As climactic as this penultimate episode was, “This Is Your Sword” shot itself in the foot with the early reveal of Ollie's devious machinations. If the writers had kept our hero's true motives ambiguous, the episode's final sequence with Team Arrow "dying" would have been infinitely more powerful. Sadly, the ending we got was robbed of any kind of tension or suspense, and that's a real pity.



 

Now for the good stuff. Watching Team Arrow kick ass in broad daylight was absolutely incredible, and a welcome change from the alley skirmishes we've been getting all season long. Of course there's the far-fetched notion of Laurel and the gang taking out a dozen League warriors at a time (when only one was enough to kick Ollie's ass in the past), but the contrivance was worth it just to witness the expertly-choreographed battle. And the cherry on top? A fully-attired Tatsu (or should I say Katana?) engaging in a riveting sword fight with her husband Maseo. Truth be told, Maseo's death is the only satisfying way this storyline could have ended, and it created a beautiful parallel with Tatsu cradling both her husband and her son as they had their last breaths.




Just as I predicted, Thea visited Roy and basically ended up getting his blessing to become Team Arrow's newest member. Although this subplot somewhat halted the episode's momentum, I didn't mind the two sharing some positive, less-angsty moments for once. Goodbye, Roy, now hopefully Thea can finally start becoming a useful part of the show.

As for the season finale, I'm hoping it can cohesively bring this uneven season to a close. A proper and affecting death could do wonders in that regards, although Malcolm is the only character I can see getting offed at this point. Better than nothing, right?  Here's hoping Arrow takes some risks and sets the stage for a promising fourth season.