ARROW - SEASON 8.6

REVIEW:  ARROW - SEASON 8, EP. 6:  "Reset"


If there is anyone who deserves a second chance, considering all he's done, and all he's had to go through in life, it's Oliver Queen.  A chance at a better, more PEACEFUL life.  However, Ollie is learning this season that it's not in the cards for him, as the Monitor puts him through the ringer to prepare him for CRISIS.  And tonight's episode---we get to see our Emerald Archer face yet another test.  His own Kobiyashi Maru---his own no-win scenario.

We see Oliver relive the past events in his head, and he wakes up, dressed in a suit and tie, in his apartment.  Mia, Connor, and William enter with Big Belly Burger in their hands, wondering what Ollie is still doing there.  He asks them about being tranquilized, and Mia comments that Lyla was apologetic about it.  He asks about all the components for the weapon they were getting, and they said that they didn't need it.  They remind him of a fundraiser for the mayor, and that he's supposed to appear.  So, out the door he goes---dazed and confused as to what is transpiring.

He arrives at the fundraiser, where a guy makes a crack about the police and Green Arrow.  He meets up with Diggle, and he discusses what's going on.  Diggle tells him everything is fine, but Ollie isn't buying it.  Lya then shows up, and Ollie relats to her the events, and Lyla apologies for the tranq job.  
Ollie is out of place when he runs into someone he never expected to see:  Quentin Lance.  Lance is the mayor in this scenario, and he and Ollie chat about how he survived Diaz, and now he's looking to put in to sinitiative where law enforcement is working with the vigilantes.  Just then, Rene comes in informing Lance of a developing situation.  Turns out there's a hostage situation going on, and that the people doing the hostage holding are requesting the mayor.  Lance decides to go and meet them, and Ollie offers to back him up.  They meet Dinah, who's in charge, of the police squad on site, and starts directing them into position, when Lance and Ollie arrive.  Ollie comes up with a plan to sneak around back, while Lance wears a vest to confront the criminals.  Once inside, Lance tries to reason with the perpetrators, and just as they decide they're going to kill Lance anyway, Ollie disarms the leader.  As he's ready to finally get some answers, the man says this will end when Ollie changes it, the man hits a button, and it sets off a bomb, which explodes under the building, causing everyone to get killed.  The scene whites out, and when it clears, we see Ollie back in his apartment, in the same scenario we found him at the beginning of the episode.  Now he is truly confused.

The second time around, the scene pretty much plays out the same:  him leaving his apartment, going to the fundraiser, and talking about Diggle about what is going on.  He mentions the Monitor having him in some time loop, and Diggle isn't buying it.  When Lyla appears, she denies it as well.  When he speaks to Quentin this time, Quentin believes him.  They try a different approach to stopping the bomb.  Quentin does his part, and Ollie finds the bomb, only to discover Laurel there. They both discuss their time loop issues.  As they try to  figure out how to disarm it, it goes off.  Once again, Ollie gets deja vu, and wakes up exactly where he started.  

Third time around, Ollie bumps into Laurel at the fundraiser, and she sees Quentin for the first time, taken aback that he's there.  Her and Ollie both feel that Quentin is the target, and they're trying to find out why.  They agree they need to protect him, and Laurel, Ollie, and Lance all go down to where the bomb was before, underneath the building.  As they try to stop the bomb, Quentin gets shot, and the bomb goes off.  And, yet again, Ollie wakes back up in his apartment.

He meets up with Laurel again, and they try a different tactic to stop the bomb.  Ollie also asks Diggle for help, seeing if he can get some info from ARGUS on how to stop it.  Diggle agrees, and off he goes to do his part.  Laurel ends up bumping into Lyla, and she has a chat with her.  Laurel expresses that she feels she's being punished by the Monitor for betraying him.  And she says that if Lyla screws her over, she's going to pay.  Laurel meets up with Quentin, and they talk about their relationship.  And eventually it comes out that Laurel confesses that Quentin died in her arms.  He tells her that if that's what happens, he doesn't regret what he did in saving her.  They find out a man named Anderson White who works for a company called Global Solutions is the man behind the assassination on Lance's life.  Ollie wonders how he's going to stop this loop, and get out.  Diggle tells him he'll find a way...he always does.  Ollie appreciates the pep talk.

They head to a warehouse owned by Global Solutions, and find the bomb.  But before they can disarm it, it goes off.  This time, however, they avoid the blast and survive.  Unfortunately, Lance gets shot again.  Amidst the smoke and dust, Lyla shows up, and tells Ollie he's missing the point of this whole scenario, and she shoots Quentin herself.  One more time, Ollie is back in his apartment..

The fourth time around, we skip right to the fundraiser, only this time, Lyla is nowhere to be found.  Ollie knows the Monitor is testing him, and he's trying to figure out what it is, and how he can solve it.  They replay the scenario, and he and Laurel confront a member of Global Solutions.  And in the process of trying to stop Anderson's men, Quentin gets shot yet again.  This time, Laurel is with him, as Ollie is trying to find an escape route.  Quentin and Laurel have one last conversation.  She says her final goodbye to him, and she lets him go...but not before he tells her that---regardless of what Earth she came from---he's her father, and that she's a hero.  With that, the scene whites out, and the loop resets.  

Ollie awakes yet again, and this time heads to the bunker and looks for Laurel, only she's not there.  The scene switches back to an empty space---presumably his apartment.  Lyla is there, and she says to him that the only way out of the loop is to accept the inevitable...he can't win.  Ollie then meets up with Quentin yet again, and this time, they both head into the warehouse to diffuse the bomb.  Yet again, as they try to escape Global Industries, Quentin gets shot.  But he's not dead.  However, he and Ollie are facing insurmountable odds, and Quentin can't last for long.  Ollie says he will keep trying to find a way out, but Quentin stops him.  Quentin tells him that maybe it's not time to give up...but to give in.  Lance, through all he and Ollie went through--has felt he's cheated death so many times, and maybe this time, it's better to accept it.  That it is his time.  He takes off the vest, and tells Ollie he'll see him on the other side.  Ollie says he hopes so, and Quentin goes off...and you hear a gunshot off camera.  One more time, the scene goes white.  And, one more time, Ollie wakes up in his apartment.

Ollie gets up, shuts off the tv, and walks around a bit.  The kids then arrive, and he looks at them.  He finally understands the lesson being taught here.  When he goes, he looks at them, and tells them they will be fine, and so will he.  With that, he walks out.  When he meets up with Quentin again, he asks him why he accepted him for what he was.  Quentin tells him that, considering what Ollie went through, and what he himself went through, they weren't much different.  And that he saw Ollie as a good man.  Quentin asks why, and Ollie says he's just trying to accept his past for what it is, and needs to focus and embrace the future.  With that, Ollie wishes Quentin well, and leaves, as Rene calls Quentin away, as the scene will play out one more time.  As Ollie walks through a door, he ends up in a room, where Lyla congratulates Ollie on figuring the puzzle out.  He asks Lyla why she's working with the Monitor, why she lied to John.  She says what's coming, the Crisis, is bigger than anything they've faced before, and the Monitor wanted Ollie prepared.  She says lying to John has been the hardest thing she's had to do, and that she did it to protect them, much the same way Ollie has done with his own family.  He inquires about the weapons he obtained, and what good are they.  She says that they all have a purpose that will come up when the situation requests it.   He wonders why his adult kids have been placed in the present, but realizes that this is a gift for him.  He knows he will not survive this Crisis, so he's being granted a chance to be with his kids before he dies.

The scene whites out, and when Ollie awakes, he's in what looks like an army tent, with Laurel, and they discuss what happened.  She says that she got what she wanted from Quentin:  love and acceptance.  She was able to accept his death, because he was proud of her and loved her.  It was her final reward.  Ollie says that he now can't escape his final fate.  With that they leave the tent, and find the kids.  They wonder where they are, but as Ollie surveys the scene, he knows.  He tells them  they're on Lian Yu.  


This episode had a very grim Groundhog Day feel to it.  And it did seem repetitive, but hence the purpose for it.  It was to teach Ollie one final lesson---that no matter how many times he tries to find a solution to a problem, sometimes, he will not win.  Using Quentin as the centerpiece not only helps Ollie come to terms with his loss and relationship with Quentin, but also come to terms with his own mortality----he can't win all the time.  Sometimes, fate will play its hand, and you can't escape from it.  He learns that there truly IS a no-win scenario...which is this Crisis.  The Monitor has been putting Ollie through his paces.  Having his adult kids here in the present with him is also allowing Ollie to get to know his kids as adults...seeing how they grew up.  He's also trying to change their future for the better, and prep them for their challenges ahead.  And for his kids...they finally get to see and understand their father for who and what HE is...and remember him differently than what they had growing up without him.  The Queen family gets to bond before Ollie dies.  

For Laurel, it's a bit of closure.  She has felt a little lost without Quentin, who became her rock and supporter when she got trapped on Earth 1.  When she played on the dark side, only to redeem herself by trying to save him.  But, in return, he saved her.  She feels like a different person now, and it's because she had--in a sense--her father to be there for her, to guide her back to the light.  Laurel has felt tremendous loss since he died.  Knowing he was proud of her, and that he loved her no matter what, allowed her to accept her place in the world, and that she was genuinely better for his small amount of guidance and love---and allowed her to let his spirit rest, and let go.  As rough around the edges as Laurel has been...she's got a good heart, and it's coming up more to the surface.  She's softening.  She still has some work to do, but she's embracing the side of her than can make a better difference in the world.  

It's been an interesting situation to see Ollie put through his paces, and not having us understand WHY, other than possibly going after the Monitor, and trying to stop him before Crisis.  All these quests that he's had to accomplish.  It made no sense until now.  There IS a weapon that they feel MIGHT help stop the Crisis and what's coming, but they're not sure.  But The Monitor wanted to prepare Ollie for what will be his final mission.  This episode put things in perspective, and will allow us to prepare ourselves for Ollie's exit once Crisis happens.  It's coming fast, and we'll see what final mission he has to accomplish on Lian Yu before things kick into high gear.

I was okay with this episode, but it didn't give me quite the emotional jolt that the previous episodes have other than Laurel and Quentin's interactions.  I'm hoping that next episode will give us more Ollie/Mia/William time.  I really want Ollie to have more time with his kids and vice versa before he goes.  So, crossing my fingers.

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Hope you all have the very best Thanksgiving holiday!

Until next week...keep your sights on the bullseye!