Arrow 3x20 The Fallen

 

If a couple weeks ago someone had told me that the episode where Oliver finally agrees to join the League of Assassins would actually be one of the most boring and uneventful episodes of the season, I would have probably laughed in their face and then told them to go and shit someone else. Sadly, I would have been wrong. As unbelievable as it is to say it, this episode really wasn’t that big of a deal. Plot-wise there was hardly anything going on, and although it had a lot of long, supposed-to-be-meaningful conversations, I kept finding myself staring into space and not having any idea what the people involved were talking about, but also not caring enough to rewind and actually pay attention. The reason I still decided to review the episode is simple: I enjoy writing these reviews and the more I can do the better, but also because it gives me a reason to talk about something that I can’t really tiptoe around any longer if I want to keep reviewing Arrow, but probably wouldn’t be able to fit into any of my other episode reviews. So basically, read on if you’re curious about my opinion on the relationship between Oliver and Felicity. Or you know, the episode itself.

We picked up the thread of events right where we left off last week: Thea was bleeding out on the floor of her apartment. Oliver arrived about two seconds later, took her to the hospital where she was saved from immediate danger but fell into a coma, then Malcolm came and cried a lot, it was all very sad. Oliver ran off when he saw a bit of purplish smoke rising from a nearby rooftop, and punched the waiting Maseo in the face BEFORE asking him if it was him behind all this. Obviously we know it was Ra’s al Ghul and now Oliver knows too, and he also knows that he does have a way of saving her sister after all. With the help of Malcolm, he told the rest of Team Arrow about the Lazarus Pit and his intentions to use it on Thea, which pretty much everyone was against, even Malcolm, because as he put it, „the waters change a person, in the soul”, and basically he would rather see Thea dead then in whatever condition she might be after her resurrection. It was no use talking to Oliver though, so off they all went to Nanda Parbat. Which I guess is as good a time as any for me to finally ask the one question that’s been bugging me all season: just how far is Nanda Parbat from Starling City exactly? I always thought it was in Tibet but people just keep popping in and out of there like it’s only about twenty minutes away. I guess it doesn’t really matter in the long run and I probably shouldn’t ask for realism in a show about costumed crime-fighters, super-powered „metahumans”, and immortal master assassins anyway, but damn if it doesn’t bother me.

Thea got resurrected after being submerged in the Pit while a creepy lady recited a few sinister-sounding lines in a foreign language, and her first action after re-emerging from the water was to attack Oliver and almost jump-kick him in the face. Nice! She also screamed a lot which was a bit more understandable, but then seemed to calm down when she saw Malcolm, whom she called dad, and asked him where her mom was. She also seemed pretty sure that Oliver was dead. Uh-oh. Oliver quickly told Malcolm and the audience that the confusion will pass in time, and if we’re to believe the scene at the end of the episode where Malcolm explained everything to Thea, he was right, but still, I’m mentally keeping an eye on her because there HAVE to be consequences to all this Lazarus Pit business.

After all that mess with Thea and Malcolm, Felicity started shouting and stormed out because...? She couldn’t take it any longer...? I’m not sure, but probably something like that. She confronted Ra’s about how can he force Oliver to leave his family and all his loved ones behind (I just now realized that I forgot to mention this part, but basically Oliver had to agree to become a League member if he wanted Ra’s to save Thea, and becoming a League member means all that I just mentioned), and Ra’s was pretty impressed with her and then delivered this long speech about...??? Footage not found. I’m sorry, I told you this would happen. Anyway, after all this Felicity went to have a talk with Oliver, and long story short, they ended up having sex. And THIS is the moment where we take a little break from the episode and delve a bit deeper into the Olicity phenomenon, and the reasons why I’m not really happy with them at the moment. That was a bit of a spoiler because actually I wanted to start it out by saying how much I used to love them but whatever, it’s not like anyone’s even reading these things. ANYWAY. I used to be INSANELY in love with their (potential) relationship. From pretty much the first moment Felicity showed up, I was all over these two, and can you really blame me? I kinda feel like the only people who didn’t like the idea of them getting together were those comicbook-purists who wanted Oliver and Laurel to remain a thing simply because that’s how it was supposed to be according to the comics. I personally was never very keen on Oliver and Laurel as a romantic couple (I love them as friends though), Oliver and Felicity on the other hand... yes please. When the season 2 finale aired in all its „I love you, but wait, it was just a decoy, I don’t really” glory, I was STOKED for next season. I mean sure, I was heartbroken and disappointed and felt cheated and really really upset for a while, but then I realized the huge potential in everything that just happened. I could already see Oliver slowly realizing that he really is in love with Felicity, he just didn’t know it yet when he said it... it would have been beautiful, agonizing, slow... amazing.

And then the first teasers for season 3 arrived and it was all about Oliver asking Felicity out on a date in the very first episode, and I was like??? What? Why? Is this just a decoy too? Why are you doing this? It didn’t make any sense to me. It’s not supposed to happen yet, it’s supposed to be slow and so, so wonderfully satisfying when it would finally happen maybe in the season 3 finale. But I guess the creative minds behind the show didn’t agree with me... they probably realized from what they’ve seen on social media that Olicity is popular, and figured that if it’s popular, they’re gonna have to capitalize on that NOW. So a few weeks after the season started, it was all about Olicity. Going on a date, kissing for the first time, deciding not to be together, Felicity finding another guy, Oliver being jealous, „I love you”s every second episode, a lot of arguing... Olicity, Olicity, Olicity. And this, coupled with the fact that no matter how many Arrow blogs I looked at on Tumblr, all I could see was these two, as if this was literally all the show was about, made me incredibly frustrated. So long story short, I had Olicity-overkill and suddenly found myself annoyed by every single one of their scenes, even though, and this is gonna sound really weird after admitting all of this... I still want them to get together eventually. Once a shipper, always a shipper, I guess, but right now I so wish we could take a loooong break from this relationship and just focus on other aspects and characters of the show for a while.

I feel like I needed to let all that get off my chest so I can say this with a clear conscience: HOT DAMN that sex scene was amazing. What was not so amazing was what happened almost immediately after: Felicity drugging Oliver so that they can take him out of Nanda Parbat because she simply can’t live without him. I feel like my previous paragraph included more than enough Olicity-related negativity for one review, so all I’m gonna say about this scene is this: if the roles were reversed and it was Oliver (or any other male character) drugging Felicity (or any other female character) because he wasn’t happy with the choice she made and he wanted to change it for her... well, there would have been an Internet-wide outcry about his misogyny and the fact that he completely robbed her of any agency because obviously he knows better. I somehow fail to see how the opposite scenario is acceptable, but I guess we can talk about gender-related double standards some other time. Or maybe never, because I really don’t intend to turn this into a social justice blog. So I guess what I really wanted to say is, what the hell, Felicity? Fortunately Oliver woke up just in time to be able to prevent a catastrophe by staying behind after all. I mean, I was honestly so baffled by that scene. What did Felicity even expect to happen when Ra’s found out? Did she think he would just let them live out the rest of their life happily while doing absolutely nothing about Oliver having broken his promise? The guy flew to Starling City and stabbed Thea just to prove a point literally two days ago for fuck’s sake. Thank God at least Oliver had a better understanding of the situation, and decided to stay. It wasn’t nice watching him get branded with a League tattoo and dress in their gear, but it was necessary, and he knew it too.

Episode MVP: Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen

Quote of the episode:

"John, you're the best man I've ever known. Whatever happens, you are my brother." – Oliver Queen

Random tidbits:

 - I didn’t mention the flashbacks because they were as boring as ever, and literally all we learned from them is that Oliver had accidentally released one of those biochemical weapons. Three episodes left from the season and I still don’t see why I should care about this.

 - But at least we found out that Maseo and Tatsu’s son, Akio, really did die somewhere between the end of the flashbacks and the start of the season. I’m really not looking forward to seeing how that happened.

 - I also not mentioned that short scene between Ray and Felicity because I’d like to talk as little about Ray as possible, but also because it really wasn’t anything important. We all knew Felicity has been in love with Oliver all along, so it’s not like that’s brand new information. But at least they’ve now broken up I guess? They gotta pave the way for Ray to leave before that spinoff can start, after all. Hopefully this will also mean that Oliver gets back his family’s company soon.

 - I’m not sure I liked that scene between Felicity and Laurel at the end of the episode. Usually I’m all for these two bonding but this time it just felt weird. For one thing, Laurel has known Oliver all her life and she’s losing him just as much as Felicity is, and yet the entire scene was structured in a way so that we would see Felicity’s pain, and hers only. Also, shouldn’t Laurel have been there with the rest of them all along? In the hospital, in Nanda Parbat... when will they finally start treating her as an actual, full time member of Team Arrow?