"Sins of the Father" is the 13th episode of the fourth season of The CW series Arrow and 82nd overall. The episode was written by Ben Sokolowski and Keto Shimizu and directed by Gordon Verheul. It was first broadcast on February 10, 2016, in The CW.
The episode revolves about Nyssa offering an elixir named Lotus to Oliver that can reverse the effects of the Lazarus Pit and offers him to heal Thea, in exchange for him killing Malcolm. They convince him to meet with Nyssa to give her the command of the League of Assassins but Malcolm will not give it too easy. Meanwhile, Felicity meets with her father, the Calculator, and listens to why he left, questioning if he is a bad man.
The episode received generally positive reviews.
Plot
On Lian Yu, Taiana is furious at Oliver for killing Vlad. When he shows her the rock with symbols, Taiana takes the stone and asks for Reiter to barter her escape, but Reiter takes the stone and keeps them imprisoned. He tells Taiana to kill Oliver, or she will die. They begin conspiring to escape by killing Reiter and his men. Reiter then tells Oliver that they will begin to dig underneath to find what he is looking for.
Five years later, Nyssa tells Oliver she will give him the elixir if he kills Malcolm. Meanwhile, Felicity confronts Noah, her father, over his past, and he gives her a USB proving some of his crimes. The team is considering whether to kill Malcolm. They finally decide to meet with Malcolm to give the League's ring to Nyssa. Laurel meets with Nyssa to negotiate another way: Oliver can convince Malcolm to give his power to her in exchange for the elixir. Nyssa agrees but threatens to kill people if Malcolm refuses.
Oliver asks for a sample of the elixir to prove the value. They put it on Thea and some of the scars heal themselves. Oliver, Diggle, Laurel and Malcolm meet with Nyssa to give her the ring. However, Malcolm snatches the ring and brings assassins to attack them. Nyssa and her fighters escape and Malcolm is stopped by Oliver. The team decides to intercept and neutralize Nyssa and her group. Meanwhile, Felicity takes her father to the labs of Palmer Tech but she is sending him into a "trap". Oliver confronts Malcolm for not following Nyssa's conditions, and Malcolm responds by denying Nyssa his power and also reveals that he knows Oliver has a son.
In order to bring peace, Oliver arranges a sword fight between Nyssa and Malcolm. However, before the fight, Oliver uses ancient rules to switch Nyssa's place for him, as he is still her husband. Oliver swiftly defeats Malcolm and, instead of killing him, cuts his hand with the League's ring, knocks him out and gives it to Nyssa. He is finally given the elixir and Nyssa becomes the new Ra's al Ghul. He gives the elixir to Thea and she is healed.
Noah meets with Felicity. She confronts him for having abandoned her, and he admits that the police are looking for her and Lance. Then the police arrive and arrest him. Seeing the new role and darkness on her, Nyssa brings Malcolm, Oliver and Laurel over, takes her ring and throws him on the fire, disbanding the League of Assassins. Malcolm is furious about Oliver's betrayal and threatens to make him suffer. At night, Malcolm meets with Darhk to tell him the person Oliver loves the most: William, his son.
Production
In January 2016, it was revealed that the 13th episode for the fourth season would be titled "Sins of the Father" and was to be directed by Gordon Verheul and written by Ben Sokolowski & Keto Shimizu.
Reception
Viewers
The episode was watched by 2.44 million viewers with a 0.9/3 share among adults aged 18 to 49. This was a 2% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by 2.48 million viewers and a 0.9/3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.9 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.
Critical reviews
"Sins of the Father" received generally positive reviews from critics. Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the episode an "okay" 6.7 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "This week's Arrow was disappointingly uneven despite the strong thematic story ties and the idea that multiple characters were grappling with change and redemption. Only one of the several action scenes stood out, and the rooftop duel was disappointingly brief and unsatisfying. Luckily, the resolution of this conflict and the major twist that resulted spell good things for the show in the weeks ahead."