TV REVIEW: Arrow “The Magician”

By Justin Carter

Before there was “the Arrow,” Oliver Queen was “the vigilante”. He would don his hood, take his bow, and put an arrow into anyone who was on his father’s list, all in the effort to save his city. It made Arrow different at the time because he broke the “no kill” rule that DC has its heroes under. With that came the consequence of being branded a cold hearted killer, and that combined with the death of his best friend Tommy, inspired Oliver to stop killing at the start of season two. With one exception (poor Vertigo I), he’s managed to stick to that rule. Not even Laurel and Nyssa al Ghul pleading with him to kill Malcolm Merlyn, who she’s 100% convinced killed Sara, can get him to break his vow.

Katrina Law returns as Nyssa with a hell of a score to settle. She’s taken a blood oath to find Sara’s killer, and the news that her father Ra’s may have ordered the hit on Sara himself is something she definitely doesn’t want to consider. All things considered, it is a valid idea. Ra’s has always been portrayed as someone who took loyalty very seriously, and anyone who didn’t follow his orders or had qualms about his ideals would end up six feet under. Even though she returned with Nyssa at the end of last season, the fact that reacquiring Sara took so long probably didn’t settle well with him. Having her return to Starling City under the guise of tracking down Merlyn would kill two birds with one stone.

Nyssa’s determination to kill Merlyn is definitely justifiable, and Law plays her passion for justice well. Even if Merlyn didn’t kill necessarily Sara, he has killed before and broken what the League of Assassins stood for. There wouldn’t really be any loss in him being killed, but Oliver is trying to look at things as objectively as he can and promises to keep Malcolm under his protection, at least until he finds out who actually did kill Sara. The scene where Merlyn and Oliver face off in a public spot is definitely a highlight of the episode. Both trade barbs and defenses back and forth, and it’s clear that no matter how evil Merlyn may be, he is at the end of it all a family man, and swearing on Thea’s life that he didn’t kill Sara is all Oliver needs. Family is something Oliver is in short supply of these days, so he’ll naturally believe Merlyn if it means Thea could be put in the crossfire.

“The Magician” also succeeds through its action scenes. The final battle between Nyssa, Oliver, and Merlyn, all in their archer garb, shows how far the show has come since season one in terms of fight choreography. It’s fast, coherent, and though this sounds weird to say, the characters’ actions are much clearer fighting than when they’re being civilians. Each of them fight with a certain amount of passion, but the intent is visually different–Nyssa fights for blood, Oliver for justice and defense, Merlyn for resolution. Two League trained members duking it out is fun to watch, and here’s hoping that Ra’s and Merlyn will square off sometime in the season.

Unlike previous episodes this season, the flashbacks to Oliver’s time in Hong Kong actually have some significance! He kills a man for Waller, only to learn his target was Fyers’ handler during his time on Lian Yu. The target also had information about a plane that Waller tried to shoot down containing recurring Arrow villain China White, a plane that Oliver saved by taking out the anti-air defenses. More than anything, these flashbacks show how Oliver’s actions are coming back to haunt him.  Saving a plane full of innocent people sounds like a win, but the plane also eventually led him to meeting China face to face and her becoming a thorn in his side. There’s no doubt that he made the right call, but as Slade has shown us, good intentions don’t always lead to good consequences.

Ultimately, that’s what this episode of Arrow teaches us, that objectively good decisions will backfire in the end. Laurel’s decision to keep Sara’s death from her father will blow up in her face eventually; Oliver’s decision to protect Merlyn from the League will lead to a war with Ra’s. Choice and consequence is nothing new for Oliver, but unlike Slade and his army of Mirakuru soldiers, there’s no magic cure stopping the League. They play for keeps, and the only way to put them down is an arrow (or two, or three) to the stomach.

Additional notes

• “I don’t think she likes me.” “You’re wrong. She hates you.”

• Felicity shows up at the end for about two seconds, and I would love to hear the team explain what they spent their time doing while she was in Central.

• Oliver Queen bribing children with their one weakness: candy!

• The fact that Roy manages to do one bit of parkour before Nyssa knocks him out will never be funny to me. Poor guy thinks he’s in Power Rangers.

• “My father may be the demon, but yours is the devil.”

• Roy, I know she’s dead now, but it’s probably not a good idea to make a crack about your boss’s mother when he’s two feet away from you.

• The show’s path of turning Laurel into Black Canary is less obnoxious than previous episodes. She and Nyssa have a good dynamic, and you can tell that Nyssa would have no trouble helping her train if given the opportunity.