Oliver begins his journey back to Starling City, while Team Arrow continues to try and fight Brick's men without him. Meanwhile, Thea and Merlyn continuing preparing for the League's assault.
Tropes:
- Batter Up!: Sin's weapon during the titular event.
- Blinded by the Light: When he gets tired of masked vigilantes jumping out at his men from the shadows, Brick loads a shotgun with flare shells and uses them against our heroes.
- The Bus Came Back: Sin and Ted Grant.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Malcolm intends to kill Brick by shooting him with his own gun, the same one he used on his wife Rebecca. But Brick doesn't know who he's talking about, since he's killed many people with that gun. Eventually he remembers her as the "brunette", his first kill as part of an initiation to join a gang.
- Chronic Evidence Retention Syndrome: Turns out that 9mm Beretta Brick carries is the one he uses for all his homicides, including Rebecca Merlyn twenty years ago. Felicity notes he's either stupid or arrogant.
- Clark Kenting: Averted when Roy goes to have a conversation with Capt. Lace as Arsenal, in full costume and with a voice changer. Lance immediately recognizes him.Arsenal: (with voice changer) Captain Lance.
Lance: Harper.
[beat]
Arsenal: I'm not sure what you—
Lance: I've seen you wearing a red hoodie, I've seen you shooting arrows at people, you think I don't recognize ya with a little extra leather and lace?
Arsenal: (beat) Well, I guess I won't be needing this anymore. [turns off voice changer] - Catchphrase
- Arsenal and Black Canary uses the Borrowed Catchphrase version when challenging Brick.Black Canary: Daniel Brickwell...Arsenal: You have failed this city.Brick: And you seem to have failed in your maths. Can't you see there's a lot more of us than there is of you?Sin: Guess again, Brick-head. (enters with equal number of Glades residents)
- During his speech at the end, the Arrow tells the citizens of the Glades that they have not failed this city, and he won't fail them by leaving it again.
- Arsenal and Black Canary uses the Borrowed Catchphrase version when challenging Brick.
- Comforting Comforter: Malcolm to Thea after returning to find her asleep on the couch.
- Continuity Nod:
- Roy was mistaken as The Flash ("The Red Streak") at the beginning of the episode.
- Thea mentions Moira's Heroic Sacrifice.
- Malcolm mentions The Undertaking and Tommy's death.
- A Day in the Limelight/Villain Episode: The episode focused on Malcolm's Start of Darkness.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Felicity's What the Hell, Hero? to Oliver.Felicity: You said you loved me?! If that's true then why are you abandoning everything that you stood for by working with Malcolm?! Someone who brainwashed Thea, a person you're supposed to love, into killing a woman you used to love (Sara)?!
- Description Cut:
- When Oliver asks Tatsu to teach him swordfighting, she rejects it saying that he needs someone who understands how Ra's fights. "Only the student can surpass the master." We then cut to Malcolm Merlyn sharpening a League of Assassins sword.
- When Malcolm repeats the line about the student surpassing the master, we then cut to a flashback of a young Nyssa in training who meets Malcolm, her future Arch-Enemy.
- Enemy Mine: Malcolm offered Team Arrow a hand in fighting Brickwell. They refused (or rather, Roy was outvoted). At the end of the episode, Oliver asks Malcolm to train him fight Ra's, to the shock of Felicity who was the most vocal opponent of them teaming up.
- Event Title: The episode refers to Roy and Laurel rallying the citizens of the Glades to fight against Brickwell and his posse.
- Evil Mentor: In addition to Thea, Malcolm may well become Oliver's too.
- Evil Versus Evil: Brick vs. Malcolm.
- Godzilla Threshold: The only way Ollie has even a chance of defeating Ra's al-Ghul is to be trained by someone from the League, and Malcolm Merlyn is the only choice.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: Team Arrow reaches out to the people of the Glades to ask for help standing up to Brick.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: According to Malcolm, everything he has ever planned has turned into this. Even the plans that he believed Utopia Justifies the Means caused a terrible outcome.
- He's Back!: Roy and Laurel exchange a delighted look on seeing a green-colored arrow slam into a mook.
- Honor Before Reason: Team Arrow (sans Roy) rejecting Malcolm's offer of help. Diggle even lampshades it by saying they "I don't know if we made the right choice, but we definitely did the right thing."
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: The episode's Aesop.
- Ignored Epiphany: Felicity had hoped that after his Love Confession, if by some miracle Oliver survived his Duel to the Death it would cause him to reconsider their relationship. Instead the only lesson he has taken is that he needs to join forces with Malcolm, the very option Felicity refused on his behalf not too long ago.
- Internal Reveal: Sin tells Captain Lance that The Canary that is running around now is not Sara.
- Irony: Lampshaded by Felicity when it turns out Brick is operating from the abandoned police station.
- Kingpin in His Gym: Thea and Malcolm swordfighting. She does well, but loses because she hesitates to go for the Coup de Grâce.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Between Malcolm and Brick, the former was portrayed more sympathetically. It even counts as a literal example — both wear black outfits, but Malcolm's is more "glowing".
- Locked Out of the Loop: Team Arrow is completely unaware of what Oliver's been up to since he left Starling, so they are less than understanding when he teams up with Malcolm.
- Love Makes You Evil: Malcolm's Start of Darkness was triggered by his wife's murder.
- Love Redeems: Cited by Malcolm after Oliver talks him out of killing Brick. Malcolm thinks I've Come Too Far to ever be redeemed, but Oliver convinces him to show Thea a different side to himself.
- Mistaken Identity: Roy was mistaken as The Flash ("The Red Streak") at the beginning of the episode.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Malcolm learns he killed the wrong man in vengeance for his wife, leading him to realize that everything he's done has been one big tragic mistake.
- Mythology Gag: During the titular uprising, Ted calls himself Wildcat, his comic counterpart's superhero identity.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Thea is understandably confused—though pleased—when her brother turns up at her apartment while Malcolm is there and doesn't kick up a fuss, having already decided to form an alliance with him.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Once again, Roy's identity is less of a secret than Oliver's. His distinctive fighting style and obsession with the Arrow make it pretty obvious who Arsenal is to anyone who knows him.
- Police Are Useless: Captain Lance is stuck listening to desperate 911 calls from people whom the police are not allowed to help. He does give whatever help he can to Team Arrow behind the scenes, and after Brick is taken down gets the police to go back into the Glades and arrest the rest of his gang.
- Power Fist: Ted's weapon during the titular event.
- Pragmatic Hero: Roy is willing to team-up with Malcolm when the rest of Team Arrow is not. Oliver also asks Malcolm to teach him sword techniques so he'll have a chance of killing Ra's al-Ghul.
- Put on a Bus: This is the last we see of Sin except for a cameo in Season Seven.
- Running Gag: Oliver still doesn't like boats.
- Shoot the Television: A news report on Brick taking over the Glades is interrupted by one of his thugs smashing the screen with a baseball bat before shaking down the owner.
- Spot the Imposter: Sin is delighted at seeing the Canary, but is surprised when 'Sara' doesn't appear to recognise her and just rides off with Arsenal. On getting a good look at the Canary later, she realises someone else is wearing the mask and lets Sara's father know.
- Start of Darkness: We see Malcolm in a flashback as a loving father to Tommy, waking him up from a nightmare and comforting him. Then some officers show up at the door with some bad news and we see that loving heart die.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Oliver (and to a slight degree, Roy) for Malcolm. Averted very much with the rest of Team Arrow who still hate Malcolm with a passion.
- Tempting Fate:
- Felicity can't think of any possible scenario where Oliver would agree to teaming up with Malcolm Merlyn.
- Despite his promise to the citizens of the Glades, Oliver is forced to leave Starling City before the end of the season.
- That Man Is Dead: Thea tries to encourage her father to find a non-violent solution to avenging his wife's murder, but he rejects the idea.Thea: You protected me, risked your life for me just like my mother did.Malcolm: Thea, I know you want to believe there's more to me than a killer, but the fact is, there's not. That man died with his wife.
- Time-Shifted Actor: Tommy, Oliver and Nyssa are portrayed by children under 12 in Malcolm's flashbacks.
- True Companions: When Oliver insists on heading back to Starling City despite not being fully recovered, Tatsu refuses to come with him. She ends up sneaking after him to make sure he gets back to civilization without keeling over.
- Underestimating Badassery:
- Thea clearly still doesn't understand how dangerous the League is, despite Merlyn's warnings. While she's willing to stand her ground and defend herself, she hasn't quite internalized the fact that there's no way she's strong enough to fight the League without killing.
- Felicity as well, since she clearly doesn't understand just how badly Oliver needs Merlyn's help to beat Ra's.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Danny Brickwell killed Rebecca Merlyn. That makes him indirectly responsible for the events of the series.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: Malcolm kills the man (who he thinks and the police think) killed his wife, but all he feels is anger; hence why he goes to join the League.
- Villainous Rescue: The Dark Archer turns up to rescue Arsenal and the Black Canary. It doesn't cut any ice with Team Arrow.
- What Have We Ear?: In the flashback Malcolm is shown doing this to comfort Tommy from a nightmare. On arriving at Nanda Parbat he does the same trick for a young Nyssa after she threatens to kill him, causing her to give him his League name of "The Magician".
- What the Hell, Hero?: Felicity is not happy that Oliver is willing to train under a mass-murdering psychopath who has personally caused the deaths/trauma of several of Ollie's loved ones. (Although Olivier really has no other choice; it's that or let Ra's al-Ghul kill him and everyone else he cares about.)Felicity: Before you left, the last thing you said to me...was that you loved me. Now you're back, and the first thing you tell me is that you are working with the man who turned your sister—a woman you're supposed to love—into a killer, who killed a woman you used to love! (beat) I don't want to be a woman that...you love.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: An odd example. Brick's gang is armed with various handguns and automatic rifles. The somewhat larger citizen army is armed with mostly ad-hoc melee weapons such as bats, crowbars, and even a plank of wood. They charge into melee and engage hand to hand before firing a single shot.
- Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: Brick taunts Malcolm with how his wife begged for her life, and contrasts it with his Defiant to the End response.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Brick gets increasingly annoyed by all these Halloween-costumed vigilantes confronting him. During the climactic battle, he manages to fend them off and escape down an alley, only to run into Merlyn in his Dark Archer outfit. Brick yells out an exasperated "REALLY?!" in response.
- You Killed My Father: Team Arrow (and, by way of a bug on their computer, Merlyn) learn that Brickwell is responsible for the murder of Merlyn's wife.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Malcolm gets a brutal beating from the man he thinks killed his wife when he hesitates to pull the trigger. As he's strutting away though, Malcolm shoots him In the Back.
