Arrow S3 E4 - 'The Magician' Review

Oliver Queen Courts War.
The Magician is back in Starling. Malcolm Merlyn returned this episode as we finally got to see Ra's al Ghul and understand why he and Oliver are to be at odds for the next 18 episodes.
Yes, as it turns out Malcolm Merlyn is the reason for tensions between Team Arrow and the League of Assassins. Oliver struggles against his inner desires as Malcolm returns to Starling with a vengeful Nyssa in tow. He is forced to choose between saving Thea's father or putting an arrow in his arch-nemesis, a conflict which Amell portrays admirably well and the show addresses maturely. Ultimately, through choosing to protect Merlyn, he has earned the wrath of the League and Ra's himself, a move which quickens the pace of the series as our rolling conflict begins.
Elsewhere, Laurel descended into traditionally irritating roles this week, with her anger towards Malcolm translating into fits of rage and stroppy behaviour, which only furthered my distaste for the character. Nyssa changed her mind strangely fast too in terms of her disliking of Laurel trying to take Sara's place. I sympathise with Nyssa in this case to be fair, as truly I would pick anyone other than Laurel to pick up the mantel. However sadly the transition is inevitable (at least it's short-lived mwah-ha-ha-ha).
Also, the flashbacks became mildly more interesting due in large to links to prior Arrowverse content. Referring back to Fyers enables the show to settle into a comfortable sense of circularity, whilst the plot-twist involving China White was surprising and gives one of the worst villains a chance to prove herself once again.
I have a couple of closing points on this episode. Roy still feels underused and undeveloped this season, a trend I hope will not last too long. We also saw the bubbling tension behind the Lance family secrets, which is satisfyingly painful to watch. Like a car-crash in slow motion, we know that Laurel's ridiculous lies are going to hurt her father much more than she intends.
Overall, 'The Magician' was a good, if a bit unspectacular episode which finally introduced the primary antagonist of the season, but still didn't reach the levels of quality which season two consistently delivered.

STARRING: Arsenal, The Dark Archer, Nyssa Al-Ghul, China White

AWESOME MOMENTS:

• That three way archer battle was SO bad-ass! Just wish it had been longer!
• RA'S AL FREAKIN' GHUL IS HERE - after over a season of teasing, the big bad League of Assassins boss has made his small screen debut and whilst he didn't appear too physically imposing, as always with the character it was his wisdom, intellect and sense of power which shone through his words. The road to the Climb has begun!!
• Oliver's brutal, heartless murder of an old (admittedly corrupt) dude at the market - god damn!
• Malcolm's introduction was also very cool, rising like some Buddhist bad-ass monk with his familiar villain theme playing in the background

EASTER EGGS:

- The Magician is Arrow's 50th episode

- Adam Castwidth, the man whom Oliver kills for Amanda Waller, was played by John Wardlow, a stunt actor and coordinator who appeared in both Fantastic Four movies and X3

- Merlyn's code name in the League of Assassins was The Magician.  As in Merlyn the Magician, from the King Arthur legends.  In the comics, Merlyn was originally a famous archer that performed as "Merlyn the Magician". Oliver even originally took up archery after being inspired by one of his acts. 

- Oliver and company track down Ken Zhi Jansen, a former associate of Malcolm Merlyn.  In the comics, Jansen was the sensei at the monastery where Oliver and later Oliver's son, Connor Hawke, trained in archery.  Jansen would later accompany Conner during some of his early adventures as Green Arrow.

- Tracer Arrow - Oliver debuts another trick arrow, this one involving traceable nanites

-  If the Grind and Jolt Cafe looks familiar, it's because it's the same set used for the CC Jitters coffee shop scenes in The Flash.  Thea's coffee cup even has the CC Jitters logo on it. 

- Eddie Fyers is mentioned in the flashback scenes

- Amanda Waller was responsible for the attempted downing of Ferris Air  Flight 637, as was heavily speculated by fans two summers ago. The showrunners have been hinting at this for a while, as Waller's been shown wearing the distinctive stiletto heels worn by the person who ordered Fyers to shoot that plane down.  Nice to see the writers of the show following up on that plot.

- it looks like Oliver's history with China White pre-dates her first appearance on show. 

- When Felicity does finally appear at the end of the episode, she's wearing the same dress she had on at the end of Tuesday's episode of the Flash.  Her absence was mentioned earlier by Diggle, who mentioned that she was away at Central City

- Ra's al Ghul first appears rising from a pool.  Could that be a reference to one of his life-extending (or resurrecting) Lazarus Pits?

- Nyssa's advice for Laurel to turn her hips, since it's where the power comes from, is the same advice Oliver gave Diggle in "Burned".

RATING: 8.1/10