"My name was Oliver Queen. For three years, I worked to save my city. But to save my sister, I had to become someone else. I had to become something else."
— The modified Opening Narration
Oliver, now conditioned as a member of the League of Assassins, is sent back to Starling City to destroy the only thing standing in his way as Heir to the Demon — Nyssa. Meanwhile, in the flashbacks, Oliver and his friends try to escape Hong Kong being consumed by the Alpha/Omega virus.
- All for Nothing: Oliver joined the League so Ra's would stop killing people in Starling City... only for Ra's to reveal that he wants Oliver to use the Alpha/Omega Virus on Starling City to truly kill Oliver Queen.
- Annoying Arrows: Used not to show Oliver's usual badass stoicism, but his lack of emotion after his own sister shoots him—he just stares coldly at her, cuts off the shaft with his sword and yanks the arrowhead out without flinching.
- Arc Welding:
- When Ra's reveals the existence of his rival Damien Darhk and his H.I.V.E. organization, he reveals that they were responsible for the attempt to steal Merlyn's prototype earthquake machine, Gholem Qadir's setup in Markovia, and Mark Shaw's attempt to steal A.R.G.U.S. files. And this is on top of the H.I.V.E. being responsible for establishing Deadshot as a mercenary and having him kill Diggle's brother.
- Ra's is revealed to be in possession of the Alpha/Omega bioweapon from this season's flashbacks, further tying together the two storylines, which were previously only loosely connected by Maseo's presence.
- Arranged Marriage: Ra's forces Oliver and Nyssa into one, much to the latter's disdain (the former also flinched when it was announced, implying his discomfort).
- Batman Gambit: During the exchange, Oliver ordered Team Arrow to be searched. Maseo went to search Felicity and she demanded he not touch her. Oliver ordered Maseo to back off, knowing she's the Non Action Girl of the team. However Felicity is carrying two pistols which Lyla grabs when she hugs her.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Laurel and Diggle save Nyssa from Oliver's initial capture attempt.
- Thea saves Diggle from Oliver at the climactic battle.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Oliver barks, "Quiet!" when Lyla tries to get through to him.
- Blood from the Mouth: A symptom of the Alpha/Omega virus.
- Book Ends:
- Oliver kills Hallucination-Diggle with a sword while Diggle is on his knees before him. When they fight for real, they end up in the same position before Thea shoots Oliver to stop him inflicting the killing thrust.
- Thea walks in on Felicity because Your Door Was Open, then Felicity walks in on Thea for the same reason. In both cases it's implied they're so distraught that they're forgetting basic security.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Oliver has spent three weeks being tortured and conditioned by the League, in order to make him accept his new identity.
- Call-Back:
- The hallucination of Diggle talks of how when Oliver first recruited him, Diggle said he would be there to remind him of who Oliver Queen was.
- In reference to Oliver being brainwashed, Thea rubs into Malcolm his drugging her so she can kill Sara for his benefit. The first confrontation Oliver has with Nyssa takes place on the rooftop where Sara was killed.
- Oliver recounts to Nyssa the time she told him that "vengeance is justice".
- Nyssa and Laurel discusses Sara's time with Oliver on Lian Yu.
- Continuity Nod:
- Laurel gets to use her new Canary Cry here after getting it from Cisco.
- Thea is ignorant of the Olicity relationship because most of it happened before Thea even knew about Team Arrow, and Felicity has mainly been hanging around Ray Palmer this year.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: Thea puts an arrow through Oliver's arm just as he's raised a sword to slay Diggle.
- Dark Reprise: A non-musical one in the form of the Opening Narration.
- Doomed by Canon: Akio was heavily implied to be a Posthumous Character throughout the season and was confirmed at the last episode. This episode shows why...
- Downer Ending: Oliver is still in the League, Nyssa was recaptured and forced into an Arranged Marriage with him by Ra's, every single member of Team Arrow is left broken and/or in tears because of his apparent Face–Heel Turn, and a majority of the Hong Kong residents, including Akio, got infected by the Alpha/Omega virus. Speaking of which, Ra's' next task for Oliver is to destroy Starling City using said virus.
- Dramatic Irony/You Are What You Hate: In addition to literally and essentially becoming a Dark Archer, Thea threatened him that she'll shoot his eye, thus mirroring what happened to Slade. Not only that, but him pulling a Face–Heel Turn and fighting his friends is exactly what Slade did when he went off the deep end.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Subverted. Ra's never had any real affection for Nyssa; she was always just a pawn.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Ra's considers Damien Darhk a threat that must be stopped — but then again, Ra's wants Oliver to use a biological weapon on an entire city of innocent people for an arcane ritual so it's basically moot.
- Averted with the League as a whole; Diggle points out that if the League really had "honor" they would not do half of what they do.
- Played straight with Nyssa — she stole the Alpha/Omega virus to prevent Oliver from using it on Starling City (with the more selfish implication of preventing his ascension as Ra's too).
- Lyla is kidnapped, but baby Sara is left unharmed.
- Everyone Can See It: Averted for once when Thea turns out to have been ignorant of the Oliver/Felicity relationship until Felicity tells her.
- Face–Heel Turn: As expected from the League's psychological and chemical brainwashing, Oliver has an incredibly accelerated one. What sells it is his ruthlessness and absolute lack of empathy.
- Fate Worse than Death: Nyssa would much rather die than be forced to marry Oliver.
- Fighting from the Inside: Oliver never actually kills Nyssa or any member of Team Arrow (he's notably hesitant before striking any final blow). In fact, he fails to do many things that he would were he truly gone, like thoroughly searching the team or remaining stoic at Ra's' revelation of the wedding.Maseo: These friends of Nyssa's—were they friends of yours?
Oliver: They'll be protecting her now. We need to draw them out. - Fighting Your Friend: The episode's premise.
- Foreshadowing:
- Seems to be the case with two in one sentence. Ra's says he was inducted into the League with a man named Damien Darhk – who currently leads H.I.V.E.
- Felicity points out that Diggle needs to start wearing a costume (sorry, "identity concealment") if he's going to do vigilante work. Diggle is unenthusiastic, but this foreshadows his becoming Spartan.
- Friendship Moment: Nyssa and Laurel share a meal at a burger joint together after engaging in some vigilantism.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Damien Darhk, rival to Ra's al Ghul and leader of the H.I.V.E., is first mentioned, and revealed to be responsible for many things that have happened over the course of the show.
- Hero Antagonist: With Oliver becoming a Villain Protagonist, Team Arrow serves this role for this episode and presumably the succeeding ones.
- Hope Spot: An especially cruel one. Oliver and the Yamashiros decide to leave Hong Kong, and Tatsu tells Akio they're safe. Then Akio looks at her, and a trickle of blood runs from his mouth...
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!
- In his Back Story, the current Ra's was required to kill his best friend Damien Darhk, a rival for the position. He hesitated to do the deed, enabling Darhk to escape and form a rival splinter group. He therefore approves of Oliver's lack of hesitation as he's about to strike down Nyssa, former girlfriend of Sara Lance.
- Whoever becomes Ra's al Ghul is required to destroy their place of birth as a symbolic casting off of all ties. Ra's destroyed his own village, his predecessor was responsible for the Alexandria cholera outbreak of 1609, and Oliver is called on to destroy Starling City with a bioweapon.
- The Shoot Your Mate version occurs when Diggle is brought in as a prisoner and Oliver is expected to kill him. Later Oliver shows himself willing to kidnap and possibly even kill members of Team Arrow if they get in the way of his capturing Nyssa. According to Maseo even some of the other Assassins thought Oliver would fail this Secret Test of Character.
- Oliver is placed in an Arranged Marriage with Nyssa, with the implication that, given her homosexuality, Oliver will be required to rape her to provide Ra's with a dynastic heir.
- I Have Your Wife: Played straight when Oliver kidnaps Lyla in exchange for Nyssa.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Nyssa likes hanging around with Laurel drinking milkshakes and helping take down muggers like normal Starling City girls do. She's so obviously enjoying herself that Laurel delays telling Nyssa what she badly needs to know, and despite her anger over this admits that living a few weeks without being under the thumb of her father meant a great deal to her.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Various members of Team Arrow either express disbelief that Oliver can be brainwashed, and/or try to appeal to Oliver on meeting Al Sah-Him, to no avail.
- Important Haircut: Oliver shaves his head during his time at the League.
- Internal Reveal: Felicity tells Thea that Roy faked his death back in the prison.
- Ironic Echo: Oliver responds to Nyssa with her own line, "Sometimes vengeance is justice."
- It's a Long Story: Felicity explaining to Thea that they faked Roy's death."It's a long story, as most faked death stories are..."
- I Want Grandkids: The main reason Ra's made an Arranged Marriage between Oliver and Nyssa is for them to create a dynasty, his dynasty.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Nyssa questions Laurel as to why she insists on keeping pointless and actively harmful secrets.
- "Leave Your Quest" Test: In the episode where Thea finally dons a superhero costume, Felicity informs her that Roy Harper is alive and living safely elsewhere, implying that she's free to run off with him as she was originally going to do at the end of Season 2.
- Little Sister Instinct: Even though Oliver's brainwashing reminds Thea of her father mind-controlling her to kill Sara, she doesn't hesitate to call on Malcolm Merlyn for help in saving him.
- Madness Mantra: During Oliver's conditioning, "Oliver Queen is alive only in the past; he is forgotten" is repeated to him over and over until Oliver himself says it by rote.
- Male Gaze: The scene where Nyssa is cleaning up after Oliver's initial (failed) attempt to recapture her. She's wearing a very revealing top and it's sleeveless to boot.
- Marital Rape License: Ra's (at least, apparently) believes in this, declaring that Oliver and Nyssa are to be married. Nyssa objects vehemently. Even Oliver looks a little disturbed through the brainwashing.
- Meaningful Echo: Thea warns Oliver that if he attempts to strike Diggle again, the next arrow (the first one was shot through his left arm) will go through his eye. Now look back at what Oliver did to Slade in the Season 2 flashbacks... it worked about as well back then, too.
- Moral Myopia:
- Laurel argues that Team Arrow should protect Nyssa because she saved Sara's life, which makes her a good person. Apparently she forgot all about Nyssa poisoning her and later abducting and threatening to kill her mother if Sara didn't come back to her.
- Ra's sends Oliver to bring Nyssa back to Nanda Parbat for her "betrayal". Nyssa treats this with open contempt, as the only offense she's committed is being a rival claimant to Oliver (though it's later revealed that she stole Omega off her father).Nyssa: To face justice; if so for what crime? To face vengeance; if so for what offense?Al Sah-him: You told me, vengeance is justice.
- More than Mind Control: Ra's subjects Oliver to some form of brainwashing in order to kill whatever bit of Oliver Queen remains within Al Sah-him.
- Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Thea officially dresses in a very dark Mia Dearden costume. The Badass Cape was switched to a garb, but the hood attached was retained.
- Mythology Gag: Thea Queen dresses in the garb of an archer to stop Oliver. This is the beginning of her transformation into Speedy, and there's another Red Arrow reference with the bloody arrow she puts through her brother's arm.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: Nyssa to her father when she thinks she's about to be executed.
- Not What I Signed Up For: Ra's never mentioned to Oliver that joining the League would involve brainwashing and destroying the city he loves.
- The One Guy: After Roy's forced departure and Oliver's forced Face–Heel Turn, Diggle is the only male member left of Team Arrow.
- Opening Narration: We have brand new one from Oliver briefing detailing how he had to stop being the Arrow and join the League.Narration: My name was Oliver Queen...
- Police Are Useless: US soldiers working for General Shrieve are operating in uniform in Hong Kong without any sign of the PLA or China's internal security forces.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Ra's has no compunction against forcing his daughter to marry a man, despite Nyssa being a lesbian.
- Protagonist Title: The title directly refers to Oliver's League codename. He may be a Villain Protagonist now, but this is still his show.
- Public Secret Message: Dig mentions Jakarta when telling his wife to hug Felicity, tipping her off that Felicity is carrying weapons for her.
- Red Herring: The only people shown to have arrived back in Starling City at the end of the previous episode were Malcolm, Thea and Felicity, making it seem plausible that Diggle had been kidnapped by the League on the way back like he said. After it's revealed that Oliver hadn't killed his friend, then Diggle is shown at home with his family.
- Replacement Goldfish: Oliver's role as a substitute for Diggle's dead brother Andy is lampshaded by Lyla, while Laurel is willing to go great lengths to protect Nyssa who is the last link to her dead sister.
- Sad-Times Montage: Of Thea reading the letter from Roy, Diggle looking at a photo of himself with Oliver, Laurel alone in the burger joint she went with Nyssa, and Felicity crying in the trashed Arrowcave.
- Selective Obliviousness: The entirety of the former Team Arrow has somehow failed to admit, for three whole weeks, that "Assassin" is an important addendum to the League name. As Merlyn masterfully points out to a (seemingly) willfully ignorant Thea, killing is in the job description.
- Shout-Out: Felicity calls the brainwashed Oliver Darth Oliver.
- Shoot the Dog:
- As established in the past, League members are required to do this. More so with the Heir to the Demons.
- Thea literally shot Oliver with an arrow to save Diggle.
- Shoot Your Mate: Oliver is given a herb that causes his conscience to be reflected in what he sees. He sees Diggle come back to rescue him and remind him of who he is, and then kills Diggle with a sword as a casting aside of the past. 'Diggle' turns out to be another Assassin.
- So Proud of You: Merlyn's expression just screams this when Thea makes it clear she's intent on going out to kick ass and take names.
- Spoiler Title: The episode title was released a few weeks after "Nanda Parbat" aired so if you are Arabic or knows the language, you will probably figure out Oliver's decision before this episode even aired. The Flash PaleyFest trailer also helped.
- Superdickery: Oliver runs Diggle through with a sword, only for it to be revealed that he's killed another Assassin who only appears to be Diggle due to him being drugged.
- Super-Scream: Our first use of the Black Canary's "canary cry" is when Laurel uses it on Oliver. Instead of the thrown screamers that Sara used, she has a collar-device that amplifies her scream to the same effect.
- That Man Is Dead: What gets drilled in to Oliver during his three weeks of brainwashing; "Oliver Queen is alive only in the past. He is forgotten." By the end of the episode, Team Arrow have to accept that Oliver really is lost to them.
- Time Skip: A three-week one, bringing the timeline back into line with The Flash (2014) (ignoring desynchronized-airing issues).
- To Absent Friends: Team Arrow drink a toast to Oliver as if he's dead instead of merely elsewhere.
- Villain Protagonist: The episode chronicles Oliver's descent and the team's reactions.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Nyssa gives one to Laurel for keeping Oliver's situation from her, specifically pointing out that she really should have learned her lesson about secrets after the whole debacle with her father.
- Laurel gives one to Diggle when he plans to hand over Nyssa to the League in return for Lyla's release. Which Diggle turns around on her by reminding Laurel that Nyssa is a career assassin who has murdered hundreds.
- Lyla gives one to Oliver as they await Team Arrow.
- Where I Was Born and Razed: It is revealed that any who become Heir to the Demon are required to do this themselves. In fact, the scorched place Oliver and Ra's were talking at the beginning of the episode was Ra's former home.
- Your Door Was Open: Security at Team Arrow's new lair clearly needs some work.Felicity: How did you get in here?
Thea: My dad's a supervillain and you left your doors unlocked.- Felicity in turn is able to walk right into Thea's apartment because her door is unlocked. She's also sitting in a funk with her back to the door, showing the depths of her despair after having threatened to kill her own brother who is showing no sign of the Oliver she loves.
