Line #72 Recap/ArrowS8E3LeapOfFaith


1	Oliver reunites with Thea to find information on the Monitor. Future Team Arrow tries to take down the Deathstrokes.
2
3	!!Tropes
4	* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Ollie and Thea stop for a rest halfway up the mountain, and ponder the direction their lives have taken.
5	* AmbiguousSituation: It's not clear whether the "god" encountered by Al-Fatih is the Monitor or the Anti-Monitor. Not knowing about the latter yet, Oliver assumes that it's the former.
6	* AmbiguouslyEvil: The scroll that Oliver uncovers suggests that rather than trying to stop the Crisis, the Monitor is going to ''cause'' it. Though this may be referencing the Anti-Monitor.
7	* ArcWelding: Due to the timelines apparently merging, Team Arrow from the future meets Oliver and his friends.
8	* AttackHello: While snooping around in the opening scene, Oliver does an ArrowCatch from a red-hooded figure who turns out to be Speedy. Talia's people also attack on sight, as she notes that hesitation can be fatal in their line of business.
9	* BattleCouple: Diggle is happy to hook up with Lyla again for one more mission. There's also Oliver and Thea as a BrotherSisterTeam. However Lyla and Thea are surprised when Diggle and Oliver try to stop them risking their lives after what they witnessed on Earth-2.
10	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted; Thea has a scar from the facial wound that Athena gave her in "The Thanatos Guild". On the other hand [[DuelingScar it's not the kind of scar]] that seriously detracts from her looks.
11	* BeenThereShapedHistory: The Monitor appeared on Earth in ancient times, and the religious terror his arrival inspired in a man named Al-Fatih led the man to found the League of Assassins and become the first Ra's al Ghul.
12	* TheBusCameBack: Thea returns (having last appeared in Season Six) as does Talia (last seen in Season Seven). Also returning are Athena and the Thanatos Guild, as well as Dinah and Rene.
13	* CainAndAbel: If Connor and JJ weren't this already, they become so after JJ kills Zoe, with Connor wanting to kill him in retaliation.
14	* CallBack:
15	** Thea notes that "Mia" was her Corto Maltese alias.
16	** The tomb of Al-Fatih is in the same mountain that Oliver dueled Ra's al Ghul atop back in Season 3.
17	** Diggle says that dancing with Lyla while undercover is like Deja vu, referring to their BlackTieInfiltration in "Suicide Squad".
18	** The destruction of Earth-2 has affected both Diggle and Oliver, who also recalls how Thea died in that universe because he wasn't there to protect her.
19	* CharacterDeath:
20	** Athena, being buried under a piece of the ceiling in the tomb of Al-Fatih.
21	** Zoe in the future, courtesy of JJ. Also counts as an offscreen version of OutlivingOnesOffspring for Rene.
22	* CivvieSpandex: Thea now wears dark jeans, combat boots and a black leather jacket with a red hoodie, rather than her red-and-black leather Speedy costume.
23	* CombatPragmatist: Thea, disarmed in a duel with Talia, grabs a chain from a nearby wall and chokes her until she yields.
24	* ContinuityNod:
25	** [[Recap/ArrowS7E5TheDemon Oliver and Talia's time together in Slabside]] is mentioned, along with confirmation that she killed Dr. Parker (as a scene of her confronting him [[GoryDiscretionShot cut away]] and merely implied it). [[AssholeVictim Not that he's missed]].
26	** Thea says that Roy Harper stopped by on the way to Lian Yu and let her know about the men he killed in "Confessions".
27	* CrazyPrepared: Turns out that the floor of the Arrow Cave is rigged to electrocute intruders, which William uses to take out JJ's men when they come for him.
28	* DaddyIssues: Part of Talia's motive for throwing in with Thea's plan to turn the League of Assassins into a league of heroes is because she knows that her late father would be aghast at the idea of two women leading an organisation that he refused to allow either of his daughters to inherit.
29	* DeconstructedTrope:
30	** Fighting in an unstable structure is a bad idea. [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Athena finds out the hard way]].
31	** Zoe learns, to her detriment, that [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talking is]] ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' [[TalkingIsAFreeAction a free action]]; JJ fatally stabs her in the back while Zoe is talking to Mia.
32	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Mia's plan to take out the Deathstrokes leaves a lot to be desired; she leads her team (all of four people, only three of whom are fighters) to take on superior numbers in their own headquarters, with Mia herself taking on JJ, who's beaten her in a fight before. Rather inevitably, the plan fails; Mia loses her fight with JJ, most of the Deathstrokes escape, and Zoe is killed saving Mia's life.
33	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Zoe passes away in Mia's arms.
34	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Athena dies rather anticlimactically when a piece of the ceiling at Nanda Parbat collapses on her.
35	* EasilyForgiven: Oliver and Thea forgive Talia rather quickly despite her betraying both of them. Thea even offers her to rebuild the League into something heroic alongside her.
36	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Gholem Qadir, the man Ben Turner killed [[Recap/ArrowS2E16SuicideSquad all the way back in Season 2]] had a son named Farzad who is out for Lyla's blood.
37	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Thea asks if Oliver intends to give her the hozen again (symbolizing reconnecting), but Oliver says that William has it. Oliver is reunited with an adult William at the end of the episode, but never sees his little sister again.
38	* GenerationXerox: This ain't the first time [[Recap/ArrowS4E20Genesis one of the Diggle brothers killed another]], or at least attempted to.
39	* TheGhost: Abdul Nardoc, who ordered Ben Turner's family captured, doesn't appear directly.
40	* TheGlomp: Oliver and Thea share their last hug.
41	-->'''Thea:''' One of us is going to have to let go first...
42	* HeelFaceTurn: Talia recognizes the error of her ways and accepts Thea's offer to reforge the League of Assassins into a League of Heroes.
43	* HiddenDepths: Thea can read Arabic. She likely learned it from Nyssa.
44	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Zoe, courtesy of JJ.
45	* InTheBack:
46	** How JJ impales Zoe.
47	** John saves Lyla by shooting Farzad Qadir in the back.
48	* InternalReveal: Thea learns about Oliver's cosmic quest and impending death.
49	* IWorkAlone: This attitude actually comes back to bite Oliver in the ass, as Talia betrays him once he sent Thea away. Fortunately Thea just followed at a distance.
50	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Talia surrenders when Thea has her defeated.
51	* LaserGuidedKarma:
52	** Talia betrays Oliver in the hopes of claiming Al-Fatihs' sword and rebuilding the League of Assassins. She is subsequently caught by the Thanatos Guild even more quickly than Oliver and Thea.
53	** Zoe clearly points out the riskiness of Mia's plan to her. Now Mia has to deal with her teammate's blood on her hands.
54	* LeeroyJenkins: Mia's hotblooded attitude finally costs her dearly, as Zoe gets killed during the attack on the Deathstroke's headquarter.
55	* LettingHerHairDown: Thea has let her hair grow long like it was in the first two seasons.
56	* MakesUsEven: Oliver calls in the marker that Talia owes him from the last time they met.
57	* NewEraSpeech: JJ gives one to the Deathstrokes, rallying them to destroy the unification movement.
58	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Connor gives JJ a vicious one after he kills Zoe, even preparing to slit his brother's throat.
59	* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Oliver complains that the Monitor isn't much into sharing information, Thea can't help quipping that this reminds her of Oliver.
60	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Thea has been fighting a [[OneManArmy One Woman]] RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Thanatos Guild for 'killing' Roy Harper. She and her brother are able to finish the Guild for good here.
61	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Diggle and Oliver are overprotective to Lyla and Thea because they've been shaken by the destruction of Earth-2.
62	* OutOfFocus: While E-1 Rene and Dinah are [[TheBusCameBack back from the bus]] for the first time since the last seasons finale despite being regulars, they only show up at the very end.
63	* PhotographicMemory: Talia doesn't hesitate to hand over the map to Athena because she's already memorized it. She's a [[SurroundedByIdiots somewhat irritated]] that Oliver didn't do the same.
64	* PlotParallel: Oliver and Mia get a little overprotective of their siblings in both the present and future.
65	* PredecessorVillain: The A-plot of the episode deals with the backstory of Al-Fatih, the first Ra's al Ghul.
66	* ThePurge: The Deathstrokes are targeting all the members of the Star City unification movement.
67	* RayOfHopeEnding: In the future, Zoe dies and the future Team Arrow hopelessly fights against Deathstroke until William, Connor and Mia are sent to the present.
68	* SeenItAll: Given the amount of times Oliver was previously thought dead, Thea isn't fazed at all when Oliver tells her that he's fated to die in the Crisis. Oliver is not at all amused by her underreaction.
69	-->'''Oliver''': [The Monitor]'s seen the future. He's seen me die. It's soon, Speedy.\
70	'''Thea''': ...And?\
71	'''Oliver''': [[DeadpanSnarker Take as much time as you need to be upset.]]
72	* ScrewDestiny: Thea forces Talia to yield the sword, but rejects the idea this means the daughter of Malcolm Merlyn is fated to reestablish the League of Assassins. Instead she offers to partner with Talia in forming a League of Heroes.
73	* ShoutOut: Thea references ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' when going through booby traps in Nanda Parbat.
74	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Thea and Talia keep exchanging snide remarks throughout the episode.
75	* SlashedThroat: JJ prepares to execute Mia this way, [[SubvertedTrope but Zoe intervenes]].
76	-->'''JJ''': You know, the human body holds five liters of blood. Let's see how much you have.
77	* SwordFight: When Talia gets hold of the sword first, Thea invokes her right as Heir to the Demon to challenge her. Talia proves the better swordswoman but Thea still wins the fight.
78	* TryNotToDie: Despite her underreaction to Oliver's belief that he's going to die, at the end of this episode Thea earnestly encourages him not to.
79	* VillainExitStageLeft: Thanks to the inconveniently timed time travel, JJ escapes near-death at his brother's hands to fight another day.
80	* WeNeedADistraction: Diggle worries that [[YouKilledMyFather Farzad will recognize Lyla]], but she decides to make that work for them by deliberately bumping into Farzad while Diggle rescues the prisoners.
81	* WhamEpisode: Mia, Connor, and William are somehow transported to 2019 and meet Oliver in the present day. Also, Oliver finds out that the Monitor is apparently the one ''causing'' the Crisis.
82	* WhamShot: Oliver sees his son, daughter and Connor Hawke in the present day.
83	* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Ironically noted by Thea on entering the catacombs of Nanda Parbat.
84	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Athena doesn't kill Talia, Oliver and Thea because she'd rather send them ahead to trip the inevitable booby traps, rather than waste her own men.
85	* WholePlotReference: In addition to the ShoutOut above, the climax of the episode is very similar to that of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' in particular. The villainous expedition forces the heroes to enter the temple containing the MacGuffin relic first. TheHero then solves a riddle that allows them to cross over a booby-trapped floor by stepping on particular stones. Finally, the female villain is killed by part of the temple falling apart.

Context Recap / ArrowS8E3LeapOfFaith