Before we begin, i'm just going to point out all of my nitpicks with this episode beforehand, one: No one raids the pharmacy!? Everyone comes down with a terminal illness and no one thought to check the pharmacy!? Two: Felicity Signs A Document Without Reading It!? I mean I know one of her quirks is that she can be oblivious sometimes, but even she was read an official document before signing anything. And Three: "Fast forward through the cynicism" you keep saying that yet that is always exactly what you do, c'mon guys, it's one thing to admit your flaws, it's another to adapt from them. The reason why i'm getting the nitpicks out of the way is because what I have to say about this episode is mostly positive stuff (I know, it's been a while).It's revealed that Oliver is actually under cover with Ra's and has done everything he has in order to gain his trust, he then tells Malcolm of Ra's plan to release the alpha & omega in Starling City, what remains of Team Arrow, along with Tatsu as Katana (Finally) try to eliminate the threat. But it's revealed that what they destroyed was a decoy and this was a trap meant for them, they are captured and as a final jump to prove his loyalty, Oliver allows Ra's to poison to team, seemingly killing them, as he is married off to Ra's daughter Nissa. Meanwhile, Akio dies in the flashbacks (finally!) and Thea goes to visit Roy.
So i think it's pretty obvious that Oliver didn't actually just let his friends die because this isn't Game of Thrones, they're not gonna kill off 5 main characters at once. But i think this episode would have benefited if they didn't tell us that Ollie was only pretending to be loyal to Ra's; I mean how impactful would that have been if we had seen Oliver willingly let his friends be murdered? That would have created tension, it would have really let it sink in how far down he's gone, and while I still wouldn't have believed the characters were dead, i would still believe that he had the intention to leave them for dead, and that can make all the difference.
What did keep the emotions high during this story was how Team Arrow treats Oliver; even if he is undercover, that doesn't change how much he's done, and when Diggle berates him for kidnapping his wife, I not only believe it, but i sympathise. I don't agree with how they handle Oliver's emotional state, but i do agree with everyone else. Even if Ollie is just putting on an act, that doesn't make his crimes go away, after everything that has happened, not just recently, but this entire season, it seems as though Ollie doesn't really trust the Team enough to keep them in the loop or even listen to their ideas, they don't trust him because he hasn't earned it, and it finally comes out here.
Then there's the climax of Maseo and Tatsu's story. The flashbacks for me have felt like a giant overstuffed piece of filler, all i could think was "good god, just kill this kid already!" We all know it's going to happen and the repeating patterns as well as the dragged out storytelling made me go from nervously anticipating it, to praying it happens soon. Here we get both the opening chapter and closing chapter to this families story, the death of Akio, breaking apart the family and Tatsu and Maseo fighting for their own separate causes, both fighting with everything they've got, yet also slightly hoping the other one wins so they can be with their son. While i still don't like how far out this story was dragged, I do think this was a very clever way to end it, by showing us the beginning and ending at the same time and creating contrast.
Then finally there is the story with Thea and Roy, throughout the whole season it feels like Roy has always been Thea's shoulder to cry on and give advice, and this is a time when she really needs it the most, so of course he helps her, but he also sets her on her own path. Thea has become too reliant on other people, and here we have Roy, the person who she puts the most trust into, tell her that it's time she stood up for herself and stopped relying on other people, capping it off by giving her the Arsenal suit, though I assume she's probably going to take the mantle of Speedy instead. I'm hoping this leads to bigger and better things for Thea next season, most of all, stop having her be constantly out of the loop and always needing someone there by her side. This season has planted the seeds for that to happen, gave her training, made her a semi-member of Team Arrow. Hopefully in season 4 is when she goes "no, i'm not going to be the little sister anymore, i can take care of myself and I am here to help". Also i'm just going to assume Roy's alias was a reference to Jason Todd.
It's quite relieving to talk about this show in a positive light again, there was no plotline or character that i didn't dislike or find annoying, i of course still have issues with this episode but they are all minor, and for the first time in a long time i feel like this show is actually putting effort into it's writing again, creating emotional conflict, difficult scenarios and satisfying conclusions. I'm giving this episode an 8/10.
-Danny
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