Jessie Robertson reviews the nineteenth episode of Arrow season 3…
This season has been all about identity. Oliver is the one struggling with this concept more than anyone, and that’s been at the heart of this season. Oliver repeats the mantra told to him by Ra’s earlier this season to Felicity that “a man cannot go by two names.” But by the end of this episode, he’s left without any. The interesting revelation is that he’s taking things much harder than when Oliver Queen was disreputed and Queen Consolidated was taken from him. Now, the Arrow is gone. Only Felicity is able to say those words to him, as he can’t even say them to himself, but no matter what happens after this, he can never go back. He must become “someone else, something else,” as the show states in its opening.
So, we go back to identity: Oliver was Oliver Queen and the Arrow (with a 3rd option as the Demon’s Head) but now none of those are viable for him. Roy was Arsenal, but now he’s the Arrow but he takes on this new-found role with much strength and a ton of conviction. He’s not afraid, he’s steadfast, so when Thea visits him in jail, he pushes her away and isn’t afraid to do so like he was when Slade Wilson had invaded Starling City with his jacked up thug army. His scenes here are some of his best, and surprised even me, how much he had grown as a character on the show. When he brings up the officer’s name he killed and his family, it’s a storyline that was mentioned, but not dealt with majorly but you can see this character has been sitting with that all this time and the weight of it all came through in that talk with Lance. Then we see by the end of the episode, he must find a new identity; as Oliver states, “What happens to Roy Harper?” Well, again, that person is gone and he must start anew. I want to hope, and think that seeing how Roy dealt with this change, this life-altering moment, it gave Oliver some clarity and inspiration to not fear adopting a new name himself.
Felicity also struggles with her own identity but in a much smaller way, as she doesn’t know if she’s Ray’s girlfriend or Oliver’s. There’s no doubt her and Ray are perfect for each other, but we all know the cliche saying “the heart wants what the heart wants,” and even Ray can see Felicity has never let go of the spark she holds for Oliver. And with her unequivocally stating that the Arrow is gone, the thing that kept them apart, what is to stop them from giving it another go? And she doesn’t tell anyone else that, it’s only her and Oliver apart of that conversation. When Ray is getting pummeled by the meta-human and Oliver is watching over her, she’s freaking out and he comments that is that how she behaves when he’s out there. She replies there’s no answer to that that doesn’t get me in trouble. The sparks are coming back and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ray leave Starling and Felicity and Oliver to end up back together before season’s end.
In other goings-on, Thea’s dead. Well, for now. There were so many swerves in this episode, you felt like you were being Punk’d. I think it’s almost going to be a rite of passage to be killed and then be brought back on this show. And tonight we had 2 deaths! Even though one was shown to be a hoax within 5 minutes, and the other was spoiled in the preview (but if you have been following the season closely, you knew where Thea’s quick and out of nowhere slaying was leading to.) Oliver’s been dead, Merlyn’s died, and I don’t know how the hell Waller survived her wound when we last check in with her. You can use these tricks a handful of times but the punch is weakened with each occasion; just like in normal comic books, characters die and always come back and it’s a bit boring at this point. Thea’s death, while gruesome and brutal, didn’t hit in the gut like Moira’s or Oliver’s earlier in the season, but it’s a plot device to bring us one step closer to our finale which obviously involves Ra’s and the League and what its future is.
Other Notes:
– A weird episode where the Atom (Ray) was the hero of the show; in fact, Oliver didn’t dress in Arrow garb once!
– That’s because Lance confiscated the whole freakin Arrow Cave! That was a good scene, even if it ultimately leads nowhere, as Felicity had already stashed some of Ollie’s more treasured keepsakes somewhere else.
– Villain of the week: Deathbolt (named by Ray; Cisco-approved), a scrawny dude who can absorb energy and shoot sick plasma bolts at people. It should be noted this was the first “meta-human” to go after the Arrow crew. And, even more significantly, it should be noted he was not in Central City when the particle accelerator went Ka-Blooey, so he got his powers elsewhere.
– And where was Deathbolt (aka Jake Simmons); Opal City- home of Starman
– Felicity was on tonight, from her raging hormones when Ray was science talking everyone to again, being the crux of her group, holding it together with impassioned speeches. But, girlfriend is DUMB for going out to that power station by herself!
****Before we go, a goodbye to Colton Haynes (Arsenal/Roy Harper) , at least for now. We will miss your random spinning and jumping during fight scenes.
Jessie Robertson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&v=pnc360pUDRI
Originally published April 16, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
