'Arrow' Recap: 'Al Sah-Him' Season 3 Episode 21, The Other Side Of Oliver

Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

Last week on "Arrow" Oliver accepted his role as the new Ra's Al Ghul.

This week in "Al Sah-Him" episode 21 of season three, Oliver must take on an entire new persona to leave behind Oliver Queen and his reign as the Green Arrow.

Oliver begins the transformation into Al Sah-Him in order to complete the process of becoming the next Ra's Al Ghul. Oliver and the League of Assassins turn their attention to Nyssa who prepares herself for a lonely battle.

After remembering what Nyssa did for the team and how much she meant to Sarah, Laurel, Felicity and Diggle come through with the assist to help her fight the rest of the league.

However, it's still a mystery as to whether or not Thea is the same person she was before being dipped in the waters of Nanda Parbat.

Tonight the action begins as Oliver is involved in rigorous training. He is subjected to torture and fighting so that he can forget the man he was and become Al Sah-Him. Oliver has never looked more ruthless and helpless at the same time than now. Ra's Al Ghul seems to have broken him and Oliver has assumed his role as Al Sah-Him.

Diggle is brought by Maseo and he claims to have been held captive for weeks and he never made it home. Oliver is forced to make a decision in killing his friend.

Diggle continues to try to reason with him and tells Oliver he hasn't given up on him.

Just then a battle ensues and Oliver thinks he killed his friend, however, it was a hallucination and he only killed one of Ghul's pawns.

Ghul leads Oliver on to a new place while a flashback begins. It's showing people dropping in the streets of China while Maseo, Tatsu and Oliver race around the city trying to get the bio-weapon back.

Story time continues for Oliver as Ghul speaks of the man he had to kill in order to become Ra's Al Ghul, however, he failed to kill him before he escaped.

Ghul's wishes are for Oliver to eliminate his rival without mercy so that there is no threat to the throne.

Meanwhile, in Starling city, Laurel is kicking some serious ass as the Canary. She's still a little rough around the edges but Nyssa continues to be her mentor. Nyssa has some things to learn from Starling City and Laurel is the teacher in that department.

The two are spending a lot of time together and Nyssa is thankful for Laurel's kindness.

Laurel continues to learn more and more about her sister and when Oliver is mentioned, Laurel breaks the news to Nyssa that Oliver accepted the role as Al Sah-Him. She is immediately upset and storms out on the dinner.

Thea, Lyla, Felicity and Diggle have dinner together after Diggle went out fighting crime. Felicity says that they need a new way of disguising Diggle now that Oliver is gone and the Arrow is no more. Thea goes through the loss of her brother and is thankful for Diggle and his family helping her get past it.

Everyone seems to be getting along with Oliver somehow but they aren't trying to reach out.

In another flashback Oliver, Tatsu and Maseo are trying to protect innocent civilians from being injected with the dangerous bio-weapon. The three made a great team and forced some of the military carriers to destroy the weapon.

Laurel tries to apologize to Nyssa again but she reveals that there is something else going on. Nyssa will be hunted by Oliver with as many men as he needs to kill her for betraying the League. Back at Palmer industries everyone is now aware of the fact that Oliver is back in the city and hunting Nyssa.

Nyssa debates with Felicity on the fact that Oliver is no longer, only Al Sah-Him remains. She decides to go out to face her fate.

Laurel, Felicity and Diggle are all trying to figure out whether or not they should help Nyssa fight the League and it's new leader Oliver.

Laurel has already put a tracking device on Nyssa to make it easier for the team to locate her.

In flash back city, Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu manage to destroy the bio-weapon. In present day, Laurel is trying to warn Diggle not to come to her aid if Oliver appears out of fear of what he might do. However, Diggle assures her that there is no way that Oliver would harm the people he loves.

Thea visits Felicity and asks if she could help fight crime.

Felicity is forced to tell Thea that Oliver is back in Starling City, however, he's not himself.

Felicity is begging Thea not to get into harms way and stay out of these types of issues but it doesn't sit well with Thea.

Nyssa meets Oliver who says he has come to bring her back to Nanda Parbat. She does not back down when the fight begins and Oliver uses all of the new tricks he's learned. When the time comes for Oliver to kill Nyssa, he is interrupted by Diggle and the Black Canary.

Oliver jumps off the building before the conversation goes any further. Nyssa scolds Laurel and Diggle for getting in the way and says there is nothing they can do to help her.

She was marked for death and despite her little time of happiness, happiness was not something that was meant for her. Laurel is frightened because she does not recognize the killer that has become of Oliver.

Diggle and Felicity try to cope with the man they saw earlier that Night. It's something Diggle's only heard about in stories and doesn't believe that a man as strong as Oliver could be turned. Felicity says they thought Oliver was just giving up his life but it seems as if he's given up his soul.

Oliver returns to brief Maseo on what went on during his battle and says they need to draw Nyssa out. Thea asks Malcolm whether or not Oliver is back in town and is seeking to kill Nyssa.

She is hellbent on trying to help Oliver break out of his brainwashed state which she holds against Malcolm. Thea looks to become the savior of her brother and Malcolm is onboard to help her do it.

Felicity is forced to stay at Diggle's house because of the situation, however, Lyla has been kidnapped by Oliver and the League and Oliver tells him he has 30 minutes to bring Nyssa to him. Diggle tells Felicity that Lyla has been kidnapped and John has lost his mind he even tries to attack Nyssa. Diggle tells her to give herself up but Laurel sticks up for her.

Nyssa decides that it's final and she will be giving herself up to save Lyla.

While in captivity Lyla tries to talk to Oliver and find out how he allowed himself to become Al Sah-Him.

She uses the death of Diggle's brother to reason with Oliver by telling him he gave Diggle hope, promise and a brother again.

Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu are forced to leave China when Akio becomes sick. The team arrives with Nyssa and they all continue to try and reason with Oliver. He is silent only opening his mouth to bark orders to the League to bind Nyssa.

He releases Lyla and tells the team they are free to go. The team has other plans and Lyla, Nyssa, Diggle and the Black Canary begin fighting the league.

Oliver cuts Diggle and there is a menacing look about him until he is attacked by Thea. Is it time for her to become Speedy?

Lyla heads out of town while the team including Thea tries to figure out what they are going to do about the new Oliver. Diggle looks to have accepted the fact that Oliver is gone but the team will never forget him. Oliver has brought Nyssa back to Ghul and learns that it was not Nyssa he was after but something she stole from Ghul.

They find a vile of some sort and Ghul promises his daughter death but she is not afraid of him. He gives the orders to Oliver to end Nyssa's life but is stopped just before he carries out the act.

It was all a test to see if Oliver is really on the Leagues side. Ghul's plans are much higher, he wants Nyssa to marry Oliver and become bride of the demon.

In the final flashback Oliver, Tatsu, Akio and Maseo huddle into a vehicle to try and flee the city. Tatsu notices that Akio is bleeding from his mouth and the worry sets in. Felicity pays Thea a visit and Thea tells her that Oliver should have let her die. Both Thea and Felicity still love Oliver even after what he's become and they are both wondering how they can still have feelings for Oliver.

Felicity begs Thea to move on and live life. She also breaks the news that Roy is alive and his death was faked.

Thea receives the address because she thinks it's what Oliver would have wanted. Diggle stares at a photo of his friend and Laurel has dinner alone. Felicity is heartbroken and cries to herself in the old lab.

Ghul takes Oliver to make his final transformation. Oliver has been given the Alpha-Omega bio-weapon to unleash on Starling City that would wipe everyone out.

"Al Sah-Him" is yet another incredible episode under the belt of the "Arrow" Writers. It's always interesting to see what Oliver's counter personality would be if he wasn't filled with good.

Though Ra's Al Ghul has been successful in bringing Oliver to the dark side, there is still good within him that allows him to prevail.

Oliver is going to have the fate of his city in his hands with a weapon he once tried to stop, will he succumb to the League even further? The season finale is shaping up to be a big one but there is still one more episode before that.

Fans who want to see what happens next can tune in next week at 8PM EST as "Arrow" continues on the CW.