Wait… what just happened on Arrow Season 3 Episode 9?!?
The winter finale of this CW drama left viewers in absolute shock, as it was centered on a returning Ra’s al Ghul. He issued a threat that Oliver better track down Sara’s killer…
… or the League of Assassins would start slaughtering the good people of Starling City.
Inspired by this warning, Felicity discovered that 12 of the 13 DNA markers on the arrow Caitlin tested pointed to Oliver as the killer.
The suspect figured Merlyn was behind this misdirection, so he tasked Felicity with looking into his whereabouts on the night Sara was killed.
She learned that a private plane carrying Malcolm and Thea did travel that from Corto Maltese to Starling City just before the fateful evening in question.
As Arrow, Oliver interrogates Thea about this information, leading to her jumping over the railing of her loft and telling out hero to stay away from “me and my father.”
Malcolm learns about this confrontation and visits Oliver with a video of Thea… killing Sara on the rooftop. He says she had taken a plant/drug that compelled her to do so, leaving her with no memory of the event.
He also suggests Oliver take the rap for his sister via a “trial by combat.” If he kills Ra’s al Ghul, all blood debts are paid.
So, after assuring Felicity that he’ll do the deed (and telling her he loves her), Arrow makes the trek to a distant mountain top.
The fight is on, with Ra’s al Ghul not even using a sword and yet still fending off nearly every blow. He eventually gets BOTH of his opponent’s swords and forces Oliver to the edge of a ridge.
He cuts Oliver on the side. He then slices through Oliver’s rib cage and pushes him off the cliff. Ummm… as we said above: WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?
Tragically, we won’t know until Arrow Season 3 Episode 10 airs on January 21. That gives fans plenty of time to sit back and ponder: Is Oliver really, somehow, dead?!?