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Arrow S02E23 – Review

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By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg (story)

The Story: Mercenaries versus assassins versus special ops versus superheroes. Go!

The Review: So I just took my last law school final ever yesterday! Aren’t you all proud of me? No? Get on with the review, already? Okay. The last season has seen Arrow fully embracing its comic book origins with pride, drawing in established characters from the DC canon from all levels, the great and the obscure alike, all in an impressively organic way. The finale is thus a culmination of the work and spirit of the season as a whole, which is what a season finale should be.

Not only does every cast member get a big part in the proceedings (except, perhaps, for Dinah), nearly every major character introduced in the last two seasons shows up, with appearances from Malcolm Merlyn, Deadshot, Amanda Waller, Nyssa Al Ghul, and even Lyla, flying in on a helicopter and firing a rocket launcher to ward off some of Slade’s army. The conflicts range from the epic (a city-wide war between an army of superhuman convicts against Team Arrow and a battalion of assassins, all with the threat of an A.R.G.U.S. drone strike looming overhead) to the personal (Ollie’s fight to the death with Slade, twice over). That’s what I call a season finale worthy of superheroes.

And clearly, there is no more doubting that Ollie is a superhero by the end of the episode. The flashbacks to Ollie’s first duel with Slade not only cleverly parallel his current one, they clearly reveal how far he’s come. Driven by Slade’s crazed violence and by the anguish of losing Sara a second time,* Ollie responds to vengeance in like kind, though he has the choice of curing his enemy before him. The circumstances are even worse this time around: Slade has definitively killed his mother and left his city in ruins, and the Mirakuru cure is proven to have no effect on Slade’s determination to continue his rampage. Yet Ollie still chooses the higher road, even down to his final exchange with Slade. There is no crowing of his victory here; Ollie takes a note out of Slades’ book and twists the knife in an unexpectedly different way: “You helped me become a hero, Slade. Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Thea is descending into darkness just as Ollie steps fully into the light, in what is perhaps the weakest joint of the episode. After leaving Merlyn behind, having accurately declared him “sick” for the joy he feels that she actually did shoot him, she then runs back to him for somewhat vague reasons. Sure, Roy deceives her about knowing nothing about the Arrow, and this shatters her last attempt to trust any of her loved ones, but why she would then place her trust in someone she knows is an unrepentant murderer is a mystery, a dramatic twist that’s not very well motivated.

Anyway, her issues are only an interesting aside to a very involving plotline that leaves no character unchanged from the experience, which means big things to look forward to come season three. With Diggle and Lyla expecting their first child, the romantic tensions between Ollie and Felicity out in the open (even if the two of them slightly retreat from them at the episode), Roy officially receiving his own mask and bow,** Quentin in critical condition from internal injuries by Slade’s army, Sara back with Nyssa and the League, Dinah inheriting the Canary’s leather jacket, and Ollie still out of a company, home, and income, Arrow is certain to be a very different show this fall than it was the year before. Even the flashbacks have big developments to offer, with Ollie a longer, deeper history with Waller and A.R.G.U.S. than you could’ve imagined.

Conclusion: A conclusion to a pretty great season that is more than satisfying—it’s exciting as well. I’ll see y’all again in September/October!

Grade: A-

- Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * Amusingly enough, by once again getting washed overboard a sinking ship. We even get another outstretched hand and cry for Ollie’s help. And they say lightning never strikes twice.

** Which he proves to be ridiculously competent at in the battle with Slade’s army. Come on—being new to the sport and basically out of commission for some time, it’s hard to believe he can just be battle-ready with it in only a few hours.

- Felicity Line of the Week: after Nyssa grandly introducing herself as “daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, heir to the Demon,” Felicity snaps back with, “M.I.T., Class of ’09.” What. Up.

- Maybe there should be a Quentin Line of the Week. Nyssa reassures him, “I would die before I let anything happen to your daughter.”

“Well, here’s hoping.”


Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: A.R.G.U.S., Amanda Waller, Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow, Arrow S02E23, Arrow S02E23 review, DC, DC Comics, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Dinah Lance, Felicity Smoak, Green Arrow, Greg Berlanti, John Diggle, Malcolm Merlyn, Marc Guggenheim, Oliver Queen, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Sara Lance, Slade Wilson, Thea Queen

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