Thea returns for an Indiana Jones adventure, plus a mind-blowing time travel twist in latest Arrow

Oliver heads to Nanda Parbat to do some more investigating on the origin of the Monitor, and is helped out by none other than his long lost sister Thea. Oh, and all hell breaks looks before the episode ends.

Spoilers ahead for “Leap of Faith,” the latest episode of The CW’s Arrow, which aired Tuesday, October 29, 2019.

Let’s go ahead and start at the end, because whoa — that was one heck of a twist. Just as things seem to be wrapping up in Nanda Parbat, Oliver is hit by a ray of light and transported back to the bunker where he runs into the team. The Future Team Arrow that includes Oliver’s two grown children and Diggle’s adopted son from the flash-forwards is also hit by the light — and they all show up in the bunker together. In 2019. Together.

That’s right, Arrow just went full time travel, putting Oliver face-to-face with his adult children who are in the middle of their own mission to save their city (albeit a few decades later). It’s a massive twist, and raises about a billion questions about what might happen next. We know from the tease for next week that the team will be trying to apparently avert the start of the Deathstroke gang, perhaps, as they tell Team Arrow that the future of Star City is a pretty awful place. 

But more than anything, this looks like a ripe opportunity for Oliver to get to know the heroes Mia and William will grow up to become, and perhaps finally give Mia some closure about the father she never knew. It’s also somewhat similar to Flash’s story last season, where Barry and Iris’ future daughter became a main character and speedster hero in her own right. Though, there seems to be plenty enough to keep this take on the concept fresh.

The CW

You also have to wonder why this happened in the first place, and how? Did The Monitor, presumably, do it because one team (or both?) needed the help at this point? Will the future team be returned back to their proper place in the timeline, or remain displaced in the present permanently, working from their past to try and save their future? With The CW eyeing a spinoff series around Mia and the future team, it begs the question… could that spinoff actually take place in the present day and not the future? So. Many. Questions.

As for the actual story that drove this week’s episode, Oliver and Thea drop into the remnants of the League of Assassins to try and gather a bit more intel on the Monitor, with the help of Talia al Ghul. They go on a Indiana Jones-y treasure hunt, complete with plenty of booby traps, to learn that the first Ra’s al Ghul was visited by a mysterious god-like being, and was told to keep a balance between good and evil or he would bring about the end of the world. Oliver presumes that to be the Monitor, but could it actually be a reference to the Anti-Monitor (the key baddie in Crisis on Infinite Earths)? It stands to reason.

As Arrow continues to wrap up its run, it was great to see Willa Holland make one more trip back to the series to say goodbye, giving a nice bookend and some closure to Oliver’s relationship with his last remaining family member (not including his children, of course). The final season has done an amazing job of bringing old players full circle, and this was a perfect tribute to the character and a fitting farewell, leaving Thea with a new mission to reshape the League of Assassins into a League of Heroes. She also gets to go out on top with a great fight, taking out Talia herself.

As for Diggle, he and Lyla team up on a mission to rescue Bronze Tiger’s wife and son (aka Diggle’s future adopted son, Connor Hawke), who have been kidnapped. It makes for a nifty little caper, but we’re really just left wondering what Lyla is doing working with the Monitor. She tells John to remember the good days, and you have to wonder, did she cut her own deal with the Monitor that will cost her life? 

Next week: The future has come to the present, but why? What does it mean? Will Oliver’s head literally explode at seeing his kiddos all grown up? All good questions.