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Talia al Ghul Returns to 'Arrow'—but What Is Her End Game?

The warrior wanted Oliver's blood last year!

By Rachel CarringtonPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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Lexa Doig Returns as Talia al Ghul

Arrow fans got a shock this week when Talia al Ghul, daughter of the deceased Ras al Ghul, broke into Oliver's cell at Slabside Prison. Not only had she survived the explosion on LIan Yu, she had also taken over Level Two of the prison, dubbing herself "The Demon," which is appropriate since she is the daughter of the demon who is now deceased.

When we last saw Talia, she was on Lian Yu, locked in a battle with her sister, Nyssa. Now she had a plan to escape the prison, but it would require Oliver's assistance, one which he wasn't entirely pleased about giving. Eventually, for the first time not in flashbacks, we see the two archers working together as a team.

While Talia was able to escape the prison, Oliver chose to remain behind so he wouldn't be a fugitive. But he trusted Talia to deliver a crucial piece of information to Felicity. Viewers were as uncertain of her trustworthiness as Oliver was, but she surprised us all by doing as he asked.

However, Talia had only survived Lian Yu because of Diaz, a fact which has viewers questioning her intentions. As she once teamed up with Prometheus and helped him to almost destroyed everyone Oliver loves, will she now be Team Diaz, making her the ultimate villain Oliver will need to defeat?

Though Talia had an allegiance, of sorts, to Adrian Chase, she still had her own agenda—which included making Oliver suffer for killing her father. So, are we to expect that, after torturing Oliver in prison, that she has changed her ways simply because he helped her escape?

While she did deliver a key piece of evidence that ended a barbaric practice at the prison, that could only be seen as serving her own purpose yet again. She suffered inside the walls and wanted revenge so much that she even killed the doctor that caused the brunt of her suffering. And that doctor hadn't killed her father like Oliver did.

Are we to trust that, even though Talia wanted revenge on Oliver last year, her desire for vengeance is now gone? Trust isn't a word that can be applied to Talia now that she's crossed so many lines and hurt so many people, including her own sister.

John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn

And here's another thought to ponder: We have no way of knowing if Diaz planted Talia in prison to keep an eye on Oliver. How long had she survived without being captured by the police? How long had Oliver? And even Malcolm Merlyn?

These are lethally skilled fighters who only meet their match in one another. Are we to believe that Talia was caught by the police and unable to get away at any time prior to be being taken to prison? Perhaps her escape wasn't so much an escape, but simply the time for her to leave, because we all know that Diaz isn't a man known for mercy. So, by saving her on Lian Yu, he obviously has a purpose for her.

So now that Talia is out of prison, will she become the one Felicity, William, and the other members of Team Arrow must fear? Could she be Diaz's lethal weapon now that he's lost Black Siren as an ally?

It looks like Oliver is on his way out of prison because of the problems within Slabside. He will be better able to protect his family, but if Talia remains as Diaz's new sidekick or, perhaps, undertakes her own, separate quest for revenge, can the student defeat the teacher? What's more—will he?

There's no denying that prison has changed Oliver. He's still undoubtedly deadly to his enemies, but he's had time to reflect on his history of violence. Some might even say he regrets a lot of his decisions. So will he return to the city, to the Arrow of Season 2 with a strict no-killing policy?

Whatever comes up next this season, it would seem like a waste of Talia al Ghul's skills to only present her as a means to torture Oliver in prison for a few months. What would be the upshot to having her appear only to have her disappear again?

If there's one thing that Talia does is pay her debts, and if she feels as though she owes a debt to Diaz for saving her, there's little doubt that she will repay him. And if it comes at Oliver's expense, it's doubtful that would give her pause.

#Arrow #OliverQueen #TaliaalGhul #Diaz #Oliverinprison #FelicitySmoak

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About the Creator

Rachel Carrington

I'm an avid writer and reader. I've had over 53 novels published and over 2,000 articles. Here I review movies, TV series/episodes, books, and write about entertainment. www.rachelcarrington.com

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