OMG Ollie is alive! Ahem. And other things. Let’s break down the last two episodes of Arrow.
In “Uprising,” Oliver made his way back to Starling City while the gang back home called up the troops (Sin and Tim, for starters) to mobilize the residents of the city to stand up to Brickwell’s attempted takeover of the Glades. They all square off, while Malcolm flashes back to how he became who he is now after his wife died, and he learns, he killed the wrong man and that Brickwell was her murderer.
Everybody’s big “we won!” moment is overshadowed by the Arrow’s triumphant return, where he commends them all and tells them he’s back for good. Then Oliver goes on an apology tour to see Thea, and then his crew. Felicity’s first response of being thrilled is quickly muted when he tells them he’s throwing in with Malcolm. She essentially tells him that she doesn’t want to be a woman he loves, because none of them have fared very well for doing so.
Sin also drops a hint on Quentin that the Canary running around town is not Sara.
In “Canaries,” Laurel and Oliver come to loggerheads over her wearing the Canary costume, until she tells him to butt the hell out. She also dodges her dad’s questions about Sara. Then she’s dosed with Zytle’s drug and starts unraveling as she’s confronted by her dad and Sara. When she collapses and is rushed to the lair, Felicity tells her to stop trying to be Sara, and just be herself.
Oliver decides to go against everyone’s advice and tell Thea he is the Arrow, and she’s surprisingly chill about the whole thing. She’s less chill when she learns that Malcolm knew and that he kept her away from Oliver. They never quite broach the topic that he programmed her to kill Sara.
When Thea stumbles in as they’re working on Laurel, Oliver yells at her to leave, and then Felicity and Roy yell at him that they’re not taking orders from him anymore, per se, and it’s a whole new Arrow democracy. Oliver has to chew on that a bit. Thea decides she’s over the drama and takes Chase home for a quickie. Afterward, he tries to kill her and Roy and Malcolm intervene and Chase suicides.
Malcolm tells Thea and Oliver they will need to face their darkest fears to defeat the LoA, so they end the episode heading off on a quest to Lian Yu.
Back at the station, Laurel comes to see Quentin and stumbles over trying to tell him the truth, and he says he knows she’s been the Canary of late. She rambles about not wanting to tell him because of his health but she has to tell him, and he realizes what she’s saying to him. They both crumple into sobs as they hug. Finally!
There’s also a throwaway scene at the end of Amanda driving with Oliver and Maseo back into Starling City on a mission during his gap years. Dun dun dun!
I’m very glad that Sara’s death and Oliver’s ID are out in the open. I just hope they don’t have Quentin falter now that he knows the truth — and despite his protestation that he doesn’t need to know the Arrow’s ID, I want him to know now because his daughter is running with that crew.
As for Thea, I think there’s something else maybe going on there, because some of her reaction to Oliver’s reveal was a little juvenile (as in young, not immature) and less a reaction of someone who is close to equal. She gets in one tease that she nearly handed him his ass, but she’s more of a little sister in response, instead of a fellow soldier, if that makes sense, so I’m tentative that perhaps she’s been programmed by Malcolm to do something else. Just a vibe — I have no spoilers.
Either way, I’m all for the truthiness. And I’m curious to see how long the Arrow democracy holds. Also curious about pics of Ray and Felicity from “Canaries” posted on the CW site from a scene that was not actually in the episode (or was cut from my CW feed, which is entirely possible — if it aired for you, hit me up on the details in the comments!).
Here’s a sneak peek of tomorrow’s new episode — they’re going a week longer than the rest of the CW pre-hiatus, so we have a new one this week and next week. Here’s a sneak peek of “The Return.”
Photo and Video Courtesy of The CW.