Arrow: Season 3, Episode 9

Arrow

Episode Title: “The Climb”

Channel: CW

Director: Thor Freudenthal

Writers: Jake Coburn and Keto Shimizu

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 42 min

Rated: TV-14

Original Air Date: December 10, 2014

There be SPOILERS ahead!

Aside from last week's episode, this season of Arrow has largely failed to capitalize on the success of the second season. The writers seem to have struggled with their focus, and it has made for several rather listless episodes. There's been one question that the audience wanted answered this season, and there were episodes that seemed to forget what that question even was. I won't say that “The Climb” makes up for the faults of the earlier part of season three, but it definitely ramped things up.

This week the audience is treated to both flashbacks and brief flashforwards. The flashbacks pick up almost exactly where they left off with Ollie and Maseo trying to track down Chien Na Wei. It's not until close to the end of the episode that it's revealed that the flashbacks are more relevant to Maseo than Ollie. Sure it's revealed that Oliver had previous knowledge of the magical mind control herb that is important in the case of Sara's killer, but they seemed to be more about Maseo and how he ended up in position for his big reveal; as a current member of the League of Assassins. The flashforwards consist of Oliver scaling a snowy cliff, adding a fair amount of tension to the episode every time they popped up.

Oh, the aforementioned mind control her? Well, it turns out that Thea killed Sara, while under the influence of Malcolm Merlyn. She has no recollection of the event. Oliver confronts Thea earlier in the episode and it surprises him that she so easily lies to him about Merlyn's presence in Starling City. He goes back as the Arrow and tries to get some answers, but she holds her own in an impromptu fight, leaving him even more bewildered. Following that meeting Merlyn seeks out Oliver and divulges his entire plan. Basically he wants to stop hiding in the shadows, so he needs Ra's al Ghul off his back. Due to his manipulation of Thea, and some video evidence of the event Malcolm has ensured that Oliver will enter into a duel with Ra's, to save Thea's life.

I liked Matt Nable's version of Ra's al Ghul better this time around. He still doesn't have the refined quality I would have expected, but he can pull off the physicality demanded by the role no problem. One thing that he mentioned that is very interesting; it's been 67 years since he's received a challenge. It looks like they'll be introducing the Lazarus Pits after all. I had wondered, with Arrow being the more 'realistic' of the CW superhero shows if they'd broach that topic at all. At least it looks like we finally have a villain for this season, and after tonight I'm pretty excited to see how it works out.

The writer's weren't able to completely avoid adding some unneeded fluff. With so much heavy stuff going on the viewers had to sit through some out of place minutes of Ray Palmer. I've actually enjoyed Brandon Routh's appearances as the new owner of Queen Consolidated, but in this episode, with so much happening, I felt like his stuff could have been pushed back a little bit. The first strides of a new hero should have more time to develop than they were given here. Felicity's response to his plans was a welcome bit of comedy in what was an otherwise very somber episode.

Finally, seeing no way out of the corner Malcolm has painted him into, Oliver decides that the only way out of the mess is to meet Ra's in combat. He says goodbye to those around him in a way that you know he doesn't expect to make it back and sets out to make the climb we've been seeing throughout the episode. Ra's delivers an interesting monologue as they're preparing for the fight, explaining why he killed the first man he killed, and why he continues to do it. Oliver arms himself, and Ra's goes into the fight empty handed. We've seldom seen present-day Ollie so over-matched. Despite the skill discrepancy, Oliver has a moment when we think maybe he'll do what everyone thinks is impossible. Alas, it was not to be, and Ra's finishes him off, seemingly killing Oliver. Of course he's not dead/staying dead, but what a cliffhanger to leave us on.

Conclusion: “The Climb” managed to shock me. I didn't think they'd end things the way they did. Oliver's emotional journey throughout the episode, disbelief concerning the involvement of Thea and his anger at everyone else for suggesting it, and then his acceptance of his fate and the scenes where he said goodbye were just as important as the fight itself. The small scenes regarding Palmer and Dinah Lance's return felt like they should've been allotted more time, during a different episode, so that they could carry the weight they deserved.

Rating: 8/10