Arion's true origins are revealed.
Tropes:
- Abdicate the Throne: Ultimately, Orin decides to abdicate in favor of Mera and rejoin the Justice League, since she's the prophesied king and he's never enjoyed being king anyway.
- All for Nothing: Vandal Savage's plan to gain control over Earth's oceans, a gambit that was literally thousands of years in the making, is undone with a single action from the Lords of Order. Even better? It's a complete loss for Vandal, leaving the oceans under the control of Mera, who is firmly aligned with the Justice League, and Vandal has absolutely nothing to show for it. In fact, this may very well be the first time in the series that he has no backup or contingency that the Light is so infamous for in the series.
- Artificial Family Member: Orin calls the clone Orm brother as he sets him free.
- Bait-and-Switch: Throughout the arc, Kaldur's Workaholic behavior has been repeatedly mentioned, and each time Kaldur dismissed the concerns. Wyynde even confides in La'gaan in this episode that he feels the weight of everything will eventually be too much for Kaldur. When Orin decides to take up the mantle of Aquaman once again, Kaldur reveals that he intends to take a leave of absence, having heard everyone's concerns and taken them to heart.
- Bookends: Dr. Fate rubs salt in the wound, telling Savage that his story of conquering Atlantis has ended just as it began: in failure.
- Call-Back: When La'gaan laments that their weeks-long search is keeping him from his pregnant wife and that he may have already missed his child's birth, Kaldur sternly reminds him that he chose to come on this mission and that he needs to either be "here one hundred percent" or go back, recalling Batman's words to Kaldur back in Season 1 when he himself was struggling with splitting his focus between the Team and Atlantis. To his credit, La'gaan calms down at this and reconfirms his commitment to completing the mission.
- The Cameo: Ultra-Humanite and Psimon appear in clone Orm's flashbacks, reporting to Vandal on the progress of the clone's growth and mental conditioning, respectively. Psimon doesn't speak while clone Orm's conscious, and he hears only grunts from Ultra-Humanite.
- Cassandra Truth: Discussed. By the time M'gann figures out the plot, Orm has already been appointed High King by majority vote and Orin knows that any attempt to expose him would be viewed as attempting to undermine his rule. Thankfully, Orm turns out to be a Self-Disposing Villain.
- Clone Angst: The clone Orm is quite justifiably shocked and dismayed when he realizes he was created as an Expendable Clone and all his memories are false. Since this series has been consistent that Clones Are People, Too, Orin sets him free by the end of the episode, encouraging him to lead his own life and that they can be friends as well as brothers.
- Continuity Nod: Wotan is namedropped by Vandal Savage in clone Orm's flashbacks as the one training Orm!Arion to use his new body's full magical powers without relying on Neptune's Trident.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Though it ultimately doesn't affect his plans, Savage didn't seem to anticipate that Orin might employ any one of the number of telepaths available to the League, which includes two Martians, in interrogating Orm. He just assumes that the clone will be either be killed in battle in the best case, or left to rot at worst, never considering that a simple mistake in the clone's memories would unravel the whole plan. It only takes a minor amount of digging for M'gann to recognize Psimon's handiwork and uncover the clone's suppressed memories. She's just a bit too late to make use of it.
- As lampshaded by Nabu at the end, Savage was either so foolish that he believed the Lords of Order wouldn't notice Arion was a fake, or so arrogant that he assumed they would defer to him anyway. It's hard to tell from Savage's brief reaction which mistake he was making, but in either case he was genuinely caught off-guard by the Lords of Order directly retaliating against his plan.
- Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: When Orm is about to put on Arion's crown, Orin tries to warn him against it, saying that it's hubris to try and claim such power. Orm doesn't listen, and gets obliterated for it.
- Dramatic Irony:
- In The Stinger, Kaldur in counseling with Black Canary discusses the deaths of Tula, Wally West, Jason Todd and Conner Kent. Naturally, he's unaware that Conner is currently alive trapped in some ghost dimension while Jason is implied to be the red-hooded ninja serving Ra's and his family on Infinity Island.
- When Conner sees the Klarion-possessed bus, recognizing it as the same bus he saved ten years prior, it's the final straw in convincing him he's losing it. While Conner has been hallucinating for the past two episodes, the bus is one thing he hasn't hallucinated.
- Easily Forgiven:
- While it's not clear how long it took, Orm is willingly working with Savage despite the Light ordering his assassination, even thanking him for giving him a second lease on life after he "lost control".
- After the clone Orm finally accepts the fact he is indeed a clone, Orin clears him of all charges, not wanting him to suffer for the original Ocean-Master's crimes, or punishing him for committing ones against his will.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Savage angrily rants that the Lords of Order should have given him their support because it would have spread order throughout Atlantis. He doesn't seem to comprehend that while the Lords certainly have more of an edge than the Justice League, they also have a very valid grudge against him for his schemes and would interfere to keep him from causing even more trouble when they are able to.
- Exact Words: Following Clone Arion's death after wearing the crown, Mera accepts that the prophecy of the "One True King" is false and declares Orin the True King. Orin himself decides that Mera is worthy of the crown and title as she holds it and still lives. While Arion was the "Stranger" that helped quell the "Red Death", along with Clone Orm and Mera, it didn't exactly mean he was "the best of the Labors Three". Mera's dedication to the throne and to see the prophecy through deemed her the "best".
- Fantastic Legal Weirdness: As all of the clone Orm's crimes were committed under the influence of mental programming with memories and motivations that were not truly his own, nor can he be held responsible for the actions of the now-dead original that occurred before he was made, he's set free by Orin and Miss Martian by the end of the episode.
- I Am a Monster: Conner falls into this mindset after he hallucinates killing Superman in the Phantom Zone, flashing back to all the times he's lost control and Superman's initial distrust of him as evidence that he's always been a monster.
- It's All My Fault: In The Stinger, it's revealed that Kaldur feels a degree of guilt for the deaths of the four Team members who have passed away so far, believing that it never would have happened if he and the others hadn't started the Team in the first place.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: King Ryus Nereus of Xebel is the only city-state representative not to vote for "Arion" as the new Annax. Pleasantly surprised, Mera begins to thank her father for supporting Orin for once... only for him to interject that he's voting for himself.
- Killed Off for Real: Orm is revealed to have been saved from death as a Brain in a Jar, then placed in a clone of Arion's body, but he's definitely killed when he is Stripped to the Bone by Arion's crown.
- Legacy Character: Lampshaded when Orin decides to take up being Aquaman again, since he's no longer king. Kaldur offers to give him the title back, but Orin points out that they have four Green Lanterns and two Flashes, so there's no reason they can't have two Aquamen. In fact, he recruits La'gaan as a third Aquaman.
- Literal Metaphor: Having been placed in an immortal body, Orm tells Savage that he has his "literal undying gratitude".
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the end, the prophecy's fulfillment is just vague enough that it's not clear if it was a true prophecy or not. The first part was staged by Vandal, and ultimately Mera becomes King by process of elimination (of the three that banished the red water, Orm is dead and the clone is unfit to rule) rather than by explicit signs. On the other hand, the red water was in accordance with prophecy and wasn't planned by either side, and despite being powerless, the crown shines when Mera wears it.
- Never My Fault:
- A variation. When Savage claims that he would have brought order to Atlantis, Nabu bluntly points out that Atlantis as it is today exists because he had a Lord of Chaos sink them.
- King Nereus places the blame for Atlantis's current Succession Crisis solely on Orin's shoulders. Orin fires back that the citizens of Atlantis wouldn't be so quick to side with Arion if Nereus hadn't spent years convincing everyone that Orin was not the true king.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: For once Savage's plans did nothing but help his enemies. The clone Orm is ultimately on better terms with Orin than the original ever was and certainly won't be working with the Light anytime soon, the original Orm gets himself killed when he tries to wear Arion's crown which denies Savage control over Atlantis and the death of Orm in Arion's body is used by Orin as a way to make Mera the ruler of Atlantis which helps end the strife that has been going on throughout the arc.
- Not So Stoic: Savage is furious when Nabu taunts him over his hubris in thinking the Lords of Order would tolerate a pretender wielding their power.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: À la Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Orm attempts to wear Arion's crown, the Lords of Order destroy him and reclaim their power. The now-powerless crown is then given to Mera.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Savage basically throws a tantrum over the Lords of Order ruining his plans for Atlantis, actually screaming at Nabu when the latter shows up. It can almost be considered cathartic for the audience that the Light's leader has no backup plans for this millenia-old gambit to blow up in his face.
- It was established during Zatanna's arc that the Lords of Order tend to be hands off in their approach, having gone as far as elevating Nabu to their ranks so they could have someone to counter threats on Earth rather than take action themselves and not even intervening when the Lords of Chaos deliberately tipped the scales by giving Child their combined power. Here, Orm attempting to usurp their power through Arion's crown provokes them into destroying him utterly before reclaiming their power, showing just how furious they must be at such a slight.
- Panicky Expectant Father: Downplayed. La'gaan is not happy that they've been searching aimlessly for weeks and worries that he'll miss or has already missed the birth of his child, but he keeps his head on straight after Kaldur reminds him he chose this. He gets back while Coral's in labor.
- Parting-Words Regret: La'gaan mentions that he regrets holding an immature grudge against Conner for so long, since now he can never reconcile it.
- Post-Modern Magik: Arion is revealed to be a clone body with Orm's brain implanted inside. It retains both the original's metahuman power of immortality and the magical potential imbued by extended use of the crown.
- The Reveal:
- Arion is actually the real Orm, his brain preserved and transplanted into a clone of Arion's body. This was part of Project Thrinos to bring Atlantis, and thus 3/4ths of the world, under the control of Vandal Savage and the Light.
- The foretelling of the One True King is revealed: it's Queen Mera, who is ushered in as Annax and High King of Atlantis.
- Self-Care Epiphany: Kaldur finally decides to take some time off for himself after his friends and family have spent the arc beseeching him to do so.
- Self-Disposing Villain: Letting Orm's Evil Plan go forward leads to its own failure, as putting on Arion's crown causes him to be eliminated by the Lords of Order.
- She Is the King: Mera is proclaimed King or "Annax" of Atlantis.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Savage tries to rant at Nabu about how him controlling Atlantis would have been a good thing, but Nabu bluntly tells him that this matter isn't up for debate. Nabu is here to tell him why he was a fool, not argue the point.
- Simultaneous Arcs: This episode runs concurrent with the final episode of Zatanna's arc, with Conner seeing the school bus possessed by Klarion. In a twist, it's actually been several weeks since then, but Klarion's side trip through the Phantom Zone evidently had him jump ahead in time.
- Spanner in the Works: It seems like Savage is going to gain control over Atlantis through Orm in a cloned body of Arion when the latter puts on Arion's crown and the Lords of Order... register their displeasure. Quite viscerally.
- The Stinger: In the Memorial Grove aboard the Watchtower, Kaldur is meeting with Black Canary where he reflects it's been ten years since the Team was originally formed and how many of his friends and comrades have fallen since then. It's shown that the pressure of everything that's happened over the years has taken its toll as he barely keeps it together, stating that he must have time to heal.
- Stripped to the Bone: When Orm puts on Arion's crown, the Lords of Order react by melting the flesh from his bones before dissolving the bones to dust.
- Time-Passage Beard: The first indication that Kaldur's team has been in the Undersea for far longer than planned is that he and Wyynde have notable scruff.
- Time Skip: The episode takes place several weeks after the last, with Kaldur and Wyynde shown to have grown beards while their exploratory team has been searching the Undersea for Arion's crown. This is reinforced later when it shows that Traci is currently Nabu's host and not Khalid.
- Trigger Phrase: As part of his decaying mental state, Conner hallucinates Lex Luthor saying "red sun", his old shut-down phrase, and blacks out.
- Two-Donor Clone: The clone Arion is actually the clone body of the original but with the mind of Orm.
- The Unreveal: It's not revealed which of Coral's two husbands is the biological father of their child (assuming it's not both, through either scientific or magical Extra Parent Conception). The baby doesn't have La'gaan's amphibious facial features, and because they're swaddled it can't be seen whether they have Rodunn's merman tail or are completely humanoid like their mother. For that matter, their sex and name aren't revealed either.
- Villainous Breakdown: Savage has a relatively subdued one, but after the Lords of Order mess up his plans, he is visibly furious and even snaps Arion's flute in half in a fit of rage.
- Xanatos Gambit: Surprisingly subverted. Savage's plan fails and, for the first time in the series, there is no compensation to fall back on or exploit. His frustration emphasizes this loss.
