'Arrow' Season 3: Episode 9 'The Climb' Recap
This week's episode of "Arrow" is the show's mid-season finale, and fans who tuned in to watch were shocked as the show ended with an unexpected death.
"The Climb" begins with the Arrow delivering a tied-up criminal to Starling City's police department. Then the League of Assassins show up, drug him, and take him to Nyssa al Ghul.
Nyssa tells Arrow that if he doesn't deliver Sara's killer to them, then the League will start killing the citizens of Starling City.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Meanwhile, Laurel tells Thea that Sara is dead, and Thea acts as though she wasn't aware of this fact. Laurel begs her not to tell anyone. At Palmer Tech, Ray comes in to talk to Felicity, but she refuses to do so and tells him to forget about their kiss. Felicity storms into the Arrow cave, then runs the DNA sample found on the arrows that killed Sara, and everyone is stunned when the DNA appears to be Oliver's.
Oliver thinks that Malcolm might have planted his DNA on the arrow to frame him, and Felicity tracks airplanes leaving Corto Maltese and finds one which landed just outside Starling City the night before Sara was murdered. Oliver finds security footage from the airport and sees that Malcolm was on that flight, but Thea was with him.
Ray calls Felicity and apologizes to her for leaving abruptly after their kiss. He revealed that he had a fiancée, but she was murdered during Deathstroke's riots. He says that he never intended to kiss anyone after that.
Oliver confronts Thea at their apartment and asks her if she did arrive from Corto Maltese with Malcolm a few months ago. She denied it. Then, Team Arrow suggests that perhaps Oliver should try asking Thea not as her brother, but as Arrow. He does so and crashes into the apartment, but Thea fights back and escapes from him.
Thea tells Malcolm about the attack, and he visits Oliver at the Arrow cave. He says that Thea killed Sara and showed him a video of the incident. The DNA on the arrows belongs to Thea. Malcolm said that Thea only did it because he drugged her with a substance that made her open to suggestion. He said that he did it so that Oliver would be forced to take the fall in Thea's place. Then he tells Oliver that he told Ra's that he will face a trial by combat with the Demon. If he survives, then he's free.
Oliver bids Thea goodbye, and tells Felicity and Diggle that he has to face Ra's alone. Oliver travels to the battle ground in Nanda Pharbat, high up in the mountains. Ra's is there, waiting, and Oliver chooses two swords as his weapons. Ra's is unarmed, but is able to take one of Oliver's swords. Oliver manages to hit him, but Ra's stabs him in the chest. Oliver's life flashes before his eyes, then Ra's kicks Oliver off the edge of the cliff.
"Arrow" will be back on the CW on Jan. 21, 2015.
