History Recap / ArrowS3E22ThisIsYourSword

Oliver, not brainwashed, reveals to Malcolm the plan to destroy Starling City with the Alpha-Omega Virus. Malcolm has to convince Team Arrow to travel to Nanda Parbat to destroy it before it can be deployed.

* BaitAndSwitchGunshot: PlayedForLaughs. After Felicity has an arrow shot into her laptop, she throws it like a frisbee at a League assassin behind her, and seems to hit him in the neck and knock him over, choking. She grins... and then sees Malcolm's arrow sticking out of his back.
-->'''Felicity:''' Oh. That makes more sense.

* {{Cliffhanger}}: Oliver and Nyssa's wedding are taking place around the same time Oliver's "former" friends sans Tatsu are (seemingly) slowly dying from the Alpha/Omega virus.
* CoitusEnsues: Between Roy and Thea.

%% Tropes in subbullets are forbidden.

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Tatsu killed Maseo, freeing him from his misery.

* WeddingDay: Between Oliver and Nyssa at the end of the episode.

* TheCavalry: Team Arrow fails to stop the bomber from taking off, but fortunately, Felicity "brought some insurance." [[CrowningMomentofAwesome Cue Ray Palmer flying in with his leitmotif and taking out the bomber singlehandedly.]]

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Felicity gets in the game for the first time, throwing a damaged tablet with pinpoint accuracy and hitting a League mook right in the throat.

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Poor Tatsu saw her family die in her arms in two different timelines.

* KillTheCutie: Akio finally dies in the flashbacks.

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Tatsu killed Maseo and frees him from his misery.

* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames: While Tastu shows up in full Katana gear, she's never actually called that.

* YouAreInCommandNow: Ray had Felicity sign some papers regarding "corporate stuff." She should have payed more attention, because Ray just gave her ownership of Palmer Industries.

** The Nanda Parbat assault team gathers at [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Ferris Air]].

* DarkReprise[=/=]MeaningfulEcho: Tatsu sings the same lullaby she sang to Akio in the flashbacks to a dying Maseo.

** TheLeader: Malcolm
** TheLancer: Diggle
** TheBigGirl: Laurel
** TheSmartGirl: Felicity
** TheChick: Tatsu

* TheBigGirl: Laurel, had the highest bodies dropped (presumably non-fatally) during the assault other than Malcolm and Diggle.

* TheChessmaster: Oliver with Malcolm's help he's been playing everyone in his mission to take down Ra's. His friends don't take it well when they find out.
* TheChick: Tatsu, deals with reasoning with both the reluctant members (Diggle, Felicity and Laurel) of Oliver's "former" team as well as her conflicted husband.

* ExactWords: General Shrieve told Oliver and Maseo that he'll give them to the cure. By cure he meant insulin for his diabetes, not for the Alpha/Omega virus that affected poor Akio.

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Maseo by Tatsu. However, barring the "prejudice", as she's distraught over it.

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Tatsu killed Maseo to free the latter from his misery.

* BaitAndSwitchGunshot: PlayedForLaughs. After Felicity has an arrow shot into her laptop, she throws it like a frisbee at a League assassin behind her, and seems to hit him in the neck and knock him over, choking. She's proud... then sees Malcolm to the side of him, having shot him with an arrow to cause that.

-->'''Felicity:''' Oh. That makes more sense.

* BrokenPedestal: Diggle tells Oliver in no uncertain terms that the stunt he pulled with Lyla not only cost him their friendship but Diggle's respect as well.

* ChekhovsGun: During dinner, Nyssa quietly steals a knife when no one is looking. At the end of the episode, during the wedding, she stabs Oliver--[[NoSell only for him to casually catch her hand and disarm her]].

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Subverted. Team Arrow does quite well against the League's assassins, but only because it's a ruse by Ra's to draw out every last member of the team and ferret out a mole in his own organization.

* ExactWords: General Shrieve told Oliver and Maseo that he'll lead them to the cure. By cure he means insulin for his diabetes, not for the Alpha/Omega virus that affected poor Akio.
* FakeDefector: Turns out Oliver has been faking the League the entire time.

** TheLeader: Malcolm, takes charge of the assault and was in cahoots with Oliver about the plan.
** TheLancer: Diggle, the official NumberTwo of the original Team Arrow and the second most authoritative member of the assault team after Malcolm.
** TheBigGirl: Laurel, had the highest bodies dropped (presumably non-fatally) during the assault other than Malcolm and Diggle.
** TheSmartGirl: Felicity, was in-charge of hacking the plane that (was assumed to) contain the Alpha/Omega virus.
** TheChick: Tatsu, deals with reasoning with both the reluctant members (Diggle, Felicity and Laurel) of Oliver's "former" team as well as her conflicted husband.
** SixthRanger: Ray, arrives at the last minute to stop the plane that seemingly contains the Alpha/Omega virus.

* IResembleThatRemark: When Felicity calls Malcolm "a sociopath and a liar", he doesn't deny that at all.

* DownerEnding: Once again, the episode ends in a very depressing note as Team Arrow minus Tatsu (who was ordered to be spared by Ra's) falls victim to the Alpha/Omega virus.
** SuperDickery: Viewers paying attention will have noticed that, although everyone coughed and passed out, there was no BloodFromTheMouth.

** SuperDickery: Viewers paying attention will have noticed that, although everyone coughed and passed out, there was no BloodFromTheMouth. It's quite likely that Oliver somehow switched the vial for something else. Also of note, the promos for the final episodes of The Flash have shown that The Arrow and Firestorm will be helping him fight the Reverse Flash.

** Ra's is seen mesmerized by Tatsu's sword (in fact, it was the implied reason he had her spared). In the comics, said sword possess powers that enable Tatsu to have some DeadPersonConversation with her deceased loved ones.

* AbsenteeActors: Quentin did not appear in the episode.

** SuperDickery: Viewers paying attention will have noticed that, although everyone coughed and passed out, there was no BloodFromTheMouth. It's quite likely that Oliver somehow switched the vial for something else.
** Also of note, the promos for the final episodes of Arrow have shown that The Arrow and The Atom will be helping him fight the Reverse Flash.

** TheLancer: Diggle, the official NumberTwo of the original team Arrow and the second most authoritative member of the assault team after Malcolm.

* ExtremelyShortTimespan: Lampshaded. Malcolm and Oliver th

ought they'd have months, if not years, before Oliver ascended to Ra's, giving them plenty of time to come up with countermeasures to the plan to destroy Starling. Instead, it's only been a few weeks.

* ExtremelyShortTimespan: Lampshaded. Malcolm and Oliver thought they'd have months, if not years, before Oliver ascended to Ra's, giving them plenty of time to come up with countermeasures to the plan to destroy Starling. Instead, it's only been a few weeks.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Felicity gets in the game for the first time, throwing a damaged tablet with pinpoint accuracy and hitting a League mook right in the throat.