ARROW: The Climb {Recap}

Lexie and I were totally intending to do another roundtable about The Flash vs Arrow crossovers, but real life got in our way.

Instead, have one last recap of the year – with the mid-season finale – where there’s plenty to discuss.

Firstly, there’s The League of Assassins finally coming after Oliver. Because who doesn’t want more evil people around Starling City. According to Nyssa, Oliver’s been too busy helping Starling City to find out who killed Sara. Pressure is Oliver’s best friend – right? – so maybe it’ll work out in the end. So all of Team Arrow now in a rush to get the information they need and let’s really hope that Caitlyn’s work is good up in Central City.

When Caitlyn’s work reveals that Oliver’s responsible for Sara’s killer, Felicity and Diggle both share that look of “oh this isn’t good and we hope it isn’t true”. I agree with that one. Oliver’s only option of who wants to take him down is Malcolm Merlyn as he’s only good for one thing in this universe: making Oliver uncomfortable.

A shakedown later, Oliver finds out that Malcolm and Thea came into Starling City the same day as Sara was killed. Oliver won’t believe it, even if everyone else wants to assume that Thea could do it. The Arrow does go to visit Thea later, which brings Malcolm back to visit Oliver.

Malcolm turns out to be a horrible father and had Thea kill Sara while under a psychotropic drug, but that if Oliver will tell The League that he did, there will be a trial by combat. Malcolm wants that because then Thea’s real actions and Malcolm’s own issues will be wiped clean.

Oliver does as Malcolm suggests and challenges Ra’s Al Ghul to a dual. That’s going to go over well when Oliver has only twelve hours before the fight and all the goodbyes to say.

Team Arrow’s goodbyes don’t go as well for Oliver as Thea’s, giving Felicity the time to say that she wants Ra’s Al Ghul dead. Too bad he leads his goodbye with protecting his sister rather than “I love you” to Felicity. That might have helped me win her over.

The dual doesn’t go how anyone would like it: Oliver’s bested and then sliced through the chest with a sword before he falls off the cliff.

Leaving it there is truly awful, but let’s focus on a few other issues that are as equally important.

Was that scene between Laurel and Thea one of the first Bechtel Test passes (until they talked about Oliver) on the show? Or was it just a nice moment between these two women.

Then there’s Felicity and Ray. Or more accurately what Felicity thinks of Ray after their kiss and his tragic backstory. Well, Felicity focuses on that for a while before she focuses on his A.T.O.M suit that he wants to use to save the city.

Arrow returns January 21st for new episodes on The CW.