Right before Oliver is about to be killed in the flashbacks of Arrow Season 5 episode 10, Talia al Ghul appears in the doorway and rescues him. Why? Well we don’t exactly know her motives, other than she may see a little bit of herself in him. But her agenda in training him to become Green Arrow and move back to Starling City does reveal some answers about why she’s coming into the picture five seasons into the series.
Spoilers for Arrow Season 5 episode 11, “Second Chances,” ahead.
So firstly, how does Talia know Oliver? Turns out, she trained Yao Fei too. Well then how can she be so young still? Oliver makes a joke about that in the episode and Talia says it’s because of a “family secret." Considering her father is Ra's al Ghul, the late leader of the League of Assasins, it's no secret her young age is due to the Lazarus Pit. Talia knows Oliver was training with Yao Fei on Lian Yu, about his stint in Hong Kong and current mission to take down Kovar in Russia to fulfill his promise to Taiana. She also notices the green hood Oliver wears to honor both Shado and Yao, who died on Lian Yu.
After revealing how she knows all these things about him, Talia baits Oliver into killing another Russian dude for her so she can see what he’s capable of. After she gets a better taste of his mental state, she takes Oliver under her wing and tells him he can learn to control the monster inside of him if he finds an outlet, such as being a vigilante and crossing of names on his father’s list. She lifts a large chest onto the table, the same one Oliver still has in the bunker to this day. She gives him a bow and arrow and his first green leather suit. Talia tells him she will train him to become the Starling City vigilante.
All of this new information brings us back to the Season 1 premiere episode where Oliver is rescued on Lian Yu. There’s a strong possibility his return to Lian Yu and the subsequent boat rescue is staged by Talia so nobody in Star City would find out where he had been all that time. He didn’t just come back to Star City and decide one day to become Green Arrow, it was Talia who planted the seed.
This becomes more clear when Talia says a line reminiscent of something Oliver has said (with a couple of variations of the years) at the beginning of every episode to date: “I have to be someone else. I have to be something else.”
Talia’s quote is, “It’s only when the monster becomes someone else — something else — that you’re free to be Oliver Queen.”
While there are still many questions to be answered about Talia, her ties to the League of Assassins, and her family history, we can’t forget that Oliver still needs her help in present day to find Prometheus since she trained them both.
How do you think Talia knows Prometheus? We'll find out soon enough considering entire Team Arrow is going to Russia next episode. Watch the promo below and let us know what you think in the comments.
