Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Arrow 3x21 "Al Sah-Him" (Why Are You?)


"Al Sah-Him"
Original Airdate: April 29, 2015

What happens when a person you love becomes a person you don't know anymore?

I've had friends and relationships that have fallen out over the years because I've recognized the fact that the people I once knew changed -- morphed, really -- into different people. Circumstances change people. Experiences change people. Time often changes people. And it's hard to reconcile the idea of the person you once knew -- the memories of them, their personality, etc. -- with a new or different version of them. In Arrow, the theme of identity permeates nearly every crevice of every single episode. It's a series that, this year particularly, asks the question: "Who are you?" and then follows it up with: "Why are you?"

We focus a lot on the first question and it's important, don't get me wrong, to understand who you are. But there's the second question that we often overlook. When someone changes in personality or when a layer of them is unearthed that blindsides you, we often stand back, mouth agape and wonder who, exactly this person is. They're not our loving spouse anymore. They've morphed into someone bitter and calloused. They're not our best friend anymore. They turned around and betrayed us. They're not our sweet, innocent sister anymore. They've become jaded by the world and darkened by its influences. The question of identity isn't just contained to the "who," but extends to the "why." Knowing WHY someone is the way that they are is more important than understanding who they are. Because, in fact, you'll understand far more about the "who" once you understand the "why."

Is this deep enough and thought-provoking enough for you yet? No? Good, because we are just getting started. In Arrow's most recent episode titled "Al Sah-Him," Oliver Queen disappears, not just physically (getting a haircut and taking on a new wardrobe) but mentally and emotionally. Ra's essentially drugs Oliver (gee, I wonder where Malcolm acquired his magical herbs of doom to drug Thea) and brainwashes him in order to ensure that he's forgotten all about his past self and can fully embrace The Arrow and the League. And it's in this transition that we begin to wonder whether Oliver Queen is lost for good -- whether he's gone and unable to return -- or whether there's still hope, still some shred of Oliver left in Al Sah-Him.

(I'm not going to lie to you: it appears very bleak. VERY bleak.)

Al Sah-Him (+ Ra's)

Oliver has had an identity crisis all season. We've talked about it extensively, so I won't rehash it because I feel like it'll just bore you all to tears. Instead, let's focus on what "Al Sah-Him" really means for Arrow as we move toward the final few episodes of the season. This episode focuses a lot on Oliver's transition from human being to human killing instrument. The episode opens with our favorite vigilante being brainwashed and tortured by Ra's and his cronies in order to rid the man of any and every trace of his former life. And suddenly... Oliver is gone. Oliver Queen is no more and Al Sah-Him is born.

I don't actually have a lot to say about Al Sah-Him, which may surprise you since the entire episode seemed to be about him. It wasn't. I mean, it WAS... but "Al Sah-Him" wasn't about Oliver or the new archer in the League of Assassins. It was about who the people around you become when you disappear. Remember above that I said the "why" of it all is often just as important as the "who"? This applies to Oliver, directly: why Oliver became the next Ra's is infinitely more important than the fact that he's becoming the next Ra's. He joined the League to save his sister's soul and by doing so, forfeited his own. The thing is... Oliver isn't the person who needs to put his already darkened, tragic, angst-ridden soul on the chopping block to begin with. Oliver is strong -- just like Dig affirms in this episode -- but not as strong as he wills everyone to believe. Remember what Oliver's greatest fear was in "The Calm"? Himself, right? Wrong.

Oliver's greatest fear was himself, yes. But his greatest fear has always really been The Arrow and -- specifically -- what being The Arrow meant. And now, we see why: as Oliver, the man, he has a soul. As The Arrow... that soul is darkened and tainted and prone to anger. The Arrow's instinct is to err toward the side of vengeance, not justice. Oliver Queen's instinct is to protect the people he loves. The Arrow's instinct is to kill, lest you be killed. The Arrow and Oliver have dueled all season and Oliver has repeatedly chosen the suit over everything: love, happiness, a family, a home. (Literally, he lived in the Arrow cave for a very long time.) So it makes sense, doesn't it, that eventually The Arrow would kill him?

Oliver Queen is the one who handed himself over to the Demon, but The Arrow is the one who did the actual killing. (Literal killing in this episode too as Al Sah-Him kills a League member under the influence of brainwashing drugs.) The question of the episode is whether or not there's anything left of Oliver in Al Sah-Him. And though the man doesn't kill Lyla, he does kidnap her; though he doesn't kill Dig, he might have if there had been two more seconds of opportunity; though he doesn't have Felicity slapped or worse for talking back to Maseo, he doesn't acknowledge her existence, really.

Oliver Queen appears to be dead in "Al Sah-Him" and The Arrow is the culprit.

Laurel/Nyssa

I love everything about Laurel and Nyssa's relationship, including how unexpected it was for me to love it. I think that the diner scene is the first time we've seen Laurel and Nyssa smile on this show... well, in so long that I legitimately can't remember the last time either of them brightly smiled. (For Laurel, it was in her crossover with The Flash two weeks ago.) Why this relationship is so great is that for the first time since Sara, both women have someone to look after. Laurel was always the protector of her baby sister until Sara died on the boat. And then Sara -- The Canary -- became HER protector. Nyssa felt the same: she and Sara looked after one another. The relationship between Laurel and Nyssa allowed both women to remember what it was like to actually be happy again, to feel needed and important.

Laurel spends a majority of her time in "Al Sah-Him" trying to protect Nyssa (a woman who claims she's already been marked for death anyway) from the League and Al Sah-Him's sword/bow and arrow. I waffled a lot on Laurel throughout my viewing of the episode. On the one hand, I admire her stoicism and her desire to defend Nyssa, whatever the cost. But when Laurel tries to convince Dig to spare Nyssa's life by calling her "innocent," Dig is quick to correct Laurel harshly: Nyssa is NOT innocent. She's killed a lot of people and she can pay for those crimes so long as Lyla doesn't have to pay for them. Laurel has this tendency to be a reckless sort of character -- she's the one who usually acts before thinking and does before consulting with anyone else. It's what nearly gets her killed (or maimed) in the field. Laurel Lance is hot-headed and often very eager to leap into situations before looking. So she stands by Nyssa and defends her when the group insists that Oliver is fine -- he'll return to them. He hasn't changed. Laurel knows and trusts Nyssa; she's forged a friendship with the woman and a companionship, too.

What I love is that Laurel wants to fight for Nyssa's right to have a happy, normal life. Laurel believes in simple things -- in milkshakes and French fries and laughing over them -- and Nyssa believes in destiny and pessimism. While Laurel believes the path you forge is yours to forge alone, Nyssa believes your fate has already been sealed and once it has been, there's no turning away from it. Nyssa is such a complex and tragic but brilliant character. She's a woman who spent her whole life living in fear of her father and finally, in "Al Sah-Him," expressed the fact that she would no longer stand in fear of him anymore. She would face her death with honor and dignity. Laurel believes in happy endings. She has to believe in them, because if she doesn't... what is the point of living? Laurel Lance is a tragic, complex character too because all she wants is for everyone to get a chance to have what they deserve (good or bad). She's often willing to be the only person to extend that chance to them, like she does to Nyssa in this episode. I don't think the rest of the group understands why Laurel fought so hard to save Nyssa when Oliver was ten feet away from her but I do. I understand that Laurel is the person who sees facts and cold, hard truths because she deals with them on a daily basis. There was no room for emotion on the rooftop and she saw what Nyssa warned her about: she saw Al Sah-Him, not Oliver.

But with Nyssa... Laurel sees all that Nyssa was during her time in Starling City and because of that, she sees all the woman COULD be if she just stopped running away from herself long enough to embrace the idea that she could be happy. That's really important to me and it's really moving and powerful. I'm grateful that "Al Sah-Him" brought us some beautiful moments in a relationship where two women were willing to fight for each other and for happiness.

Team Arrow

How do you leave someone behind when they're not even dead? In "Al Sah-Him," that's what the new Team Arrow struggles to do. It's just Dig, Felicity, and Laurel left with the inclusion of Thea and Lyla. Their team is thinner than it was before and their leader has turned over to the dark side three weeks ago. Living a life without Oliver Queen is hard enough when you presume him to be dead. It's even harder when you know he -- or some version of him, at least -- is still alive but not who you remember. Thea and Felicity take Oliver's loss especially hard, with the former blaming herself for Oliver having to join the League in the first place. She doesn't get to feel guilty for long, as Felicity reminds her that Oliver would never want her to feel that way. It's a small moment in a scene that reminds us all that these people -- Team Arrow? They're a family. They're broken and they're fractured and they're damaged but they're alive. And they're together. That makes this the perfect timeline.

(... Wait. Wrong show.)

Nevertheless, as Team Arrow struggles to find out who or what they are without Oliver, they also struggle to figure out what, exactly, to do without him there -- really there -- for them and whether or not he can ever come back. What I loved about the episodes post-"The Climb" is that they allowed us to explore what the team was like without Oliver there to guide them. And what I loved was seeing how the team responded to Oliver's absence and responding to him when he returned. There's a quote from the movie Rumor Has It (throwback right there) in which the main character says this to the man she's in love with:

I didn't come here to tell you that I can't live without you. I can live without you. I just don't want to.

After "The Climb," everyone in Team Arrow came to the realization that they could survive without Oliver. They could fight crime without him. They could go on with their lives without him. They could make decisions without him. ... But they just didn't want to. Especially Felicity. Felicity survived without Oliver but she wasn't really living without him. She made it through but if she was given the choice of letting him go or keeping him, she would choose to keep him every single time. That's what made last week's episode "The Fallen" so painful for these two: they just got one another back. They couldn't bear to lose each other again. And yet, Felicity Smoak and John Diggle and Thea Queen and Laurel Lance are dropped once again in the familiar situation of losing Oliver Queen. They've had practice at losing him before and "Al Sah-Him" finds the team a bit divided in their perception of what has happened to Oliver's soul. They've fought bad guys without him. They fought the city without him. Now it's time for them to fight FOR him like he's fought for them so many times before.

You don't really know who you are until you know how hard you'll fight for something you love. Team Arrow is divided in "Al Sah-Him": when Nyssa insists that Oliver Queen as they knew him was gone, Laurel believes her but Diggle and Felicity do not. It makes sense, though: Laurel has always been a realist who bordered on pessimism. She calls things like they are, often bluntly, and is abrasive sometimes because of that. But Diggle and Felicity are the hopeful ones in the team. They're the ones who continue to fight long after the battle already seems won and their side appears defeated. Dig learned as a soldier to never leave a man behind; Felicity learned growing up with a dysfunctional family that you can never stop fighting for happiness. Until they see him with their own eyes -- see the man that he's become and the man they've lost as a result -- Diggle and Felicity can't believe they've lost Oliver forever.

That's really it: they CAN'T force themselves to believe that. If they do, it doesn't just mean that their status quo changes as a team of crimefighters. It means that their worlds -- all they knew and stood for and fought for -- crumble. And as the two hopeful members of the team, they can't bear to believe that the person they loved so deeply changed so drastically and so permanently. When Lyla is abducted by Al Sah-Him, something really interesting happens: Dig completely changes and is willing to sacrifice Nyssa's life so that Lyla would be free. Laurel and Felicity both provide an apt warning when Dig says he doesn't care how he gets Lyla back, just that he gets her back: if Dig crosses a line like Oliver did in accepting Ra's' offer... he may never be able to re-cross that line again.

Team Arrow comes to the sobering realization once they battle the League and Oliver that... there is no returning from what he's become. Oliver Queen is lost -- a memory that the team can carry with them wherever they go and whenever they fight crime -- but he's not returning. "Gone, but not forgotten," Thea echoes somberly to the room at Palmer Technologies. The truth is that each member of the team has to deal with Oliver's loss in their own way. They need to grieve the man who seems gone forever and try and find a way to live again. It's not easy. It's not easy to mourn the loss of your big brother -- your protector. It's not easy to mourn the loss of your partner, your friend in battle, your best man, your brother. It's not easy to mourn the loss of the love of your life -- to grieve over what you could have had, what you could have been. It's not easy to grieve. It's not easy to say goodbye. Because to Dig and Felicity, saying a final goodbye -- accepting that Oliver has changed and he's never coming back from whatever Ra's and the League did to him? That means giving up hope. That means that darkness and evil has won and that good has lost.

Though it's extremely difficult for them to do in "Al Sah-Him," all of them take steps toward shutting the chapter of Oliver Queen permanently (even though Felicity and Thea admit, at the end, to still loving Oliver even if they can barely find him in Al Sah-Him anymore). And they do so with a lot of tears.

Thea Queen

Thea is a lot stronger than everyone realizes. She's resilient. She's broken and she's damaged beyond repair in a lot of ways, but she's fiercely loyal of the things that are hers. She'll stand beside you until you've proven you're not to be trusted. And in this episode, she's desperate to do something to help -- she's desperate to do ANYTHING to help out the people around her. She doesn't want to be treated with kid gloves and Felicity -- for all her good intentions -- does just that. Felicity tells Thea that her brother sacrificed himself so that she would be safe and have a life worth living, not so that she could suit up and risk her life in the field every night.

I tweeted during my viewing of the episode: "Thea Queen is the hero we all deserve." I loved that everyone kept trying to box Thea out of the team because it meant she had to fight to find her way in. Do we think the team invited her to the League showdown? (I'm going to guess no.) Thea is the woman that everyone thinks is a porcelain doll. Oliver's biggest mistake in this season has been that he cannot treat the women in his life like equals and insists on protecting them rather than letting them make their own decisions. Thea had no say in whether or not she would be raised from the dead. She didn't want Oliver to do that because she knew what it would mean. (You know your character is crazy backwards when Malcolm Merlyn makes more sense than Oliver Queen.)

Thea Queen isn't a fragile little flower. She's a warrior. Malcolm -- for all of his very very VERY numerous faults -- is the only person in this episode to see Thea for who she truly is: a woman with the spirit of a fighter and the heart of one, too. She will not sit idly by and let the people she loves continue to be put in harm's way without a fight. She won't let Oliver go without one, either. While everyone else spends a majority of the episode in denial that Oliver is truly gone, Thea fights. She takes actual action. She saves Dig's life because she's unafraid to do what everyone else in the episode is too afraid to: put an arrow in Oliver. Dig and Felicity hold onto hope right until the end that Oliver is still somewhere in the body of Al Sah-Him. But Thea? Thea doesn't care if it's Oliver or Al Sah-Him or Ra's or a random League member threatening her new team and her new family. She will take you down. She will do what others cannot do in that moment because they're blinded by grief and emotion.

But Thea isn't unfeeling, either. She spends a lot of the episode in guilt over what Oliver's done for her and she spends a lot of the end of the episode trying to think of a way she can move forward from the point she's at. How can she live knowing that her brother is out there but not the person she once knew? Felicity tells Thea that the only way to do that is to move forward. To keep walking forward, one step at a time. The first step? Roy is alive. And she should be with the one she loves if only for a little while because he's THERE.

Thea is the character in "Al Sah-Him" whose actions are some of the most powerful and strong. Everyone is grieving. Everyone is struggling. Everyone is trying to decide whether or not they can move forward without Oliver Queen in their lives. And though it's difficult to do, everyone eventually decides that the only way they can move forward is by realizing who they were with Oliver and who they can be with his memory and legacy tucked in the back of their minds like an old photograph.

Observations & favorite moments:
  • MVP this week goes to the always astounding Willa Holland. I seriously cheered when Thea arrived to take on the League members and Oliver. I love how Thea's become such a strong, complex, and dynamic character this season. She's gone from Oliver's baby sister to an actual defender of Starling City and it's really admirable. Willa constantly does a fabulous job at portraying all of the frustrations within the youngest Queen and all of her pain, fear, and conflict as well. I loved that we had the chance to see Thea interact with Felicity during this episode. Willa played those scenes with the dark humor that has inhabited Thea ever since the end of last season and I loved that. Excellent job to Willa as always at portraying this young woman's journey.
  • I didn't like "Al Sah-Him" apart from a few performances and some scenes. I wrote a lot about it, but the writers have encountered a problem -- they've written themselves into a corner. Unfortunately, do you know what the only way to get yourself out of a corner is? You have to smash through some walls. This episode was a prime example of the writers decidedly smashing through walls (Hong Kong? The virus? Oliver marrying Nyssa? Oliver being brainwashed easily and abducting Lyla? Oliver almost killing Diggle?) in order to get to where they really want to be at the end of the season. Look, that's the problem: if you write yourself into a corner, it doesn't matter how fabulous the end of your season will be or how much you want to get to the point you had originally set as your destination. All your viewers will remember is the rubble you left in your wake on the path to getting there.
  • Can someone remind me why a) Ra's spared Nyssa and b) required her to marry Al Sah-Him in the first place? That part was a bit... muddled, logic-wise. Then again, Arrow logic is making less and less sense these days.
  • WHO HAS TWO THUMBS AND STILL DOESN'T CARE ABOUT HONG KONG? This girl. We know Akio dies. We know the supervirus was important. Yadda, yadda, this could have been summed up in like, three flashbacks. Tops. We're twenty-one episodes' worth of flashbacks in and my patience has officially waned.
  • There was a new Oliver Queen voiceover introduction!
  • Ra's gave some soliloquy (the second I've had to endure this week from a villain. THANKS A LOT, EOBARD THAWNE) and mentioned how Damian Darhk was in his life once upon a time and ended up fleeing with a bunch of loyal followers and weapons and formed H.I.V.E. which -- if you're not in the business of spoilers/speculation, continue to the next bullet -- we are all 99% sure around here will be the focus of the season finale. Damian, we're convinced, will also be the next Big Bad and also Felicity Smoak's father. Let's see if we're right in a few weeks, shall we?
  • I want all of the scenes with Laurel/Nyssa. Like, ALL OF THEM. AN ENTIRE EPISODE OF THEM EATING JUNK FOOD WOULD BE PERFECT THANK YOU SO MUCH. Throw in some Felicity, Iris, Caitlin, and Thea and we're golden.
  • "There is more oil than potato."
  • "I'll never understand your country's need to fry everything."
  • "Were I so inclined, I'd question why your first instinct is to keep everything secret," Shade officially thrown.
  • "The last time I checked? Protecting good people: that's what we do."
  • "How did you get in here?" "My dad's a super villain... and you left your doors unlocked." Thea is the best and your argument is invalid. Also, maybe next season Thea and Felicity can bond further over their fathers both being super villains! WOULDN'T THAT BE LOVELY?
  • "You are a terrible liar." "That is true."
  • Cisco's Canary Cry apparently works really well.
  • The Dig/Felicity hug was just as sad as the promo pictures made it out to be.
  • Malcolm told Thea that Felicity was right. Headcanon: Malcolm Merlyn prays to Felicity Smoak.
  • "Don't you DARE TOUCH ME." If I could marry a character right now, it would be Felicity Meghan Smoak for standing up to every single character and giving them a piece of her mind.
  • "There's only one thing left of him now." "And what's that?" (I said "us" and was then not at all surprised when Dig echoed: "Us" the  very next second.)
  • "Sorry to interrupt your staring into nothingness."
Well, dear friends and readers... what did you think? Did you enjoy "Al Sah-Him" more than I did? Regardless of how you felt, hit up the comments below and let us know what you're bringing to the Al Sah-Him/Nyssa al Ghul wedding. I'd hate for them to have two crock-pots, after all.

Until then. ;)

19 comments:

  1. The whole Nyssa marriage thing stuck in my craw I was about to declare this the best episode of the season..till that came up, I guess its still a debate between Suicidal Tendencies and Public Enemy.

    Anyway for the episode itself Hong Kong was good again like last week. Hong Kong action and espionage that's what it should have been for the entire season. Though tonight it was good short and sweet and well edited. I LOVED Al Sah-Him...this was the best supervillain Oliver Queen is the BEST! I squeed, I enjoyed it what he did and how his team reacted. He didn't acknowledge anyone and he did his job and didn't get broken easily and from the promo from next week its going to get better.

    On a less fan boy note, (warning I`m going to try and use emotional intelligence my brain may impode) This whole transformation seems to fit Oliver, even though we saw by bits and pieces he started changing a bit among the seasons and season 3 he was starting to allow Oliver Queen to be himself. But "The Calm and The Climb" killed it. The Calm made him accept the fear and stick with the Arrow and the Climb wounded Oliver Queen. The Climb showed him he wasn't as good as he thought, the team changed and he was no longer in control, Laurel was a fighter, Thea was a killer, he was forced to team up with Malcolm Merlyn, Ray was dating Felicity.Oliver Queen was dying by a thousand cuts..The Arrow was already dominate..and when the Offer came up..The Arrow wanted to accept it. Oliver fought and it took to loosing everything that made Oliver Queen and his version of the Arrow..but the Arrow had a life of his own like the Venom Symbiote. The point of all this..I think Oliver needed to have the Arrow win..and in season 4 he should be on this path..he should be at rock bottom and be on the other side..till its over and it runs its course and then become Oliver Queen (that or Thea will kill him and become Speedy and train the new Green Arrow ie Oliver's son)

    Anyway very long post but I had alot to say and yes I`m self-depreciating need to work on that. But I really like Oliver in this state and I hope he stays in this state for a while..like a good long while and when Season 4 gets a winter finale that should end his arc and he becomes Oliver Queen..yes Oliver Queen he needs to give up the hood. Not until he loves himself and Felicity...then and only then may he return to the superhero lifestyle..unless Thea kills him.

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    1. I think I would be more interested in seeing Oliver Queen go dark through his own choices (which is why I'm intrigued by the possibility of seeing him in Bratva flashbacks next season) but the fact that he has become this Al Sa-him through drugging and mind control just makes him a tool and fairly mindless. Either he is pretending to do R'as bidding (which would make his team legitimately very angry with him) or he is completely altered due to torture and drugs. He no longer has a will of his own in that case and I'm not interested really in watching that. I think it can be a useful thing for this season but to draw it out would loose me. This show was introduced to us as the story of Oliver Queen and his struggles. He is the anchor of this show (no matter how good the other characters are) and if he is not truly engaged as a character with free will and progression I think the show would really suffer. And honestly, since the season finale is titled My Name is Oliver Queen I think we'll see this coming to a resolution pretty quick (episodes 21 and 22 have always looked pretty hopeless). I thought he already hit his rock bottom. When we met him in season 1 he was a fairly remorseless killer. The flashbacks are interesting to me when we see him becoming that, developing into the man we met in season 1. Now I would like to see something new and not just another little R'as replica running around.

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    2. Anyway for the episode itself Hong Kong was good again like last week. Hong Kong action and espionage that's what it should have been for the entire season. Though tonight it was good short and sweet and well edited.

      The flashbacks this week were really well edited (the shot of the lantern in Dig's home, the double body bags after Nyssa and Oliver found out they were to be married, etc.) but I still zone out during them. All I need to know about Hong Kong, we already know: the supervirus exists and Akio dies. DONE.

      I agree wholeheartedly with Becca re: Oliver turning dark. It seems like his journey to identity should have ended with him accepting Oliver Queen (he basically did a few weeks ago in that conversation with Felicity where he's, you know, actually smiling and joking with her). But instead, we get some convoluted brainwashing story about how now it's not a choice in who Oliver becomes, really, but it's forced upon him? I don't know... something about the whole brainwashing thing just rubs me the wrong way. And, as Becca notes, either a) Oliver is faking being brainwashed (in which case WOW HE IS A TERRIBLE PERSON FOR KIDNAPPING LYLA AND KILLING SOMEONE THEN) orrrrr he really IS brainwashed. In which case... meh.

      I don't think Oliver's journey was headed toward darkness up until this week. I think it was headed toward hopefulness and light and back toward Oliver Queen again -- back to the ability to be The Arrow AND Oliver. So I'm confused at what the writers are playing at with this game (and now especially with the season finale's title being "My Name Is Oliver Queen").

      Anyway, Donavan, thank you for your comments! I enjoy hearing everyone's thoughts about these episodes. :)

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    3. I agree Oliver being fully mind controlled would make this situation mute and too much like Thea's. I hope he is in full control of his actions and the brainwashing was just ritual, that is what I thought it was in the show.

      I think the whole Oliver Queen and Arrow was more like Peter Parker and Venom. Venom was a bit more brutal and ruthless and a bit corrupting but they were united, till a huge personality clash made them separate. then they became enemies with similar powers.

      The Arrow was always been alive, in my mind as some sort of spirit that was born and cultured by his five years in hell. At first they were one but then in Season 3 Oliver was trying to split. He failed and the Arrow is in control which considering its personality that makes decisions for people, likes being in control, and is a killer fits with the League and being the next Demon's Head. As for Oliver the spirit exists in Thea now tying back in to the Venom and Spiderman thing I`m using. Thea will either kill Oliver's body..or kill the Arrow and resurrect Oliver Queen repaying what he did for her.

      Though on a meta note it explains why he kept dangling maybes in front of Felicity. He was trying to protect her from himself a part of himself that would kill her to survive and complete his mission. The Arrow wanted her gone, Oliver wanted her and they couldn't reconcile their differences. I think Thea when she was resurrected the spirit of Oliver Queen left the body as he knew he couldn't escape physically so he escaped spirituality to protect Thea by turning her into a Superhero. I`m not saying that Thea is not in control of herself, I`m just saying she has some help from the other side.

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  2. Hmm, I don't think I disliked it as much as you did. I can see what you mean about writing themselves into a corner but I always assumed they planned out the whole season (in broad strokes) in advance. They engineer the first and last episode to be deeply connected so they've always known about Oliver's choice, the bioweapon etc whereas writing yourself into a corner always seems to me to be something that happens when you follow a storyline without knowing where it is taking you. I could be wrong there (I've done a lot of academic writing but never writing as a vocation) but it seems to me that this was their intention from the beginning of the season. They wanted to push the question of Oliver's identity to its furthest point so damaging every relationship he had as well as putting Starling City, which he has constantly put before himself, into the crosshairs seems logical. And yes, that is creating a LOT of destruction and it remains to be seen what they are going to do with that. I think it is an interesting risk to take and I hope they can pull it off without seriously killing the show they've built. I knew this week was going to be painful so while I did not enjoy the episode per se I didn't dislike it either and it had enough interesting character moments to keep me interested (excepting Hong Kong of course ;).

    What surprised me about Diggle and Lyla was that they seemed so surprised to see what Oliver had become. Having worked in the military I assumed that they would understand something fundamental about torture etc: EVERYBODY breaks eventually! Saying that “strong” people could hold on during torture and drugging is like saying that you could take heroin and not give in to the effects. I think it would be unreasonable to expect Oliver to be any different. Now, the show wasn't going to show us incredibly gory torture scenes but Nyssa made it clear that Oliver would not even be aware of what was happening to him and that the League has had many long years of practice at destroying people's identities. I think this is why Thea has simultaneously the most understanding and compassion for what Oliver is going through (since she knows what it is like to have her mind altered) and also to be fairly straightforward and ruthless when it comes to stopping him. She knows that in some deep way that that is not her brother anymore, she understands how his mind could be gone just like hers was. Because Diggle is insisting that Oliver is still “in there” he is more angry over what Al Sa-him is doing because if Oliver is “there” somehow he is somehow also partly responsible for his actions. The big question is, how much is Oliver Queen present and responsible for his actions? Should Thea or Roy be held responsible for what they did under the influence of crazy drugging? Both Thea and Roy seemed to feel that they should be held responsible for some of it but it is an interesting question.

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    1. BECCA, MY LOVE AND LIGHT. Thank you as always for your comments!

      I can see what you mean about writing themselves into a corner but I always assumed they planned out the whole season (in broad strokes) in advance.

      My problem is something you mentioned above in the comments to Donavan -- they're cramming a LOT into three episodes and in order for me to have any emotional investment in this final trilogy, the build-up needs to be convincing. As it stands, from a viewer's perspective, since we know the title of the final episode this season is "My Name Is Oliver Queen," it stands to reason Oliver will... become himself again somehow? (ALSO: We know Oliver teams up with The Flash in a few episodes and he clearly remembers who he is -- he yells "Barry!" in a promo -- so how does he regain his memories then? He's still in the League attire so that whole timeline is a confusing mess.)

      My problem is that this is all feeling far too crammed into a few episodes to make me invested. I don't care as much about this brainwashing thing (which by the way... REALLY, SHOW?) because I know it'll work itself out in two more episodes. I think the problem is that the show takes things one step too far in plausibility and then there's no returning from that point. That's where I'm at in the end of this episode, really.

      What surprised me about Diggle and Lyla was that they seemed so surprised to see what Oliver had become. Having worked in the military I assumed that they would understand something fundamental about torture etc: EVERYBODY breaks eventually!

      I think I understood what they meant, since Oliver isn't a typical soldier. He went through torture on the island and stuff in Hong Kong and though Dig knows Oliver has suffered a lot and has a lot of scars, I think they presumed that having survived all those other things made him different from them. John survived combat and war and so did Lyla, but that's NORMAL combat and war. Oliver survived ABNORMAL circumstances and so I think they figured he could survive another without losing himself. It made sense that they would all (except Nyssa) be in denial because otherwise it means that all Oliver went through was for naught. If that makes any sense?

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    2. I think this is why Thea has simultaneously the most understanding and compassion for what Oliver is going through (since she knows what it is like to have her mind altered) and also to be fairly straightforward and ruthless when it comes to stopping him. She knows that in some deep way that that is not her brother anymore, she understands how his mind could be gone just like hers was.

      YES, THIS. STANDING OVATION TO THIS. That's why it's so important that she's the one to shoot him. Dig wouldn't have been able to shoot or stab Oliver. He was still trying to reason with him. Laurel wouldn't have been able to do it, even though she claimed she would have earlier. Felicity could have NEVER hurt him. But Thea is absolutely the perfect person to have done that. She's hopeful enough to believe her brother is still in there somewhere but not so hopeful that she can't shoot an arrow in him to protect her own.

      Because Diggle is insisting that Oliver is still “in there” he is more angry over what Al Sa-him is doing because if Oliver is “there” somehow he is somehow also partly responsible for his actions. The big question is, how much is Oliver Queen present and responsible for his actions? Should Thea or Roy be held responsible for what they did under the influence of crazy drugging?

      I mean, this is a really good question that idk if the show knows how to answer. Oliver still knows enough about Felicity to respect her. That's not far gone. His love for her is still rooted somewhere deep inside. And he didn't kill Nyssa on the roof once he saw Dig and Laurel. There is some shred of Oliver left in there and I guess the question is whether or not that's the person who you blame for what you've done. Was it Oliver or Al Sah-Him who killed that man? Was it Thea or drugged!Thea who killed Sara? Was it Roy or mirakuru!Roy who killed the cop? Thea and Roy, you're right, both struggled with immense guilt afterward for what had been done to them and what it made them do. I wonder if it's different or if the grief/guilt will be more layered because Oliver CHOSE to join the League. Obviously he didn't choose to get drugged but Thea definitely didn't choose that and Roy didn't voluntarily get injected with mirakuru. It's interesting, at least, to ponder that idea.

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    3. I get what you mean about the pacing of this season. It felt like not much moved forward for large stretches earlier in the season and then we are cramming a lot in now. It's interesting how picking up the pace of events can feel exciting and engrossing and tension building (like the end of season 2) or it can all feel too much is happening with no where for us to latch onto. I think part of the problem is we are a bit cut off from Oliver. Last season we were with him as things really started to go down the crapper and now he is robotic and his motives or agency are unknown. If Oliver is not "in there" I have no connection to my main character which is a problem. If he's truly gone then Al Sa-him is just another agency-less League drone doing whatever R'as tells him to do. Is that why the brainwashing thing doesn't really resonate with you?

      Personally I think we'll find it's more complicated than that but that of course will need to be skillfully done so viewers don't feel short-changed. I think if Oliver went into the League of Assassins believing he could somehow come through without doing terrible things or becoming something awful he was painfully naive. I am feeling that corner you talked about, maybe just in a different way than you. The whole thing with helping Barry on the Flash is confusing and I have no idea where to place it.

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    4. I think part of the problem is we are a bit cut off from Oliver. Last season we were with him as things really started to go down the crapper and now he is robotic and his motives or agency are unknown. If Oliver is not "in there" I have no connection to my main character which is a problem. If he's truly gone then Al Sa-him is just another agency-less League drone doing whatever R'as tells him to do. Is that why the brainwashing thing doesn't really resonate with you?

      You know, maybe that's what the problem is this season. I've found it very difficult to side with Oliver and support him throughout most of the season. He's been absent for stretches and when he is present, he's trying to control his team and tell other people what to do. It's the first season I've really been irritated for a large portion of time with Oliver. And now you're right -- we're cut off from him so everything that happens next is going to feel contrived and eyeroll-inducing because we're already five steps ahead of the characters.

      THAT, come to think of it, is my problem. Last year when everything happened and started to unravel, we were right there in the middle of it with Oliver, unsure as to how he would get out of it or what Slade would do to others. We didn't know who would live or die. This year it feels like we're already five steps ahead so it makes the story less compelling. It wasn't shocking that Akio got infected because Maseo told us last week he died. It's not shocking the bioweapon makes a return because we've spent like, ten episodes talking about it. And it's not going to be surprising to me if Oliver has faked his brainwashing (no matter how dumb of a revelation) since we know the season ends with him choosing Oliver Queen anyway (presumably, unless the title of the finale is just one giant lie and everything gets blown to bits).

      I think that's really what my problem is. I'm not walking with my characters anymore. I'm walking ahead of them, waiting for them to catch up, and rolling my eyes because they're taking so long/being dumb in the process.

      The whole thing with helping Barry on the Flash is confusing and I have no idea where to place it.

      According to the interwebz, "Rogue Air" takes place one week before Arrow's finale, so -- in the timeline -- it's slated to air between "This Is Your Sword" and "My Name Is Oliver Queen." Soooooooooo I guess we'll have to see next week if Oliver suddenly regains control from brainwashing or admits to faking it? Still, he's in the League attire in The Flash so I'm just really confused. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it pans out.

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  3. R'as did have a lot of villain monologue didn't he? I thought the interweaving of HIVE and Damian Darhk at that moment was unexpected. I thought it was really good that they connected him back to the unknown mastermind of plots from previous seasons but I was also confused. I know that plenty of people are theorising that Darhk will turn out to be Felicity's dad but I don't think the timelines match up well with what R'as was explaining. Felicity's dad left when she was about 6 right? Given Felicity's age that means her dad left about 20 years ago. R'as said that Darhk split from the League when they were both trying to become R'as. Does that mean the current R'as al Ghul has only been the R'as for 20 years? Or does that mean that Darhk split from the League a long time ago (How old is he?) and was already well ensconced in HIVE by the time he met Donna and Felicity was born? Anyway, that aside, it was interesting to see exactly how remorseless R'as really is. It was not a matter of just leaving his life and family behind (which he did to save them pain he said), to be R'as he had to wipe out his home and everyone who lived there. That's some scary stuff. So much for Oliver choosing not to kill. It's worse than that, R'as is forcing him into a position of mass murder. (So Malcolm's Undertaking was against the rules and got him in major trouble with the League but Oliver using a virus to wipe out the whole city is all business as usual? That's creepy stuff.) That kind of killing is something that R'as already did and doesn't seemed pained about at all. It seemed interesting to me that he counselled Felicity so gently last week but it seems extra evil now that he is basically positioning that same beloved man to kill everyone he cares about. That's beyond twisted. It's really not surprising that he treats his daughter so horribly. He's lived for over 150 years and doesn't seem to have much in the way of human emotion left in him. At the same time, I think he was slightly impressed when Nyssa stood before him and said she was no longer afraid. I thought I saw a little something pleased in his expression. Perhaps, right up until that moment, he was planning to watch Oliver kill her but decided to keep her around once she showed him her strength? (Oliver and Nyssa both looked pretty disgusted at the idea didn't they?) It doesn't sound like the position of R'as has been a hereditary one but something based on merit or prophecy. However, it looks like the current R'as is trying to create a dynasty (he doesn't care about Nyssa but he is interested in her blood) and he certainly wouldn't be the first despot to try to do so.

    Thea was amazing this episode! I particularly loved when she told Felicity that she could not be “handled” right now. If all this episode had given me was that dinner scene with Lyla, Dig, Felicity and Thea I would have called it worth it; that's how much I loved it. To see them interacting with baby Sara, to see them having a family moment, for Thea to hear that she was always welcome in their home, it all just warmed my heart. Thea has been looking for a home for awhile. She thought she found one with Malcolm after everything fell apart last year but that was a horrible situation and now she is really being included in Oliver's surrogate family. I wonder if Oliver understood how much she needed that? She was decisive and saved Diggle's life and she is soooo done getting “handled”. I loved all her interaction with Felicity too (especially the moment where she realised how close Felicity and her brother had been) and I am totally on board for a show with all the ladies all the time. The women really shone this week, including Laurel and Nyssa. And I always love to watch Lyla kicking some butt. She is so effective and smooth.

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    1. Anyway, that aside, it was interesting to see exactly how remorseless R'as really is. It was not a matter of just leaving his life and family behind (which he did to save them pain he said), to be R'as he had to wipe out his home and everyone who lived there. That's some scary stuff. So much for Oliver choosing not to kill. It's worse than that, R'as is forcing him into a position of mass murder. (So Malcolm's Undertaking was against the rules and got him in major trouble with the League but Oliver using a virus to wipe out the whole city is all business as usual? That's creepy stuff.)

      I understood none of this plot or why he wants Starling wiped out to begin with, frankly. I must not have been paying attention OR Arrow logic is becoming so convoluted that nothing makes sense anymore, haha. Same with the marriage: if Ra's disowned Nyssa and didn't believe her to even be his daughter anymore (which he did like, what? a few episodes ago?) then why is her blood of any real importance? I mean, I guess physically she's related to the Demon so... Ra's wants them to be bonded by DNA to build an entire new dynasty, then?

      Ra's' motivations up until the very end of this episode made a lot of sense. And then it became very convoluted, which is what I'm struggling with. He's been a rather low-key villain (which is fine because Slade was a lot to handle in the best way), but this episode really was the first this season to make me go: "... Wait. Why? What?"

      THEA QUEEN IS THE HERO WE ALL DESERVE. I love Felicity but I'm so very glad Thea called her out on the whole "handled" thing. I especially did love that whole Dig family dinner moment. It's clear that there's a lot of love between all of them. And even though it's broken and little, it's still a family for all of them. <3 I actually really loved that Thea ended up going to Malcolm because he's the only person in her life who won't handle her with kid gloves. And she needed that in this episode.

      The ladies really shone this week and I love that they all used their skills to save themselves and each other. Laurel is getting better at fighting and also she stood up for Nyssa. Nyssa protecting Laurel and the team was great and then eventually sacrificing herself. Lyla was amaaaaaaazing and Felicity ended up using Oliver's remaining love for her to prevent getting frisked and discovered with, you know, TWO GIANT GUNS ON HER.

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    2. I agree that at this point Thea's really beyond being handled, but it was sweet that Felicity was stepping into Oliver's shoes to try and protect her the way he would have wanted. There was SO MUCH MORE Thelicity in this episode than I was expecting!

      This whole Ra's plot is making me want season 3 to just be over already. It's all been too much. Anything involving Malcolm has been awful and not made any sense, and if something in the finale makes this all clear, frankly I'm going to be a little pissed. At this point as a viewer I'm beginning to feel manipulated by the writers. The relationships that have developed and changed this year have been great. Character development has been top notch. Basic storytelling? All kinds of convoluted. At the bare minimum Malcolm needs to die to satisfy the existence of any sort of justice and harmony in this universe.

      As far as Al Sah-Him goes, I don't care that he killed a LOA member, and I don't think whatever blood he sheds makes him incapable of being a hero going on. Oliver's already killed loads of people including people who weren't actively evil but maybe just kind of bad or doing bad things. I'm not sure if the writers have any sort of solid moral reasoning they're relying on to make the call for "good" vs. "evil." I mean, Oliver has paid for many of his sins, but some of that was pre-payment and some of it was paying it forward. Have we seen him go back to anyone he hurt and try to make restitution? Can you be a hero just by deciding not to do bad things anymore? In any case, whatever he does consciously or unconsciously here, it won't change my mind about him. Oliver is the protagonist and he's a damn good one, and my loyalty's with him.

      And that's why I could care less about Nyssa. She served him up to her father with relish earlier this season because she couldn't be bothered to Nancy Drew Sara's murder herself (and if she wanted Malcolm's death so much, why didn't she wait until Oliver wasn't around and then just kill him?). Yes, she saved Sara, but she saved her for herself, and then she attempted to coerce Sara into staying in a life she found soul destroying. If she'd really loved her, couldn't she have saved her and walked away. Or put her in a bungalow somewhere just outside Demon City for weekend visits? Nyssa's not an innocent, no matter what Laurel says, and Laurel was extra preachy this episode. Bleah. Of course, Lyla not an innocent either. She made the call to blow up a bunch of Suicide Squad members and lord knows what else while in ARGUS, an organization that kidnaps and waterboards American expatriates.

      Don't get me wrong. I wanted Lyla over Nyssa. But Lyla's her own woman and not a pawn here.

      I rambled on there. Basically, I think things have gotten sloppy just so we can end the season with a big BANG. The only banging I want now is between Oliver and Felicity (or maybe Thea and Roy).

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    3. This whole Ra's plot is making me want season 3 to just be over already. It's all been too much. Anything involving Malcolm has been awful and not made any sense, and if something in the finale makes this all clear, frankly I'm going to be a little pissed. At this point as a viewer I'm beginning to feel manipulated by the writers. The relationships that have developed and changed this year have been great. Character development has been top notch. Basic storytelling? All kinds of convoluted. At the bare minimum Malcolm needs to die to satisfy the existence of any sort of justice and harmony in this universe.

      You're not alone. I love Barrowman but Malcolm has been written as a MESS this year. I like my villains evil but slightly redeemable (LIKE SLADE) and he's been neither of those things. Ra's has been an underwhelming villain which is fine because he's so like, calm and collected. But if you're gonna make a villain that cool and level-headed, he needs to be written REALLY REALLY WELL. And I don't think Ra's has been the past few episodes.

      Can you be a hero just by deciding not to do bad things anymore?

      Very good question. Class, what do we think?

      I rambled on there. Basically, I think things have gotten sloppy just so we can end the season with a big BANG. The only banging I want now is between Oliver and Felicity (or maybe Thea and Roy).

      I think that's where a lot of people are at, honestly, if my Twitter timeline is any indication. I just want to stop feeling so confused as a viewer. Like... don't tell me exactly how I feel, but give me an idea that you all -- as the writers of the show -- aren't just jerking us around for the heck of it. At this point, whatever resolution we get doesn't feel like it'll be nearly satisfying enough to justify the mess we had to wade through to get there. And like, I don't HATE this season as much as other people seem to. But when there are bad episodes, they're especially bad. And for me, I just didn't like this one.

      Also: A+++++ on the bang joke. I bow to you.

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  4. I am glad that Diggle did not just turn over Nyssa to the League but they came up with a team plan to get everyone out. Nyssa is certainly not innocent but handing her over would also have been pretty bad. I'm not sure how they thought they were going to stand up to the League long-term but that is really the major problem this year isn't it? R'as al Ghul is a remorseless force with amazing powers of regeneration, nearly unimaginable skill in fighting and loads of loyal and deadly followers and deep resources. When you have a villain like that how exactly do you beat him? It won't be possible without some major destruction. Oliver and Team Arrow are crazy outmatched, have been from the moment that R'as took an interest in Oliver.

    As much as this episode was unpleasant I think it did some important things. We've gotten a much stronger Thea who is no longer content to sit back and let circumstances dictate her actions. We got some great girl moments. We got all of Oliver's relationships tested to their very core. We touched on drugs and mind-control again which is an interesting theme. We got to see a pretty nasty villain being all super-villain-y. (And of course, had to endure flashbacks that always seem to kill the flow this year even if they offer some info.) I'm satisfied if not happy.

    - I loved how both Laurel and Lyla mentioned how strong and important the relationship between Diggle and Oliver is. That relationship is precious to me and I figured the show was going to go after it and really strain it but I had a hard time watching that.
    - Boy, the League sure does like the tactic of getting to their target by kidnapping or threatening loved ones huh? I suppose if something works you don't fix it.
    - Sara being left in her cot all alone after her mother was taken was more upsetting to me than having Lyla be threatened. Lyla must have been going crazy with worry.
    - No Ray this week and I was so glad we didn't have to deal with him. He would have been distracting and out of place in this moment.
    - Thea finally learns that Roy is alive. She has been pretty messed up so I can understand why Felicity just told her.
    - On the other hand Laurel was keeping the truth from someone again in order to keep them “happy”. I love how Nyssa called her on that tendency. I wonder why that is Laurel's go-to move? What does that say about her character? I feel like that is Oliver's go-to move as well. The parallel was heightened with Laurel put a tracer on Nyssa.

    Well, I think a wedding between Oliver and Nyssa is fairly horrifying (poor Nyssa. He's pretty and everything but her stomach must be turning for all sorts of reasons). I will certainly be looking forward to seeing where they are gonna go with that as well as all the R'as stuff. Because it feels like a minefield and I really want the writers to navigate it well. Here's hoping...

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    1. I am glad that Diggle did not just turn over Nyssa to the League but they came up with a team plan to get everyone out. Nyssa is certainly not innocent but handing her over would also have been pretty bad.

      It would have been a point of no return for Dig, seriously. Also yeah: why does everyone on this show always have REALLY BAD IDEAS of how to do things? Next week the team is going to take on the League. Apparently. I mean, good for you guys for being confident and all but WHAT WAS YOUR END GOAL HERE? You all could have died.

      No Ray this week and I was so glad we didn't have to deal with him. He would have been distracting and out of place in this moment.

      I was happy too but don't worry -- he's back in the final two episodes, apparently. Routh was at the finale's table read and he's in the promo when the team gets captured in Nanda Parbat. Apparently Team Arrow needs all the recruits they can get (Malcolm, Katana, Ray). Seriously guys, just call up Harrison Wells or break all the metahumans out of the pipeline. YOU ALL HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HAVE PEOPLE HELP YOU. ;)

      I totally also forgot that Thea didn't know Roy was still alive. Whoops. I guess when you're almost dead and then Oliver joins the League, things get a bit lost in communication.

      Well, I think a wedding between Oliver and Nyssa is fairly horrifying (poor Nyssa. He's pretty and everything but her stomach must be turning for all sorts of reasons).

      DITTO. I doubt they'll get to go through with it though. I'm hopeful Team Arrow crashes a wedding, assassin-style. ;) Here's to hoping these last few episodes are on par with what they need to be. Thanks, always, for your comments, Becca!

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  5. Hello again Jennifer!!
    Wow, what a deep start … I never thought of it like that… but you are totally right, the “why” it´s really important.
    Well let´s start with the show:
    Oh my sweet Oliver… I was ready to pack my bags and go to NP to rescue him if they had showed 3 more minutes of Oliver´s torture… And Stephen is sooo good. Did you noticed he had the same face expression as Ra´s Al Ghul?
    I have hope for Oliver….. I keep thinking he is faking it all… Who is the one helping him transform?? Maseo/Sarab…. So…. If he helped him before why wouldn´t he be helping him now? Also Ra´s al Ghul was the one picking Sarab after all….. forgiving him for rescuing Oliver from a certain death and helping him escape….. so… if I didn´t see the logic last episode, I see it even less now…
    Because why didn´t he search Felicity? Because she is harmless? How does he know that, he doesn´t know her, right? I think he totally knew how everything was going to go, I am actually convinced he is Oliver Queen and he knows what he´s doing… Maybe Maseo didn´t give him the herbs and he killed that man knowing he wasn´t Diggle…. And he killed, yes, but it´s the lesser evil.
    Right?? Laurel had a super smile in the flash episode where she talked with Cisco to ask for improvements in her Canary Cry (modifications from her sister´s). And she was all the scene smiling a lot! I was really surprised, she was unrecognizable.
    Oliver marrying Nyssa was my first wedding option… Zero logic as everything Ra´s does lately… but from my point of view oliver is still oliver so I hope the wedding changes the bride in the last minute (although after watching next episode´s promo my hopes aren´t high).
    Totally! 3 flashbacks and we will know the same we do now….. and this story is rubbish! Total rubbish! Destroying starling city when he always fought to save it!? With the virus?? The virus that killed Maseo´s son… and Maseo is happy about it?? I actually laughed when they told that part…… Pretty unbelievable, really.
    The new introduction of the episode was awesome!!!! :)
    I hope you are right about Damian being the bad guy in this season finale….. because another kind of league of assassins during season four will be too much for me….
    I skipped a beat when I read Felicity´s father theory……. What?? But for how long has been Ra´s head of the demon?? Won´t be Damian too old?? (Although wouldn´t be awesome Damian and Ra united forces and married their heirs? ;) )
    Diggle and Felicity´s hug….. <3 Best part of the episode with Thea shooting Oliver.
    That´s all. Lovely to read you as always!! :) See you next week.

    Bri

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    1. Hello there, darling Bri! So glad you've joined us. :)

      I have hope for Oliver….. I keep thinking he is faking it all… Who is the one helping him transform?? Maseo/Sarab…. So…. If he helped him before why wouldn´t he be helping him now? Also Ra´s al Ghul was the one picking Sarab after all….. forgiving him for rescuing Oliver from a certain death and helping him escape….. so… if I didn´t see the logic last episode, I see it even less now…

      The "faking it" resolution would be really crappy because it would mean Oliver voluntarily put Lyla in danger and wounded Dig and deceived his friends just for the sake of appearances. But then again, the other alternative is that Oliver magically recovers from being brainwashed in the span of two episodes. So I'm not sure which is the lesser of two storytelling evils at this point.

      There's a good theory floating around the internet that Maseo has never stopped working for ARGUS and that he and Oliver are in on trying to recover the biohazard. I don't know the extent of the theory, but it would fit along with what you're saying. I definitely can't tell if Maseo is under cover and he and Oliver are working together or if he's just really gone to the dark side.

      Because why didn´t he search Felicity? Because she is harmless? How does he know that, he doesn´t know her, right? I think he totally knew how everything was going to go, I am actually convinced he is Oliver Queen and he knows what he´s doing…

      Someone also mentioned that when Oliver meets Nyssa who he supposedly doesn't remember, he tells her something she told him at the beginning of the season when she asks if he even remembers Sara. It seems like it's a tell -- that Oliver knows more than he's letting everyone think -- but I'm not sure the evidence is 100% there. I do think Oliver remembers Felicity which is why the plan of theirs worked: the only way it would have is if Felicity wasn't searched, right? If she had been, they would have been made. But she figured she could still tap into the bit of Oliver that was left in Al Sah-Him and his love for her and that it would be enough to prevent him from having Maseo search her.


      So to answer your question... I'm not sure, haha.

      LAUREL WAS SMILING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE CISCO. IT MADE ME SO HAPPY.

      I skipped a beat when I read Felicity´s father theory……. What?? But for how long has been Ra´s head of the demon?? Won´t be Damian too old?

      According to Ra's' story that he tells Oliver, Damian stole some water from the Lazarus Pit before he left. So my theory is that he did that, remained ageless, married Donna, had Felicity, and then fled for some reason. I HOPE I AM RIGHT. Who knows if I am though.

      Thank you for your comments as always! :D

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  6. Hi Jennifer Marie

    The back end of season 3 has been an interesting one and feels so different to what we've previously seen on other seasons and part of the reason for me is that the elements in Nanda Parbat with the ancient rituals and ceremony made it feel at times like I'm watching a movie like Indiana Jones or The Mummy (which I love as Mummy 1 & 2 are some of my favourite films).

    What I loved about the episode is that we got some wonderful moments between friends, family and loved ones that were a stark contrast to the cold and stoic figure of Al Sa-Him. I loved the Dig/Felicity hug, the cute scene with Felicity and Thea feeding baby Sara and everyone around the dinner table which even under the circumstances, fills me with such warmth.

    I LOVED the Laurel and Nyssa interactions, I think the writers really progressed Laurel further in this episode, I appreciated that even though Nyssa is not innocent, they were able to portray a balanced view on the conflict they faced. I think finally Laurel has found her footing this season, and hopefully they continue this way into season 4.

    It was also lovely to see Nyssa the person away from the LoA. I'm not sure what the future has in store for her, but I would love to see more of this side in Season 4 although I can't help but feel a sense of dread for Nyssa, her father has put her in a terrible situation and I don't know how she is going to come out the other side when the finale comes round.

    Al Sa-Him felt like a shell, there was an (almost) emptiness that Stephen portrayed brilliantly with tiny hints of Oliver Queen's humanity that were flickers of light amongst what was primarily a very cold being. I did not like seeing him like this, but hopefully whether he is faking or not, it's a temporary state.

    I should not be surprised considering how much the writers love to play with us but whenever I see a beloved character get stabbed, I'm like 'Noooooooo!' in disbelief, thank goodness it wasn't real. I think in season 4 they need to quit with the Game of Thrones-esque stabbing and move on, I don't want to see core characters meeting such a fate.

    The Thea/Felicity scenes were absolute gems, I agree with others that you really got a sense of the protectiveness that Oliver possesses over Thea with Felicity as well, but I'm glad that Thea was able to show that much like her brother, she is not able to just stand by and watch others get hurt without helping out. I'm excited to see her progression to Speedy, you know she is going to be a complete bad-ass as Season 3 has only shown a mere fraction of this girl's power.

    I've been keeping up to date on the wedding theory posts from the lovely Jbuffyangel (it's lots of fun speculating), and I really hope there is a top secret plan in the works. I'm still onboard for the Olicity wedding but I can't deny my heart sank a little with Ra's pronouncement.

    I can't believe there are only 2 episodes left, where does the time go?

    Sitara x

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    1. Sitara, welcome back and thank you for your comments as always! :)

      What I loved about the episode is that we got some wonderful moments between friends, family and loved ones that were a stark contrast to the cold and stoic figure of Al Sa-Him.

      YES. I thought this was so good and important. It was significant that we saw the team coming together, not fracturing, under the loss of Oliver. I love that they've become an actual family -- Felicity was going to stay at John and Lyla's home that night -- and have bonded over their love for Oliver and also their desire to do good in the world. It was sweet to see those moments interspersed with the cold, calculating ones of the League.

      I LOVED the Laurel and Nyssa interactions, I think the writers really progressed Laurel further in this episode, I appreciated that even though Nyssa is not innocent, they were able to portray a balanced view on the conflict they faced.

      I need a thousand percent more Nyssa/Laurel in my life, please and thank you, show. Season four wishlist! ;) I really did understand Laurel in the episode because she's constantly the stoic, stubborn one. She understands exactly what Nyssa means when she says Oliver's been brainwashed and she tries to warn Dig of the fact that the man they lost isn't the one who they'll be meeting on that rooftop. Laurel isn't an insanely optimistic person -- she's very logical and very realistic -- which I think served as friction in a good way for the episode.

      Al Sa-Him felt like a shell, there was an (almost) emptiness that Stephen portrayed brilliantly with tiny hints of Oliver Queen's humanity that were flickers of light amongst what was primarily a very cold being. I did not like seeing him like this, but hopefully whether he is faking or not, it's a temporary state.

      Stephen did a very good job at not reacting to things perceptibly. He's a very nuanced actor -- he does a lot of stuff with the flickers of his eyes or the raise of an eyebrow or the twitch of his hand -- so it must have been difficult for him to consciously not react or respond to things. Even his gaze had to harden when he looked at Felicity and usually Stephen has the kind of gaze when it comes to Emily that could like, melt the polar ice cap. It was really impressive to see him internalize everything and dial all those emotions back.

      The Thea/Felicity scenes were absolute gems, I agree with others that you really got a sense of the protectiveness that Oliver possesses over Thea with Felicity as well, but I'm glad that Thea was able to show that much like her brother, she is not able to just stand by and watch others get hurt without helping out.

      Yes! Jen mentioned in her review that Felicity treated Thea the way Oliver would have, but not necessarily in the right way. I loved that final scene with the two of them together and I love the fact that all the ladies in this show are finally starting to bond since everyone knows Oliver's secret now.

      I can't believe there are only 2 episodes left, where does the time go?

      CRAZY, ISN'T IT? Thanks as always for your comments and I look forward to riding through these final two episodes with you all! :)

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