"Arrow" Al Sah-Him (TV Episode 2015) Poster

(TV Series)

(2015)

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7/10
Change.
ThomasDrufke29 April 2015
Arrow has officially changed. We know that because the beginning is no longer the same. His opening monologue is no longer about Oliver Queen, it's about Al Sah Him. And I can honestly say that I don't really like what's going on. Last week we had so much great character drama and an overall well written episode. They have made changes to the show in the past, but none that significantly alter the show. I know that the basic premise is the same. Oliver is still doing everything he can do save his family, but the entire episode didn't feel like Arrow at all. Sure, he will likely come back from the brainwashing, but the show will never be the same if the events that take place now, change the dynamic of the show forever. I just don't want the writers to feel like they need to change so much to make it feel fresh.

So we knew from the promo that Oliver was going to have to make a choice about killing Diggle. In typical Arrow fashion, it wasn't really Diggle, but he did kill some random guy. On a side not, during that fight you can already see that his fighting style mirrors Ra's, with one hand behind his back. Moving back to Starling City, we had Laurel and Nyssa acting as normal citizens and as crazy vigilante fighters. Like Laurel said, I like seeing Nyssa in less hectic atmosphere. Katrina Law always kills it. It was also nice seeing the Diggle family and Felicity and Thea having dinner all together. It's the one time all night where we had a calm moment without any tension. And yes, I think there is such thing as too much tension. Throwing in the Diggle costume joke was a nice touch, and a nod to the entire Arrow audience who wants to see him suit up.

Everyone is trying to cope with Ollie's 'death', so Laurel's method was to scream. By that I mean her new Canary cry. I wonder if people who don't watch Flash even understood what that was. I really liked it. It at least adds a new dimension to an otherwise lackluster character. After seeing that fight, and the other fight at the neutral site, it's clear that the writers wanted to give us a rift between Oliver and Diggle's relationship. It was pretty much an episode dedicated to their friendship that really has become brotherhood after all these years. I really just don't want it to end. If there is anything in this show that I feel like should stay, it should be the trio. The original trio.

With that being said, it was cool seeing Thea come in for the save tonight. Season 3 has had it's highs and it's had it's bad lows, but I can say that Thea has been a revelation this year. I have loved her transformation into a strong female character, and it was a powerful moment seeing her stand up to her brother, brainwashed or not. Then of course came the big twist of the night that Nyssa and Oliver are to be married. The producers have said another marriage is coming, I cant say I thought it would be these two. I do think it brings yet another new dynamic to the show. Ra's also revealed that he plans to unleash the Alpha Omega weapon on Starling City, a la Batman Begins like. Tonight wasn't one of my favorites, but the writers are giving it their all.

+Diggle get-together

+Katrina Law

+Canary cry was pretty cool

+Thea with the save

+Marriage twist

-Too much change

-Will we be able to forgive Ollie even with brainwash?

-Needs a break from the tension. I'd welcome scenes with Diggle's baby.

7.6/10
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9/10
Overall solid transformation
tabraham4429 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This weeks episode brought a lot to the table, mainly because I was curious to how exactly they were going to pull this off. I've got to say they did a pretty great job at it, at the beginning the only complaint I have is that they could've shown Oliver training with Ra's a bit more so we as the audience could really feel the effects that Oliver is gone and Al Sah-him was born. I'm not fully convinced that 3 weeks was enough time for a complete loss of his soul. Either way it was cool to see the fight, even though those fake "gotcha" deaths in arrow can get a bit stale and seems what they seem to be balancing on a lot this season.

This episode also takes a huge risk by it transforms the whole series, even though I think it will go back by the end of the season. I can't even imagine how they are going to come back from this, but it is a gutsy call that i can respect, and until they honestly screw it up I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

I enjoy how the stakes feel extremely high in this episode, a theme that was extremely prevalent for the last part of season 2. This season has had a tough time recovering that exact theme and it is good to see that they finally stepped this season up in terms of excitement. And those fight scenes were really well done, easily the best all season it all just flowed so naturally. I'm excited to see how this season is going to play out and have high hopes for these last few episodes.

Overall, one of the more intense episodes of the season. Fights were intense and actually believable, good to see the city is doing OK without Oliver and Roy(how actually?) but it seems like they have a handle on the city and adding Ray to the whole mix can only make it more exciting.I hope they continue to correctly transform Oliver, just a few more scenes here and there with him seemingly becoming a villain, because that is something the audience will take a bit to be convinced on.
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9/10
Al Sah-Him
SpideyVerse2326 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This episode has a 3 week time jump during which Oliver has seemingly been completely brainwashed into becoming Al Sah-Him. Team Arrow has not been coping well with Oliver's decision. But, it was nice to see that Laurel and Nyssa had developed a friendship which didn't feel forced to see. However, this episode showed Oliver destroying his relationships with his old friends, especially Diggle. The team, including Thea have completely lost their faith in him. But, it was nice to see Thea in action and Laurel using her Canary Cry.

This episode basically showed how much the status quo of the show has changed and sets up a lot of things for the future.
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10/10
Unexpected
sfsfsdfd30 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
After the ending of the last episode we knew that Oliver would change, but I don't think that anyone thought that he would change this much. The opening scene where he had to kill John I though he would hesitate and try to persuade Ra's to set him free, but when he stuck his blade inside John I was surprised. I didn't think that Oliver would change so much that he would kill his best friend. The scenes in Starling city were as I expected, everyone was trying to get Oliver's change, and it was well written. But seeing now what Oliver has become, I think that he'll never return to his old self, and that being said I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next week.
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10/10
Best Episode Ever
craaazyboy31 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Ever since Oliver was offered to be Ra's I was really hoping it would happen and this episode has fulfilled my dreams so in my opinion this episode deserves a 99/2
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1/10
I hated it.
karmacritic26 March 2018
I've been watching this show on Netflix one episode a day, with my kids, without fail. This is the one that almost made us stop. We didn't sign up to watch this Al-Sah-Him BS. We wanted the Arrow. If the writers wanted us, the audience, to feel frustrated and disappointed, they succeeded. I'll give this show one or two more episodes more, but if it continues this path, we're better off watching The Flash.

And yes, this show made me salty enough to reactivate my IMDB account.
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