Thea Queen I Can t Lose You Again
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How many different things did tonight's episode of Arrow need to be? Let us count the ways: Information technology needed to go along the conflicts prepare upward in The CW's ambitious DC crossover. It needed to rest non-Arrow characters within its narrative. And it needed to honor the milestone of the show's 100th episode. So how did it practise?
It hit a bullseye. Right in the heart.
Previously, on the Legends of Flarrowgirl crossover, the Dominators arrived to Earth. Squad Flash assembled the superheroes, including Thea, who finally suited up! Barry and Oliver stayed backside while anybody else went to save the president; the away team returned to go all Kill Bill on the two of them thanks to the Dominators' mind control. But Supergirl broke them all free and everybody (save Barry) was beamed upwardly, Scotty.
The 60 minutes opens with a callback to the Arrow pilot as Oliver sprints through greenery. But this time, it's on the Queen Estate and he'south going for a jog the day before his wedding ceremony. Inside the mansion, he canoodles with his beaming fiancée, a whole and healthy Laurel Lance. Oliver'due south chest is heartbreakingly complimentary of scars, burns, and trauma.
See, this Oliver never got on the Queen's Gambit, never cheated on Laurel with her sister, never endured the five years of hell we've witnessed. But, of class, this isn't real. Oliver and the residual of the captives — Thea, John, Ray, and Sara — are slumbering in alien pods, dressed in green pajamas. (Wait, the Dominators redressed them? Creepy.)
In the Arrow Cavern, the Arrowlettes and Cisco work frantically to locate their missing teammates. Cisco touches Oliver'south flavor i bow, hoping to vibe the location of Oliver and visitor — the heroes, not the cherished Disney cartoon starring Billy Joel. (Props to the showrunners for waiting v whole years to bust that ane out.)
He shows them on a ship — "a piddling Conflicting, a little Star Trek, J.J. Abrams-way."
First, duh. Of class they're on an conflicting transport; they were taken upwards in beams of calorie-free! It's unlikely they were whisked to an IHOP. Second, this is good news because Felicity and Curtis can employ the piece of the Dominators' ship Cisco has to rail them.
"Nosotros're gonna hack alien tech. This is seriously the all-time twenty-four hours of my entire life!" Curtis crows.
Back in the dream, Thea gives Oliver a pre-rehearsal-dinner gift of a hōzen, an arrowhead symbolizing reconnecting. And yes, information technology's the reverse of the pilot scene in which Oliver gave Thea the hōzen to symbolize their reconnection.
Oh, you thought that was bittersweet? How near when the Queen parents walk into the room, full of honey and praise for their grown children? "You're practically a completely different person. Yous both are," Moira says.
Save your tears. If you cry now, you'll be dehydrated by the stop of the hour.
Next, nosotros cut to Sara, arriving at the Queen manse and greeting Laurel with a huge hug — simply things are off. Laurel's canary necklace makes Sara leap as if electrocuted. Oliver hugs Laurel and is dislocated by a flash of her as she appeared in her hospital deathbed. The skyline boasts a large building with Smoak Technologies emblazoned across it, which doesn't sit well with any of the dream intruders, although they're not sure why.
Oliver brushes information technology off, though, and he and Robert take a heart-to-heart nigh Oliver's future. Robert's about to become mayor, and he needs Oliver to step in as his CEO at Queen Consolidated, lest Walter Steele or Ray Palmer seize control. Equally they debate, a thug demands their watches, wallets, and phones at gunpoint. Then a hood-wearing, arrow-wielding vigilante drops out of the sky to save them.
Side by side: Oliver bids goodbye to his old life
At the police force station, Oliver described the see to a peppy, presumably sober Quentin, who shows him a sketch of the Hood that looks exactly similar Oliver's sketch from the pilot. Oliver has another flash of wrongness, despite Quentin telling Oliver he grew from a rich, entitled punk to a human being he's proud to have as his son-in-constabulary.
No tears nevertheless, yous guys. Salve them. You'll need them.
At the rehearsal dinner, the Lance women enter, looking fabulous. Sara's introduced to Ray Palmer; we see flashes of their Legends adventures, only they both ignore it. Also, it would seem Sara and Oliver didn't hook upward in this reality, for those keeping track.
While the sisters are bonding, Oliver's made the bold decision to skip out of his rehearsal dinner to track down the Hood. He pinpoints the location and takes an elevator downwardly to what'due south basically the Arrow Cave, but with a large potted establish for ambiance. Felicity's there, alarmed at the unauthorized entry, and the Hood himself jumps on Oliver. It's John! With a vocalism changer!
"My name is Oliver Queen," Oliver starts to say, only the hostile Hood duo cut him off. John wrestles him into a headlock and grounds out, "No ane tin know my secret." Yeah! Yes, go on referencing the pilot, you clever evidence!
Simply Oliver insists he knows them both. Nosotros see flashes of John and Oliver's by, of John getting married and then killing Andy. "I think we've met earlier," John admits, lowering his hood. The same flashes happen with Felicity, and we run into Olicity meeting, kissing, false marrying. But John's not set up to believe, particularly when Oliver tells him John killed his blood brother.
"Y'all've got everything. Everything, human! Stop trying to throw it all abroad," John yells, pushing Oliver onto the elevator and dorsum to his perfect life.
The twenty-four hour period of the dreamland nuptials, Moira fusses over Thea, telling her how beautiful she looks, and Thea says she'due south never been happier. She then flashes to watching Moira die with Deathlok's blade through her breast, and it's upsetting for all of united states of america.
Besides dressing for the wedding are Laurel and Sara, both furious with Oliver for skipping out on the rehearsal. "You're lucky I'm non a trained assassinator or annihilation," Sara hisses as she leaves, with League of Assassins music playing on the soundtrack.
Once it's the ii of them, Oliver begs Laurel to elope with him immediately — the only thing that makes sense to him is loving Laurel and taking the task at Queen Consolidated. "And I don't desire to requite it up. I'm agape that I'm going to give information technology up," he pleads.
At this point, you're allowed to experience the first stirrings of tears.
And sure enough, Deathstroke (a.g.a. Slade Wilson) shows up to attack them. It'south a smashing fight made even better when Sara shows upwardly and runs through Deathstroke with a sword. "How did I do that?" she marvels, and I assume she's referencing how she didn't get blood on her bridesmaid dress.
With Sara'southward help, they realize the other dreamers are Ray and Thea and the all-incorrect Smoak Technologies building is their ticket out of this false reality.
Next: Thea likes it in dreamland
Speaking of Ms. Smoak, the team members in the not-altered reality realize they demand a McGuffin falange to work with the dilithium crystals in the conflicting tech, and said McGuffin can only be found with a tech-modded dr. named Laura Washington.
Supergirl joins Flash, Mr. Terrific, and Wild Domestic dog to take the medico down, although Wild Dog must starting time make information technology articulate how much he distrusts metas and aliens whose godlike powers don't make the earth a better place. Heed, if Rene isn't willing to let Supergirl, a.k.a. the nicest woman on the planet, into his centre, he's dead to me.
The modded doctor shows up with a laser arm and a Missy-from-Doctor – Who eyepatch to fight the team, merely Supergirl and Barry partner upwardly to save Rene and defeat the mecha-woman. Naturally, Rene has the fastest turnaround ever in his feelings about metas and aliens. It'southward rushed and sloppily washed, only the residue of this episode is so perfect I don't intendance.
Dorsum in dreamland, Thea and Malcom Merlyn conversation about Tommy'due south new job every bit a doctor in Chicago while Sara pulls Ray away from Felicity, to whom he's engaged. Equally those two talk, Oliver sneaks in, and he and Felicity share a curt, fraught look earlier his parents urge him to get ready for the wedding.
By now, Oliver's realized Laurel and Queen Consolidated aren't his life anymore, and he hugs Moira and Robert in an unspoken adieu.
Then he turns to collect Thea, only she doesn't want to exit. She's happy, and she says this life is real enough for her. Nothing simply pain and suffering waits for them in the real globe. Why not leave Barry and Kara to protect the Earth while they take this new reality as the reward for their sacrifices?
"I didn't make those sacrifices for a reward," Oliver says. "I did what I did considering I thought it was right."
He begs Thea to come up with him because he can't do what needs to be done alone. Thea refuses. "I can't lose them again," Thea says. "I tin can't lose my family." A crushed Oliver says information technology'south okay; he wants her to be well and happy. And and then he leaves her at that place.
You can cry now, if you want. Hold a petty dorsum, though.
Oliver, John, Sara, and Ray are set up to leave when the Dominators dredge upward villains from their memories to end them: Deathstroke, Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn.
Every bit they face downward this cadre of villains, Thea joins the lineup. "I had a modify of heart, okay? Like I said, I can't lose my family again."
And then we're treated to an ballsy, visceral mitt-to-hand fight. Sara gets her hazard to destroy the human being who killed her sister, Thea takes on Malcolm, and Ray looks a footling startled after shooting a human being dead. The highlight here? Thea shoots an pointer at Sara, which she catches and uses to stab Darhk, so Thea tosses the bow to Oliver, who takes down Deathstroke.
In short, the fight is fantastic. When it's over, the v are set to head out until Laurel shows up. Even though they all know it's all a dream, they finish to say goodbye.
Sara bids Laurel a tearful farewell, acknowledging what she'due south been struggling with all season: "Some things you merely can't fix."
Then Oliver gets his goodbye, telling Laurel he isn't the person she fell in dear with and she always deserved meliorate.
NEXT: Okay, who expected the space battle?
Look, I was never a Laurel fan, merely this was wrenching. The Oliver Queen who returned from the isle five years ago returned with a heart full of honey for Laurel. That the Dominators would attempt to exploit that makes sense, particularly in an episode designed to commemorate the previous 99 episodes.
In short, I hope yous reserved some tears. It's almost time.
In the Smoak edifice, the fivesome find a big shiny portal and step through information technology. Simply before Oliver walks through information technology, specters from his by appear to whisper to him.
His mother calls Oliver her beautiful boy and says she's proud of what he's become.
Felicity tells Oliver he'south not done fighting.
Tommy reminds Oliver he'due south a hero.
Roy says Oliver saved his life and gave him purpose.
Laurel says Oliver never gives up.
And his male parent says this is all Oliver'southward responsibility at present.
I'll just give you a 2d to reach for the tissues.
Back in the existent Arrow Cave, the squad realizes the alien tech is transmitting in a type of gematria, the numerology of the Torah in which each letter corresponds to a number. This allows them to crack the breadth and longitude, which show upwardly as negatives. They're boggled when they realize their kidnapped brethren and sistren are in outer infinite, and again, I feel like this shouldn't exist a surprise. They are literally fighting aliens here.
So yeah, the fivesome wake upward in their alien jammies and pitter-patter downwardly the hallway of a spaceship, where they run beyond some Dominators, burn down on them with alien weapons that happen to exist lying effectually, and hijack an alien jump transport that Thea activates past pressing the touchpad.
They cypher abroad but are immediately pursued by a legion of Dominator ships, and holy crap, were you guys expecting to sentinel a space battle tonight? The fleeing heroes are quickly outnumbered…until the Waverider appears to tractor-beam them onto the send and zip away, with a cheerful Nate Haywood waiting to greet them.
"This is exactly twice as many spaceships equally I ever idea I'd be on," says an nonplussed Thea.
Now that they're safe on the ship, Ray starts to think through the implications of what they just went through, and he realizes the Dominators were distracting them while probing their non-metahuman subconsciousness. He and so repeats a snippet of a Dominator phrase he heard them say on the send — because Ray Palmer is a genius and the best character in The CW'southward DC-verse, hands downwardly. I will beck no argument on this point.
Gideon translates the phrase to "We are nearing completion of the weapon," and the team realizes, to their horror, the mothership is on a direct course for World.
Aaaand to be connected!
So. Lots of Arrow activeness here, and not as much for The Flash/Supergirl folks to practice. Yet, it all worked beautifully. We become enough cantankerous-team activeness to make it a treat for viewers of the Berlanti-verse while yet forwarding the invasion story line — and honoring the characters, plots, and themes that have fabricated Arrow such a satisfying show over the concluding 4 and a half seasons.
Information technology was a tall order, simply the episode pulled information technology off. Now go hydrate yourself; you need to replenish your moisture.
Thoughts for your quiver
- Flavor 5 salmon-ladder count: 3.5. One for Oliver, 1.5 for Curtis, one for Rene.
- The best part of this episode was the palatial bathroom in the Queen mansion. Want.
- The 2d-best function of this episode was Curtis' disillusionment with the mean aliens. Poor guy!
Were yous satisfied with this episode equally part of the crossover? Was it a fitting tribute to Pointer's 100th-episode milestone? Let me know in the comments!
Episode grade: A
ARROW
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Billionaire Oliver Queen — under the vigilante persona of Arrow — tries to right the wrongs of his family unit and fight the ills of society.
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Source: https://ew.com/recap/arrow-season-5-episode-8/