Arrow (Episode 3x12) Recap

Tonight's episode of Arrow was definitely more 'Arrowy'. I'm so excited that Oliver's back in Starling City. I was excited for his return, but I was also very excited for the reactions and reunions.

This episode featured a Merlyn backstory, which was used to connect the fact that Brickwell killed Tommy's mother. I love that we got to learn more about his backstory, and I loved that we had a kid Tommy on the show. Tommy is still a character I miss dearly, let's face it. These flashbacks also brought a kid Oliver and my gosh, I loved that we saw some very young scenes with them. Malcolm wasn't always a big bad, but after the death of his wife, he changed, becoming the killer he is in present day. He wants Thea to be his 'redemption', but I find it very difficult to see that happening, especially since he's still going about things the wrong way.

I love how Lance can recognize that Roy is Arsenal, but can't realize that Oliver is the Arrow. I personally think he has his suspicions, but I want him to come out and say it. Along the friendship lines, I love that Thea and Roy still have a healthy friendship, even after their relationship ended. They mesh well together. Laurel and Roy working together was something I really liked seeing, also. Sin was back and her and Roy's friendship is something that I love so much. (I'm saying I love a lot of things, but I truly do.)

One thing I'm not too happy about is Diggle being on the sidelines so much recently. I understand he has his daughter and Lyla, but I want to see him back in action. I miss his combat scenes. I did love that he stood up to Malcolm in the alley. Diggle definitely wasn't going to trust the man who sent his friend to his death, neither was Felicity. Diggle and Felicity were the original three in Team Arrow. They know how Oliver does things the best. They know what he would want, and I'm glad the Team as a whole respected the decision to not team with Malcolm.

Also, it seems like there may have been a bit of foreshadowing, or at least I hope it was. In a scene with Thea and Malcolm, there was a line that went something like: "Only the student has hope for defeating the master." I really hope this foreshadows Thea taking down Merlyn, eventually. We'll see if it indeed is down the line.

The fight scene was massive. That has to be one of, if not the largest stunt scene they've done. And with that stunt scene came the return, finally! I should also mention, he got things under control so quickly, he stopped Malcolm from killing Brickwell, and instead he is now in custody. It was agony waiting for him to come back the entire episode, but I love that we saw Roy and Laurel's faces of pure joy that he was back, and the other reunions. Oh boy. Diggle's was good, he was happy to see Oliver, and Felicity was too, she even attack hugged him, which I loved, but the last scene between Oliver and Felicity in the episode, that was such a great scene.

Felicity and Oliver's scene held so much tension and emotion that it was just fantastic. I understand why Felicity's pissed off at Oliver. He shouldn't trust Merlyn, there is absolutely no doubt about it, but I also understand why he asked Merlyn for help. He truly thinks that the only way he'll be able to defeat Ra's al Ghul is by learning from Merlyn himself. Do I think that's the ultimate way? Not at all, I definitely think Oliver could do it on his own, but I understand. I also don't think he needs to defeat Ra's. The conflict with Ra's isn't his conflict. It's a conflict brought about by Malcolm Merlyn. I'm hoping he doesn't train with Merlyn, that he changes his mind, especially because of what Felicity said, but we'll see. Felicity saying "I don't want to be a woman that you love," was a killer, but like I said, I understand where both of them were coming from, and I think most of the stuff Felicity was saying to him is correct. He shouldn't be training with Malcolm. Malcolm's already done enough damage, but Oliver feels that this is his only hope to protect Thea, who, again, wouldn't be in this mess if not for Merlyn. This was definitely one of my favorite scenes between them. Those words definitely hurt more than that sword though...

So, overall a very good episode. I really enjoyed watching. I'm glad Oliver's back in Starling City where he belongs and I think there are some good Olicity moments coming up soon. Stephen Amell nailed the reaction he said viewers would have in a video that's somewhere on the internet (You can watch it here, skip to 1:55), so I'm sure the other reactions he gave will be accurate, too. Next week looks like a good episode as well, so I'm looking forward to it. We'll see what next week brings!

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