Last time we saw Oliver Queen, he was falling off a cliff after being stabbed by Ra’s al Ghul. Would his position still be quite as dire when the show picked up? Find out, but be warned that there be spoilers ahead.
1. Stepping up or out
This episode is all about changing roles for everyone involved: Diggle has to step up to field leader, Roy becomes the best archer on the team, Felicity is now making the big calls. Each person has a different part of Ollie’s role to take over, and they do it with varying degrees of success – but all acknowledge that his role is greater than the sum of its parts.
Felicity, out of everyone, has the hardest time accepting Ollie’s potential demise. Perhaps this is because her feelings for him, but regardless, once she comes to the conclusion that Ollie isn’t coming back, her reaction is absolutely devastating. While each character is clearly upset of his disappearance, you get the sense that only Felicity won’t get over it eventually. Because of that, she seemingly quits – leaving Diggle and Roy to figure out how – and if – to continue.
2. John Barrowman is dope
Sure, he chews scenery like they’re gum, but John Barrowman has been great on Arrow, but tonight might be his finest moment yet. The scene where he delivers the scimitar covered in Ollie’s blood, the hint of a tear in his eye, along with the smirk that can never be quite removed, tell that Ollie’s death is both tragic and completely his fault. I really hope that we get more of Barrowman this season.
3. Medium Brick
So, each episode has its ‘freak of the week’ to deal with, and it is pretty clear that Ra’s al Ghul is the overarching ‘big bad’ to deal with, so I guess that makes Brick a ‘medium’ villain?
However you classify him, he feels pretty slight compared to seasons past. The character is one of the more one-dimensional that the series has trotted out thus far. Because of how pivotal an episode this was, his relative lameness was highlighted in a way that it might not have been in an average episode. Here’s hoping that they either develop him further or cut him loose soon.
4. Some of the best acting we’ve seen from the show
Just about every series regular, save for Paul “Quentin Lance” Blackthorne, had at least one scene of real emotional depth, and many of them had more than one. For Felicity and Diggle, in particular, the show managed to show them dealing with Ollie’s “death” in a number of ways throughout the hour.
But one scene that really stood out to me was Brandon “Ray Palmer” Routh standing up to Felicity’s assumptions about Anna. He was surprisingly stern, pained, and compassionate all at once.
Yes, the show can feel soap opera-y many times, but with this episode, even with its sad and tragic moments, were rooted in such strong performances that it never once felt as cheesy as it could have.
5. The ending
Look, if you really thought that Oliver was dead, well, I’m sorry? I think most of us believed Maseo would be Ollie’s savior, but tonight’s episode both gave reason for him doing that, and introduced the twist of Tatsu’s return. Whether or not a Lazarus Pit is in play or not is still somewhat up for grabs, but the show is at least doing some things unexpectedly, even when things seem to be relatively predictable.
