Well, we’ve seen another season of Arrow to its conclusion, and things are going to be quite different in both Starling City and Nanda Parbat. Be warned, spoilers will be discussed.
Also – I am going to deal with more of what happened this week, versus speculating what will be happening next season. That will be covered in an article going up in this space next week, so look for that next Thursday. Until then, say my name!
If this column is shorter than usual, part of that is because I live-tweeted the show last night using the @MultiversityTV twitter account. Check out my extended thoughts here.
1. Fuck the Flashbacks
This is going to come as no surprise to anyone who has read my reviews, but the flashbacks truly kill the mood and flow of these episodes, and this episode was perhaps the most egregious one yet. Tell me one thing that actually happened in this flashback that wasn’t already known: we know Maseo was going to leave Tatsu, and that Tatsu was going to live a monastic life. We knew that Ollie didn’t go back to Starling. We know that Ollie knows how to torture people.
So why? Why was this necessary? Why keep going back to that story, especially when there was so much happening in the main story. Ugh.
2. Ray Palmer, R.I.P.?
This episode appears to end with Ray being blown to bits when the top few floors of Palmer Technologies went all Die Hard on us. I hope/suspect that this isn’t the end of Ray – although Legends of Tomorrow already need to time travel to get Sara Lance back in the mix, so maybe? – but there are parts of Ray’s story that need to be locked up.
For instance, remember when he signed over the company to Felicity? Plus, we never saw him actually shrink down like the Atom, and I can’t imagine the show bringing him on the show only to let him be Phony Stark™.
3. The New Ra’s
The transformation of Malcolm Merlyn from friend of the family to psychopath to presumed dead to Thea’s daddy to sudden friend of the Arrow makes a whole lot more sense with the promise of being the new Ra’s al Ghul. But, there is some shaky logic here: to become the new Ra’s, don’t you have to first destroy your home? And didn’t he just save Starling, his home?
It was shocking to see Ollie actually kill Ra’s, as well – he understands that he is doing the world a service by eliminating Ra’s, but his oath to not kill was something that Ollie held seriously. That is as much of a part of his transformation from the Hood into the Arrow as anything else, so to see him go back on it was another reason that he had to walk away.
4. Triton’s Daughter
So, the one shot of the flashback that was useful was the name of the boat that Ollie was getting on – owned by Wallace Shipping, based out of Coast City, called “Triton’s Daughter.” I have some thoughts on this that I’ll explore next week, but this also means that, most likely, Ollie won’t be going back to the island. And while that, in one way, is a relief, in another, it begins to cast doubt on how we met Ollie in the first season: with a huge beard, and seemingly a little nuts from being alone for so long. We are entering season 4, so the flashback sequence is year 4 of his ‘death.’ So, you’re telling us that he went nuts and grew the world’s thickest beard with just a year in seclusion? That seems a little silly, don’t you think?
5. Team Arrow
I know I’ve been a little harsh in this review, but part of that is just how perfect the season 2 finale was, and how much more I’ve been enjoying The Flash this season. But this was still an extremely fun hour of TV: Barry’s “You guys have a hot tub? Nice!” line was great, there was some great action and…oh yeah, FELICATOM! Felicity rocking the suit was totally unexpected and pretty great. As was Thea’s true emergence as Speedy (and teasing the name Red Arrow), as was Lance dropping his grudge long enough to do what is right for his city.
The team is sort of in shambles, with Ray presumed dead, Diggle pissed off, Thea as the new vigilante, Roy disappeared (perhaps over to TNT to be on the Titans show?), and Felicity on the Ollie Queen love tour. But don’t worry, season 4 is just around the corner! And I’ll be there to cover it!
Look out for next week’s “Ten Questions for Season 4” piece on Thursday morning! Until then, let me know what you think in the comments!
