unlucky for Merlyn though, who tries to fight his way out, but fails. This is all thanks to Thea telling the League where to find Merlyn.
Oliver figures out that Merlyn has been taken, and he wants to rescue him. Everyone thinks he is crazy at first, but he explains: Thea willingly “killing” her own father will haunt her for the rest of his life. Oliver makes a move to get Merlyn before they leave Starling City. He finds the League about to leave via helicopter, and nearly is able to save Merlyn, but Nyssa provides enough trouble for Oliver, that he is unable to free Merlyn. Oliver does have a new hostage though, capturing Nyssa.
Oliver’s next move is to interrogate Nyssa to figure out where to find Merlyn. She willingly gives up this information: Nanda Parbat. No one wants to see Oliver go, considering what happened the last time he confronted Ra’s Al Ghul, but he is insistent for the sake of Thea. After Diggle has a heart to heart with his soon-to-be wife, he decides he too will go with Oliver to provide back up.
The two make it to Nanda Parbat, and try to be stealthy, but unfortunately they are discovered right away. While making their way in, Oliver admits that he is not only there for Thea, but his own selfish reasons—he hates that he was beaten by Ra’s Al Ghul. They manage to fight their way in though, and even find Merlyn. Merlyn, strung up on chains and beaten, is muttering something inaudible at first, then Oliver hears, “trap…” It is too late though, and Diggle and Oliver are captured. Oliver is taken to Ra’s Al Ghul, and Oliver pleads for Diggle’s life, willing to sacrifice his own. That’s when Ra’s A Ghul drops a bomb on Oliver—he doesn’t want to kill Oliver, he wants to promote him to take his place. Huh?!
As for other things going on this episode, Felicity, who is pretty annoyed with Oliver, pays a visit to a sleep deprived Ray Palmer. He has been in his house working non-stop on his ATOM suit. He tells Felicity, that since the city was under siege, he has had a renewed desire to get his suit done so he can protect everyone. Felicity decides to password encrypt the files he is working with though, and forces him to take a break. He gets a nap, a shower, and comes out shirtless, which causes Felicity to melt. They share a kiss, and a lot more, but then Ray gets back to his suit. He manages to figure out what has been stumping him, and suits up for the first time. He then decides to take his Iron Man-esce suit out for a spin, flying around Starling City.
Meanwhile, while Oliver is out tracking down Ra’s Al Ghul, Thea talks with Nyssa. She then tells Nyssa her deed of killing Sara, and then goes to the extent of giving Nyssa a sword and freeing her from Oliver’s prison….
As for the flashbacks, Maseo and Tatsu, along with their kid are about to head to Japan, but they and Oliver are under attack from some undercover ARGUS soldiers. Oliver thought that they were in the clear, as US Army General Shrieve said they would be safe, but Maseo thinks this is Amanda Waller’s doing. Oliver, Maseo, Tatsu, and Akio, their kid, try to make a break for it, but in the process, Tatsu and Maseo are separated from Oliver and Akio. Maseo tells Oliver to get Akio safe.
So that’s it for the last episode. We will see this week if Oliver chooses to join Ra’s Al Ghul, what happens to Thea at the hands of Nyssa, and what happens to Oliver, Tatsu, Maseo, and Akio in the flashbacks. We’ll also see what Ray has planned now that his suit is semi-operational and what happens to Malcolm Merlyn.
Josh’s Thoughts: Arrow, Season 3 Episode 15: Nanda Parbat
So I am having a hard time with siding with Oliver on this one. I mean, Malcolm Merlyn being basically handed over to Ra’s Al Ghul makes it easy for Thea and him to be off the hook, so why try to rescue Malcolm? What really should have happened was Oliver turned Malcolm over to Ra’s Al Ghul a long time ago, and that would probably have been the end of this issue.
I guess all of that is kind of a moot point though for a couple reasons. One, Oliver kind of admits he wants to get revenge on Ra’s Al Ghul, two, Ra’s doesn’t even want to kill Oliver or Thea anymore. I kind of feel this whole storyline has gotten a little wonky though. Oliver is fighting for something that didn’t really matter in the end, and why in the world would Ra’s want Oliver to take over for him? Maybe it is all just a trick….
Besides all that though, Ray’s new suit is pretty cool. I think it looks a little too Iron Man-esce, but it is hard not to make that comparison when he is using a robotic suit that flies. We know that there is a spin-off in the works for both ATOM and FIRESTORM to be in the same show, which could be pretty interesting. Unfortunately, that means we will see Ray leave Arrow soon I am assume. On the plus side, does that mean Oliver might get his company back? Or is Queen Consolidated forever lost to Oliver? Speaking of, how does Oliver make money to fund all his heroic adventures? That’s some food for thought….
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 3 Episode 15 of Arrow: Nanda Parbat
Ra’s al Ghul wants Oliver to take his place? Whaaaat?? Why? He was just trying to kill him, and thought he had killed him, not too long ago. Now he wants him to take his place. Ooookaaayy… Hopefully we get a plausible explanation about this, because right now it’s not making much sense. I also don’t know why Oliver would even want to take his place. Unless that’s the only way to wipe the slate clean and save Thea, that’s the only reason he would do it. But still not sure why Ra’s al Ghul would even make such an offer.
Well, Felicity, that was quick. You were just pining over Oliver, and you’ve already jumped into bed with Ray. I mean, I know she’s really pissed off at Oliver for not letting them know he was alive for awhile, and because he’s working with Malcolm Merlyn, and she made her whole speech about not wanting to be a woman that he loves… so, is this more like a rebound thing, or is she really moving on with Ray? Ray, who is on the fast track to also becoming a superhero, and likely would soon develop similar relationship problems as Oliver currently has? Although I could be jumping the gun a little here. Who’s to even say that they will be in a relationship after this? It could just be a one time thing that they feel awkward about afterwards, and want to keep things platonic from then on. Or maybe just a friends with benefits kind of thing. Who knows?
Oh, can Laurel just go away already? She’s really annoying lately, wanting to be all involved, and to take matters into her own hands when she doesn’t get her way. Did she really think she could take on Malcolm Merlyn? How dumb of her! She’s lucky that the League of Assassins showed up to fight her battle for her. Can she just stop, please? Or at least get some more training (okay, a lot more training) before she goes back out in the field? On the other hand, kudos to her for acting logically when Thea confessed about killing Sara – just as I thought Laurel would react. It’s frustrating every time this show tries to keep secrets from other people for one reason or another, reasons which don’t even make sense, or are very flimsy excuses, when it would be better if they just told the truth. I think all of the secrets are out now, thankfully. The only thing left is for Captain Lance to figure out that Oliver is Arrow, and everyone will be in the know about everything. That is, until the show comes up with some new secrets.
At this point, the only things I’m interested in on Arrow are an explanation of Ra’s al Ghul’s offer to Oliver, and seeing Ray’s ATOM suit in action. Frankly, I’ve been enjoying The Flash much more than I’ve been enjoying Arrow lately. Let’s see if Arrow can get back on track when it returns March 18.
Scenes from Arrow, Season 3 Episode 16: The Offer
Here are scenes from the next Arrow episode, titled The Offer:
Laurel is annoying for wanting to get vengeance against for her sister when Oliver wants to work with her killer? Ummm okay violet weird mindset.
Also no the female with the most development should not go away.