BWW Recap: The Arrow and The Canary Team Up on The CW's ARROW

Last week on ARROW, we learned that Oliver's ex-fling and Laurel's sister, Sara, is 1) alive and 2) the Canary, or that masked blonde hero with impressive fighting skills who has been mysteriously showing up everywhere the Arrow goes.

This week we begin with a flashback that turns out to be Sara reliving her past in a dream. In the flashback Sara and Oliver are back on the yacht; they're young and carefree, kissing and boozing it up. We've seen parts of this before and by now we know how this ends-the yacht sinks and Sara is pulled under and presumed dead-but this time we get Sara's version of the story.

Remember those unpleasant guys on the ship that shot Oliver and made him stitch up his own wound? Well it turns out that after being pulled out of the yacht during the storm, Sara ended up on that same ship. What an awful coincidence. Like Oliver, she was at first thrown into a cell but later she's "saved" from the rough handling of the ship's crew by a man named Doctor Anthony Ivo, who seems just as sketchy as the rest of that whole operation.

He takes her to his quarters onboard and when she asks him why all those people are being held in cells, he informs her that they are part of his plan to save the human race, which is super creepy. Save us from what exactly? This guy gives off some weird vibes. We want to reach into the screen and tell Sara to run far away from Doctor Ivo, but alas a ship doesn't afford many escape opportunities.

In the present, Moira is getting ready for trial. Last we heard from Moira, she had just found out she was facing the possibility of the death penalty after being accused of aiding in the deaths of the Glades earthquake victims. It turns out Laurel is on the opposing council and they've got a plea bargain for Mrs. Queen-a life sentence with the opportunity for parole. Death or life in prison? Talk about being caught between a rock and a very, very hard place.

Over at the Queen mansion, where we learn Sara has been staying, Oliver and Sara are having a heart-to-heart. Oliver tells Sara her family would of course be thrilled to learn she's alive, so what is she waiting for? Sara says she can't just go running back to them, those years away changed her and they wouldn't like what she' s been turned into.

Their discussion is cut short when a man, dressed mysteriously like Malcolm Merlyn's alter ego, the Black Archer, comes crashing through the window. The lookalike and our vigilante heroes duke it out right in the middle of the Queen's living room. And we have to say, the two-the Arrow and the Canary-make a great fighting duo. The Arrow could use a partner, someone who matches, or outmatches, him in fighting skills and could take some of the weight of the world off his (incredibly toned) shoulders. Hey, we're all for more female superheroes, especially ones that kick as much ass as Sara/the Canary does.

Working together, the two manage to beat this Black Archer double. Once unmasked, of course we learn that the man is not Merlyn, who died, along with his son, Tommy, last season. But before we can get any more information on his identity, the mystery man pulls an Arrow-like move, creating a diversion and making his escape.

Back in the Arrow's tricked out hideout, Sara tells the team-Felicity, Diggle, and Oliver-that the mysterious ninja is actually after her, not Oliver. She once belonged to the League of Assassins, which is exactly what its name suggests, but ended up having a change of heart, or conscience. She decided to give up killing people for a living but of course the only way you leave the League is in a body bag. So the league is now after her and won't stop until she's dead, or she comes back to join them.

Felicity figures out where the assassin is lurking and Oliver heads over there, ready for a fight. Considering the Arrow got his ass kicked multiple times by Merlyn, who this assassin trained, he doesn't seemed distraught over the Arrow's appearance in the slightest. In fact, he calls the Arrow's arrows "ineffectual projectiles." Ouch. We have a feeling you're going to pay for that comment, ninja-assassin-guy.

And then the Canary shows up, the dynamic duo back together again, and the fight can begin. Unfortunately, the fight doesn't end up solving anything and they're all pretty well matches so our heroes book it out of there pretty quickly. As they leave, the assassin yells his warning that if Sara doesn't come with them he's going to go after everyone she loves.

After learning that the Lances are in danger, Felicity goes to tell Mr. Lance to get out of town for a few days because the League will surely be targeting him to get to Sara. But the ex-detective of course doesn't believe that there are a bunch of assassins out for his blood. So Sara must go convince her father to leave town herself and reveal that she is, in fact, alive. We've seen Mr. Lance's continuous mourning of his daughter over the last two seasons, so the father-daughter reunion hug is touching.

Oliver does his part to protect Laurel and takes her out because he says he knows she could use a friend. We think that's a bit of an understatement, given the pill-popping Laurel has taken to. But Oliver doesn't know about that, so we'll cut him some slack. After a miscommunication and an attempted kiss on Laurel's part, they realize the door to her apartment is open. Oliver tells her to stay put and when he goes to check it out he finds a knife plunged into her wall, courtesy of the League. Side note: when will the villains learn that if you mess with Laurel you're probably going to die? That girl has got not one, but two, superheroes on her side. Best not to mess with Ms. Lance. She's also got some major ass-kicking skills herself.

Sara and her father are preparing for the assassins arrival in that tower where Roy was brought to speak with the Canary. The assassins don't keep them waiting long but Sara is one step ahead, and has laid traps for them that they annoyingly fight right through.

The Canary ends up eventually kicking their asses (with a little help from the Arrow who shows up after the fight is well underway). She kills the main assassin and sends another off with a message to the League to leave her family alone.

Sara's worried her father will reject her after watching her kill a man in front of him and seeing firsthand what she has become. But he understands that it's about survival and he tells her he loves her anyway. Sara feared she would never get the acceptance and love of her family again because of her murder-y past but it seems her father's love for her at least, really is unconditional.

Sara tells Mr. Lance that she has to leave because the League will always be after her and that he can't tell her mother or her sister that she's alive in order to keep them safe. And then he has to let her go after he'd just found her again. One reason we hope Sara/the Canary will be back - haven't the Lance's been through enough?

Oliver admits to Diggle that he was right, that eventually your past catches up with you. He confesses that he wasn't always on the island during those lost five years, which we'd gathered. But it's good that he's finally opening up to those that he loves about his past, knowing they'll love him anyway.

Of course, unconditional love and forgiveness seems to be the take home message of the episode, which is hammered home when Thea and Oliver go to visit Moira in Iron heights. Mrs. Queen had wanted to take the plea and opt for life in prison, but Oliver and Thea were not having it, and couldn't understand why she wouldn't at least try to get off, to be with them. Oliver, who has learned his lesson from Sara, assures their mother that whatever she did, whatever skeletons are in her closet, they won't love her any less once they come out. Oliver and Thea encourage her to go to trial and fight for her freedom, and tell her that they'll support her, whatever secrets come out. It's a nice thought, that there are people in the world who love you despite your demons or misdemeanors.

The last shot of the episode is a flashback of Oliver on the boat coming face to face with a much darker version of Sara, who proceeds to kick him in his side when he tries to speak. This Sara is a far cry from the carefree girl who was sipping wine and making out with her sister's boyfriend on a yacht. What exactly happened during those years? What happened on that boat and why did Oliver think Sara was dead? Tune in next week to see if we find out. ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on the CW.

Photo Credit: Michael Courtney /The CW -- © 2013 The CW Network