Oliver reunites with Thea to find information on the Monitor. Future Team Arrow tries to take down the Deathstrokes.
Tropes
- Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Ollie and Thea stop for a rest halfway up the mountain, and ponder the direction their lives have taken.
- Ambiguous Situation: 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.
- Ambiguously Evil: 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.
- Arc Welding: Due to the timelines apparently merging, Team Arrow from the future meets Oliver and his friends.
- Attack Hello: While snooping around in the opening scene, Oliver does an Arrow Catch 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.
- Battle Couple: Diggle is happy to hook up with Lyla again for one more mission. There's also Oliver and Thea as a Brother–Sister Team. However Lyla and Thea are surprised when Diggle and Oliver try to stop them risking their lives after what they witnessed on Earth-2.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted; Thea has a scar from the facial wound that Athena gave her in "The Thanatos Guild". On the other hand it's not the kind of scar that seriously detracts from her looks.
- Been There, Shaped History: 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.
- The Bus Came Back: 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.
- Cain and Abel: If Connor and JJ weren't this already, they become so after JJ kills Zoe, with Connor wanting to kill him in retaliation.
- Call-Back:
- Thea notes that "Mia" was her Corto Maltese alias.
- The tomb of Al-Fatih is in the same mountain that Oliver dueled Ra's al Ghul atop back in Season 3.
- Diggle says that dancing with Lyla while undercover is like Deja vu, referring to their Black-Tie Infiltration in "Suicide Squad".
- 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.
- Character Death:
- Athena, being buried under a piece of the ceiling in the tomb of Al-Fatih.
- Zoe in the future, courtesy of JJ. Also counts as an offscreen version of Outliving One's Offspring for Rene.
- Civvie Spandex: 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.
- Combat Pragmatist: Thea, disarmed in a duel with Talia, grabs a chain from a nearby wall and chokes her until she yields.
- Continuity Nod:
- 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 cut away and merely implied it). Not that he's missed.
- Thea says that Roy Harper stopped by on the way to Lian Yu and let her know about the men he killed in "Confessions".
- Crazy-Prepared: 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.
- Daddy Issues: 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.
- Deconstructed Trope:
- Fighting in an unstable structure is a bad idea. Athena finds out the hard way.
- Zoe learns, to her detriment, that talking is not a free action; JJ fatally stabs her in the back while Zoe is talking to Mia.
- Didn't Think This Through: 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.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Zoe passes away in Mia's arms.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Athena dies rather anticlimactically when a piece of the ceiling at Nanda Parbat collapses on her.
- Easily Forgiven: 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.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Gholem Qadir, the man Ben Turner killed all the way back in Season 2 had a son named Farzad who is out for Lyla's blood.
- 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.
- Generation Xerox: This ain't the first time one of the Diggle brothers killed another, or at least attempted to.
- The Ghost: Abdul Nardoc, who ordered Ben Turner's family captured, doesn't appear directly.
- The Glomp: Oliver and Thea share their last hug.Thea: One of us is going to have to let go first...
- Heel–Face Turn: Talia recognizes the error of her ways and accepts Thea's offer to reforge the League of Assassins into a League of Heroes.
- Hidden Depths: Thea can read Arabic. She likely learned it from Nyssa.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Zoe, courtesy of JJ.
- In the Back:
- How JJ impales Zoe.
- John saves Lyla by shooting Farzad Qadir in the back.
- Internal Reveal: Thea learns about Oliver's cosmic quest and impending death.
- I Work Alone: 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.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Talia surrenders when Thea has her defeated.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- 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.
- 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.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Mia's hotblooded attitude finally costs her dearly, as Zoe gets killed during the attack on the Deathstroke's headquarter.
- Letting Her Hair Down: Thea has let her hair grow long like it was in the first two seasons.
- Makes Us Even: Oliver calls in the marker that Talia owes him from the last time they met.
- New Era Speech: JJ gives one to the Deathstrokes, rallying them to destroy the unification movement.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Connor gives JJ a vicious one after he kills Zoe, even preparing to slit his brother's throat.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Oliver complains that the Monitor isn't much into sharing information, Thea can't help quipping that this reminds her of Oliver.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Thea has been fighting a One Woman Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the Thanatos Guild for 'killing' Roy Harper. She and her brother are able to finish the Guild for good here.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Diggle and Oliver are overprotective to Lyla and Thea because they've been shaken by the destruction of Earth-2.
- Out of Focus: While E-1 Rene and Dinah are back from the bus for the first time since the last seasons finale despite being regulars, they only show up at the very end.
- Photographic Memory: Talia doesn't hesitate to hand over the map to Athena because she's already memorized it. She's a somewhat irritated that Oliver didn't do the same.
- Plot Parallel: Oliver and Mia get a little overprotective of their siblings in both the present and future.
- Predecessor Villain: The A-plot of the episode deals with the backstory of Al-Fatih, the first Ra's al Ghul.
- The Purge: The Deathstrokes are targeting all the members of the Star City unification movement.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: In the future, Zoe dies and the future Team Arrow hopelessly fights against Deathstroke until William, Connor and Mia are sent to the present.
- Seen It All: 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.Oliver: [The Monitor]'s seen the future. He's seen me die. It's soon, Speedy.
Thea: ...And?
Oliver: Take as much time as you need to be upset. - Screw Destiny: 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.
- Shout-Out: Thea references Indiana Jones when going through booby traps in Nanda Parbat.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Thea and Talia keep exchanging snide remarks throughout the episode.
- Slashed Throat: JJ prepares to execute Mia this way, but Zoe intervenes.JJ: You know, the human body holds five liters of blood. Let's see how much you have.
- Sword Fight: 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.
- Try Not to Die: 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.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Thanks to the inconveniently timed time travel, JJ escapes near-death at his brother's hands to fight another day.
- We Need a Distraction: Diggle worries that Farzad will recognize Lyla, but she decides to make that work for them by deliberately bumping into Farzad while Diggle rescues the prisoners.
- Wham Episode: 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.
- Wham Shot: Oliver sees his son, daughter and Connor Hawke in the present day.
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Ironically noted by Thea on entering the catacombs of Nanda Parbat.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: 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.
- Whole-Plot Reference: In addition to the Shout-Out above, the climax of the episode is very similar to that of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in particular. The villainous expedition forces the heroes to enter the temple containing the MacGuffin relic first. The Hero 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.
- Wild Card: Talia is Athena's enemy, but doesn't want Thea to have the sword either. By the end of the episode, she comes around.
