If you asked me last year at this time what I thought of Arrow, I could have made a compelling argument that it was time for the show to hang up its bow and cowl and retire, but season five was a whole different story. This year, Arrow was not only the best show in the Arrowverse, it managed to produce its best season ever, which was capped off by a satisfyingly epic finale last night.
This episode did drag a little bit in between the Oliver/Slade reunion and the start of the final showdown. There was a little too much of characters walking through the forest and having heartfelt conversations. But right about the point where Thea stepped on that landmine, the tension shot back up and the episode continued building momentum until the very end. Who would have expected Malcolm of all characters to be the first casualty? It does feel like it's time for the character to ride off into the sunset. And he certainly had a great death scene, saving his daughter's life one last time and taking Boomerang down with him. Though, to be fair, a faraway explosion isn't exactly definitive confirmation that a character is dead.
The big Team Arrow/Team Prometheus showdown was certainly memorable. The choreography in the main fight scene was top-notch, with every major character pairing off and dozens of bodies in motion at once. The Black Siren/Black Canary and Nyssa/Talia fight scenes were bad-ass.
The interplay between past and present reminded me a lot of the dual-Deathstroke battles from the Season 2 finale. The real joy with the flashbacks this week involved what came after. I felt a chill watching Oliver race to meet his boat and go through those same motions that we saw in the opening of the very first episode.
The scene of Oliver calling Moira was flawless and one of the best acted-scenes of Stephen Amell and Susanna Thompson nailing the idea of a long-lost son finally making his way home.
The episode wrapped not with a rousing victory for Team Arrow but a huge cliffhanger. By killing himself, Chase may have just wiped out every member of Team Arrow. That's quite a place to leave us hanging for four months.
Watching this episode made me feel nostalgic, realizing that the show has finally completed the last piece of its circle and to be honest, this was the best episode of the best season of the entire show.
In conclusion I should say that I have never seen a show turnaround so drastically, so late in its life, but I have been incredibly impressed by what Arrow has been able to accomplish this season cementing its comeback by this epic finale.
This episode did drag a little bit in between the Oliver/Slade reunion and the start of the final showdown. There was a little too much of characters walking through the forest and having heartfelt conversations. But right about the point where Thea stepped on that landmine, the tension shot back up and the episode continued building momentum until the very end. Who would have expected Malcolm of all characters to be the first casualty? It does feel like it's time for the character to ride off into the sunset. And he certainly had a great death scene, saving his daughter's life one last time and taking Boomerang down with him. Though, to be fair, a faraway explosion isn't exactly definitive confirmation that a character is dead.
The big Team Arrow/Team Prometheus showdown was certainly memorable. The choreography in the main fight scene was top-notch, with every major character pairing off and dozens of bodies in motion at once. The Black Siren/Black Canary and Nyssa/Talia fight scenes were bad-ass.
The interplay between past and present reminded me a lot of the dual-Deathstroke battles from the Season 2 finale. The real joy with the flashbacks this week involved what came after. I felt a chill watching Oliver race to meet his boat and go through those same motions that we saw in the opening of the very first episode.
The scene of Oliver calling Moira was flawless and one of the best acted-scenes of Stephen Amell and Susanna Thompson nailing the idea of a long-lost son finally making his way home.
The episode wrapped not with a rousing victory for Team Arrow but a huge cliffhanger. By killing himself, Chase may have just wiped out every member of Team Arrow. That's quite a place to leave us hanging for four months.
Watching this episode made me feel nostalgic, realizing that the show has finally completed the last piece of its circle and to be honest, this was the best episode of the best season of the entire show.
In conclusion I should say that I have never seen a show turnaround so drastically, so late in its life, but I have been incredibly impressed by what Arrow has been able to accomplish this season cementing its comeback by this epic finale.