'Arrow' Faces Off Against The League of Assassins

This week's episode of Arrow, "The League of Assassins," boldly went where no episode of Arrow has gone recently: A step in the direction of advancing the overall plot of the series. While Arrow is just delightful week in and week out (and let's face it, Stephen Amell could host an hour-long workout show in primetime and it would be delightful), the last few episodes have been rather self-contained – or served only to advance the Black Canary mystery. This week, we get updates on everything from Moira Queen's trial to the role Ra's al Ghul might play in the TV DC universe and, hey, even some more pieces of that Black Canary puzzle. Here's a quick update on all the major players.

The Queen Family

Moira's case is moving forward and there's a deal on the table: The DA is offering life in prison with no chance of parole, a step up from the death penalty. Moira considers taking the plea bargain, even though her children and lawyer advise against it. Thea reverts to her Season 1 ways and throws an old fashioned hissy fit, leaving the meeting in a temper tantrum-y rage. Eventually, the Queen kids band together and assure their mom nothing she could be hiding would make them stop loving her, which is enough to help her reject the plea and let the investigation continue.

Laurel

Remember Laurel's drinking problem? It's now escalated to a pill problem annnnd she tried to sleep with Oliver. Talk about a series of bad decisions. Oliver shoots her down, which she doesn't take well.

The League of Assassins

We learn via flashback just what happened to Sara after the boat capsized. She was pulled onto a ship called the Amazo (which is a nod to the DC villain-verse and could come into play later) and trained as a member of the league of assassins. She was pulled into the fold by Dr. Anthony Ivo, another famous DC villain. In the Arrow universe at least, he takes mad scientist form. We don't learn a ton about Sara's connection to Ivo, but there are surely more flashbacks to come.

The Lance Family

Sara outs herself to Detective Lance, inadvertently dragging him into a superhero battle (for which he is woefully unequipped, something The CW tries to show by making him an embarrassingly bad shot despite being a police officer. Seriously, the man was missing shot after shot at point blank range). After said battle, Sara announces that it's too dangerous for anyone else in the family to know the truth about her and skips town, leaving dear old dad in tears. To be fair, she's totally right, as the League has been targeting her family to get her back in the fold.

What did you think of the episode?

Image: The CW