13 episodes ago (on episode 10 specifically), I came here to rant on how pissed off I was at this show. My words exactly were "this is the last Arrow season I'll be watching".
Well, this is the bit where I come here to eat my words. It's like a "comment of shame"... but it would be unfair not to, given how everything improved immensely for almost the entire remainder of the season, and how great this episode was. (I may divert a little from the episode, but will try to return to it)
My biggest issue with the show at the time was the whole Laurel/Black Canary situation (kill Laurel; keep mentioning Laurel; bring Black Siren as fake Laurel, then take her away; bring a new character who not only has the power, but is named Dinah...). I wasn't a fan of what happened in Season 4, but worse was the fact that they never moved on from it and the prospect of having a "Dinah" and also the Siren just felt like salt in the wound. However... Dinah has a great actress who fit really well into the team. Katie Cassidy absolutely killed it as the Siren. And honestly, the fact that they happened to face each other in the finale was just badass, it feels like the payoff we receive as a gift after all these storylines. I'm aware that Katie Cassidy may return to be a part of the show and I'm going to be cautiously optimistic, but I think the story can go to exciting places based on some of her looks and reactions when dealing with Quentin. The bottom line is: Katie Cassidy belongs on this show.
Adrian Chase was the presence that the show needed and he is big part of the reason why I started looking forward to watching Arrow again week after week. Actor Josh Segarra did an incredible job of haunting Oliver and I believe the finale was where he did his better work, in particular with his very last scene on the boat. The fact that he was always many steps ahead of Oliver was entertaining, I worried that it was too much sometimes... but eventually would just enjoy his madness. I feel like they went to great lengths to make a memorable villain, and he isn't necessarily "an improvement" over the previous ones, such as Deathstroke who is loved by many. And they didn't even make a big deal out of the Prometheus identity (as in a vigilante archer vs archer nemesis again), he didn't even wear the costume in the finale. Honestly, I'm kinda bummed out that he is gone, but I was never disappointed with Chase/Prometheus.
There is still a lot that could have been polished, or simplified. Just as with The Flash, I feel like they add too many characters in - it can't be a coincidence that Julian and Thea disappear for periods of time, then return to get caught up: the writers can't juggle all of them at all times. The finale (and the season, for that matter) could easily not have had Talia, for example... because what did that storyline amount to? She sort of trained Oliver in flashbacks, sort of hated him in the present for killing Ra's, even though she sort of hated Ra's as well... then just fought Nyssa here. It's not something I don't like, but I think it's time that could have been spent on giving more depth to other characters, such as making Deathstroke's new tranquility something slightly more complicated. They are so many, that they do this thing where they show them in pairs having conversations to fit everyone in, but it really doesn't have a lot of meaning. Samantha says she refuses to leave the island without WIlliam, but then they never even get the opportunity in the first place, so what does saying that amount to really? And Malcolm's return... just to get blown off by a landmine?
(Obviously a landmine didn't just kill Malcolm Merlyn, but still, all of this was weird).
Hands down what I absolutely loved here was the way the episode was constructed between flashbacks, what was happening and where it was happening. The fact that the flashbacks came full circle is really cool (and the fricking call to Moira Queen almost felt like a reward scene in a video game. Achievement: all flashbacks seen, you earn this). Lian Yu will always be a setting of significance (well, maybe not anymore after that ending....), and in that way the episode is very aptly named. The past and present parallels, some intentionally caused by Chase, were excellent to watch - and the difference between this Oliver and that Oliver is one of the best represented dilemmas of the show, one that has been portrayed extremely well by Stephen Amell, (the cast members really were on their A-game for this one) with a conclusion that is very true to the journey Oliver has gone through this season (I mean the "not killing Chase").
I can't not mention Deathstroke. I was one of the masses excited about his return, and I'm glad Manu Bennett actually came back for it despite the issues he had with the show at some point. The fact that the Mirakuru "wore off" is fine, I guess, although maybe too convenient of a solution for these times of peril - I would have been interested in seeing a struggle between good and bad, perhaps, but given the amount of things happening in the episode, it was decent. It feels weird to see them working together again, but weird in a cool way. I have to say I was a bit worried he would bite it due to another version of Deathstroke being in the movies soon... I guess we'll see. Boomerang's betrayal was kinda cool, though.
Overall, the last batch of episodes made it all very exciting again. I would say the highlights were definitely Adrian Chase and, quite honestly, Rene (especially his relationship with Quentin, which was a quite entertaining side plot). The things I didn't enjoy at all were the whole Helix plot, the heavily Olicity episode (I don't really mind Olicity THAT much but that one episode really wasn't much)... and Evelyn Sharp. Evelyn "I hate Oliver because he killed bad people, so I'll side with a much worse murderer that killed many innocents" Sharp.
So, do I eat my words from before? I do, and gladly: quality has been restored on a show very dear to me and it makes me happy to look forward to the next season. I thought of saving the episodes for later, but with that ending, it's likely that I'll start as it airs. Therefore, this wasn't the last season for me after all.
I'm ditching Supergirl, though.
