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jbuffyangel · 3 months

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Hot and Cold: Arrow 1x22 Review (Darkness of the Edge of Town)

There is no episode that exemplifies the disjointed nature of Season 1 more than “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” We have Exhibit A: an OTA field op and the smoaking hot chemistry of Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards igniting in an elevator shaft of all places.

And Exhibit B: the other show. A frigid black hole I feared we’d never escape from.

Let’s dig in…

Olicity and OTA

Let’s start with the positive since there is soooooo much freaking positive! It can take time for a television series to find its footing in the first season. Unfortunately, nowadays if the audience isn’t binging the entire season in 24 hours, the show gets canceled. But blessedly, this was 2013. Network TV was still the supreme ruler, and Arrow was pulling big enough numbers for the CW to allow for some leeway.

Twenty two episodes of leeway. Arrow finally found its groove and latched on to the mystical “it factor” that keeps an audience watching - Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. The chemistry and dynamic between these characters and the actors who play them is undeniable and it creates an action packed, laughing out loud, and sizzling hot episode. The writers are having FUN in “Darkness on the Edge of Town" and it shows, which means we get to have fun too.

Oliver decides to question his mother regarding the Undertaking, but she refuses to confess. So, Oliver and Diggle take a more brutal approach. The Hood kidnaps them both and beats the crap out of Oliver until she coughs up the information. It’s always hilarious when this show acts like David Ramsey can fit in Stephen Amell’s suit.

The burgeoning relationship between Oliver and Felicity is very much in its infancy. Oliver is fully in denial about feeling any type of way toward his IT girl. Never is that more apparent then when Oliver and Diggle return from the confrontation with Moira. Diggle gets a few solid whacks in, which I’m sure felt amazing given the absolute jackass Oliver was being the past few episodes.

Felicity has a much harder time concealing her feelings towards Oliver and it’s clear she worries about him. She is always the first to ask if he’s okay, offer a supportive ear to listen or shoulder to cry on. However, Oliver seems to draw a line in this episode when Felicity reaches to touch the bruise on his face. That small step was too much. He physically keeps her at arm’s length because the intimacy of Felicity’s concerned touch is not something Oliver is ready for. There is still a very big wall hiding all that pain, regret and unworthiness.

Source: @lyricalarrow

Admitting he remembers the exact day they met, however, is absolutely no problem. We shall come to discover just how much Oliver remembers about that day in later seasons. I have a lot of male friends and I guarantee you I don’t remember the day we met. However, the day I met my husband is burned into my memory.

The team determines the only way to stop Merlyn from leveling the Glades with a man-made earthquake machine is to find the location of the device. Unfortunately, Felicity is unable to hack Merlyn’s system so she needs direct access to his mainframe inside Merlyn Global Headquarters. LET'S DO CRIMES!

Oliver makes an appointment with Tommy (more on that later) while Felicity continues to up her adorability factor by dressing up as Big Belly Burger employee delivering lunch to a security guard otherwise known as John Diggle.

The burger is laced with benzodiazepine, so it knocks out the other security guard and gives John free reign to control the elevator & cameras. Do we know how Diggle is able to pose as a security guard? No. Do we care? Nope. Let the hijinks commence!

Oliver and Felicity make their way to the elevator, but not until Oliver unloads an unwelcomed dudebro hitting on Felicity.

Jealousy looks so good on him. The way Stephen Amell plays this scene, with his nails-on-a-chalkboard look at the word “sweetie” to robotically knocking the papers out of the elevator, is physical comedy at its best. Something Amell rarely gets to do, but he’s great at it.

The mainframe is on the twenty fifth floor, but the elevator only goes up to the nineteenth, so Oliver and Felicity have some climbing to do. It seems Felicity is thinking of a certain kind of climbing as well and really who can blame her?

Source: @lyricalarrow

Oliver lifts her WITH ONE ARM out of the elevator, which is so freaking hot I cannot.

Then, very gently, bends down to wrap his arm around Felicity’s waist and loop her arm around his neck. Oliver is moving with the precision of a jungle cat, but it also feels like an incredibly elaborate way to grab hold of someone. It has a very superhero sweep-her-into-my-arms sensuality to it. The mission is giving Oliver plenty of reasons to touch Felicity and he doesn’t seem unhappy about it, particularly when he softly tells her, "Hold onto me tight."

Is it warm in here? Holy Moses, Oliver Queen. Get control. This man is a god to women, so he clearly understands the connotations of, “Hold onto me tight.” There’s a thousand different ways to say that platonically, but nope! Oliver charges headlong into the blinking neon lights of SEXUAL INNNUENDO.

Felicity’s Freudian slip didn’t feel so Freudian either. She knew exactly what she was saying and leveled her full meaning in a single look. I thought the elevator was going to combust from all the heat. If you are looking for the text book definition of undressing someone with your eyes than look no further than these two. They way they hold the gaze. WOW. Can we have all the nakedness now?!!! It’s a sin against science for Oliver and Felicity not to bang regularly BECAUSE THE CHEMISTRY.

THIS IS NOT THE BEHAVIOR OF A MAN MADLY IN LOVE WITH LAUREL LANCE.

This scene has the classic Superman and Lois Lane feel to it.

Source: @olicitygifs

Oliver is doing his vigilante thing, but his partner in crime isn’t the leading lady of Arrow. It’s a supporting character who’s feeling less and less supporting with each episode.

Unfortunately, Felicity is about to be discovered while Oliver is held up by Malcolm Merlyn, Thea and Roy Harper. This is a very popular day to visit Merlyn Global. Oliver’s frustration under his cool and calm exterior builds the tension nicely and we do wonder how Felicity is getting out of this jam. Never fear! It’s John Diggle to the rescue. Top notch comedy from both Rickards and Ramsey.

Source: @olicitygifs

Their first official team mission outside of the bunker is a wild success. Felicity still has to search through all of Merlyn’s data to determine the location of the device. Despite all the heat, hilarity and hijinks on this side of the show, Oliver makes an abrupt decision regarding the other side of the show that makes absolutely no sense.

Lauriver and Merlance

Still feeling warm friends? Well don’t worry. I have a nice bucket of ice cold water to dump on you.

As predicted, Oliver’s love confession messes with Laurel’s mind and obliterates any clear path back to Tommy. He drops this bomb on her and they have not spoken for a WEEK. Of course, this is all Laurel has thought about and she makes a rather elaborate speech admitting she has feelings for Oliver too.

Yeah, none of this is a surprise. Tommy knew Laurel had feelings for Oliver. We knew Laurel had feelings for Oliver. Hell, even Oliver knew. The only one who wasn’t admitting it was Laurel, so at least she’s finally being honest about things. You don’t get a love triangle if the central figure in the love triangle doesn’t have feelings for two people. The issue is who does Laurel love MORE.

Laurel: Maybe Tommy was right. Maybe he and I weren’t meant to be.

She had a clear answer last week. It was Tommy. She absolutely wanted to get back together with him, but Oliver decided honesty was the best policy on this one subject only. This line enrages me because Oliver has distracted Laurel from the man she is truly meant to be with. I will die on this hill, friends. DIE. ON. THIS. MERLANCE. HILL.

Laurel: Tommy’s a good guy. Are you?

Oliver: I didn’t have an agenda. I didn’t mean to make it more difficult to fix things with Tommy.

Oh for fucks sake. Yes, you did Oliver. That’s exactly why you said it. This is just a straight up lie. Oliver absolutely wanted to confuse Laurel. He just doesn’t want to look like the bad guy for doing it. This is some A+ Ollie behavior.

After Laurel makes a wonderfully impassioned and heartfelt speech about her feelings for Oliver, after probably obsessing about it for seven days straight, Oliver dumps her. AGAIN.

Oliver: Nothing’s changed. My life hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed.

I am infuriated on Laurel’s behalf with this flip flopping back and forth. The time to make this speech was last week in the hospital hallway. That was the moment to let her go and put Laurel on the plane with the man she belongs with, but Oliver couldn’t do it because it was too damn hard. It was just cruel and horribly unfair to both Tommy and Laurel because Oliver has absolutely no intention of being with her. But now it’s too late. The information is out there. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, my dude.

Laurel pays her father a visit to basically get his permission to date Oliver again. Yeah, let’s make the man who lost his daughter to Oliver’s selfishness sign off on banging his other daughter again. This show.

Quentin’s speech is equally as empty as any speech Laurel’s made about seeing the change in Oliver because we, the audience, have not been privy to those moments. We’re just supposed to take their word for it even though the last time Quentin saw Oliver Queen he was trying to arrest him for drug trafficking. But sure, Quentin thinks he’s “changed.”

In order to make this storyline work, you have to give proper attention to the Lance family interacting with Oliver and the writers do not seem interested in doing that. All the important emotional growth takes place off screen and we’re supposed to accept it as fact because the characters tell us.

Meanwhile, they are organically growing the relationship Oliver has with Diggle, Felicity, hell even Roy! So we know the writers are capable of SHOWING these moments of character evolution. They just choose not to when it comes to the Lance family. It’s why the show feels so completely disjointed.

Oliver pays Tommy a visit and wants to have a chat.

Source: @queensarrow

So it's safe to say Tommy is still pissed.

Oliver encourages him to work things out with Laurel – kind of?

Oliver: Lord knows, I am guilty of a lot of things between us, but not you are her.

What’s infuriating about this conversation is that Oliver still refuses to accept any kind of responsibility in their break up. Oliver pretends to be a friend to the all feminists and touts Laurel’s independence and free will. She makes her own choices and she chose Tommy.

Tommy’s point is clear, even if it is self pitying; Laurel is not dealing with all the information. If she did have all the information then she would choose Oliver. From Oliver’s standpoint, it doesn’t matter because he can’t be with her.

That’s not reassuring to Tommy nor is it supposed to be. If the elements keeping Oliver and Laurel apart were removed (the Hood) then Oliver wouldn’t think twice about making a move on Laurel. And Tommy knows this. These are not the actions of a best friend, which is why he’s so pissed.

Now, Tommy’s big mistake was throwing in the towel too early. He should have NEVER given Oliver an opening with Laurel, but he did and it set them on this path. No we have to watch it play out.

Oliver: I promised myself that when I crossed all of these names off the list, I’d be done, but taking down these people, it doesn’t honor him. I was just treating the symptoms while the disease festered. I stop the Undertaking… I wipe out the disease.

Diggle: What are you saying Oliver? You would hang up the Hood?

Oliver: Merlyn’s plan is what I returned from the island to stop.

Does anyone else have whiplash? Oliver does a complete about face and determines he can be with Laurel since he only needs to cross one name off the list instead of dozens. He’s just missing one step, gee what could it be? Oh! I know. OLIVER STILL HAS TO CROSS MERLYN’S NAME OFF THE LIST AND STOP THE UNDERTAKING. Talk about counting your chickens before their hatched.

A hero’s journey is a very specific type of story. Joseph Campbell outline seventeen stages in 1949 and Christopher Vogler created an updated version in 2007 for screenwriting. I’m not going through all seventeen steps, but we can skip to the very last one regarding this storyline.

Freedom to Live/Return with the Elixir – meaning the hero has faced their internal and external struggles, has conquered the demons around them and earned the right to live as they choose. From a spiritual sense, the hero lives without fear of death.

It’s similar with Vogler’s elixir stage. From a community perspective, the hero has found the magical way to heal their wounded land. They are bringing hope, life and freedom back to their loved ones. In doing so, it gives the hero a personal victory. They’ve earned the right to experience peace and joy, which can be represented in a wide variety of narratives.

Oliver is hero. Arrow has made his endgame very clear - save Starling City. Has he saved the city? Has he stopped Malcolm Merlyn? NO. So why is his leather clad ass running all the way back to Laurel Lance to enjoy the fruits an elixir he has yet to procure? If Laurel is endgame, this makes absolutely no sense. This is too fast. It’s too abrupt. It doesn’t feel earned because it hasn’t been earned.

Clearly, the initial plan was to put Oliver (Green Arrow) and Laurel (Black Canary) on parallel, if not intersecting, paths. I’m not saying Oliver cannot be with Laurel as they evolve into superheroes together. But this is the first freaking season you guys! He hasn’t done a damn thing yet! Neither has she. And yet, here Oliver is, knocking on Laurel’s door, looking for some fruit.

Oliver: Ever since I’ve been back, we’ve been doing this dance. We come together and then I pull away. Something pulls me away, but I think finally that something might be over.

Laurel: What are you are trying saying?

Oliver: That you know me better than anyone. And that you are more important to me than anyone. I just hope I didn’t wait too long to say it.

If Laurel has no clue Oliver is the Hood then can he really claim she knows him best? It sounds good to say, and probably what Laurel is dying to hear, but it rings hollow because there’s no evidence of this anywhere on the show. Laurel was wrong about who Oliver is all season. We are just supposed to accept some verbal acknowledgment of change, that she knows him better than anyone, but without any television scenes to back it up. That’s not how storytelling works, Arrow writers.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I warned you I wasn’t done with this topic - Oliver is still lying to Laurel. There should be more talking. What are those things pulling you away, Oliver? Why are they over? Are you a hooded, crime fighting, serial killer who has been mysteriously stalking me all year? Those are just some ideas off the top of my head. There is no person on this planet that Oliver needs an honest conversation with more than Laurel Lance, but nope. They jump straight to sex.

Let’s talk about the sex. This has been built up all season. These two characters belong together. They are bulldozing over Tommy Merlyn to be together because they are this passionate romance that time cannot quell. It should be like the fourth of July in Laurel’s apartment right now.

Source: laurelscanary

Instead, of heat we get frigid. Fish have hotter sex.

I’m willing to acknowledge "Radioactive" was the hit song of 2013 and every show on the CW was using it. It has a very sexy beat and big crescendo. It sounds like a good song to use during a sex scene.

Except for the fact that it’s called RADIOACTIVE with lyrics like, “This is it, the apocalypse.” This is not the romance your Plan A couple usually requires in a scene like this. They had Blake Neely for a composer. Where’s Oliver and Laurel’s love theme? We'll probably get it in the season finale but anything would be better than "Radioactive."

Source: laurelscanary

Next issue. Black socks and jean shorts? Wardrobe – what were you thinking? Nobody felt the need to tell Katie to take off the sox? Details matter!!

Source: laurelscanary

Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy kissing are like watching two pieces of flat cardboard trying to hump each other. Can they choose a direction? Are we biting or no biting? Are we using tongue or no tongue? Can Oliver unbutton his shirt or does Laurel need to help? Is Oliver going to drop Laurel while trying to get her sweatshirt off? It was just so awkward from start to finish. ZERO SPARKS.

Source: habibialkaysani

And for the coup de grace, they leave the curtains pulled wide open, so Tommy can see them screwing from the street. The look of utter devastation on his face is heartbreaking and that’s the final image they leave us with as their love scene fades to black. Oliver and Laurel reuniting are not framed as a good thing. It’s framed as a betrayal, because that’s exactly what it is.

Source: @queensarrow

Even worse, Felicity finds the device while Oliver and Laurel are asleep and HE LEAVES. No note. No, honey I have to run out and save the city real quick, but I’ll be back for round two later. Nothing. But please, tell me again how much Ollie has changed.

When I watched this episode live I was horribly disappointed the big reunion with Laurel and Oliver fell flat. This was really my last gasp trying to be a Lauriver shipper. And I use the term “trying” loosely. I was more or less looking for any redeeming qualities in this love story, but after this hypothermic love scene I was officially out. I could not ship these two. I could never forgive them for betraying Tommy. But I feared Arrow would never move on from Oliver and Laurel.

Of course, their real intention becomes all too clear later. Arrow was trying to blow them up to make way for something infinitely better.

Theroy

Speaking of flipping back and forth, these two break up every other week. Roy is clearly committed to finding the Vigilante, which leads them to Merlyn Global and a run in with Oliver, the disapproving older brother. Again, Stephen Amell’s acting is superb.

I loved the way he said “What” to Thea and the firm alpha male handshake he gives Roy, warning him to stay away.

Obviously, Roy accomplished his goal. He found the Vigilante. Roy just doesn’t know it. He thinks Oliver Queen is too much of a wimp to ever consider him as the man in the hood. Thea was good and ticked off with that “wimp” remark. Enough to dump Roy. She will not tolerate any slander of her brother. #QUEENSIBILINGSFOREVER

But this is like the fifth time these two broke up, so it’s losing the impact. This isn’t all about the Hood’s identity and thanking him for saving Roy’s life. He wants to BE the Hood, so Roy can protect the people he loves and never lose anyone again. The question is – who did Roy lose? Unfortunately, Thea storms out before we get an answer, but hopefully one is coming in the season finale. (No I do not remember who).

Long story short, yes I like these two, but the faster the Arrow writers move the characters into the Hood storyline the better. Otherwise they are just marooned on their own show like Laurel Lance Island.

Stray Thoughts

Yao Fei died! It’s so sad and traumatic. I forgot he’s shot in the head. Really didn’t need to see that twice.

Fyers is shooting down a commercial airliner to destabilize the Chinese economy. It’s always about money for these assholes.

Walter wants a divorce and I would say their differences are irreconcilable. Moira is getting what she deserves. You can’t kidnap your husband for six months and then offer him tea and crumpets when he comes home.

"Who the hell is Felicity Smoak?" Uh oh. Quentin has Felicity’s name. That ain’t good.

“Is the other archer working for Merlyn?” Please don’t make Diggle look this dumb again.

Merlyn versus Oliver battle was EPIC! The fight scenes this season are so stellar.

“Psychopaths are color coding themselves. That’s helpful.” HA!

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 1x22!!!

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me!

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jbuffyangel · 2 months

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Survive: Arrow 1x23 Review (Sacrifice)

Well, my friends… we made it to the end of Season 1. Arrow’s first season was often uneven as it searched for the magic to bring it all together, but supported by fantastic stunts and fight scenes, and a great hero's journey story.

That said, they deliver on the finale. “Sacrifice” is tense, exhilarating and, above all, tragic. In the eight seasons, the Season 1 finale still has me emotionally traumatized and is definitely my most mourned character loss on the show.

But there is massive hope for Olicity in some very key scenes, while Laurel & Oliver are left in the wreckage of the Glades.

This review is particularly spoiler heavy for Season 2. I cannot tell you how many times I started and restarted Arrow Season 1 reviews. It’s taken me the better part of a decade, so I am absolutely thrilled to say -

Let’s dig in…

Olicity (and Diggle)

Is Olicity the focus of this finale? No, not even close, but that’s okay. In fact, it’s very good. This is Season 1 friends. We are at the beginning of the story. Not the end. Oliver and Felicity are just getting started and Arrow makes it abundantly clear with scenes that echo through the show until the series finale. The absolute last thing we want is Oliver to get the girl in the Season 1 finale. *cough*Lauriver*cough*

Oliver left Laurel’s bed in 1x22 to take Malcolm down for good. He gets his ass handed to him on a platter instead and then Malcolm literally strings him up. Shirtless, sweaty and in chains. THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW. Get your head out of the gutter. HA! Just kidding. I’d never tell you that. Here’s some gifs of Oliver chained up and half naked. Enjoy.

Source: PaigeOTA

Diggle rescues Oliver after he already rescued himself, but it’s the thought that counts. Felicity is on her way to the bunker when Detective Lance picks her up.

Source: @felicitysmoakgifs

Paul Blackthorne is an actor’s actor. He is truly great, but Emily Bett Rickards finally gives Blackthorne someone to bounce off of. It makes the interrogation scene hilarious, but also sincere as Felicity voices the mission statement of the whole show.

Source: @felicitysmoakgifs

Detective Lance is a damn good cop (minus the fact he never pieces together that Oliver is the Hood, but that’s not really his fault. Oliver gaslit his suspicions masterfully). He reads Felicity Smoak for filth with the evidence he has on her. This is about the time Felicity should be asking for a lawyer, but it’s Oliver to the rescue instead.

Oliver actually calls the cops to report a crime! It’s really shocking quite frankly. He tells Lance that Merlyn is going to blow up the Glades and it needs to evacuated. Even more shocking than Oliver reporting a crime is the fact that Lance listens to him! See boys? Isn’t it better when we use our words?

Oliver feigns ignorance when Lance says he has Felicity in custody.

Alright he lies better than that, but Lance buys it because they have bigger fish to fry quite frankly, so he lets Felicity go.

Source: @livelovecaliforniadreams

Laurel told Oliver he was too selfish to be the Hood. Then she called the Hood a killer. Tommy called him a murderer after he learned Oliver’s true identity. Yes, the Vigilante/Hood has killed, but we’re not watching the story of the Vigilante or the Hood – the killer. We’re watching the story of Oliver Queen – the hero.

This is the first time the show has uttered the word "hero" in relation to masked man in the hood (I think? Feel free to fact check me) and it's said by none other than Felicity Smoak – the guest star, the girl Friday, the comedic relief. Or any other term those who failed to believe in this character liked to call Felicity to minimize her importance in the story. But the writers are not minimizing Felicity. They are elevating her.

Felicity admits initially she thought the Hood was a killer, but then she found out it was Oliver Queen. From the moment Felicity met Oliver she saw the light inside him. She sees who Oliver is and who he can become. In Felicity’s eyes there are no grey zones when it comes to Oliver Queen. There are no moral quandaries. Felicity knows both sides. She knows the hood and the man. She sees him as a good man who selflessly sacrifices for the people of Starling City every day.

Quentin: She says you care about the people of this city. That it needs you.

Felicity is telling Lance instead of hunting the Hood he should be working with him. And you know what? It works! Felicity has an impact on Detective Lance. He’s second guessing his approach to the Hood.

It used to be Laurel who was extolling the virtues of the Hood to her father, but now it’s Felicity. This shift is so incredibly subtle, given all the other Laurel activities in the final two episodes, but so incredibly important.

If you look at the history on superheroes (which is modern day Greek mythology) there is always one person who believes in the superhero, calls them a hero before anyone else, and loves the hero unconditionally – particularly when it’s inconceivable for the two to be together. That person is typically the superhero’s great love.

So WHY are the writers giving Felicity Smoak a love interest speech in the Season 1 finale? Particularly when Oliver just hopped out of Laurel Lance’s bed. Riddle me that kids! It’s also the line from which the episode title is pulled from – a significant factor when you look at the history of Arrow. This is the first time a series finale episode title is pulled from a Felicity Smoak line, but it’s not the last!

It’s Felicity who figures out where Merlyn has hidden the earthquake machine. The friggin map in Oliver’s book did actually mean something guys! Points to those who cared. I was not among them, but I rejoice in your win.

The device can be remote activated, so someone needs to find it, but Oliver isn't leaving anything to chance. He wants Diggle in the field to deactivate the device. But this leaves Oliver to fight Merlyn alone.

Diggle: He’ll kill you, Oliver.

Oliver: I know.

Can we talk for a moment about the absolute resolution in Oliver’s voice? There’s no fear. Not even sadness really. This is the way the battle ends – the way it was always going to end. Oliver came home to save his city, but it means sacrificing his life. Oliver is not suicidal, but he’s resigned to his fate.

Except, bit by bit, Oliver has allowed people he loves back into his life. That impenetrable wall, the one that made him almost machine like in the beginning of the season, has softened a bit. Those people are the tethers to his life and make it more difficult for Oliver to just let go now. He loves and is loved returned.

As far as Diggle speeches go, this is one of the greats. Oliver accepts Diggle’s help, but balks when Felicity volunteers to deactivate the device while John fights Merlyn with Oliver.

Oliver looks so proud of Felicity in this moment, particularly when she refuses to leave his side. So much is said between these two in just a single look. I am feeling verklempt.

Oliver cannot focus on fighting Merlyn if Felicity is not safe, so he calls Detective Lance for a second time and asks him to deactivate the device. He volunteers Felicity to talk Quentin through it. Yes, Oliver is willing to sacrifice his girlfriend’s father to save Felicity (HA!), who shall be hereby known as his Not Girlfriend-Girlfriend.

Lance and Felicity are successful. They deactivate the device. Oliver beats Malcolm, but he doesn’t outsmart him. There was a second device, and the team must watch helplessly as a portion of the Glades crumbles around them.

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

Oliver hears her voice and his first thought is of Felicity's safety. His second thought is of Laurel’s safety, once Felicity tells him the location of the damage. (Jen evil grins).

Admittedly, I missed all of these moments the first time I watched. I didn’t realize the importance until the Season 2 finale and I began this blog. The way Felicity sees Oliver Queen is the way he will be seen someday, but not in Season 1. He will become a hero, but this failure and loss will be one of many incredibly painful sacrifices in that journey.

There will be one woman, in a hero’s journey of her own, who will be integrally linked with Oliver. The one woman who saw Oliver Queen for who is truly is and believed in him from the beginning. The one woman he trusts and depends on. The one woman whose unconditional love helps Oliver Queen become a hero.

But it’s not the woman promised in the pilot.

The story shift was there all along my friends. We just had to look.

Lauriver and Merlance

The dreaded love triangle of Season 1 resolves itself in the most heart breaking and disastrous way possible. Actions have consequences, my friends. Don’t ever forget it.

A very drunk Tommy decides to pay his “best friend” a visit after witnessing his sex romp with Laurel. Tommy still can’t even bring himself to say sex. He refers to kissing, but come on my son. We all know where they were doing.

Oliver gives a classic sorry not sorry response and tries to pivot the conversation to Tommy’s mass murdering psychopathic father. Why Oliver feels the best time to share his father's evil mastermind plan is when Tommy is three sheets to a very drunkity drunk wind is beyond me. Oliver has the emotional intelligence of a stump in Season 1. I can’t even call him a pine tree yet.

Tommy swings on Oliver after he brings up Tommy’s mother. Yes, Oliver is trying to explain Malcolm’s motivation for destroying the Glades, but it’s just a step too far after banging the love of Tommy’s life. Oliver side steps it easily, but I wish the writers would’ve given Tommy that punch. Oliver completely deserves it. Not more than three seconds after telling Tommy to fight for Laurel, Oliver shows up at her door for an illicit sex romp. YES, I SAID ILLICIT. COME FIGHT ME.

Oliver: The difference between us Tommy is that I didn’t find out the truth about my father until it was too late. But you’ve always known, deep down, you have always known the man he is.

Tommy: I wish you would’ve died on that island.

This lands harder than any punch Tommy could’ve given Oliver.

After discovering her bed empty, Laurel pays Oliver a visit at the Queen Mansion because understandably she has questions. Like WHAT THE FUCK OLIVER???!!!

One of the first posts I wrote for Something to Live For was “Moments of Truth: Oliver’s S1 & S2 Queen Mansion Love Confessions.” You can still read it. I stand by every word of it. It’s funny that in ten years my perspective on this scene between Oliver and Laurel has not changed at all. I will try not to repeat myself too much, but the bottom line is the scene is not believable. There’s too much dishonesty. That’s the crux of my problem with it.

It’s supposed to be the big love confession between Oliver and Laurel. The entire season has been building toward it. Oliver assures Laurel that he’s not reverting to form by leaving her bed in the middle of the night with no note. Laurel believes Oliver is scared again and he’s running away – just like last time.

Oliver assures Laurel that he’s not afraid and there’s so much he wants to tell her. For the first time, we hear Oliver’s perspective on the island. It didn’t change him. It just stripped away all the things that he wasn’t, which was the person Laurel always saw.

I do not agree with Oliver’s perspective on island AT ALL. This is a beautifully prepared speech and I’m sure it made Laurel feel really good, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense when you parse it out. Lian Yu means purgatory. You suffer in the fire of your sins in purgatory. That pain and suffering is redemptive. It forms you into something new, something better. I do not believe Oliver was always a hero deep down. I believe Lian Yu burned him like molten steel until he was remade new. Ollie Queen died on that boat with his father, and he was formed into someone one else… something else to survive.

Agree to disagree, Oliver. Except, I am right, and you're wrong BECAUSE TREE STUMP.

Laurel believed Oliver could be more than a selfish, cheating, lazy, entitled, spoiled playboy who lived off his father’s money and did whatever he pleased, regardless of who it hurt. Laurel could see the potential in Oliver, but the writers never truly quantify what that potential is. I do not believe she meant a crime fighting archer who vigilantes by night and is a reclusive bar owner by day.

We don’t know what GOOD Laurel sees in Oliver. She’s basically mute on the topic. All Laurel will say is Oliver changed. So, we’re just supposed to accept that Oliver is a different person and the person he is today is the man Laurel always believed he could be. Ok. It would just be nice if Arrow would SHOW us that rather than tell.

I don’t want to rag on Laurel too much, because she’s really not my primary issue is this speech. She’s just the object of Oliver’s word vomit. And like I said, girlfriend has put in the YEARS, and this is probably the first time he’s articulated what she means to him. So, a win for Laurel I guess. However, hallow it is.

No, my issue is with Oliver. Not just in what he’s saying but in what he’s NOT saying. Oliver never tells Laurel that he’s the Hood. HE’S STILL LYING TO HER. Oliver is on his “nobody can know my secret” trip, so some of this we’ll just have to attribute it to being Season 1. But this is the big speech about who he truly is, so it would make sense for Oliver to tell Laurel WHO HE TRULY IS. He even says there’s so much he wants to tell her, but then doesn’t tell her anything.

Let’s remove the safety concern. This leaves two options. The first is Oliver intends to save the city, hang up the hood, and live a peaceful life with Laurel. The second is Oliver does not anticipate surviving this fight with Merlyn, so doesn’t feel it is necessary to tell Laurel the truth because he’ll be dead.

I’m a glass half full girl. Also, they are shining a big old spotlight on Oliver and Laurel as they kiss, so I think the first option is most likely. It’s also the reason Oliver raced over to hop into bed with Laurel the previous night. Oliver NEVER plans to tell Laurel he’s the Hood the same way he never planned to tell Tommy (or Moira, Thea, etc.).

The problem is, Oliver wants a new life with Laurel, one built on trust because trust is their big issue (because all the lying and cheating). But in order to have trust, there must be honesty. Oliver cannot hope to have a functional relationship with Laurel if he’s keeping a secret this big. Laurel deserves to know all sides of Oliver Queen - the man and the hood. Anything short of that proves Oliver hasn’t changed at all. Not when it comes to Laurel Lance.

The second option is very dark and twisty. He’s giving it one last go, telling Laurel how he feels, before he marches off to battle and dies. Is this something Oliver Queen would do? Absolutely. I’m just not convinced this is where his head space is at in this particular finale. Oliver is celebrating with Laurel like he already saved the city. But he hasn’t done anything yet, so the pacing of this scene feels very off. We’re in the middle of the episode, but it feels like the end.

Things brings me to my biggest problem with this speech – Oliver never says “I love you” to Laurel. This is the big love confession speech, but there is no “I love you.” Oliver says a lot of stuff, but he never says what’s really important and what Laurel truly deserves to hear.

You only put the couple together this early in an episode to break them up at the end. Cleary, Lauriver is going to be sacrificed on the altar of Starling City, but we don’t know how or why. We get our answer at the end of the episode.

NOW we get to rag on Laurel. Both Oliver and Lance tell her to stay out of the Glades, but does she listen? NO. Laurel and the rest of the staff at CNRI need to save paper. Yes, you read that correctly. PAPER. Apparently, all the clients would lose everything if they didn’t save the files. It was 2013, not 1954!!! Throw a litter of kittens or something in the building to make it make sense!

Of course, the building collapses and of course Laurel is trapped under a cement block. Ugh, just leave her there. I’m so over it. DIE WITH THE PAPER LAUREL! BE ONE WITH YOUR FILES!!

But it is not Oliver, dressed as the hood, ready to reveal his secret and save Laurel like we expect. It’s Tommy. Beautiful, precious, wonderful, cinnamon roll Tommy Merlyn who immediately tells Laurel the one thing Oliver Queen has not.

You can pinpoint the moment where Laurel realizes she made the biggest mistake of her life.

Tommy was always honest with Laurel. He loves her unconditionally. Tommy put Laurel first and made her laugh. They built a peaceful and happy life together. Tommy Merlyn was already the man Laurel wanted Oliver to become. He’s the man who truly deserves her. It wasn’t Oliver’s love confession we were waiting to hear. It was Tommy’s. It was always Tommy.

Laurel knows Tommy was the right man, the better man, for her but now it’s too late. She can never tell Tommy loves him. Laurel can never choose him. She can never make it right. All we can hear are her anguished screams as the building collapses around Tommy.

I’ve had my disagreements with Katie Cassidy over the years, but holy crap was her acting amazing in this scene. She sold Laurel’s despair and devastation. This is easily one of my favorite Laurel Lance scenes. Perhaps only surpassed by 3x01, but it’s an awfully close second.

Quentin: You have to promise me one thing Laurel. You’re not gonna die along with me. You have to go on with your life. After your sister died, I pushed people away. I became like a ghost, and I didn’t think I had the right to live if my baby couldn’t. Promise me you’re not going to make the same mistakes as I did.

Can someone just give Paul Blackthorne an award. I don’t care which one. Just give him awards. This scene, while a heart-breaking goodbye between a father and daughter, also perfectly sets up Laurel’s Season 2 arc. If Oliver Queen has taught us one thing it’s that you can physically survive, but emotionally may be a completely different story.

Laurel is begging for someone to help Tommy and when we see Oliver’s motorcycle it gives us a glimmer of hope that maybe he arrived just in time. Oliver removes the fallen concrete boulders away, but there is a rebar through Tommy’s chest and then we know it’s too late. Tommy’s final moments will be with Oliver.

There are more physically traumatic deaths on Arrow, but no other death impacted me more emotionally. He was not a perfect man, but there was a real light in Tommy Merlyn. He exuded humor and charm, but underneath all of that, was a truly kind and earnest man who wanted to be a better person, not only for the woman he loved, but for himself. And Tommy became a better man. In a series about hooded vigilantes, it’s easy to lose sight of what makes someone a good person. You don’t need to save a city. You just need to show up every day for the people you love. That’s all the heroism most of us really need.

Oliver knows one of the main reasons Tommy broke up with Laurel was because he felt he’d never measure up to Oliver. He could never swoop in and save Laurel like the Hood could. Tommy felt he wasn’t enough - Laurel wanted a hero. This is Oliver’s way of telling Tommy he is one. In the end, Tommy was everything Laurel needed him to be and more. Oliver is realizing this just like Laurel. Sometimes the clarity of death exposes the lunacy of our life choices.

If I didn’t love Oliver Queen so much, I would hate him for inserting himself between Laurel and Tommy. But I don’t need to hate Oliver Queen for his decisions. He’ll hate himself enough. I must forgive Oliver because he is incapable of forgiving himself.

Tommy never wanted to be like his father, which is why joining his company was so disheartening. We thought we’d lose Tommy to the darkness, but he proves once again he is the antithesis of Malcolm Merlyn by asking for Oliver’s forgiveness.

Oliver has been chasing forgiveness all season and what is so beautiful about this moment is how freely he absolves Tommy. Oliver refuses to accept Tommy has anything to even apologize for (which is correct). Sometimes when we are not forgiven it can harden us against those who require our forgiveness, but that hasn’t happened with Oliver Queen. There is a heart that loves deeply underneath that fortified wall of pain and we are watching it break.

Source: @olivergifs

Tommy asks Oliver if he killed Merlyn and Oliver says no. It’s a lie, but a merciful one. Tommy leaves this world for the next with a thank you as his final words to his best friend and Oliver shatters. He was ready to die to fulfill his mission, but he was not prepared to lose Tommy. Oliver begs God to switch places, but Tommy does not open his eyes. There is no reprieve from this grief. Tommy died and Oliver survived. It is a sacrifice much too difficult to bear.

I was absolutely gutted after this episode. It’s still hard to watch these final scenes to this day. I truly do not see how Laurel and Oliver overcome Tommy’s death. If Lauriver is the Titanic (and it is) and Sara was the iceberg, then Tommy is the split down the middle that sends the ship plummeting to the ocean bed. Quite frankly, I don’t understand how they ever overcame Sara, which is another problem with the big love confession in the mansion. Neither of them is being honest about their reasons for resurrecting this corpse of a relationship.

This is why Tommy is a death knell to Laurel & Oliver’s relationship. There is a confluence of events which led Tommy to that building and the primary factor (other than Laurel and her papers) was betrayal. Sure, all the technicality boxes are checked. Laurel and Tommy broke up, but boy did Oliver & Laurel have a hell of a time at the wake. (re: Rachel and Ross). Oliver betrayed Tommy just like he betrayed Laurel with Sara. And now Laurel is culpable in the same betrayal that made her wish for Oliver’s infinite suffering. This guilt is inescapable, and it will drive them apart.

Tommy is the nail in the coffin. Lauriver is dead and it needs to stay dead.

***Did I know this after watching the finale the first time? Nope. But I’m here to save you a lot of heartache, stress, and worry. You’re welcome. Enjoy Season 2!

Malcolm Merlyn

I haven’t written much about Merlyn and the Dark Archer primarily because we haven’t heard much from him outside of his conversations with Moira and flashbacks with Robert Queen. His motivations, albeit depraved and evil, are simple. His wife died in the Glades; therefore, the Glades must die.

Malcolm: You mother built her clinic in the Glades because she wanted to save this city. It can’t be saved. Because the people there don’t want it to be saved.

Tommy: So, you kill them all?

Malcolm: YES! They deserve to die, all of them, the way she died!!

“Sacrifice” showcases John Barrowman’s acting ability because he’s allowed to unleash the crazy, particularly when he explains his master plan to Tommy. Daddy is one friggin scarry fruit loop!

We also get some great super villain monologuing and much-needed philosophical debates between Malcolm and Oliver.

Oliver: Do you really think you’re honoring Tommy’s mother by destroying the Glades?

Malcolm: As surely as you believe you’re honoring your father by wearing this hood. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss your father.

Oliver: You’ll see him soon.

Malcolm: You can’t beat me, Oliver. Yes, you’re younger and you’re faster, yet you always seem to come up short against me. Wanna know why? Because you don’t know in your heart what you’re fighting for. What you’re willing to sacrifice, and I do.

This dialogue is so great! Classic good versus evil. The best villains are ones with emotional ties to the hero. The best villains are often the dark reflection of the hero. The terrifying part of Malcolm’s monologue is he’s right.

There is a thin, but discernible line between Oliver and Malcolm Merlyn. Oliver is choosing to murder guilty people to honor his father. Merlyn is murdering innocent people to honor his wife. It’s a big difference, but Oliver lacks the firm moral high ground needed in this conversation, which is why he silently twists helplessly in the chains.

Oliver’s own actions have handcuffed him in a way. He is a killer just like Malcolm. Yes, he killed bad people, but not always because he had to. Oliver killed to exact justice (revenge?) too. A justice based on his convictions and beliefs alone. But what does Oliver believe?

We can justify just about anything in this world if we want to, which is why it’s so important to have a moral code. Without one, you’re just making it up as you go along and it’s very easy to be pulled off track. Oliver’s code in Season 1 was the list of names. He thought saving the city was as simple as crossing names off a list. Oliver believes he was honoring Robert by making those who hurt the city pay for their unanswered crimes.

Felicity answers Malcolm’s question about sacrifice when she tells Quentin Lance who she believes the Vigilante is. She’s right. Oliver is willing to sacrifice a lot to save strangers. People he’s never met but feels a responsibility for because of the sins of his father. It’s not an insane idea. Some carry the weight of our parents’ failings and recognize themselves in Oliver Queen.

Both men are clearly willing to sacrifice their own lives. But Malcolm will sacrifice anything and anyone for his mission – including his own son. For Oliver that price was too high and one he never anticipated paying.

Tommy is not the only death in the series finale. Yao Fei dies in the flashbacks and its brutal. As we peel back the layers of Oliver Queen, we see how truly traumatizing those years away were. It’s freaking miracle Oliver can even function, let alone fight for his city. The symmetry of fighting Malcolm, the man who sent Oliver to Lian Yu, with Yao Fei’s’ bow, the man who saved him from Lian Yu, is exceptionally beautiful.

The rooftop battle between Malcolm and Oliver is the level of awesome I require in a series finale fight scene. In the end, Oliver kills Malcolm but fails to save the city. Primarily because Merlyn outsmarted him and used two earthquake machines. But Malcolm also beat Oliver because he was right. Oliver does not know what he is truly fighting for. A list of names is not enough to save the city and honor Robert Queen.

Oliver: Thank you for teaching me what I’m fighting for, but my father taught me how.

It looks like Malcolm will kill Oliver in the final moments of their fight, but Oliver flashes back to that moment on the boat with his father (like he did a thousand times on the island and over the course of the series) and recalls what his father instructed him to do: SURVIVE.

Oliver Queen has an indomitable will to survive. It’s the promise he made to his father. It’s what kept him alive the five years he was on the island. It’s why he ultimately beats Malcolm Merlyn. Pure determination.

But survival isn’t enough. None of us are here to survive life. It’s not a moral code. It’s why Oliver falls woefully short. Robert Queen taught Oliver how to survive, but it will take someone else to teach him how to live. Until he learns that lesson, he will never be the hero Starling City needs.

Stray Thoughts

The earthquake machine being at the location of where Malcolm’s wife was murdered does have a nice poetry to it. Crazy poetry. But poetry.

Oliver killing Fyers with Yao Fei’s bow which is the justice I needed. He also chooses to save Shado’s life over securing a ride home and we hear the Hood’s voice for the very first time. The evolution is happening!!!

Malcolm stops an arrow with his bare hand. It was friggin cool. It was even cooler when Oliver used an explosive arrow the next time Malcolm tried to pull the same trick.

“I take back every joke I made about you putting a tracker in your boot.” I love when this show tackles potential plot holes and the solutions make sense.

Fyers is shooting down a commercial airliner to mess with China’s economy like what happened to the USA on September 11th. I'm not a fan of killing, but anyone trying to repeat 9/11 needs to die.

Shado is really the hero in the flashbacks. Homegirl reprogrammed a missile and blows up the camp!

“What are laws, rules, if they don’t protect people?” Detective Lance is grappling with his own moral code and gets suspended. Quentin teaming up with the Hood? I am 100% down for this storyline.

Oliver: What about those people in the Glades?

Moira: I’m not their mother.

I’m as fierce a Mama Bear as any other mother, but this is not a good look Moira. I love that Oliver finally tells her how Robert died and that they have an honest conversation about Moira’s choices.

Moira going to the press to expose Malcolm Merlyn was AWESOME, but couldn’t she have thought of that like, I don’t know, twenty-three episodes ago?

Laurel is wearing green in the mansion scene. No, not even symbolic color coding will make me love these two. And that means a lot coming from me because symbolism is my freaking jam. This also includes the sunlight shining on Lauriver. It's a red herring. Pay it no attention.

Moira DEARDEN Queen. Wave hi to another comic book reference.

Thea goes to the Glades too to save Roy which makes her the second stupidest character in this episode. DOESN’T ANYONE HAVE A PHONE? JUST CALL HIM THEA.

Don’t pull the knife out, John. That’s literally the last thing you do.

“You fucking dumb ass.” My note while watching Laurel collect all the paper.

They should have killed Laurel and Tommy should have become the next Dark Archer. It would've been a waaaaay better story. They saved the wrong character. The Season 6 appearance by Colin Donnell supports this theory.

Just so you know where I was at emotionally in May 2013. On Wednesday I watched Tommy die on Arrow and then Thursday, on The Vampire Diaries, I watched Elena choose Damon while Stefan was trapped in a safe at the bottom of a lake drowning repeatedly. It is easily my worst series finale week EVER. Including Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 and 6 finales (hello trauma) and Pam dying on Dallas (I was six and thought she really died).

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 1x23!!!

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