by Chelsea Dee, Editor-At-Large

Unfortunately one of the things about watching TV today is that a lot of plot points get revealed early. There aren’t a huge amount of spoilers that are actually played out on TV, because we’re aware of things like an actor leaving a show to do other things. They like to tease it too, and Arrow did that by having cast members say awhile back they were saying goodbye to someone. I am glad that the actual person who left didn’t do so from death, because death is becoming something of a joke on this show.  The Lazarus Pit has a way of doing that. Arrow is at its best when it focuses on the connection between the team members, and some good old fashioned action sequences. The action wasn’t great in this, but I always love when we’re reminded of how much these people love each other. They are a team, a family, and the relationships they’ve grown together really matter. I wanted to shake Oliver a few times and go “look around you! Look how many people love you, and that you’ve caused that.” He often thinks the worst of himself and gets lost easily in that brooding, but he’s built such a great thing here. Now he will have his reasons for abandoning it.  Previously on Arrow, Ra’s wanted Oliver to become his new heir, but Oliver said no thank you. Ra’s doesn’t like taking no for an answer, so he tried to make the Arrow into a bad guy. Quentin Lance has become a bad guy himself, obsessively hunting down Oliver. Instead Roy turned himself in as the Arrow to protect his mentor. Also Ray Palmer is still around, hopefully not for much longer.

So I knew awhile back that if they kept the Lazarus Pit for later, it would be to force Oliver into joining the League. That meant there was really only two people that could have died to make Oliver need the Pit so much he would join them. I’m still confused about the time line with Felicity and Ray on The Flash. They seem to be back from their mission there, but did they really just flee Starling City for a few days? Ray was in a hospital bed and Oliver was arrested. Weird timing. Oliver’s problem this episode is that he wants to do something, but no one will let him. He’s figured out that basically both sides of his life are over. Oliver Queen is now tied to the Arrow, and the Arrow is now a public figure, even used by another man. He can’t go out as the vigilante again, at least not for right now. He’s grounded. This episode is about him trying to figure out what to do without that, and learning to let other people help him. He has to lean on his team, even if he’s not aware of what they’re really doing. I’m not ultimately sure why he wasn’t allowed to know that Roy was going to be rescued. But I did like what they did with Ray and him, so I’ll hand that one to him.

Ray is trying to be a superhero, but quickly he’s learning he has no idea what he’s doing. He relies on the suit, and much like Barry, he thinks that’s all he needs to do. We saw how Oliver told Barry he has to be more than his powers, and Ray has to figure that out here too. Having a super suit doesn’t make him a good fighter or a good hero. Oliver needed to get out of his own way, since he was resenting being pushed aside to rely on someone new. He’s not good at getting help. I fear this situation is going to regress him more, once he joins the League, but more on that later. There’s a metahuman in the city and  they need Ray to handle it. He gets his ass handed to him, which made me laugh out loud. But Oliver takes over his suit while he’s going, and helps him learn how to fight. Not just that, but inspires him to fight back, and how to look at the big picture. It works well, and I give them full marks for that, I enjoy seeing Oliver making bonds with the other vigilantes. Even the ones I don’t like. For Ray, I think he’ll be a lot more tolerable in a show with a team. He’s much more a Cisco or Felicity side character, great for comic relief, but not what I would want a leading man to be. He works well off a straight man. If he goes to another show, I hope they utilize him in that role.

Anyway Oliver isn’t allowed to go in after Roy, and then Roy gets shanked in prison. We’re led to believe, like Oliver, that he’s dead for good. This is one of those times when I don’t mind the show fooling us, because the main point of view is also being fooled. Instead he’s alive, but the Arrow is now considered dead, and Roy leaves town. Colton is leaving the show, at least as a main cast member, so goodbye to him. I really liked his character. He’ll be back for the finale. It’s annoying to me that Thea wasn’t immediately told, or that Roy won’t even go see her to say goodbye. They did that because they needed her alone and fragile for when Ra’s comes and murders her. This will lead to him offering the Lazarus Pit to Oliver to save his sister, in exchange for him taking over the League. It looks like they’re going to embrace that the Pit messes with the head of people who are in it, so Thea’s going to come out a different person. As soon as Roy survived, I went oh well, Thea’s going to die. It had to be one of them to get Oliver to agree, and voila. I’ve liked what they did with Thea this season, so I’m actually looking forward to where this might be going. I’m even willing to give them a shot with seeing Oliver as the League, because he can’t go backward now.

Overall this was a good solid episode. Good acting, it strengthened that bond between the main family, and it was sad to see Roy go. But one thing: screw Quentin Lance. I don’t know what they’ve decided to do with him, because he came off as more of a villain than the metahuman. He was just awful, and has been for weeks, so I kept going can we get rid of that guy instead. It’s too bad because he’s gone through some good character development over the years, but he’s regressed the most. At this point I’m sick of him and wouldn’t mind seeing him go.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Arrow Season 3 Episode 19 4 out of 5 Cast Member Farewells

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