S03.E23: My Name Is Oliver Queen

[Actionmage]

Just what the actual fuck, Oliver?  Not the being happy; you've more than earned the chance to be happy for more than five minutes. The not disbanding the freaking League of Assassins!!  The cherry on that sundae is giving the reins to Malcolm mother-loving Merlyn!  Who you just rewarded for... I dunno. I also believe you fogot to mention your best friend Tommy in the list of those that you can't forgive Malcolm for doing wrong. Unless a) you found a way to forgive Malcolm for that or b) the writers seem to have forgotten. (I am betting b.)

 

What the hell with Ray and that insane blow-out?! Even the big ol' P fell off.  I wasn't  Ray's biggest cheerleader, but geez!

 

At least Quentin and Felicity were on speaking terms again, so that was a nice thing. Also, as others have mentioned, Felicity using the armor to save Ollie! That was another wonderful moment. Thea having Dig's six? Priceless.

 

I was thinking that Ra's might have been the fourth carrier, but  then I realized he would rather kill an unworthy than potentially let this organization he never wanted to join in the first place fall into "disreputable" hands.  Disappointed that Damien/Damian Dark (another pretentious ass) will probably be the next Big Bad, as I'm kinda assassined out after this season.

 

I am glad that Oliver isn't expecting John to just brush past the lies and broken trust. (Unlike TPTB it seems.) I hope that Lyla can help him figure out a way back to being Oliver's friend. I was also hoping that Dig survived the episode.  Maybe Lyla and Dig can start a security company or detective agency and Aunt Thea can sit with Sara once in a while.  If a case had a tie-in to something going on for the season, there's getting Lyla involved, easy-peasy.

 

I'm guessing Oliver never made it to Coast City on Triton's Daughter. *g*

 

Laurel wasn't awful this episode.  I blame the whole 'you're drunk and a liar" argument on the writers. Not the time, not the place.Plus, you both are acknowledged hypocrites, so just save the damn city.  So, what kind of status does Quentin have if he can be superceded? If Quentin doesn't have that much power, why was he allowed to stop persecuting masked vigilantes in the first place? *sigh*  I was just happy to see Quentin/PB and that he was  the boss we knew he could be again.

 

I know Barry left because Reasons, but really? Saving a city over getting in Wells' face? ::shakes head::   

 

Mr. Guggenheim? Your pitch for us to come back for Season 4 isn't going to do it. The characters we care about will.  

 

There's more, probably, but that's it for now.     

[opus]

Felicity outing Barry to Malcolm

Felicity just said Barry. Lots of Barry's in the world.

[janeta]

So, I thought for sure Oliver was going to Russia at the end, but he got on a freighter from Coast City, right? Is it going to be pirated or something, or does he join the Russian mob in Coast City?

Or did I see that wrong?

Yeah, speaking of that: didn't he have to end up back on the island (in order to get rescued off the island..)?

Edited May 14, 2015 by janeta

[TwistedandBored]

The episode felt rushed. They wanted to finish this uneven season, set-up next season, and a spin-off at the same time which really didn't help the finale at all.

 

 

With that said, I still like some of the episode. It had great shining moments that made it look good. 

[pigs-in-space]

While I mostly enjoyed this episode, it left me a little worried about what they're going to do next season.  A huge shift can work, of course, but in the hands of these writers?  I'm not so sure.

[SleepDeprived]

So, was the first thing that Thea did with Roy's suit to get it tailored to fit her? Or is Colton just tiny enough that his costume would totally be a good fit on Willa? Loved Speedy's entrance, though. And Diggle's reaction to it. I am so excited for Thea in S4!

 

I think I would love it if the CEO paperwork went through and Felicity still ends up owning PT. It would be pretty hilarious, too, if a miniaturized Palmer was just hanging around PT next season, trying to get everyone's attention but nobody knows or sees him there.

[apinknightmare]

I think I would love it if the CEO paperwork went through and Felicity still ends up owning PT. It would be pretty hilarious, too, if a miniaturized Palmer was just hanging around PT next season, trying to get everyone's attention but nobody knows or sees him there.

 

I'm guessing what's going to happen is that he filed the paperwork but since he blew up his office (with the servers), she'll wind up getting ownership because her resignation won't show up in the system. But that would mean their little trip didn't last too long. :(

[statsgirl]

Thea is a fashionista, of course she'll get the suit tailored for herself right away.  It would be wrong to make her appearance in a baggy suit. But wow, did Oliver ever change his mind about her fighting fast.

 

Instead of Guggenheim coming on to say that the show will be back next season (which we did not see in Canada btw), I would feel better if he would assure me that it's still going to be about Oliver Queen rather than the Rag Tag Group of Masks and Costumes.

With the midseason spinoff to the Legends of Tomorrow, I suspect Queen Consolidated will end up back in Oliver's hands directly or indirectly. He doesn't have to be in Starling City, either.

Ray signed it over to Felicity in the last episode. She just doesn't know it yet.  And I want her to keep it because it would be so sexist to hand it over to Oliver.

 

 

Just what the actual fuck, Oliver?  Not the being happy; you've more than earned the chance to be happy for more than five minutes. The not disbanding the freaking League of Assassins!!  The cherry on that sundae is giving the reins to Malcolm mother-loving Merlyn!  Who you just rewarded for... I dunno. I also believe you fogot to mention your best friend Tommy in the list of those that you can't forgive Malcolm for doing wrong. Unless a) you found a way to forgive Malcolm for that or b) the writers seem to have forgotten. (I am betting b.) 

Handing over the LoA was Malcolm's price for helping Oliver take down the existing Ra's and getting them off his back.  Oliver couldn't do it alone and I guess he was willing to pay whatever price Malcolm demanded.  Poor Nyssa, I hope she leaves the League and heads back to Starling City to train Laurel again and have milkshakes.

 

 

Yeah, speaking of that: didn't he have to end up back on the island (in order to get rescued off the island..)?

There's still Russia and the Bratva to get through first, which I presume is where that voyage will end up.  Also he needs to start growing that beard.  Oliver said "when I decided to come back to Starling City" so presumably he will make the decision to go back to Lian Yu and be rescued from there.

[tennisgurl]

A lot of good in this episode, but I am still bothered by the Malcolm and the League thing. Why did Oliver let him skip off, to run this dangerous murder bunch? But, on the other hand, what the hell does the League even do? It seems like they just hang around, looking dramatic. 

 

I`ve gotten to the point where I don't hate Ray, so much as am neutral on him. Now that they have toned down his asshole creepiness, he`s ok. Ok enough that I don't want him to really get blown up. What was that ending? I know he`s fine, but damn. We get Oliver and Felicity driving off happily, while Ray apparently blows up, while the happy music still plays. Harsh.  

 

At least Quentin is closer to actually like an actual person again, not this pod person asshole who replaces him the last few weeks. 

[wingster55]

Not impressed. I'm interested in where Diggle and Thea end up, and hope that Katrina Law is made a regular in s4. But..meh.

Oliver just leaving it all behind for however long? Not a fan. Thea has no family.

[SleepDeprived]

I'm guessing what's going to happen is that he filed the paperwork but since he blew up his office (with the servers), she'll wind up getting ownership because her resignation won't show up in the system. But that would mean their little trip didn't last too long. :(

 

That's okay. Since the summer hiatus guarantees that we won't see Oliver and Felicity's 'trip to wherever the road takes them,' I don't mind having it be shortened. After all, pretty sure we'll get ALL the Olicity road trip fics to tide us over 'til next season.

[strikera0]

Malcolm is the new Ra's? I have got to admit I didn't see that one coming, but I'm glad that the real Ra's is dead and gone. That character has been an utter failure on this show. It just sucks that Nyssa didn't get a chance to take him out, but that was to be expected considering that she isn't the protagonist of this show. However, with the LOA storyline seemingly continuing into next year, I'm hopeful for an increased screen-presence for her character next season.

 

Oliver retiring from the Arrow business and giving it a real shot with Felicity was the expected end to the season. However, it's obvious that something is going to happen next year that will force him to put on the suit again and knowing that he still hasn't figured out how to be the Arrow and Oliver Queen at once, it's only a matter of time until he has another identity crisis and the melodrama starts all over again - just like in Smallville where Clark always only allowed himself to be with Lana when a loophole was in place (e.g. when he was stripped off his powers or Lana had powers of her own).

Edited May 14, 2015 by strikera0

[pigs-in-space]

Oliver just leaving it all behind for however long? Not a fan. Thea has no family.

 

Just because he's not in the same city as her doesn't mean Thea's alone.  I'm sure a phone call from her would pull him right back if she needed him.  

[KenyaJ]

Oliver still being 'married' to Nyssa :/ Well sorta. I wish this wedding never happened. Literally the most pointless thing ever. 

 

Not a single thing of consequence happened involving them that would have been different if they weren't married. It was beyond pointless and done for no reason other than to remind us that these writers are hacks. What was that MG was saying about knowing the fans are tired of plot twists, but loving them anyway?

 

Felicity knowing how to operate the suit was really questionable, but she was just so god damn adorable in it that I don't even give a damn. No but seriously, how does Felicity know how to operate that suit? I want webisodes of Felicity testing it out. For real.

 

Well, she spent all that time with him helping him build it. I don't find it farfetched.  Certainly not any more than all the other ridiculousness on this show. It was a totally fun moment, though, and one that legitimately surprised me.

[apinknightmare]

Just because he's not in the same city as her doesn't mean Thea's alone.  I'm sure a phone call from her would pull him right back if she needed him.  

 

Seriously. The guy has earned a break (and at least he's not running off with a mass murderer in anger - unless there's something we don't know about Felicity). 

[wingster55]

Where's he going? Does Thea even know?

[olicityfan25]

I have never loved Felicity Smoak more!

Go Oliver Queen. Diggle is the man!

They really screwed up this season by not letting Original Team Arrow be Original Team Arrow.

[MostlyC]

The guy has earned a break (and at least he's not running off with a mass murderer in anger - unless there's something we don't know about Felicity).

 

 

Now you've done it.  Felicity becomes Season Four's Big Bad and it will be all your fault!!!!

 

 

/evil cackle

[apinknightmare]

Where's he going? Does Thea even know?

 

I imagine he'll tell her once he knows. He should text her that he's on the Amalfi Coast, just for a laugh. 

[pigs-in-space]

Where's he going? Does Thea even know?

 

He doesn't even know, but it's not like he doesn't have a cell phone to call her with once he gets there.

[Whitley Trillbert]

That was so weird. Other shows have had bigger "gamechangers" or cliffhangers than this and they didn't feel the need to put the showrunner on camera to announce that the show would be back next season. At most, they would just have a voiceover guy saying "Tune in next Fall for more Arrow" over the credits. 

All the CW shows have been doing it for their finales so I think its more a CW thing 

[jay741982]

MG said there is more of a Balance next season so I'm optimistic there will be less angst. I kinda wanted a scene where Felicity told Oliver that he didn't need to totally give up saving the city but my Olicity shipping heart loved them being together driving off but I'm mad we won't see any Olicity vacation time

[Guest]

Malcolm as the new Ra's? CALLED IT. No but how gross that Nyssa had to kneel to the man who killed her beloved. As if being forced to marry a man wasn't bad enough?! Yuck. So much yuck.

[Chaos Theory]

Ok I think I might be done with the show now. I hated it with the power of a thousand firey Suns.

I only stick around for Laurel anyway(I know Major unpopular opinion but I like the girl, don't judge me!). Everyone else officially annoys me.

they just should have killed Oluver and been done with it.

Nyssa has no luck at all.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Guest]

Please excuse my shipper self but OMG how good did Oliver and Felicity look together on that sunset drive?! So happy, so full of light. Just perfect. 

 

I don't imagine they'll be away for long though. So let them have their little sex-filled vacay. I think they deserved it.

[quarks]

Ok, that was a lot of fun.  Incredibly rushed, and plot holes galore, but a lot of fun.

 

Good things:

 

1. Hands down most awesome moment of the episode: Felicity wore the ATOM suit that she helped build and SAVED OLIVER!  I may have cheered out loud. Also -

 

2. I have no idea how tiny Thea fit into Roy's costume, but she looked awesome, so I'll let that slide. And the Red Arrow/Speedy joke was fun.

 

3, Felicity wore the ATOM suit!  I honestly didn't know how badly I wanted to see that until I did.

 

4. Quentin and his resigned "It must be May." No wonder he's back on the bottle.

 

5. The Starling City News team was back! How long has it been?  Three, four episodes? It didn't seem the same show without them. 

 

6. Felicity finally brought Oliver a second cup of coffee. And then she wore the ATOM suit. And Oliver SMILED.

 

7. The early bit in the plane was actually pretty well done, although I laughed when I realized that the pilots were also wearing swords. Only in an LoA plane.

 

8. I genuinely liked Ray putting the lives of others over Oliver - for the right reasons. Bodes well for him on the spinoff. Brandon Routh also got in a couple of decent lines. I'm still not completely convinced that BR can lead that spinoff, but it's slightly more hopeful.

 

Also Ray got blown up which seemed to be nice nod to all the fans who have been complaining about him.

 

9. So, basically Malcolm and Damien Darhk are our next season's big bads?

 

10. Yeah, the bromance between Diggle and Oliver is pretty badly cracked - but at least they're still sorta on speaking terms.  So I will have hope.

 

11. At least this wasn't a complete redemption story for Malcolm. I really don't think the show could have sold that.

 

12.  Barry's cameo was hilarious.

 

13. Another Green Lantern reference! YAY!

 

14. Did I mention that Felicity used the ATOM suit?

 

15. Quentin's back to speaking with Felicity. Probably because it's May, but, still.

 

16. And, yes, Felicity in the suit - and since she helped develop and build it, I have no problems with her knowing how to use it. Fitting in it is another question, given that Ray's quite a bit larger, but I'll handwave that.

 

Questionable things:

 

1. Barry, seriously, at this point more than 20 people know your secret, and you're worried about Malcolm? This, after you teamed up with Captain Cold?

 

2. Really, your medical advice, with an airborne virus already infecting people, is "GO GO GO GO GO!"?  I realize none of you are doctors, but still. 

 

3. Flashbacks. Show, you have to do something about this next year. 1) Make sure you have an actual narrative for the flashbacks that can fill an entire season; 2) make sure that this narrative isn't interrupted by other people's flashbacks; 3) introduce whoever your main bad guy is for those flashbacks much earlier so I don't waste time thinking, so what's the Beastmaster doing here again? Who is he? While I'm complaining, don't leave me in doubt about this. I want another Fyers.

 

Though the scene with the little kid's ashes was really well done. Poor Tatsu.

 

4. I'm just going to go ahead and say that giving Malcolm the League of Assassins?  Probably not the wisest move there. I think this is going to end up biting everyone in the face. 

 

5. And why did Nyssa head back to Nanda Parbat? She didn't end up with the LoA, and she now has a life of sorts in Starling.

 

6. Did anyone else laugh that right after Oliver said he could leave Starling with this nice team of heroes, about half of them took off (Nyssa, Malcolm) or got blown up (Ray) or walked off (Diggle) leaving the city with...Laurel and Thea? HA HA HA HA HA. Well, at least Thea is there. Plus, this, along with Damien Darhk, gives Oliver a very good reason to return to the city in the season 4 premiere.

 

Bad things:

 

1. Ok, yes, Starling City police, we've established that you are the hands down most incompetent legal force in the country, probably the world, but seriously, your response to two men fighting with swords on top of a dam is to shoot both of them with high powered rifles, while, I might add, the rest of the city is pretty much going to hell?  Yes, I know that set up my favorite moment of the episode, hands down, and it explained why Team Arrow (well, ok, Laurel and Thea) are still needed in the city because these cops are beyond incompetent, but still.

 

Though kudos, I guess, for the show remaining consistent at least in this!

 

2. Sets, both soundstage and location.  Show, did you really just use your interrogation set as an evidence locker? And did we really have to return to the same locations you used for "Secret Origins of Felicity Smoak" and "The Magician"? 

 

And now, Laurel:

 

Once again, I started out with great hopes. She was nicely skeptical of Malcolm, and the look she gave him when he started ordering Team Arrow around was great.

 

And then...

 

Number of times Laurel managed to simultaneously fail as a human being and a vigilante, just one, but it managed to be one of her worst moments of the season, which is really saying something: With the city about to fall to a lethal virus and Ra's still on the loose and one of Damien Darhk's goons murdered and a situation in Central City so dire that even Barry doesn't have time to help out Starling, is this really the moment to yell at your father about his drinking problem? No, no it is not. I get that the show wanted to introduce this element for whatever reason, and I get that they really didn't have time later in the show to do so, but seriously, now is not the time, Laurel. Which brings it to two out of three season finales where Laurel has had a completely irrelevant to the main plot scene that actually serves to delay others from saving people. 

 

That both of these others just happen to be men just makes matters worse. I've talked on the Laurel thread about how this show has often treated Laurel as the uppity woman who wastes time arguing with men by claiming she can take care of herself just fine and then needs rescuing by a man. For once, thankfully, she didn't need rescuing, but the rest of this trope is still in play with her. It's aggravating.

 

Number of times Laurel just fails as a vigilante: One: Failing to do her main job - persuading the Starling City police that yes, yes, an actual threat to the city is here, something that Felicity ended up having to do. 

 

Otherwise, apart from later wasting time squawking "Nyssa, you're not inoculated!" (which I have to give her a bit of a pass on - the show hadn't had time to make that clear previously, so that was one delay needed by the plot) she didn't do that badly here - ok, she was of no help in the dungeon, provided no practical assistance to Team Arrow when they first arrived in the city - Ray, Malcolm and Felicity were more useful - but she did knock someone down later and made Nyssa feel better about her abilities as a trainer. So, er, that was nice. 

 

But really, the conversation about the alcoholism shouldn't have been in this episode - scenes barely had enough time to breathe as it is, and I'm including fairly important stuff like Flashback Oliver finally going evil and becoming the killer he was at the start of the show; Ray getting blown up and presumably really turning into the Atom, and Oliver reacting to Felicity in the suit.  All of those scenes needed a few more seconds, and like others, I kinda felt as if some stuff was missing - even with the extra two minutes and Guggenheim assuring us that the show will return next season. I would have liked those missing moments.

 

But hey, I had fun.

[apinknightmare]

Malcolm as the new Ra's? CALLED IT. No but how gross that Nyssa had to kneel to the man who killed her beloved. As if being forced to marry a man wasn't bad enough?! Yuck. So much yuck.

 

I was hoping she'd kneel and then stab the everliving hell out of him. WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS

[Guest]

Felicity totally became Pepper Pots and that was just AWESOME. Damn right she deserved that moment. She did help build that suit after all. Suck it haters! LOL.

 

 

I was hoping she'd kneel and then stab the everliving hell out of him. WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS

 

 

I KNOW! I would have cheered. I'm really annoyed about it actually but oh well. Hopefully she'll get her vengeance next season.

[SleepDeprived]

Malcolm as the new Ra's? CALLED IT. No but how gross that Nyssa had to kneel to the man who killed her beloved. As if being forced to marry a man wasn't bad enough?! Yuck. So much yuck.

 

I really truly wish they ended that scene with Nyssa refusing to kneel and just defiantly staring down Malcolm instead of acquiescing to his demand. I know she's probably just biding her time to fight another day, and will play nice until then, but I absolutely hated that the psycho murderer still won and got what he wanted. I like Barrowman well enough but the writer's/EPs need to keep him on the show already resulted in the worst, convoluted storytelling this season. Enough already.

[Lantern7]

Well, that was good. Sure, Malcolm Merlyn is the new Ra's, and the League of Assassins will follow anybody with certain bling . . . but at least Ollie and Felicity have a happy ending. And Ray blew himself up. I think Googs likes throwing bones at the fans every so often. I mean . . . Felicity in the ATOM suit? Nice bit of fanservice.

 

Would it be too much to want another timeskip? The status quo seems so good now. Oliver and Felicity are an item, Starling City is protected, and Malcolm will probably lay low while Nyssa plots his gruesome demise. Why take that away from them come September.

 

I think Barry could have taken the LoA in under a minute. Of course, with his naïveté, Ra's probably could have defeated him in half that time. Also, Reverse Flash is more of a badass. Oh, and Barry thought "hot tub" upon seeing the Lazarus Pit. Never change, Barry Allen.

 

Laurel didn't completely suck this week. Go figure. And if Ray survives, he'll be in charge of Almer Industries.

[Guest]

I really truly wish they ended that scene with Nyssa refusing to kneel and just defiantly staring down Malcolm instead of acquiescing to his demand. I know she's probably just biding her time to fight another day, and will play nice until then, but I absolutely hated that the psycho murderer still won and got what he wanted. I like Barrowman well enough but the writer's/EPs need to keep him on the show already resulted in the worst, convoluted storytelling this season. Enough already.

 

THIS. They really messed up there tbh. Malcolm set in motion the events of this whole season which I guess lines up with him being a villain so okay, fine. But he deserves hell. Thea, Laurel and Nyssa deserve to each get a turn at breaking off one of his limbs and making him suffer in inexplicable ways but no. Nyssa had to kneel to him?! So much gross. So much wrong. I suppose we can't have everything though.

[calliope1975]

It's finally over. 

 

I liked moments but not the overall show. It started badly because all I could think during Ra's plane bitch and moan session to Oliver was "old man yells at cloud." Such a disappointment as a villain. A lot of the dialogue was too cheesy for me. Normally, I don't have a problem with that, but it really stuck out this episode for some reason. 

 

Oh, Oliver, you beautiful idiot. I also hope Oliver FINALLY learns that help and friends are good. He's only been taught the lesson repeatedly. Maybe this time it'll stick. I adore Felicity, but hopefully, someday Oliver can figure out things without a pep talk. 

 

I'm cool with Ra's taking over the LOA, but that was bullshit that Nyssa knelt before him. She should have cockpunched him while she was down there.

 

Thea was adorable all Speedy'd up. I'd love for her to partner with Digg. That's a partnership I'd love to watch. And Felicity was also adorbs all Iron Manned up. I'm glad we got to see and hear Dig be told they were heroes because it wasn't obvious before. I c u MG. /rolls eyes

 

I was glad that Oliver got to feel some peace and happiness. I hope it lasts longer than the 2 minutes we saw. 

 

No kiss? W T F? Thumbs down.

 

I wonder if Oliver still has Akio's ashes. I hope Tatsu returns. She's a badass, and I like RF. 

[wingster55]

He doesn't even know, but it's not like he doesn't have a cell phone to call her with once he gets there.

 

True...I don't quite get why he had to leave town. For a brief break..ok

For good? 

[dtissagirl]

Hey, Oliver, you started out planning on sacrificial death via plane crash, and ended up happy and riding into the sunset with Felicity. Not bad, dude.

[Now if the ~lessons you learned~ don't stick this time around, a plane better crash on your head. Humpf.]

I can't believe they blew up the QC set. GOODBYE YELLOW ANIMAL PRINT ELEVATOR, I'LL MISS YOU FOREVER.

[pigs-in-space]

True...I don't quite get why he had to leave town. For a brief break..ok

For good? 

 

I don't think we were supposed to believe he's leaving for good, unless I missed it.  Even if he did, though, Thea is (was?  did they ever wrap up that plot line where her assets were seized a few eps back?) rich enough to fly wherever to see him.

 

ETA: Just so I'm not double-posting here...didn't Guggenheim say there would be two deaths in this episode?  Ra's is one, but who was the other?  The red shirt who killed himself to infect the city, or am I forgetting/missing someone?

Edited May 14, 2015 by pigs-in-space

[La Dee Da]

I thought this was a solid and generally coherent finale, with some "hell, yeah!" moments as mentioned.  There was some good mirroring - Oliver on his knees, on the verge of being defeated just like in The Climb but choosing to fight to live this time.  Felicity using the "you've become someone else, something else line" to encourage Oliver.  The dream references were also a nice touch - he was totally dreaming of her in the beginning, and in terms of Ra's' dream classification theory, he was dreaming the truth - awwwwwww. 

 

It's also a great set up for season four - the flashbacks are going to be so, so dark next year so hopefully that means a bit more lightness in the present day.

 

Any chance Ray transferred ownership (which seemed to be forgotten tonight) to Felicity and faked his own death just so he could screw her over and have her be found responsible for it?  Just a funny idea.

Having Felicity (and maybe Oliver. given he's dating the new owner of his family company) under suspicion of offing Ray and assuming control of the company would be a great way to bring them back to Starling.  That, or she and Oliver see a news report toward the end of the summer that "Palmer Technologies owner Felicity Smoak" is missing and they realize they need to go back. 

 

This finale didn't do  Katrina Law nor Nyssa any damn favors. Not only did her father humiliate her all season, but then she has kneel before Malcolm Merlyn ugh. I seriously wanted her to be the new leader of The League.  

She may have been kneeling physically but her face said she'd be kneeling on his pulverized bones next season. I was expecting Malcolm to offer to revive Sara in the Lazarus Pit at the end to gain Nyssa's loyalty.  Old Ra's was a disappointing villain, but the new Ra's will be a lot of fun, both in terms of internal LOA fighting, getting involved in the HIVE business, putting Starling in danger (in May).  I wonder at what point Malcolm set his eyes on becoming Ra's - at the beginning of the season, when he arranged for Sara to die, or once Oliver became Ra's in training?

[statsgirl]

The other death was General Shrieve in the flashback.

 

They only blew up the top floors of QC though. There are still lots of floors left.  I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow now that Ray's in trouble and Felicity's left town.

 

I wondered about Akio's ashes too. Did Oliver lose them in Russia? Poor Akio, of the three urns, only Tatsu has hers now.  But it was a very sweet gesture that she gave Oliver an urn too.  (Hopefully however the cremation went, it didn't spread the virus.)

 

When Oliver and Tatsu were talking about his father, Oliver said "If I was.....".  No, Oliver, the correct grammar is "if I were".  Stephen Amell should have caught that.

 

I'm pretty sure Laurel and Diggle will keep an eye on Thea, especially if they're all fighting crime together.  Diggle and Lyla told her two episodes ago that she can count on them.  And Thea is an adult.

 

Where's he going? Does Thea even know?

I doubt Oliver himself knows.   Although I'm pretty sure it's not a place where he can get an annulment.  But it's the first time since he got on the Queen's Gambit that he's been free and able to feel happy without responsibilities or expectations or guns on him.  However long that lasts (I'm betting till early October), at this point he deserves it.

 

They've left Oliver and Diggle in an interesting place.  Men don't hold grudges as much as women do so maybe by the time Oliver is back, Diggle will be willing to work with him again.

 

Why did Christopher Heyerdahl accept a role of only two lines?  Is he friends with someone on the show?

 

Number of times Laurel just fails as a vigilante: One: Failing to do her main job - persuading the Starling City police that yes, yes, an actual threat to the city is here, something that Felicity ended up having to do.

Ironically, this is where her authority as an ADA, and taking over from the ever-missing DA, would have proved helpful.  If  Quentin refused to listen to her, she could have gone over his head.

Edited May 14, 2015 by statsgirl

[wonderwall]

True...I don't quite get why he had to leave town. For a brief break..ok

For good? 

I picture him skyping with Thea everyday tbqh ;) That would be adorable. 

Webisodes I need:

• Oliver/Thea Skype sessions
• Felicity trying out the ATOM suit and testing it
• Oliver/Felicity being awesome together
• Diggle/Thea saving the day in Starling
• Felicity/Diggle calling each other and Felicity sneaking off at night to help him with tech stuff (tracking/hacking/etc)

[quarks]

Though it occurs to me that now I may have think back more kindly on this entire Ray builds an ATOM suit plotline....

 

AUUUGH!

[apinknightmare]

ETA: Just so I'm not double-posting here...didn't Guggenheim say there would be two deaths in this episode?  Ra's is one, but who was the other?  The red shirt who killed himself to infect the city, or am I forgetting/missing someone?

 

The general Oliver tortured.

[catrox14]

Gods, I just yelled "SHUT UP LAUREL"  At least the season finale kept that consistent.

 

I'm glad to see Thea become Speedy. That was fun.

 

It's so wrong but Barrowman and Malcolm were the best things in this episode right after Oliver declaring he's Oliver Queen.

[Guest]

I forgot to say how much I loved Thea as Speedy. Yaaaas! 

[calliope1975]

I hope those top floors of PT were empty, otherwise...ouch. 

[Jediknight]

I wondered about Akio's ashes too. Did Oliver lose them in Russia? Poor Akio, of the three urns, only Tatsu has hers now.  But it was a very sweet gesture that she gave Oliver an urn too.  (Hopefully however the cremation went, it didn't spread the virus.)

Here's hoping Oliver has the urn stashed away somewhere safe.

[Actionmage]

GOODBYE YELLOW ANIMAL PRINT ELEVATOR, I'LL MISS YOU FOREVER.

 

I think it was supposed to be honey onyx (. https://www.google.com/search?q=honey+onyx&biw=1269&bih=921&tbm=isch&imgil=eaSlpeTvBx8-8M%253A%253BrvjKo1bwFs0lZM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.creationhospitality.com%25252Fproduct%25252Fview%25252Fid%25252F1529700000%25252FHoney_Onyx-PUBLIC_AREAS&source=iu&pf=m&fir=eaSlpeTvBx8-8M%253A%252CrvjKo1bwFs0lZM%252C_&usg=__r1_-iFQVyQ0rEdx4yxJNfcEwdVk%3D&ved=0CEMQyjc&ei=5AlUVcrfKsOxyATWiIGIDQ#imgrc=_)    (I fell for honey onyx after a trip to Kerrville,TX where I found it in a boutique of nothin' but the stuff.)

[BkWurm1]

jay741982, on 13 May 2015 - 8:07 PM, said:

. Who called Oliver Hanging it up at The end of the season and driving off with Felicity? Give yourselves a pat on the back. My Olicity shipping heart is happy lol. 

 

 

So much to say.  First just a tiny moment to fist pump and crow about Oliver renouncing the life of the mask. Called it less than a week after the first episode of the season.  :D  Bet I won't be able to do that ever again! 

 

Technically I wasn't completely right.  He isn't choosing to be the Oliver Queen that he was at the start of the season but this new someone else that apparently exists because he's let himself feel.  Gives me hope that despite him repeating his stance about can't be with you and be the Arrow, he might just figure it out when/if he comes back as the GREEN Arrow.   Crosses fingers. 

 

And...no CEO Felicity, I guess? Or did he file that paperwork and it's going to come up once Ray accidentally miniaturizes himself and can't undo it?

 

Wait, I forgot he exploded himself. 

I assume he transferred ownership anyway.  She's just not currently running it.  It's terrible but my first thought when Palmer went boom was, "Hey, don't go blowing up Felicity's company!"

 

 

This finale didn't do  Katrina Law nor Nyssa any damn favors. Not only did her father humiliate her all season, but then she has kneel before Malcolm Merlyn ugh. I seriously wanted her to be the new leader of The League. 

 

It was nice to see Oliver happy and sunsets because we all know that's not lasting.

 

Thea looked amazing in her Speedy costume.  Now we can swap out Black Canary for her and Laurel can go back to being a lawyer or whatevs. 

Thea really did look amazing!  Poor thing though, big brother passed on her childhood nickname.  Hee!

 

Oliver was radically more accepting of her helping than I expected.  I suppose if Laurel can go out and survive, he figures Thea will be fine.  Not really trying to rip on Laurel, just justify why in the world he's being so zen about her putting on a mask. 

 

 

I only had a couple of gripes with this episode, which is great comparing to the other episodes this season: 

• Malcolm being the new Ra's? No. That should be Nyssa's position. But I suppose Nyssa needs to train Laurel? Or Maybe they're setting up Malcolm to be the big bad of season 5?
• Oliver still being 'married' to Nyssa :/ Well sorta. I wish this wedding never happened. Literally the most pointless thing ever. 
• Malcolm is still alive :/ 
• Why didn't they use Barry more? Also did anyone think that Barry is more likable on Arrow than he is on Flash?
• How did Oliver afford that Porsche? Is he being bankrolled by Malcolm?

 

Felicity knowing how to operate the suit was really questionable, but she was just so god damn adorable in it that I don't even give a damn. No but seriously, how does Felicity know how to operate that suit? I want webisodes of Felicity testing it out. For real. 

Yeah, I go with user friendly controls and she was very familiar with all the pieces and parts. 

 

The Porsche could be Oliver tapping into what was left of his mom's insurance money or Felicity bought it or they just rented it.

 

So, was the first thing that Thea did with Roy's suit to get it tailored to fit her? Or is Colton just tiny enough that his costume would totally be a good fit on Willa? Loved Speedy's entrance, though. And Diggle's reaction to it. I am so excited for Thea in S4!

 

I think I would love it if the CEO paperwork went through and Felicity still ends up owning PT. It would be pretty hilarious, too, if a miniaturized Palmer was just hanging around PT next season, trying to get everyone's attention but nobody knows or sees him there.

Ha!  This would be hilarious!  Impossible to do with a strait face but still!

 

 

 

MG said there is more of a Balance next season so I'm optimistic there will be less angst. I kinda wanted a scene where Felicity told Oliver that he didn't need to totally give up saving the city but my Olicity shipping heart loved them being together driving off but I'm mad we won't see any Olicity vacation time

Even if we'd seen them go on vacation in the episode last week, this week would just be them coming home.  If we are really lucky then they will give us one final shot of them on vacation before coming home.  And yeah all summer long lots and lots of vacation fics.  Oh the possibilities! 

 

Felicity totally became Pepper Pots and that was just AWESOME. Damn right she deserved that moment. She did help build that suit after all. Suck it haters! LOL.

 

 

 

Yeah, the moment Ray was all like "but, but, but" I knew she was going to do the Iron Man III save and I can't say I'm unhappy that they pulled that off.  Is that the "Love is in the air" thing they were tweeting about?  :D

Edited May 14, 2015 by BkWurm1

[BkWurm1]

True...I don't quite get why he had to leave town. For a brief break..ok

For good? 

 

Oliver wanted to go find himself, his new self.  Since Felicity already knows who he is, I'm sure she can help speed that along.  ;)

Hey, Oliver, you started out planning on sacrificial death via plane crash, and ended up happy and riding into the sunset with Felicity. Not bad, dude.

[Now if the ~lessons you learned~ don't stick this time around, a plane better crash on your head. Humpf.]

I can't believe they blew up the QC set. GOODBYE YELLOW ANIMAL PRINT ELEVATOR, I'LL MISS YOU FOREVER.

Was the lab the Palmer blew up the same set as where they were doing their temp TA headquarters?  It was hard to tell it being day time and all. 

 

 

 

I hope those top floors of PT were empty, otherwise...ouch. 

Maybe it was a weekend?  Actually, did it really blow up anything more than the windows? (And the P.   Welcome to Almer Industries, at your service)  That's just more work for Joe Johnson the Window Repair King, Starling's City's richest man!  (Hey, whatever happened to the Star City rebranding?)

Edited May 14, 2015 by BkWurm1

[Lady Calypso]

That was actually a really decent finale. Not amazing, but it definitely felt like a series finale, except for the whole Ray explosion and Diggle/Oliver tension. 

 

Felicity looked adorable in that suit. I am so happy she saved Oliver. I knew Ray would choose thousands over one because he is a good guy and has very little connection to Oliver himself. But Felicity risking her life to save his? Awesome. Felicity was on point with Oliver, tied with one of her infamous 'Oliver Queen stop being an idiot because you are worthy' speeches and many adorable eye-locking, hand-holding, touching moments. And them riding off into the sunset together? I was worried at first, but it was so, so worth it to get Oliver to smile...MORE THAN ONCE. Do you guys realize how rare that is, especially this season? Oh, of course you guys do! And Stephen Amell has a smile that just lights up everything and we need it more often next season, please.

 

Malcolm becoming the new Ra's? I wish it was Nyssa but obviously Malcolm would want something for helping Oliver and I'm not surprised it was this. I'll bet Oliver would have chosen Nyssa to become Ra's in a second if he didn't need Malcolm's help. 

 

Thea as Speedy? Super adorable. Roy would be proud. Speaking of Roy, can Oliver and Felicity please come back next season with Roy and a good cover story? Please? 

 

Diggle/Oliver spoke and had some time to talk! There's hope, guys! I was really worried about their friendship but I honestly think they'll be fine once Oliver does everything to make amends. Diggle still cares about him and I think once they get talking more, things will be better. 

 

So...I was entirely expecting some sort of cliffhanger, so pleasantly surprised we didn't get one. At least Ra's is dead and Oliver is most likely moving to Russia for the flashbacks next season. At least, I hope so because I'm really curious about his times there.

 

Well...Ray got blown up. That's gonna hurt in the morning, unless he did turn really small just in time. But...hmm...if he did transfer his company to Felicity, whose company is it now, really?

[statsgirl]

The advantage to Malcolm being Ra's is that it frees up Nyssa for either a return to Starling City or for the new spin-off. Also, Malcolm is crazy so there's room for more storytelling.  I don't know how Malcolm is going to be a regular next season as Barrowman tweeted though is he's away in Nanda Parbat.

 

I thought we were going to find out about Sara in this episode. I guess not.

 

 

Was the lab the Palmer blew up the same set as where they were doing their temp TA headquarters?  It was hard to tell it being day time and all.

It would have made sense that their temporary headquarters were in Palmer's lab since all the tech was right there.

 

Whatever "identity disguise" Diggle gets, I hope it's big and roomy enough.

[quarks]

Yeah, that was the temporary Team Arrow headquarters. Which is to say, between electrocuting Roy and blowing up Team Arrow's new headquarters just to make yourself smaller, GREAT JOB ON TEAM ARROW, RAY, though I guess I have to give you credit for saving the city with nanotech and helping to build a suit that Felicity could save Oliver with.