Arrow New Episode Review: 'The Offer' Makes Oliver Queen Struggle with a Big Choice

Season 3 of the CW's Arrow returned tonight after a month-long hiatus with "The Offer," an episode in which Oliver weighed the decision that Ra's al Ghul gave him to take his place as the head of the League of Assassins.

We knew a month ago that Ra's' offer was an offer in name only. Oliver never truly had a choice. He either becomes the head of the League of Assassins or suffers the consequences of crossing the Demon's Head. And for much of this episode, there were numerous reasons why Oliver should have signed on the dotted line.

For starters, Ra's knew how to make the offer sound incredibly appealing. Oliver would have access to nearly unlimited resources, an army of the most loyal soldiers on Earth, and a pool that would heal his wounds and keep him alive far beyond his time. Oh, and that whole "assassin" thing? No problem! You don't want to kill, then don't kill. The League would follow in Oliver's footsteps.

If that weren't tempting enough, Oliver then returned home to a city that was exactly as Ra's al Ghul had predicted. The police force, represented by Captain Lance, started to turn on him. Felicity was in the arms of another man. And so Oliver started to doubt everything he had accomplished thus far. And he wasn't wrong, either. Numerous bodies have dropped since Oliver began his mission, Thea's life is in shambles, and the criminals that he has locked up have been released.

So the bulk of this episode focused on the tug of war within Oliver as he openly questioned to Diggle and Felicity just what reason he had not to accept Ra's' offer. He even went as far as to say he doesn't know why he's continuing with this crusade.

Enter Murmur, the villain of the week with the stitched-up mouth who decided to wreak havoc on the police department with diamond-tipped bullets. Lance may not be on the same page with the Arrow anymore, but the man in the green hood showed up nonetheless to take out Murmur and save as many of the officers as he could. And in that moment, Ollie remembered why he does what he does. All he could think about was getting those cops home to their families, and that's how he makes a difference. Ra's may have resources, but Oliver finds purpose in helping the little guy. This is actually a major characteristic of the Green Arrow in the comics, so good on the show for staying true to it.

Of course, Oliver's decision to reject Ra's offer came with consequences. Ra's showed up in the green costume and murdered three people to frame the Arrow and get the city to turn on him. It seems like Ra's will have to manipulate Oliver into accepting the offer, which will have major negative repercussions for Mr. Queen, his alter ego, and his city.

Notes:

- Thea continues to grow, only this time she is falling apart. So it's understandable that she'd go back to a source of comfort in Roy. Now that there are no secrets between them, maybe this can work.

- I laughed when Oliver wanted to find someone to save and looked at Felicity like "Come on, do your computer thing."

- "You're one of my closest friends." OUCH.

- "You need more training." "When are you going to stop telling me that?" "When you no longer need more training."

- Nyssa got daddy-smacked by Ra's, and it seems like she's out of the League. Her burgeoning friendship with Laurel could be an interesting one to watch.

- Lance, just forgive everyone already please!

What did you think of "The Offer"? Let us know in the comments section.