I feel like we’ve seen a lot of tonight’s Arrow before – the city in ruins, standing behind its heroes, various team members needing ‘time away,’ one flashback ending with a hint of what the next season’s worth of shitty flashbacks will be. Everything old is new again.
Also, spoilers!
1. Nukes
This show really doubled down on the Cold War-era obsession with nuclear war this season. While I admire the balls it takes to, fictionally, nuke a small town and threaten the entire world with nuclear winter, this season went off the rails when Darhk decided that destroying the world, even without a bunker to save himself and his followers, was the best idea. It went beyond maniacal villain and into ‘dude willing to let his daughter get melted into a shadow.’
Darhk was a far better villain than I anticipated he would be at the start of the season – he had charisma, interesting powers, and an actual mission, not just vague bad guy ideas. Of course, like so many things on Arrow, he still didn’t live up to his potential on the show, but it worked better than it might have, and probably should have.
Fare thee well, Mr. Darhk. You made Ollie kill again, you took Laurel off the table, and you wore that cool suit on Legends of Tomorrow.
2. Plot holes you could drive a planet through them
OK, so we know that Ollie had the power to fight bad magic with good magic, or some such shit, from a few weeks ago. Then, Ollie told us that Darhk was too powerful to use it against. Then, at some point tonight, he got it back. I think we were supposed to believe that, through the support of the city, that their positive vibes (or maybe just the fact that they were alive?) counteracted Darhk’s power, which he gets from the dead. I think that is what was happening. But then, of course, he has them back enough to kill Felicity’s ex from miles away, but then lost them again so that Ollie could stab him?
This was an ultra confusing shit show of a finale battle, mainly because of the powers changing, or at least being poorly explained. Maybe Darhk’s magic could no longer work on Ollie, but could still work? If that’s the case, just bring a fucking building down on him, or throw a car at his friends, or something. Instead, Darhk decided to rely on his 20 year old League of Assassin training and did some awkward white-guy kung fu on Ollie.
Then, there’s the case of Malcolm Merlyn. This show loves bringing him in at the end of a season to help Ollie. It worked really well against Slade Wilson at the end of Season 2, but it works less well here. Why is he helping him? Is it because he doesn’t want nuclear war? I could get that, but then just have him say it. “I’m only here to save my daughter” works too. Or “I’m a shifty dude, I like to fuck shit up!”
An.nee.thing.
Instead, he’s just there with his weird Luke Skywalker hand.
3. What is Team Arrow’s interior design budget?
The Queens are broke, right? Wasn’t that a major plot point? If so, who is paying for their lair’s constant renovations? For a while, you could say that Felicity’s sweet Palmer Tech salary was, but since she was fired, that’s not happening.
Ollie: John, look at this place – trashed again.
Diggle: Don’t worry Oliver, I invested well as a young man. In my spare time, I operate a small but profitable hedge fund. I got this.
4. Felicity stands with Ollie
At the end of this season, like has happened so many other times, the cast is split up. Thea is now really into filling fireplaces with candles, Diggle is re-enlisting in the Army, Quentin Lance is on a vacation from collared shirts. That leaves only Felicity really around, which could be a really good thing for the show, if those characters really are taking a backseat (which I don’t think is actually going to happen).
It would give more time to Curtis Holt, who has been such a great addition to the show, and it would allow certain plot points to just take a breather. But do I really think any of those characters won’t be a major part of Season 5? I do not – especially if the show will be affected at all by The Flash‘s potential “Flashpoint” storyline, because then we will get the actors playing slightly different versions of themselves – which would also allow them to bring Laurel back. Actually, maybe that is what will happen…
Continued below5. Mayor Queen
The show finally is giving Oliver Queen, not the Green Arrow, something to do, and it takes its roots from the comics – Star City’s mayor is Oliver Queen. This could lead to interesting stories, especially as his public and private lives are now diametrically opposed to one another. We’ll see how seriously the show takes his day job responsibilities, but I like the possibility.
Well, thanks for sticking around this season – let me know what you thought of tonight’s episode, and the season as a whole, in the comments!
