Arrow S2 E13 - 'Heir to the Demon' Review

Lies.
Nyssa Al-Ghul makes her Arrowverse debut in an eventful episode of Arrow, in which Sara returns to Starling City for good and the League follows her there.
The introduction of the Heir to the Demon further fleshes out Sara's backstory and continues to build excitement around the League of Assassin's and season 3's face-off against Ra's Al-Ghul himself. Nyssa is a great character, who clearly showed her many abilities in a number of fight and action sequences which peppered the episode, but it is her relationship with Sara which demands the most attention. Bringing in the Arrowverse's first LGBTQ+ character, we learn that Sara is actually bisexual and she and Nyssa used to be close and the show handles the revelation naturally. The bond the two women share is clear to see on screen lends emotional weight to the villain, since we have no other sense of history to allow us to emphasise with her.
Elsewhere, Stephen Amell put on a tour de force this week with his portrayal of Oliver Queen. Oliver is told about Thea's true lineage in this episode and the toll it takes on him is remarkable. Amell conveys a range of emotions as Oliver goes from comforting Felicity, to being shocked by the bombshell, to his quiet rage at his mother. That final scene was particularly powerful and I'm glad that Ollie isn't just shrugging off this most recent in a long line of lies, as her secrecy is frustrating and there needed to be some sense of consequence. My only issue was that Ollie and Sara hooking up at the end of the episode felt slightly unnatural as there hadn't appeared to be much chemistry between the two recently, although I suppose you could argue that it was circumstantial, since both characters were in a bad place following their family interactions.
Sebastian Blood continues to be nefarious in the background and his presence is always appreciated when he pops up, although I feel like there needs to be some sort of major development in the Brother Blood story-line soon, as it has been on standby these past couple of episodes. Moira also featured regularly this week, emerging as a candidate for mayor whilst simultaneously showing her darker side in that conversation with Felicity, which echoed back to her character last season. It will be interesting to see how the show progresses now that she and Oliver have broken ties.
Overall, 'Heir to the Demon' was another great season 2 episode which continues to prove that this second outing for the Emerald Archer is undoubtedly improving on its predecessor. With Sara back and the League out of the picture, the show can now focus on furthering its major story arc.

STARRING: Nyssa Al-Ghul, The Canary

AWESOME MOMENTS:

• Nyssa's entrance may have been cheesy with the whole ribbon twirl move, but her outfit is awesome!
• Had to give a shout out to Ollie's hammer and tyre workout, which just looked ridiculous
• Great sequence where the Arrow and Canary take on Nyssa from the back of a motorbike!
• Quentin continues to be THE best character in the show, I bloody love that man
• "Blood is thicker than friendship" - a very cool line from Brother Blood
• "They didn't teach you about right crosses in assassin school?" - BADASS! loved how Quentin one-punched the league member!!
• Everything about that fight between the Arrow and Nyssa!
• That crazy backflip bow grab for starters!
• Loved the from a distance archery battle, very cool

EASTER EGGS:

- Oliver is seen working out by hitting a tire with a sledgehammer just as Batman does in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Batman & Green Arrow are teammates in the comics

- The episode's title explicitly refers to Nyssa, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. However, it also discreetly refers to the idea that Thea is also an "heir to the demon", the "demon" specifically being Malcolm

- When talking to Oliver about her past, Felicity implies she has a strained relationship with her mother, which was confirmed in the Season 3 episode "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak"

- Nyssa Raatko is a relatively recent addition to the DC universe, having been introduced in the Batman: Death of the Maidens miniseries back in 2003.  Nyssa was born in 18th Century Russia, the result of a tryst between Ra's al Ghul and a local woman.  As a young woman, Nyssa tracked Ra's al Ghul down and was inducted into the League of Assassins as Ra's' right hand.  However, Nyssa eventually became disillusioned with the League's plans and distanced herself from the organization, although she did continue to use a Lazarus Pit to extend her life significantly. Nyssa came into conflict with Ra's after he refused to help her or her family escape from a concentration camp during World War II.  Her family perished, and she was rendered infertile despite healing her injuries using a Lazarus Pit.  After her last living heir died, Nyssa captured and brainwashed her half-sister Talia in order to kill Ra's, while simultaneously planning to assassinate Superman.  While Batman managed to save Superman, he failed to stop Nyssa from killing Ra's, which led to her and Talia taking control of the League of Assassins.  Nyssa was killed by a brainwashed Cassandra Cain (the second Batgirl) after Infinite Crisis in an attempt to take over the League of Assassins for herself. 

RATING: 8.2/10