Arrow 2.13 "Heir to the Demon" Review: The Past Will Haunt You

    This week’s episode of Arrow, “Heir to the Demon,” was written by Jake Coburn and directed by Wendey Stanzler. The show had all the elements that have come to make up a great Arrow episode. It was packed with amazing stunt and fight sequences. We have villains in sheep’s clothing and sheep in villain’s clothing. We have reunions and melt downs – and let’s not forget a healthy dose of ultimatums. The one thing the episode didn’t have was Roy (Colton Haynes). According to Marc Guggenheim, the episode was so packed, they had to leave out one major fight scene between Roy and Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law).

    As with all the best episodes, the title resonates throughout the episode. Almost every character is subject to the demons they have inherited. Most particularly, the title refers to Nyssa al Ghul who is the daughter and heir of Ra’s al Ghul – the demon and leader of the League of Assassins. Law is fantastic in the role delivering terrific fights scenes again and again throughout the episode. The opening scene in which she takes out the entire border guard contingent at the airport – while in heels! – was a spectacular introduction to the character. This first scene immediately introduces a number of layers to her character. We see she can fight, but she’s also cool under pressure. Before we see the monitor flag her as wanted by A.R.G.U.S., she is humanized for us by smiling and winking at a young boy who is staring at her. She is not, in many ways, heir to her father, the demon, and this is consistent with her releasing Sara, the one she loves, by the end of the episode. I will never get tired of watching characters enter a scene via a giant ribbon – which I’m sure is not the technical term for that stunt – but it is both impressive and beautiful.

    Speaking of impressive - we get to see Caity Lotz (Sara) do the salmon ladder! And she has abs to rival Stephen Amell’s (Oliver). This is Caity’s strongest performance to date and as the episode is really centered on her, she rises to the challenge. I loved that there was a romantic relationship between Sara and Nyssa – it wasn’t expected, but it made perfect sense that they would have grown close, especially considering that it’s intimated that Nyssa took Sara under her wing. Sara clarifies that she didn’t fall in love with Nyssa out of gratitude, however. The scene between Law and Lotz in which Sara is clearly willing to sacrifice herself to her former lover was terrific. Clearly, there will be repercussions for Nyssa if she doesn’t kill or bring Sara back, and Sara is prepared to let Nyssa kill her to spare Nyssa. Sara clearly still has feelings for Nyssa, and Nyssa is clearly heartbroken over losing her. Sara says she knows that Nyssa really came to Starling City to get Sara back and save her. This is subtly underscored by Nyssa telling the border guard in the first scene that the purpose of her trip is “personal” not “business.”

    I also loved that Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) just took the relationship between Sara and Nyssa in stride, recognizing that he was just happy that Sara had someone in her life to watch out for her and love her. The scene in which Sara, Arrow and Quentin work together to capture the assassin (Shaker Paleja) is a great one and shows that in many ways Sara and Quentin are very alike. He asks how she met Arrow and she quips “Vigilante Club.” But in the end, it’s Quentin who takes him down with a right hook and a quip – didn’t teach you that in Assassin School? -  which is a nice touch.

    Sara tells Nyssa that she won’t return to the League because she can’t take the killing any more, it’s destroying her soul. The League is not the only demon lurking in Sara’s past, however. The flashbacks in this episode focus on the Lances on the weekend that Sara went off with Oliver. This flashback puts a whole new spin on what we think we know. Sara seems to be resisting going with Oliver until she has a heart to heart with Laurel (Katie Cassidy). We see the entire Lance family as happy and pretty ordinary. Both Sara and Laurel are successful college students, and Laurel has just applied for law school and is looking for an apartment to move into with Oliver. We see that Quentin doesn’t really approve of rich, spoiled “fratboy” Oliver. Laurel insists she’s happy to Sara and gets angry with Sara when she pushes her about Oliver. I had to wonder if Sara went with Oliver just to prove his true colors to Laurel or if she had actual feelings for him too.

    For her own part, we see that Laurel is consumed by demons in this episode. She is the heir to her father's own demon of addiction. She is still hurt by Sara’s betrayal, and this is compounded by being the last to know that Sara is alive. I have to say that I felt like the flashbacks were really painting a different Laurel than who we saw in season one.  The confident and competent public defender that we met last season, I don’t think, would have defined herself by her relationship with a man. I have to say that I am really disappointed by what they’ve done with Laurel. Having her guzzle wine and have a tantrum in the last scene, was completely out of character for the Laurel I thought I knew. At this point, I hope they do kill off the character.

    The episode also features some of the demons in Moira’s (Susanna Thompson) past. We see her gearing up for and launching her campaign for mayor. I loved the scene between her and Sebastian (Kevin Alejandro). As always, he brings “blood” into the conversation, by telling both her and Oliver that ‘blood’ should be stronger than politics, and he understands that his friend must support his mother. Sebastian warns Moira that if she proceeds, he will do what it takes to win. The best thing about this scene is that it underscores the questions about Moira. Is she the fragile figure too weak to stop Malcolm Merlyn or is she the woman who is strong enough to lead the city? Moira’s answer is telling: she’s the woman people shouldn’t underestimate. Slade (Manu Bennett) chastises Sebastian for doing just that. In the end, Moira will do whatever it takes to achieve her own ends. However, she has to know on some level that proceeding really puts Thea (Willa Holland) at risk for learning the truth.

    The truth itself is a demon to a number of characters. Moira, Oliver, Sebastian, Walter (Colin Salmon), Sara, and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) all carry the weight of their secrets.

    We finally learn a little something of Felicity’s past. She painfully confesses to Oliver that her mother, is, well, her mother – implying that her mother is not a good mother – though not yet why – and that her father left them when she was very young. This information helps to understand her relationships to a number of the other people in her life. She clearly thinks of Walter as a father figure. It’s a lovely scene when she goes to him with information on Tempest and he tells her to call him Walter – which she immediately does in a silly fake British accent. She is clearly disappointed in him when he brushes her off, so she goes to confront Moira directly. It becomes clearer why she distrusts Moira if she doesn’t trust her own mother. And Moira makes it abundantly clear that she’s not trustworthy in this scene.

    This scene may tell us more about Moira than we’ve yet learned and it seems the writers don’t want us to like Moira. When Felicity is first introduced, Moira doesn’t even recognize her name – she’s just one of the people who work for her son and therefore beneath her notice – not a great trait in someone running for office if they don’t care for the common people. And did that indifference factor into Moira’s delays in helping the people of the glades? We quickly learn that Moira does know something of Felicity when she turns Felicity’s own feelings for Oliver against her. She tells Felicity she’s seen how she looks at Oliver and if Felicity doesn’t want Oliver to hate her, she’ll keep Moira’s secret. This also draws a clear line between Felicity and Moira. Moira will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, but Felicity won’t betray her friends even if it puts her own happiness in jeopardy. At the end of the day, Felicity made the right call.

    The scene between Oliver and Felicity when she tells him just crackles with the chemistry between these two actors. Rickards is simply magnificent in the scene as she worries that she will lose someone who is as important to her as her father was. Yet, she recognizes that Oliver values truth over everything – though ironically, his own life is fraught with the lies of a superhero existence. For his part, Amell is wonderful in this scene as he reacts quietly to Rickards performance, making it an even better scene.

    Felicity’s timing is, as always, not the best. Oliver’s speech to introduce Moira is fraught with irony as he tells the audience that they don’t know Moira – and apparently he doesn’t either. He makes it through the speech but tells Moira he knows. He immediately kisses Thea, underscoring that he won’t hold the knowledge against her. While he ends the episode in Sara’s arms, which is a blow to Olicity fans, I don’t believe he hates her for telling him. He does, however, cut Moira off. I have to admit that while the scene is wonderfully acted, I didn’t buy into his being so upset. He already knew that Moira had an affair with Malcolm after all and keeping the secret of Thea’s birth was to protect her.

    Sara is willing to die to save her family and proves it by taking the snake venom, yet even that sacrifice is not enough to satisfy Laurel. By the end of the episode both Sara and Oliver are, in many ways, very much alone. They have shared things that no one else close to them has, so it seems logical that they would seek comfort in each other’s arms. Will it last though? I suspect that both will realize how much this will hurt Laurel and back away from any on-going relationship. I also think that they will quickly realize that “working” together will be more difficult if they are also romantically involved.

    It seems the only reason Dinah Lance (Alex Kingston) was in the episode was to be kidnapped, which was a bit disappointing. She didn’t even figure very prominently in the flashbacks. However, the chase scene between Arrow and Black Canary on his motorcycle and Nyssa in the van was another spectacular scene. I’m sure I just missed how Oliver nestles his bow on the handlebars, but – cool! The long wheelie to block the arrows being shot at them was amazing. Stephen Amell has commented several times on the proper technique for archery, and it seems that Law has also mastered the technique. It’s impossible to ever praise James Bamford’s stunt team enough for the work they do on this show.

    What did you think of the episode? Do you think Oliver was too hard on Moira? Do you think Laurel is going to be able to forgive Sara or will she drive her away? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!