![]() Stephen Amell and Susanna Thompson oozed raw emotion in that scene, really nailing the idea of a long-lost son finally making his way home. That phone call may well go down in history as the best scene in Arrow's history. But even that paled to what came next, as the writers found a way to work Moira Queen back into the picture for one, brief moment. It's really fascinating to see a series take 115 episodes to deliver pay off. I felt a chill watching Ollie race to meet his boat and go through those same motions that we saw in the opening of the very first episode all those years ago. The real joy with the flashbacks this week involved what came after. No weapons or fancy martial arts, just two men who each wanted the other dead. There was a real brutality to the combat. ![]() But their final battle worked well all the same. The actual plot of the flashback storyline this week was about as basic as it gets. The interplay between past and present reminded me a lot of the dual-Deathstroke battles from the Season 2 finale. As all of this carnage was unfolding, we also got one final look at Ollie's feud with Konstantin Kovar. Again, even though there wasn't an entire city at stake in this conflict, the scope of the battle was truly epic. The writers managed to find opportunities for pretty much every character to shine during this sequence, even if just for a moment or two. The Black Siren/Black Canary and Nyssa/Talia fight scenes were also a lot of fun. 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 big Team Arrow/Team Prometheus showdown was certainly memorable. If it were, the final cliffhanger would be even more dramatic and upsetting (more on that in a bit). Though, to be fair, a faraway explosion isn't exactly definitive confirmation that a character is dead. And he certainly had a great death scene, saving his daughter's life one last time and taking Boomerang down with him. 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. 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. There was a little too much of characters walking through the forest and having heartfelt conversations. This episode did drag a little bit in between the Ollie/Slade reunion and the start of the final showdown. The character wound up playing a pretty minor role in the grand scheme of things, but his banter with Ollie and Nyssa was enough on its own. Having Nick Tarabay's Captain Boomerang back was also a welcome surprise. I only wish there had been room for some direct interaction between Deathstroke and Prometheus. It was one thing to watch the armored-up Slade hacking his way through ninjas, but his scenes with Ollie simply wouldn't have worked as well if Bennett and Stephen Amell weren't in the room together. Whatever the story there, it was great seeing Bennett in the flesh. All I can think is that their recent Twitter spat was some sort of weird, manufactured PR stunt, like when pro wrestling beefs supposedly spill over into real life. I'm not sure why Bennett and Marc Guggenheim gave the impression that Bennett was only doing voice-over work for this episode. It really helped that Manu Bennett was able to free himself from his Shannara Chronicles commitment long enough to appear in the episode. One of this episode's greatest strengths was playing on that bond and reflecting the full, complicated history between the two characters. Freed of the effects of Mirakuru, Slade is free to rekindle that brotherly bond with Ollie that died along with Shado. He no longer really qualifies as a villain. ![]() Slade has clearly mellowed out since last time he clashed with Oliver. Slade still and probably will always rank as Arrow's most compelling villain (though Adrian Chase made a really strong case for himself tonight), so I was thrilled to have the chance to reconnect with the character after a more than two year absence. What better way to kick things off than with an extended reunion scene between Ollie and Slade Wilson. Despite that, this episode felt as epic and eventful as any of them. It's funny to note that this is the first time the writers cooked up a finale that didn't involve Team Arrow racing against the clock to save Star city from destruction. This was a jam-packed episode that managed to never lose sight of Ollie's very personal mission. In the process, pretty much every surviving character of note (and one dearly departed favorite) returned to help the show celebrate this important milestone. The series truly came full circle this week, wrapping up Oliver Queen's five-year flashback saga and dragging him back to the island where it all started.
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