One of my favorite things this week was how the reinstated Detective Lance rallied the police department to team up with The Arrow in order to bring down Deathstroke’s goons. I sincerely hope that this is the first step toward the cops accepting Oliver as a hero instead of hunting him down as a vigilante. Could season 3 finally bring the Arrow out of the shadows, allowing him to make a giant leap towards being an all-out superhero? My guess is if he saves Starling City (again), then definitely.
One of the biggest themes this week was redemption. Sara feels redeemed for her past sins when someone recognizes her as a hero, and Brother Blood finally accepts the fact that he’s not in control of this situation and has only been a pawn in Slade’s plan to destroy Oliver. About freakin’ time, Sebastian! His panicked and megalomaniacal “I love this city” rants really got to me this week, so I’m glad that he finally came to his senses long enough to give the Mirakuru cure back to Oliver after Slade’s men got a hold of it. Of course, his redemption is short-lived, as he takes two blades to the chest from Roschev, but I’m okay with that. The finale looks like it will be such a huge affair that the less unnecessary characters, the better.
Speaking of unnecessary characters, I’m glad to see Malcom Merlyn back but am curious as to how he’ll factor into the final episode, and if he’ll survive long enough to have a presence next season. We see him save Thea, then chase her down only to take out another thug before she shoots him three times. These scenes were a bit oddly paced and set up when compared to the heart-pounding, finale-building that was accomplished in the rest of the episode. I didn’t find his appearance here relevant to the larger story at hand, though I guess we’ll have to wait and see how things play out next week before passing judgement.
Meanwhile, just as things begin to look really bleak, the cavalry arrives! Reports come in that the army has created a blockade around the city, but Team Arrow quickly realizes that those aren’t military convoys, but A.R.G.U.S. agents sent by Amanda Waller to stop anyone from leaving the city. An angry phone call from Oliver reveals that her hand is on the trigger of a drone ready to wipe the entire city off the map in order to stop the Mirakuru soldiers from laying waste to Starling and moving on to other parts of the country.
So, for those keeping count at home, that means we’ve got a whole host of things that have built up to what will surely be one hell of a season finale. We’ve got Slade’s army causing chaos and mass destruction, Deathstroke himself gazing over the hellfire he’s created, the police force teaming up with the city’s resident vigilantes, and Amanda Waller’s contingency plan. And as if that weren’t enough, it looks like a few surprise guests will be appearing next week, which means all-out war is imminent. And I thought last year’s finale was big!
Additional Thoughts
- Felicity and Oliver shared some great scenes this week, and I’m so glad that the writers have strayed away from any romance that would definitely have started if this were any other CW show.
- Isabel Roshev’s Ravager costume is downright terrible, so I’m glad that she lost the mask halfway through the episode.
- Sara’s speech to Laurel about being called The Canary only gave more weight to my fears that she’ll be kicking the bucket next week. But God do I hope I’m wrong.
- Once again, the Island flashbacks give act as little more than just a distraction from the stuff we really care about. Why show this stuff at this point? We know Oliver doesn’t cure Slade, and we know that Sara gets off the island while he doesn’t. Do we really need all of those things spelled out for us?
- Sebastian Blood did a number of crazy things this week, like convincing his entire staff that his burning city was a good thing, or his long speech about the origin of his Scarecrow mask. Honestly, I’m glad he’s dead.
- In the promo for next week it looks like Roy finally gets a domino mask. About time!
- As useless as the island flashbacks are, I did like the little farewell between Oliver and Anatoli, setting up a friendship that would lead into Oliver’s inclusion into the Russian brotherhood.
- Is it next Wednesday yet?