‘Arrow’ season 3, episode 20 review: The Olicity moment and the mask
Tonight, “Arrow” aired the latest in what is now a series of game-changing episodes, and what “The Fallen” did for the most part was give us entertainment, but also great emotion despite very little when it comes to the element of surprise.
Had we not known that the Oliver / Felicity hookup was coming, then we probably would have cheered and danced around even more than we did. It was a watershed moment for the two, and it did make some sense in context. This was not the two letting loose years of repressed sexual tension so much as it was them having a chance to spend one last night with each other. As a consequence of bringing Thea back and reviving her via the Lazarus Pit, Oliver had to agree to become the Heir to the Demon. He chose the role, and despite whatever protests put upon him by Felicity, he did not want to run from that agreement. He knew what the consequences could be.
There were a variety of powerful scenes that took place at Nanda Parbat, whether it be Diggle telling Maseo to start acting like Maseo again and not the cold, calculated man he has become, or Felicity and Ra’s having a surprisingly decent heart to heart in which he told her to go off and confess her feelings. Granted, he probably did not expect her to try to drug him in an effort to get him out of there along with his newly-revived sister, who really had no clue where she was.
The entire sequence played out as it should, since it would be too easy to have Oliver to escape now. He has to grow content at least for the time being with the idea that he is now in this position, and he also have to find a way to forgot most of the past in order to embrace the present. Painful stuff, for sure, but he advised Felicity and Diggle to move on and be happy. Thea now has Malcolm to care for her … which, to be fair, is probably just about as bad as actually being dead.
As for the flashbacks, the bioweapon was released. We are not sure entirely how much more needs to be said about it, since they remain the least entertaining part of the show.
Save for that part of the story and maybe how there always seems to be a fire on at Thea’s place, this was a great episode where a heck of a lot happened. It did not try to wrap up the story, and instead mostly got our characters in a situation that looks near impossible to get out of. Watching Oliver put on that assassin’s mask at the end of the episode tells us there’s still much to come. Grade: A-.
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