I do not feel satisfied with this episode. I don't even feel kind of okay with it. I think it was bad. And I'm bummed out about that.
Cons:
Let's start with... well, honestly I don't even really know where to start. The thing is, nothing about this season, or this particular conflict with the Ninth Circle, feels bigger or more scary than any of the other threats we've faced over the years. So the idea that this time, Felicity and Oliver are going to go live in a safe house "until the situation has resolved itself," just doesn't make any narrative sense. Dante was a weak villain all season. The Ninth Circle has no particularly compelling attributes. And Emiko?
So... she just dies? She was firmly anti-Oliver all season, and nothing Oliver did could change her mind. Then, at the last second, she is sort of redeemed. How? Well, the Ninth Circle turns on her, and she and Oliver end up fighting together against them. She dies in the fight. This is so narratively unsatisfying. It didn't feel like Emiko had actually made a choice to be a good person. It felt like her bad guy buddies had decided they were done with her, so she basically had no other option. There was so much buildup with this character, and then in the end she dies, warning Oliver as she does that the Ninth Circle will be coming after Felicity and the baby. But why? If the Ninth Circle has cut ties with Emiko, why would they continue her specific vendetta to hurt Oliver? And Rene. Rene had so much of a vested interest in Emiko, and that just went nowhere.
Laurel and Curtis both turned up so that the whole gang could be back together, but it felt super pointless and lackluster. Curtis and Felicity had a cute moment where Curtis tells her he's about to propose to his boyfriend... but Curtis and Rene didn't even talk to each other, and I did not understand how Curtis was helpful at all in the mission. Felicity was still in the bunker as Overwatch, and Curtis didn't suit up, so he was just kind of... there. Same thing with Laurel. What did she contribute that Dinah wasn't already doing?
Ben Turner is so not a character in my mind that I actually didn't remember who he was when he first turned up. I guess he's Connor's father? So... okay then? What a weird person to include here at the end.
And then we've got the flash-forwards. Still no answer as to what exactly happened to several important missing people in the twenty year interim. Thea? Diggle? Can we assume dead? I don't know how to feel about that. All season, I thought we were going to get to a point where we discovered that the flash-forwards were a splinter universe or something. I thought the goal was going to be to prevent this horrible dark future where Rene turns evil, Felicity and Mia are isolated, Felicity and Oliver never get custody of William, and Oliver never gets to raise his daughter. But now, it appears that... yeah. That's what happens.
Here's another thing - this show tries to manipulate you into watching the rest of the shows in the shared universe. Apparently Oliver made some deal to protect the multi-verse, but as someone who only watches Arrow and doesn't bother with Flash or any of the cross-over events, I had no idea that was a thing. So, the supposed end of Oliver's arc on this show is dependent on something that happened on a totally different show, with a conflict that has nothing to do with what we've been concerned with all season. How lame!
And what a dissatisfying end for Oliver and Felicity. Oliver's whole arc has been about family and legacy, and now, even if Oliver and Felicity find each other again, we know Oliver is going to die, and we know that Ollie didn't ever get to raise his children. That's... that's way too depressing. The narrative should have given him more than that, honestly.
The flash-forward had an end to the conflict just as lack-luster as the one with the Ninth Circle. Connor helps save the day, Mia is a bad-ass and helps blow up the wall, Felicity learns to trust that her kids can protect themselves... and it looks like the Glades and Star City are reunited once more, as the wall separating them gets blown up. Dinah, Rene, Felicity, and Roy are going to take the fall for what happened, to allow the kids - Mia, William, Connor, and Zoe, to take over and continue on the Canaries, etc. That's... great? I guess? But the future is still an apocalyptic shit-show, which undermines Oliver's whole "save this city" credo, doesn't it? Frustrating.
Pros:
The only things about this finale that I truly loved were the performances. The power of emotions coming from Oliver, John, and Felicity in particular was so spectacular that I didn't really mind that the scenarios underpinning these moments were annoying and lackluster.
We all knew this would be Felicity's last episode as a regular cast member, but the realization that it would be Oliver's as well hit me slowly, and definitely made me feel some feelings. Oliver's speech to Felicity as they said goodbye, the way he was choking back his tears... unf. Stephen Amell did such a great job. Also, even though it was short lived, the montage of Felicity and Oliver being together, a happy little family with Mia, making plans to get William back... that was all very sweet and gave us a chance to appreciate the power of their love.
We get a great moment towards the end where Team Arrow all puts their arms around each other and contemplates the future. Oliver's legacy is his team. That's a cute idea. But after that, we get just the Original Team Arrow - Felicity, John, and Oliver. It's adorable. It's weepy. It's sentimental. And despite all of my frustrations with this finale, I did feel the power of that. I hope we can see them all together one last time in Season Eight, but if this is the final send-off, at least they lingered on it, and made me feel the power of all that history.
So. Yeah. That's all I can say at this point. I feel bad, I wanted to like this more. All season I've been saying that I was worried about a satisfying resolution to all of this stuff, and unfortunately I don't feel like we really got it here. There were just too many things that felt lackluster and disappointing, and that's a real bummer for such an important season finale. I feel like Season Eight this fall will be more like an epilogue than anything else. I'll be tuning in for sure, but I'm not much looking forward to it.
5/10
Here's another thing - this show tries to manipulate you into watching the rest of the shows in the shared universe. Apparently Oliver made some deal to protect the multi-verse, but as someone who only watches Arrow and doesn't bother with Flash or any of the cross-over events, I had no idea that was a thing. So, the supposed end of Oliver's arc on this show is dependent on something that happened on a totally different show, with a conflict that has nothing to do with what we've been concerned with all season. How lame!
And what a dissatisfying end for Oliver and Felicity. Oliver's whole arc has been about family and legacy, and now, even if Oliver and Felicity find each other again, we know Oliver is going to die, and we know that Ollie didn't ever get to raise his children. That's... that's way too depressing. The narrative should have given him more than that, honestly.
The flash-forward had an end to the conflict just as lack-luster as the one with the Ninth Circle. Connor helps save the day, Mia is a bad-ass and helps blow up the wall, Felicity learns to trust that her kids can protect themselves... and it looks like the Glades and Star City are reunited once more, as the wall separating them gets blown up. Dinah, Rene, Felicity, and Roy are going to take the fall for what happened, to allow the kids - Mia, William, Connor, and Zoe, to take over and continue on the Canaries, etc. That's... great? I guess? But the future is still an apocalyptic shit-show, which undermines Oliver's whole "save this city" credo, doesn't it? Frustrating.
Pros:
The only things about this finale that I truly loved were the performances. The power of emotions coming from Oliver, John, and Felicity in particular was so spectacular that I didn't really mind that the scenarios underpinning these moments were annoying and lackluster.
We all knew this would be Felicity's last episode as a regular cast member, but the realization that it would be Oliver's as well hit me slowly, and definitely made me feel some feelings. Oliver's speech to Felicity as they said goodbye, the way he was choking back his tears... unf. Stephen Amell did such a great job. Also, even though it was short lived, the montage of Felicity and Oliver being together, a happy little family with Mia, making plans to get William back... that was all very sweet and gave us a chance to appreciate the power of their love.
We get a great moment towards the end where Team Arrow all puts their arms around each other and contemplates the future. Oliver's legacy is his team. That's a cute idea. But after that, we get just the Original Team Arrow - Felicity, John, and Oliver. It's adorable. It's weepy. It's sentimental. And despite all of my frustrations with this finale, I did feel the power of that. I hope we can see them all together one last time in Season Eight, but if this is the final send-off, at least they lingered on it, and made me feel the power of all that history.
So. Yeah. That's all I can say at this point. I feel bad, I wanted to like this more. All season I've been saying that I was worried about a satisfying resolution to all of this stuff, and unfortunately I don't feel like we really got it here. There were just too many things that felt lackluster and disappointing, and that's a real bummer for such an important season finale. I feel like Season Eight this fall will be more like an epilogue than anything else. I'll be tuning in for sure, but I'm not much looking forward to it.
5/10
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