Nyssa, looking great while causing trouble

Arrow’s “Sins of the Father” changes up the status quo on several fronts, many of which surprised me. A few long running subplots come to an end and some relationships change. I suspect this episode will have a lot of repercussions, and is probably part of the ramp up to the season finale.

Nyssa does some pretty ugly negotiating with Oliver, standing over Thea’s sick bed. Thea isn’t getting any better, and Nyssa has a cure, or says she does. The catch, because there has to be one, is that she wants Malcolm Merlyn dead. It’s a nasty spot for Oliver to be in, and nothing gets any easier this episode. I’m sure he’s wishing Roy had stuck around a while longer.

Felicity is having problems of her own, since her father has returned and turned out to be the Calculator, a sort of criminal version of what Felicity does for Team Arrow. He’s trying to make things better with Felicity, but he’s not doing a great job. He’s not terribly convincing. Donna, Felicity’s mom, IS convincing when she finds out Calculator AKA Noah Kuttler, is back in town. She tells Felicity in no uncertain terms to stay away from him and that he’s up to no good, no matter what he seems to be doing. Felicity gets another rude surprise when Noah calls her “Overwatch,” the new codename she’s been using with the team.

Oliver discusses his moral quandary with his allies, and we learn two things. For a team of heroes, they are really ok with people being killed on occasion, and the only person who seems to have any qualms at all about Merlyn dying is Oliver. It really says something when that many people are willing to say someone should die with even bothering to think about it. Mind you, everyone on Team Arrow has some kind of grudge against Malcolm, but still…

Malcolm himself doesn’t believe that Nyssa has a cure for Thea. He also seems hell-bent on staying in control of the League of Assassins. Laurel goes to see Nyssa (how she knew where the hideout was is never explained), and they argue about the merits of Malcolm’s life. Weirdly, one of the things that gets talked about a lot is Sara’s death. It was traumatic, but she is back, and Laurel and Nyssa both know this. It’s odd they both mention her death, and neither brings up her return.

In preparation for whatever ends up happening, Oliver somehow or other gets Thea discharged from the hospital and then moved to the lair. Nyssa, as a show of faith, gives a small sample of the Lotus cure, which does actually help Thea. Malcolm seems like he’s going to agree to a deal with Nyssa, and then ends up calling in his ninja army. Things get ugly quickly as the two factions of the League fight across the city. Civilian casualties mount, and Captain Lance is not happy.

Felicity sets up a test for her father, to gauge his intentions. To no great surprise, he fails it. Felicity is a bit disappointed, but expected it from him. She eventually turns him over to Lance and the SCPD, which really makes me wonder about something. Noah knows who Felicity is, and he’s damn smart, so he probably figured out who the rest of the team is. What’s stopping him from sharing that information all over the jail he ends up in?

After a lot of fighting, debating, and worrying, it comes down to a fight between Malcolm and Nyssa. Or it would, if Oliver didn’t stick his nose in to this, too. According to League rite, Oliver and Nyssa are married (which should complicate his engagement to Felicity, I don’t think she shares well). So Oliver steps in to take Nyssa’s place. The outcome of the fight was a surprise, and the actions taken afterwards I also didn’t see coming. A lot of things that have been going on around the edges of the show will be different now, and a few alliances have shifted. The episode ends with someone going to Damian Darhk with some important information Oliver would really rather have kept secret.

What I liked: I love the Felicity resolved her problems with her father on her own, and that she outsmarted him. Donna’s passion warning Felicity away from Noah was well acted. The big fight at the end was well done, and I really didn’t see any of what happened coming.

What I didn’t: First off, what the hell weapons is Diggle using as Spartan? They look and sound like normal guns, but he used one to stun Nyssa this episode. Did he borrow icers from SHIELD? Nyssa’s suddenly referring to Oliver as her husband came out of nowhere and was repeated several times. Why bring this up here over and over, unless it was set up for that final fight? And why did Team Arrow spend so much of this episode in action in their civilian clothes? Are they all deciding they’re tired of the secret identity concept?

It was a decent, but not great, episode. I’ll give them credit for surprising me and some good lines. I’ll give this one a 3.5 out of 5.