Spoilers through Season 3 of 'Arrow' follow.
I hate to say it, but I let out a big sigh of relief when the credits rolled in the Season 3 finale of Arrow.
This season was a mess. It suffered, perhaps, from the emphasis on its sister show The Flash. It suffered from confusing plots, lackluster villains, weird character drama, bad Hong Kong flashbacks, and a romance between Oliver and Felicity that just didn't work.
The finale suffered from many of these problems, but it also did a few things to ease the pain. Oliver had a great moment on the plane with his "My name is Oliver Queen!" line (and also the title of the show, and a line from its weekly intro.)
The Ra's conflict was resolved with a fairly brief, by-the-book fight between Ra's and Oliver, and now Malcolm Merlyn has become the new Demon. I can't decide if I like that or not. I want more Malcolm Merlyn, and I'm worried this will either mean yet another Team Arrow vs. Ra's storyline, or just not much Merlyn in Season 4.
Ray Palmer has an accident with miniaturization at the end also, which explains how he becomes The Atom and can transform into a tiny super-explorer. (I'm writing up something on the new Legends of Tomorrow spin-off, of which The Atom is a member.)
Thea becomes Speedy (or Red Arrow, if it were up to her) and shows up again to shoot people with her bow. It's good to see her as part of the team, though I wish there were fewer archers in the team and Thea had her own "thing" rather than a copy of Arrow/Arsenal.
Diggle is really mad at Oliver, which I don't really understand beyond more unnecessary character drama. Quit being so petty Diggle. You above all should understand why Oliver made the moves he made when going covert. Grow up and stop acting like an oversized child. There is a hint at the end that he may don a mask finally. Which mask, though?
Meanwhile, Quentin Lance takes a deep breath after being confronted about his drinking by Laurel and stops acting like a total jerk for one episode. Let's hope he comes around further next season, after realizing that the Arrow is actually a good guy and they can work together and not hold petty grudges. Man I hate petty grudges!
Laurel kicks some League butt also, finally coming into her own as a hero this episode. She's been infinitely more tolerable lately.
Felicity is still on my nerves, which I hate to say. It's nice that she and Oliver can drive off into the sunset and that some happiness can be had by our hard-working vigilantes, but let's face it: This romance doesn't work. Oliver and Sara Lance are the only pairing that's made any sense at all this season, and since Sara gets resurrected in the Lazarus pool for Legends of Tomorrow, can't we just go back to her and Oliver being an item?
Maybe Felicity can realize that she only likes Oliver as an idea and not as a boyfriend? That she actually really digs Ray Palmer because they think alike and have a similar sense of humor? Or maybe Felicity can just go back to being a funny, goofy, smart computer whiz and not have her character ruined by pointless romances.
The brief Flash cameo was blessedly brief, but does point to more uncomfortable truths about these two shows and heroes: Oliver could have saved a ton of time fighting Ra's al Ghul simply by having Barry Allen lend a helping hand. Barry could have zipped into Nada Parbat and whisked Ra's off to his prison a long time ago, or helped get him to Lian Yu. Godlike speed shifts the balance pretty severely.
I'm curious where the show goes next season. Damien Darhk and HIVE will be the new badguys. But how does Arrow become Green Arrow, or does he? How does the team get back together? How is there even going to be a next season?
As the showrunner Marc Guggenheim told Variety, the finale "probably could function as a series finale if that’s the route we were going, but we’re at work on season four".
I really would love to see Arrow return to form. Less needless drama, more great action. I just don't see where it can go. Meanwhile, I'm just as curious to see how the Legends of Tomorrow show intertwines with both Arrow and The Flash, and particularly how they reintroduce Sara Lance to the fold.
Oh, and will Thea show any signs or transformations from the Lazarus Pit? Will Sara Lance? Lots and lots of questions, even though this was a fairly definitive wrap-up of the season.
Ultimately, no matter how much I've enjoyed The Flash this season, I'm still more of an Arrow guy. I prefer Oliver Queen to Barry Allen, especially since Oliver's biggest flaw, in my opinion, is one Barry shares. That is, concealing the truth from the most important women in his life. It's a plot device, though, and one that's dragged both shows through the mud a bit.
Thoughts?
