It is rare that a season finale makes me truly emotional, but Arrow’s second season packed a brass-knuckled punch that I wasn’t expecting. This entire season has exceeded my every expectation for this show and its potential, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. Spoilers ahead, ye be warned.
Not bad for a guy covered in equipment he apparently picked up at the local Big 5.
The big showdown between Oliver and Slade finally came to a head, with Slade’s Mirakuru-infused followers who are practically unstoppable rioting in the streets. Thea first tries to escape from her biodad Malcolm Merlyn, refusing to believe that everyone in her life constantly lies to her. When she puts Roy to the test, he fails.
Meanwhile, Oliver professes his undying love to Felicity in a moment I have been waiting for all season, Diggle confronts Amanda Waller in an attempt to halt the air strike targeting Starling City, and Sarah has enlisted the help of the League of Shadows. Everybody’s everywhere, and everything is jumping off – it’s everything a season finale should be.
My favorite aspect of this episode is that everyone has their own task. Too often, shows get so caught up in Main Character drama that they come off over-dramatic, especially when the MC is as annoying as Oliver can be sometimes. The time and effort that the show invested in giving each character their own thread paid off in spades because while they were all working toward the same goal, I never got the sense that everyone was just revolving around Oliver.
When we get to the climax and discover that Oliver was confessing his love to Felicity only to lay a trap for Slade, I’ll admit I was pissed off. Felicity is my favorite character, and I just want her to have a happy moment. And I think she would be good for Oliver. But the more I think about it, the more I’m not equally certain that Oliver would be good for her. And I appreciate that she wasn’t just bait, but a Trojan Horse. The victory was hers in the end because she did the one thing that Oliver had repeatedly failed to do: inject Slade with the Mirakuru cure. Besides, she can do better than Oliver.
The episode ended with another flashback, this time revealing that Amanda Waller and Oliver have more of a history than we thought – that she knew he was on the island. I worry sometimes that the time the show devotes to island flashbacks is ill-spent, that it threatens to become so big that it bogs the entire show down in nonsensical conspiracies that make no sense (I’m looking at you, Castle and NCIS!). But honestly, if there’s any show that can make it work, it’s Arrow. So far, it had yet to disappoint.
Their season 3 promo pic will probably look completely different than this. That’s how different season 3 will be.
It just keeps getting better and better. I’ll admit that when it was first announced, I was surprised. When I explained the character to my wife, she said, “So he’s basically Batman with a bow-and-arrow?” And to be honest, I was surprised that they were making a show about such a little-known comic book character (compared to Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman/etc.). It seems to me that the CW took a chance on this show, and that chance has paid off in spades.
Can’t wait for season 3!
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