The word ‘Father’ in the title should really be plural. It should be, ‘Sins of the Fathers.’ Malcolm Merlin is a father. Felicity’s father is back. And Oliver is a father, though nobody knows about it, but him. Or so he thinks. To recap in this recap; Thea fell into a coma and is now knocking on death’s door. But Nyssa, being a ninja, appeared in the hospital room to tell Oliver that she has a serum that can cure her. How timely is that? But the catch is that she won’t give the cure to Oliver unless he kills Malcolm Merlin, Thea’s father, so she can become the next Ra’s al Ghul. Now the big question becomes; will he kill Merlin to save Thea? Or, will Merlin give up the title willingly to save his daughter? – And just in case you thought I forgot, I know Diggle is a father too, but that doesn’t come into play in this episode. (Captain Lance is a dad too.)
Felicity’s father hasn’t been around for about twelve years, mainly because he’s been on the run from the police. He’s the infamous computer hacker known as The Calculator. And to his credit, he puts all his cards on the table right away. He tells Felicity that he’s The Calculator, and that he knows that she’s ‘OverWatch’. Father and daughter both have stupid names, it’s almost cute. Her Dad’s a smarty, they cyber-battled last episode and he figured out who she was. But now he claims that he’s not really a bad guy, he’s a vigilante, just like she is. And he gives her a thumb-drive, with info on it that will prove to Felicity that he’s telling the truth.
To prove that she’s telling the truth about having a cure, Nyssa gives Laurel a small dose of the lotus serum. But it’s not enough to totally cure Thea, though it will keep her alive a little longer, until Oliver can kill Malcolm Merlin. But Oliver doesn’t want to kill Merlin, though everyone else thinks it’s a great idea. Prompting him to come up with a compromise. If Merlin steps down as Ra’s al Ghul, and gives the power-ring to Nyssa, Merlin can save his Daughter’s life. Of course Malcolm Merlin agrees, noting that he would do anything to save his Thea. Yeah! Problem solved, or is it? Merlin pulls a double-cross at the rendezvous and tries to kill Nyssa. He fails, but she runs off. So there’s no ring exchange, and no cure for Thea. So much for fatherly love.
And speaking of fatherly betrayal, even though Felicity’s mom warns her that her Dad is a total jerk, she decides to give him a chance. And guess what he does when Felicity gives him a tour of Palmer Tech’s research and development lab. He bugs the place, so he can steal everything they’re working on. But our girl Felicity is smarter than that. She was just testing him, and found the devise before any innovations were stolen. Then faster than you can say; “Captain Lance, get down here and arrest my dark-bag Dad.” Felicity gets on the horn and Dad gets arrested.
Star City is under siege, as Nyssa’s Ninja army fights Merlin’s Ninja army. Innocent people are getting killed as collateral damage, and Oliver wants it to stop. So he gets Merlin and Nyssa together to fight to the death. The winner will get the ring and become the new Ra’s al Ghul, and leader of the League of Assassins. Of course Malcolm Merlin is all cocky and confident, because he’s beaten Nyssa before, and knows he can do it again. But then Oliver steps in with a twist. As Nyssa’s husband, Oliver can step in and fight for her. And yes, there was a ceremonial marriage last year. So it’s Oliver against Merlin.
Oliver and Malcolm Merlin are in a fight to the death. But Oliver doesn’t want to kill. So when Oliver gets the upper hand in the battle, he lopes off Merlin’s hand with his blade. And it’s the hand that has the ring on the finger. Oliver takes the ring off the disembodied hand and gives it to Nyssa, in exchange for the lotus cure. Now Malcolm Merlin is down and out, after losing a hand, but he’s not dead. So Oliver was able to secure Thea’s cure without killing. So it’s kind of a win-win scenario, unless you’re the guy without a hand. – If anyone was thinking clearly, they could have rushed Merlin to the hospital to reattach the hand. But nobody thought of that.
In a surprise move, Nyssa destroys the ring and dissolves the League of Assassins. She’s done with all things Ra’s al Ghul. Which is good news, because that storyline is pretty much played out. But the one person who isn’t happy about any of it is Malcolm Merlin. And he’s out for revenge, against Oliver. He goes to Damien Darhk, who put the hit out on Felicity, and tells him that Oliver loves someone else even more. Darhk is intrigued, and wants to know who it is. So, of course, Merlin tells him about Oliver’s son William. The kid that not even Felicity knows about. So now that kid is in big trouble, and Oliver has no idea. STAY TUNED!
Note: Oliver and Felicity plan on moving ahead with their wedding. But I’ll bet things go bad before that happens. And what about Oliver’s marriage to Nyssa? Is he going to take care of that? Or will he just act like it’s invalid, which it probably is.