Arrow (Episode 3x15) Recap

Based on Stephen Amell's fan impersonation reaction being "What, what?" I was very excited for tonight's episode. Unfortunately, it was the last episode before a short hiatus, but it was the catalyst to big things to come. So much happened, so this is a long one. (Spoilers ahead)

Diggle stood up to Malcolm in the beginning, which I enjoyed seeing because he wasn't going to act like he was okay with him being there. Thea also turned Malcolm over to the League in this episode, which was interesting to see the reactions to. Oliver seemed to be the most against it, which wasn't a surprise. His reason for wanting Malcolm back is to not have Thea go through the pain when she realized the severity of what she did and how she would have basically killed her father. I want Malcolm gone as much as Felicity and Laurel, but for Thea to turn him over isn't the best way.

I will always love Roy and Thea scenes. I've said it before, but I'm so glad their bond is still strong and they still talk to each other about things. They have a lot of the same experiences and I'm glad that they shared their feelings about what they both went through since they were similar.

Also, Ray Palmer looks really good with a little bit of scruff. He should keep it. I've grown to no longer be skeptical of his character, but I do disagree with some of the things he says or does, but I'm no longer as against him and I may have seemed to previously be. There's more on him during this episode a little bit further in the post.

I like that Thea told Laurel. Sooner or later, she needed to know. I understand why Oliver wanted it kept from her, but Laurel understood and that was important. I don't think it lessened her guilt, but it was important for her to gain Laurel's understanding. Laurel approaching Oliver about it and him lying didn't end in the best of ways. I completely get why he did, he didn't want to drag someone else into the mess of things, but she did deserve to know. However, I will say that Laurel going after Malcolm for revenge was an entirely bad idea because she in no way could have beaten him. but the League showed up and they ended up taking care of things. I do understand her want for revenge, I probably would have wanted to do the same thing.

Every woman in Oliver's life is against him working with Malcolm, which is completely understandable and true, he shouldn't be working with Malcolm. He needs to realize that for himself, and I don't know when that will come, but I feel like he definitely will. With his mindset right now, I get why he feels like he needs to work with Malcolm, but everyone else, even myself, find that he can do this on his own. Oliver needs to learn to listen to more of what Felicity's saying because she ultimately wants to help him get out of the mental state he's in, but I do like that we've seen some tension between their opinions. It's important to their relationship, even if it isn't in the greatest of states right now. Actually, everyone voiced their opinions about him going to 'rescue' Merlyn, and I think that that scene was extremely important because no one was fully on board. Thea losing Oliver instead of Merlyn would be much worse.

The Diggle, Lyla, and baby Sara scene was something I loved seeing again. I missed seeing the Diggle family. Diggle was also going to ask Oliver for a favor, but didn't have the opportunity to yet. I like that he was stern and told Oliver that he was going with him to Nanda Parbat. He wasn't asking to go with him and Oliver knew that Diggle was going to go with him no matter what he said. I missed seeing Diggle and Oliver team up out in the field, so to see them fighting in Nanda Parbat together was really nice to see again. I love their friendship. There was more to Oliver going there, though. He didn't want to keep reliving the fall. He wanted to be able to beat Ra's. And although they were in chains being held captive, Diggle finally got to ask him for that favor: if Oliver would be his best man at his wedding. Oliver isn't just his friend, he's like a brother to him. Their friendship is so important to the show. I need more scenes between them.

Ray and Felicity scenes this episode were pretty important ones. Oliver just put himself into a very dangerous situation by going to Nanda Parbat and she went to Ray's. In a way, I feel like she did because she knew she wasn't going to have any chance at saving Oliver because he wasn't listening to her, so she went to someone she could help and who would listen to her instead. Felicity Smoak is a human being with feelings. I understand why she kissed Ray. I understand why she slept with Ray. Does that mean I agree with it? No, but like I said, she has some feelings towards him and it just happened to be that it came out during this episode. Who am I to say what she did was wrong? It wasn't. There was nothing wrong about it. One thing I didn't like was the fact that Ray left Felicity alone to suit up. He could have waited, honestly. (Although the suit is cool.) That's something I feel like Oliver wouldn't do. This was the most anti-Olicity episode, but Felicity Smoak is trying to explore the different options she has, because although she feels something really strong towards Oliver, she doesn't feel like he's the best option for her at the moment and she needs to see if there's something with Ray for herself because she can't sit around waiting for Oliver. Neither of them are thinking entirely logically right now and that's understandable with everything that's happened. I do think we'll get a scene where her and Oliver talk about things in a future episode, or at least I hope we do, but I'm excited to see what happens before then. I feel like I may want to address this further, so you may see a post about it soon.

Stephen Amell said in an interview, "Just remember before it's always darkest before dawn," and I feel like this applies to Oliver and Felicity's relationship. Things need to be worked out with what's going on now in their lives. Neither are in the greatest of emotional states and they need to figure out themselves before being with each other.

And the ending of the episode. I wasn't as surprised as I thought I would be. I'm not sure how I feel about it at the moment. Again, something I may have to address after a few days in something I talk about in the next paragraph, but I don't necessarily like the idea of Oliver becoming the new Ra's. I think it depends what he would do with the job. I'm not the fondest of the idea. I feel like Oliver becoming the leader of the League isn't who he is. He is a good leader, but he's not the kind of leader Ra's is, so I feel like the only way it could possibly would would be if he changed around the ways of the League. I don't see him taking the job happening. I feel like something will happen or someone will say something that will cause him to realize that it's not a good idea. There's just something about it that doesn't sit right with me.

As a heads up, I have a blog post on Stephen Amell that I'm currently planning and I also want to start something called "Saturday Morning Musings". Basically, every Saturday morning I'll reflect on something that happened in the week, something I noticed in a show when I rewatched, the other TV shows I watch, something I find interesting about a character, anything. It'll not only add more variety to this blog, but also allow me to have a day set where I can talk about anything I feel I want to share. Also, I have a few other things planned, so like I said in a previous recap for a different show, this blog definitely won't be on hiatus with everything else, just be sure to check to see if I've posted anything new or get updates emailed to you. You can definitely check back for another post this weekend.

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