Arrow: Reset (8x06)

Oh, I have feelings about this. Oliver my sweet precious hero friend.

Cons:

The idea that the Monitor has just been testing Oliver to get him ready for his final mission is... kind of silly? I don't know. Is this just me? It feels like what's really going on here is that they had to fill out a whole season, but needed to tread water until the actual "Crisis" plot thread could take over.

Pros:

This episode felt like old-school Arrow in a way I really admired. Oliver having to balance his public image as an important figure in his community, with his vigilante identity. Oliver going to a glitzy event and then having to don the suit to stop some bad guys. Oliver getting advice and help from his trusty side-kicks, but also learning a humbling lesson about his own limits. All very early-season vibes, in a way I really appreciated.

This is a Groundhog Day episode, where Oliver is stuck in a time loop that seems to reset when Quentin Lance is killed. Turns out, Laurel is also in the same loop. This is a pretty standard setup, but one thing I really liked about it is that first Lance, and then Diggle, both believe Oliver right away when they're told what's going on. As they both point out, their lives are crazy, and include time travel and resurrections and all sorts of bizarre crap. Why shouldn't they believe Oliver in this situation? They both have reason to trust him on something like this.

I also liked how close this world was to Oliver's own reality. He doesn't wake up in a completely different set of circumstances. Mia, William, and Connor are still here. Lyla still admits to having them taken down with tranquilizer darts. It's just... a couple of days are blank for Oliver. Everyone else is acting like things are business as usual. I like that. It adds a hint of unease to everything, as we're not clear on what exactly is real and what is part of the loop. Things are just off-kilter, not totally fantastical.

Lyla's role in events is still sort of baffling to me, even after this episode tried to clear up her motivations a bit. But honestly, I don't mind that. I like the tension of Diggle's wife being tied up in everything in such a sinister way. At the same time, we have the understanding that Lyla is doing what she thinks is best, to prepare Oliver for the work ahead of him. It can't be about what's best for Oliver as a person. It's got to be what's best to prevent the Crisis. That's a fun conflict to explore.

Diggle was mostly side-lined here, but I enjoyed that when Oliver told him about the time loop, he got right on board and actually offered good advice. Oliver commends him for always knowing what to say, and that feels so true to their bond.

Quentin Lance, be still my beating heart! He's a character who I never fully appreciated until he was gone, and seeing him here reminded me of how much I dearly loved him. He's a no-nonsense kind of guy, willing to think things through logically and accept reality even when it sucks. I liked that he was pretty accepting of his fate. He died saving his daughter. What better way for him to go? His support of Laurel and Oliver in this episode was really sweet. It makes me fully appreciate how far this show has come. Laurel and Oliver are obviously not a romantic prospect at this point, and Quentin is no longer chasing down the Hood and trying to put a stop to vigilantism. These relationships have changed so much over the years, and it's fun to be reminded of that.

Oh, Laurel. I love Earth Two Laurel. It took me a long, long time to get there with her character, because I couldn't quite understand what they were trying to do with her. But this, seeing her get the catharsis of finally saying goodbye to Quentin Lance, of getting to tell her (sort of) father how much she cared for him... that really had me tearing up, let me tell ya. I love that Laurel has chosen to be a hero, but that it's not a natural position for her to fall into. For all of the crap that Oliver has done, he still slots into that "hero" role a lot better than Laurel does. And yet she's fighting for it, and it's working. Go Laurel!

I appreciate how the kids - Mia, William, and Connor - acted as something of a touchstone for Oliver. Each time he woke up at the beginning of a loop, they were there, a reminder of what he's fighting for. And as the episode ends, Laurel and Oliver wake up for real, out of the loop, and find themselves, along with the kids, on Lian Yu. This should prove... interesting!

That's all I've got for now. This final season of Arrow has had quite a few high points, but there's also been a lot of drag. I appreciate this episode for giving us some nostalgia and also solidifying Oliver's goals a bit more than they have been all season.

8/10