By: Sarah Stephens
ARROW is cracking up open the DC universe and last night’s episode was just the beginning! Fanboys and girls have been clamoring for some League of Assassins action since ARROW came back for its sophomore season. In “Heir to the Demon,” ARROW fans got their first introduction to Nyssa al Ghul, daughter of the legendary Ra’s al Ghul, and let’s just say she’s nothing short of ass-kicking fantastic. And while we won’t see the man himself for some time (if ever,) his daughter did not disappoint. Her appearance in Starling City brought a few surprises along the way, including her intimate romantic relationship with Sara Lance, aka Black Canary.
That wasn’t the only surprise revealed last night. Sara’s back for in Starling City for good, thanks to Nyssa’s mercy to release her from the League of Assassins. Not to mention, Oliver is now in on Moira’s secret about Thea’s birth father after Felicity filled him in. Felicity even had a few unexpected reveals about her own story last night. Our head is spinning just trying to keep track.
To help us out, executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg gave us the scoop on what to expect from this next chapter of ARROW. We even got to chat with actress Katrina Law (Nyssa al Ghul) spoke about what it’s like to be playing the second-in-command of the League of Assassins.
While Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins are known across the DC universe (namely in Batman’s universe), his daughter Nyssa is shrouded in more mystery. Katrina Law, previously of SPARTACUS, said, “I love it. I love the fact that she hasn’t been in any movies and the interpretation is left wide open between the writers and myself and what we want to do. Even down to how she looks in the costume. Everything, it’s just creative.”
But what was it like for Katrina to take on this power assassin? Katrina laughed. “As an actor you want to play. The first time I put the costume on I had this moment where I just kinda geeked out in the mirror where I was like “Ohhhhhhh.” It was so good.” She went on to describe her fighting style. “With this girl, she’s precision and precise. Everything she does has intent. I had to make sure my movements were sharp.”
While Nyssa does depart this episode, releasing Sara from her League of Assassins vow, it won’t be the last of her. When asked about what this means for Sara’s connection to Ra’s al Ghul, Nyssa and the League, Andrew Kreisberg said, “This was not Katrina’s only appearance of the season. Part of the reason we did this episode was to free Sara at least for the time being from the threat of the League of Assassins and allow her to fully be the Black Canary. Come home and all the delicious implications that brought.”
But what will those implications mean for the Arrow gang? Andrew joked “There used to be only one blonde in the lair.” Marc continued, “Episodes 14, 17, and 18 deal a lot with all the different ramifications of Team Arrow from different vantage points. Episode 14 really deals with what is Felicity’s reaction to Sara, the new member of Team Arrow, now that Sara is back in town. What does this mean for Team Arrow, what does this mean for Felicity, what does this mean for Felicity and Oliver and all these interesting things. It’s a very Felicity centric episode.” We do love our Felicity. Especially after her rare reveal into her past in last night’s episode. Andrew teased. “You’re going to get two massive things that are going to happen toward the end of the season, that we heard in that speech that will pay off.”
Buckle up, because the next few episodes are going to knock you back. Andrew let us know. “Episodes 14-18 are just villain, villain, villain. Great big villains, one right after the other. You’re going to see a couple of returning favorites and a couple of amazing brand new ones. Episodes 14-18 is very much the villains chapter of season 2 and it builds to 18, our mid-season cliffhanger. That ends another chapter.” When it came to naming some of those returning favorites, they gave us this juicy bit of news. Remember Helena, the Arrow’s formidable ally-turned-opponent the Huntress? She’ll be making an appearance in Starling City soon. Andrew gave us the rundown. “Helena comes back to town. All that’s left is the Huntress. She’s become consumed by this vengeance she has for her father. When we see her, she’s in a very haggard and worn-out state. It’s a final confrontation between he and her father and Laurel gets caught in the cross fire and the Canary has to go in to the rescue. It’s a fun episode. You get a lot of Laurel with the Canary, not realizing that it’s Sara. The Canary is all too eager to kill the Huntress if it means protecting Laurel.”
Black Canary plus the Huntress? Could that be leading towards Birds of Prey? Marc made it clear. “It’s more of the Arrow version of Birds of Prey, more than it is a direct adaptation. We gave ourselves room to grow and evolve that.”
Although not all the villains Oliver will be dealing with are outsiders. Some of them are Starling City’s own, like Oliver’s mother Moira. Now faced with Oliver knowing the truth about Thea, Moira has her hands full. Andrew told us “This is a fracture to her relationship with Oliver that is not going to be mended in an episode. This lie is going to have far reaching implications for the characters of the show.” But can the tear between Moira and Oliver be fixed? Andrew shed some insight into what to expect next for Moira. “For her arc this season, it’s really about redemption. She went to jail and kinda got away with it. She still hasn’t really paid for what she did. She still hasn’t really had her come-to-Jesus moment, despite what you think would be rock bottom. And that’s coming.”
Redemption, villains and our favorites returning? Bring it on! 
Watch ARROW Wednesdays at 8/9pm on the CW. (CTV in Canada)
Sarah Stephens’s first and longest running TV addiction is with Days of Our Lives, starting at the age of four. Now a grown-up entertainment and pop culture addict, Sarah lives in Los Angeles where she watches too much TV, chases after all things Disney and writes. Follow her on Twitter @SnowWhite22.