Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "League of Assassins?"

[maasaloo]

Damn Ex your right I forgot about Ra's son. It's possible everyone presumes its' Talia as that's the one they're most familiar with but I wouldn't be surprised by throwing in his son. But like you said he disowned him so why would he be awaiting Sara's return? Its' not as if he's in charge of the League of Assassins now.

[Exedore]

Well he was disowned in the comics but perhaps that's not the case on the show.

[Anno_Domini]

Or...what if they make Bane the son of Ra's al Ghul? Lol.

[Bats238]

Another fantastic episode. This season just gets better and better. I loved how Quentin found out about Sarah as I also think that he really needed to find out she was alive because of the pain he went through. Great acting from Paul Blackthorne and Caity Lotz. Speaking of Caity she makes a brilliant Black Canary (and I can't be the only guy out there who was impressed by how hot she looked in her underwear in the flashbacks!). Loved Canary saying Ra's favourite line "you should be mindful of your surroundings", really made me smile.
Can't wait for the rest of their season. What is Dr Ivo up to I wonder?

[costas22]

Anyone notice that one of Sara's captors was played by Ron Selmour? He was the guy that played Marcos in the Smallville episode Toxic. Funnily enough, on Smallville he also portayed a pirate that held Oliver hostage.

Or...what if they make Bane the son of Ra's al Ghul? Lol.

It crossed my mind too.

I've also seen a few people suggest that Ra's al Ghul's child will be revealed to be Isabel Rochev. They probably want us to believe that they are going down TDKR's route, but in the end they will go a different direction. Just like last season when most of us thought that the Merlyns' storyline would be similar to the Osborns'.

[evaba]

Here is my "review" for the "League of Assassins" episode. These are just stray thoughts/observations that I've tried to put in some order. First of all, I liked this episode and I gave it an eight. It felt more "comic book" style than many other episodes, maybe because of the presence of various iconic comic book villains (Dr. Ivo, League of Assassins), the fight sequences and the flashbacks with Sara's origin story. This was very much Sara's episode, but there were also some other story strands woven in, such as Moira's upcoming prosecution and Laurel's psychological drama.

Missing In Action

Walter (who seems to have disappeared into a black hole since the premiere!), Roy Harper and "the shirtless workout scene"...but there were so many exciting things going on in this ep that I actually didn't miss seeing Oliver display his awesome abs!

The Sara Lance storyline

I don't know if anyone has already commented on this, but Sara's origin story and development is very similar to Oliver's origin story. That is why I think that Sara is the Lance sister who is supposed to represent Black Canary 1.0, who will eventually be replaced by Laurel as Black Canary 2.0. This development will mirror Oliver's evolution from the vengeful and murderous "Vigilante" in season one to the restrained and more heroic "Arrow" in season two. In fact, I find that there are many similarities between Sara's and Oliver's storylines. Here are a few similarities that I could detect:

1. Both Sara and Oliver are portrayed as somewhat egocentric, irresponsible and thoughtless towards their families in the scenes that precede the Queen's Gambit disaster. Sara cheats on her own sister and lies to her father when she's speaking to him on the phone, pretending that she's at college while she is on the yacht with Oliver. Oliver gets thrown out of college and decides to join his father on the Gambit when he feels that things are getting too serious with Laurel...and he brings Sara with him to make things even worse. In the scene from the Gambit (which is actually a slightly retconned version of the flashback from season one) both of them are shown in a rather unflattering light, something which sets the scene for their upcoming trials/crucibles.

2. Both Sara and Oliver survive the Queen's Gambit boatwreck and find themselves in a totally alien and hostile environment. They are both shown as rather naive and trusting, until they discover that they are left at the mercy of affable but ruthless villains, namely Fyers and Dr. Ivo. In fact, Oliver's situation during his first weeks on the Island resembles Sara's first days on the boat. The main difference is that Oliver's Island story is shown in "slow motion" in comparison to Sara's, which is compressed into one episode of flashbacks.

3. Both Sara and Oliver go through some fundamental changes due to the almost unbearable hardships that they experience during their respective "purgatory", changes which basically turn them into killing machines. We know from season one that Oliver doesn't hesitate to kill if he needs to and Sara confesses that she has killed during her time as a member of the League of Assassins. We also see her kill people in the present-day action and in the scene where she and Quentin are attacked in the Clock Tower, she breaks a guy's neck in almost the same manner as Oliver did in the season one Pilot. I would also say that the way they rationalize their actions is similar: Oliver believes that he is doing good by eliminating the villains who "are poisoning this city" and Sara believes that "no woman should suffer in the hands of men".

4. Both of them have, in one sense "become someone else" than they were before the disaster, and that is why they don't want to talk about their experiences when they return to Starling city...they feel that they can't reveal their real selves to their loved ones because they don't want them to know what they have become. In a sense Sara goes one step further than Oliver, because she actually tells Quentin about what had happened to her, while Oliver is still hiding his past/alter ego from his family and from Laurel....but the speed of Sara's revelation is probably due to the fact that she's a secondary character with a limited story arc.

5. Both Sara and Oliver know Chinese, they are practically immune to pain and they both have excellent reflexes. In fact, when Sara seized that knife in the Chinese restaurant I had a flashback to Oliver grabbing a knife when China White attacked Laurel's apartment in one of the early season one episodes!

I know that some fans feel that the writers might as well replace Laurel with Sara, but I personally think that the whole idea of Oliver's transformation into a less lethal/revengeful hero has to be matched with a version of the Black Canary that is closer to this ideal. Since Sara was never meant to be a major character with a story arc that matches Oliver's, I think that it's more fitting that the writers let Laurel pick up the Black Canary mantle. We know that Laurel will be going through her own crucible in the upcoming episodes and it's plausible that she will at some stage become a vigilante crime fighter. However, I doutbt that she would ever be able to kill in cold blood like her sister has been trained to do. In that sense she is closer to the comic book Black Canary, who is a badass fighter, but who would never kill in cold blood. It might take some time for Laurel to become B.C. , but I'm willing to follow that journey and see how her storyline evolves in the season two story arc. I would also like to point out that in the shots we got from Laurel's apartment in this episode, you could clearly see two paintings of a black canary. If we presume that nothing is incidental in a scripted show, I think we can safely presume that these paintings are supposed to function as foreshadowings of Laurel's Black Canary alter ego...

The Laurel Lance storyline

Laurel was pretty much in the background in this episode, and unlike most of the other major characters she was left out of the loop concerning Sara. That's one of the reasons why I hope that Sara will return to Starling city some time in the future -if only because I think that it will be difficult for both Oliver and Quentin to keep the secret that Sara is still alive from Laurel. I also think it would be great if Sara and Laurel would meet and interact in present-day Starling city and somehow manage to overcome everything that's happened between them.

In "Crucible" we saw how Laurel pushed away the people she loves the most because she is ashamed of her own alcohol/pill addiction. In this episode we have several scenes where she actually opens up and reveals how she feels, both to Oliver and Quentin. It does seem kind of odd that she comes on to Oliver, especially since the told him that they can't be together in the season premiere. However, I actually think that the writers only used this scene as a kind of "lead-in" to Laurel's revelation that she feels that everyone is abandoning her:

I get the message. I get it loud and clear everyday. Run, run away from Laurel. Run as fast as you can....

I personally think that it is a very natural reaction on Laurel's part, especially when you consider what she has been through. From a psychological viewpoint her behaviour seems entirely plausbible...when a series of bad things happen to you, it's so easy to put the blame on yourself and think that you have done something wrong. As a Lauriver "shipper", I have to admit that Oliver's reply "I will never leave you" made me sigh and swoon just a little bit! And I do think that he meant what he said-the present-day Oliver (as opposed to the pre-Island Oliver) is a man who stands by his words. The concluding scene with Quentin and Laurel was also very touching...in fact, it was one of the scenes when I actually teared up a bit-the other one was one the final scenes with Sara and Quentin.

Secrets...

The recurring theme in this episode was that many of the major characters felt that there were things that they had to hide from their loved ones. One example was Moira, who is obviously afraid that her trial will reveal things that she doesn't want her children to know about. But Oliver has also been reluctant to talk about his Island experiences, even with Diggle, who is probably his closest friend in the "Arrow" universe. Therefore it was entirely fitting that he finally decided to open up to Diggle in the concluding scene...over a glass of vodka given to him by the KGBeast.

There is so much more to say about this episode, but I think I have to save those observations for another post.

[DeathBySpoiler]

@Evaba I must have missed the KGB reference.

Anyway, 9/10. Loved it. I was so expecting Malcolm to reveal that he is alive though, so I docked a point for that lol. Just a bit of a let down considering all the Assassins looked like him and that he is my favorite character on the show.

[evaba]

@Evaba I must have missed the KGB reference.

If you remember Ollie met Anatoli Knyazev/KGBeast on the pirate boat in "Crucible". In the concluding scene of "League of Assassins" Oliver takes out a bottle of Russian vodka and he and Diggle have a drink, while Oliver starts telling Diggle about his off-the-island adventures. I don't remember Ollie's exact words, but I think that he says that the bottle was a gift from a friend...who I presumed was the KGBeast!

[KryptonStones]

Man..I remember back in the old days when Smallville was still airing and running strong, threads like these would have 10 pages by the end of a week...in some cases even a day. Where HAVE ALL MY SMALLVILLE BRETHREN RUN OFF TO?

At any rate, I recently got into Arrow and the pacing of this show is incredible. It's definitely the most slept-on TV series on air right now, and that's a shame because it's entertainment in its purest, rawest form. This episode was no exception. Gave it a solid 9.5/10, with that solid .5 bump being for the "Be mindful of your surroundings" line Black Canary gave that poor man's Ras Al Ghul before putting him down for the three count. I geeked out HARD for that.

The only thing stopped this episode from being a ten was Laurel. I felt my attention waver every time she was on screen, and for the life of me I can't figure out what purpose she still has on the show. Especially since we have the graceful Caity Lotz blessing us, what point does Laurel have now? Seriously? I want someone to tell me this. Other than that, outstanding episode.

[Drakaun]

I know how you feel, I actually just came back to the website thinking there would be huge discussions about this show just like the Smallville days, one can hope that they aren't all missing out on this great show. I know it is not Smallville, but it does a great job filling that Smallville hole for sure. I too agree this show's pacing is great but I am sure we are bound to get on the filler train eventually, it is the downside to stretching 21-24 episodes of a show across 8-9 months of television. Sometimes I feel BBC has the right idea with smaller seasons with more substance. Granted I will give Arrow the benefit of the doubt because I think it is easier for them to keep substance in every episode because of the two separate storylines happening simultaneously. So where we might get nothing from the present, the past might enlighten us with something shocking/surprising/exciting or vice versa. But so far I am loving Arrow and I hope it will keep going great!

[deathstroke79]

Agreed. I thought they would just waste a load of time and put cliff hangers here and there but they just got to the point as of it's no big deal.