ARROW - SEASON 8.7

REVIEW:  ARROW - SEASON 8, EP. 7:  "Purgatory"

This episode of our Emerald Archer is very aptly named.  It seems that's what our hero's entire life has been to an extent---a stay in Purgatory.  But now we go BACK to where is Purgatory began, along with is team AND kids---to finish a weapon for The Monitor, as CRISIS is close at hand.

We open with Ollie talking about Lian Yu, and how he never seemed to let go of the demons and incidents from the island.  He has carried that with him wherever he went.  From there we see them and this ARGUS camp, where they have all this equipment in cases...apparently the weapon that needs to be built at the Monitor's request.  Lyla says that the reason the need to build the weapon on Lian Yu, is because there have been massive energy spikes there, and it's the most optimal place to build it.  They need to harness those energy spikes, otherwise things will get worse.  Ollie asks just what the weapon is for---but Lyla has no idea, but she trusts the Monitor.

We get some personal time with Ollie, William, and Mia.  He tells them that he cannot avoid his fate.  He has to sacrifice himself, because it's the only way to save the Multiverse.  William has come to understand his father's mission, and his sacrifice.  Mia, however, isn't too keen on this idea, and feels that he's being selfish, and she never understood why he felt he had to be the hero more than a father.  

Diggle is going through his own frustrations with the situation, whereas the lying from Lyla about her association with the Monitor, to feeling of a no-win scenario, which irks him even more.  He and Lyla talk about when she and her unit were in Afghanistan, and they were wiped out, but she survived.  She said it was because of the Monitor.  He gave her a mission:  to gather a group of heroes, and prepare them for this Crisis.  

Dinah, Roy, and Rene are en route to Lian Yu via airplane.  Rene is surprised that Dinah can fly, for which she comments that she can fly, just not land very well.  They are carrying the plutonium, and connect with Diggle to inform him they're about to land.  Things go south quickly as a missle is launched and strikes the plane's wing.  Dinah tells the boys to strap in, it's going to be a VERY rough landing.  They disappear from the team's view, and they're quickly on the move to try and find out what happened.  Ollie and Laurel go hunting for the plutonium, while Diggle, Connor, and Lyla take off to search for Dinah, Roy, and Rene.  Mia opts to stay behind, much to everyone's surprise, and William stays behind with her.

Ollie and Laurel chat while on the path towards the plutonium, and she discusses his relationship with Mia.  She tells him to not leave things as they are, and don't regret not saying anything to her before this Crisis arrives.  Make the most of the time he has with her.  Mia is upset with him, and he needs to make her understand what he's doing.

William and Mia have a conversation about their father.  William tells how he was frustrated at first that their dad did't connect with him as much, because he was out saving the city and the world as Green Arrow.  But he has seen their father in action when he was in the bunker with Felicity, and he is a hero...he cares.  He's doing what he can to protect them.  Mia, however, feels like she was abandoned by him.  That he cared more about being a hero than he did being a father.  William tries to make her understand the other way, but she's still not with it.

While on the trail for the rest of the team, Diggle, Lyla, and Connor discuss family.  Connor feels grateful for how he was raised, and how loved he felt by both of them.  Lyla is happy that they were able to do right by him, but Diggle is still frustrated and in first gear about the whole situation.  Just then, a wounded Dinah shows up with a wounded Rene.  She says Roy is trapped, and the fuselage will explode if they don't get him out.  Lyla takes Rene back to camp, and Dinah, Diggle, and Connor race to go save Roy.  

Ollie and Laurel manage to find the plutonium in a steel case, and are about to take off, when one of Ollie's old enemies shows up:  Feirs, who had been on the island at the beginning of the series.  Feirs was killed before Ollie left the island, however.  So, this is kind of a freak out for Ollie, but him and Laurel have guns aimed at them, and Feirs wants the case.  He and Laurel, however, manage to turn the tide, and take out his guards.  Feirs takes off, and Ollie tells Laurel about who he is.  He and Wintergreen--which had been Slade Wilson's friend---had been on the island when Ollie was stranded here.  He needs to go after Feirs, and tells Laurel to head back to camp with the plutonium.  She tries to argue with him, but he's not having it.  As he's on the hunt for Fiers, he runs into an old friend who also died---Yao Feyh, who had helped train him and helped him survive.  Yao agrees to help him track down Feirs.  But he warns Ollie about the evils of the island, to which Ollie says he's prepared for it.

We get to Dinah, Diggle, and Connor head back to the crash, where we see Roy's arm pinned underneath one of the engines.  All three try to see if they can get it to move, but it's impossible.  Diggle refuses to give up, but the fuel leaking all over the ground will eventually ignite from the sparks flying, and and explosion WILL happen.  They need to act quickly.  plus---Feirs' men are about to surround them.  Just then, Laurel finds them, and tells them Ollie is off looking for Feirs, and company is coming.  Once again, they try using a part for a level to try and get Roy's arm out, but it's no use.  The only way to save Roy is to lop off his arm.  Diggle is against this, but eventually, Roy tells them to do it.  He says he'd rather lose an arm, than to die like this.  So, Connor, Diggle, and Dinah prep him...and Connor does the deed.  

Ollie and Yao Feyh eventually reach Feirs' camp, but it's empty, no one is there.  Ollie has a bad feeling, and---sure enough---he's right.  He and Yao step on a booby trap, and they're ensared in nets.

The team manages to get back to camp, and Mia asks where her dad is, and Laurel tells him that he's off taking care of one of his enemies.  Mia is still pissed off her dad ran off to do his thing, and is demanding to go after him. They tell her it's a bad idea, and to trust her dad.  She says she doesn't want to lose him all over again.  William pulls her aside, and says it's okay to be upset with him...but don't regret the things that were said.  He knows she cares, but trying to keep her level headed.

Diggle checks in on Roy, and feels like he failed him.  Roy tells him it's okay---heroes make sacrifices.  It's just what they do. .and he has no regrets joining back up with the team.  He felt better knowing that he could be a hero again, instead of just hiding from life and from who he really is.

While still trapped in the nets, Yao tries to tell Ollie to be patient, and that they need to be smarter about escaping.  Ollie starts cutting away at the net with his knife, thinking he'll get them out.  Yao uses his knife to get the sun to reflect off of it, and aiming it at the top of the net.  The head begins to make the rope burn, and eventually, it breaks away and they fall to the ground---and they're free.  

At this time, Feirs and his army are surrounding the camp, where they try to get the weapon to go.  They finally realize that because of the energy spikes, it's caused this weird thing to happen, where all the enemies of Ollie's past have returned, and only the weapon will stop them.  They all get ready to suit up and do battle.  

As the team heads out to fight, William, Lyla, and Roy are in the camp, trying to get the weapon to activate, but they're having no luck.  They believe that they need Ollie's genetic code to start it, so as the battle is raging outside, they contact Ollie, and ask him back to the camp in order to activate the weapon.  Ollie arrives, and holds it to activate it, but nothing happens.  It's then that they realize that it's Lyla's genetic signature that can activate it.  She touches it, and it comes on.  This is Lyla's sacrifice for the team.  And Diggle understands---it's her fate.  As the weapon is activated, the threat disappears.  Feirs, Yao, and Feirs' men are completely gone.  Lyla now understands her role now, and a breach opens...she looks back at Diggle, and walks through--gone.  

With the mission completed, Lyla had made sure that ARGUS sent transport to pick up the team.  Mia asks her father how long she has with him, and he replies that they don't have long.  Roy had wandered down into the cells for some alone time, when Ollie shows up.  Ollie thanks him for being there, and Roy was glad to help.  William shows up, and is ready to give the rock that had the Sign of Four on it to Roy for in the future.  But Roy tells him to keep it, it should stay in the family.  Roy takes off for the boat.  William and Ollie have one more final chat.  Ollie is proud of him, and vice versa.  William finally understands Ollie's mission.  He wants to give the rock thing to Ollie, but he tells his son to keep it.  One more embrace, and William heads to the boat.

Diggle and Ollie have one more final chat.  Ollie is glad Diggle has been there through all of this, and Diggle was proud to be a part of it.  He finally understands as well that Ollie has to make this sacrifice.  Ollie has a couple of requests for Diggle when they get back:  To get the kids back to 2040 before the Crisis....and to make sure that they are NOT separated.  He wants William to be with Mia and Felicity.  

We finally see Ollie at Shadow's gravesite when Mia shows up.  As with everyone else, Mia finally sees what her father has been trying to accomplish---to give her a world that they can live in...so that they can live.  She feels that all this time she was being selfish because he wasn't there.  His regret it that he wasn't.  But she says she's proud of him as well, and she just wants to live up to his legacy, and that she is grateful for the time she's got with him.  He tells her that she'll blaze her own path, and have  her own stories to tell, since his story as the Green Arrow wouldn't have happened had he not been on this island.  They know they have to prepare for Crisis when they get home, but suddenly, the sky turns red, and there's lightning crackling above.  They believe they know what it is, and a breach opens up, and there is Lyla, decked out in a new super suit.  She says she is the Harbinger of things to come---and that Crisis is here.

We once again go back to Central City, where we see the story play out as we did on Batwoman and Supergirl---where Nash gets sucked into the Monitor's realm by opening the door.  

This was another good episode!  We can see emotions are running high for the cast, as they prepare fo the final goodbye to Team Arrow.  This has been an emotional journey for everyone, and it's been a pretty good farewell gift to the fans.

We get to see Yao Feyh once again...offering Ollie one last bit of wisdom before his ultimate demise.  We also see Ollie have to face off against Feirs---one of the many demons from his past.  For the past 7 years, Ollie has carried the weight of what happened on the island with him, and let it shape him.  While he's always been a survivor, he's never really let go of the baggage of the past---which seems to be a common theme with the characters of this universe.  But, as the episode goes on, we see him shake off the shackles and come to terms as to what the island represents to him.  While he still has a bit of anger about it...he can finally let it go.  I thought him seeing Shadow's grave was a nice capper.  Too bad we couldn't get Shadow herself, but getting her father instead was a good substitute.  

The other aspect I liked is that Ollie was pretty much saying "goodbye" in this episode to most of the team.  He was actually grateful for Laurel's help, despite their differences.  It was a nice surprise to him AND us, but it means that---going forward---there's a chance to forge not just a stronger partnership, but perhaps a friendship---at least in a short amount of time they have left.  I love how they gave him a little time with most of the team for him to say his farewell, and how grateful he's been to all of them.  While they still feel they can save him, he knows better.  

Roy took the biggest hit of all this episode, having lost part of his arm.  But if they do what they did from the comics, he'll get a snazzy knew bionic arm courtesy of either ARGUS or even STAR Labs if they play their cards right.  Arsenal did get a replacement at one point, so I know Roy's superhero career won't be over yet.  

William and Mia have gotten a LOT tighter as brother and sister.  It's a great dynamic as we get prepared to have them jump off into heir own series.  It was so bittersweet for Ollie to have to say goodbye to his adult kids.  But he's gotten to see how they turned out, and had one last bit of influence on them...especially Mia.  It took HER the longest to truly understand what being a hero means, and why her father has made the sacrifices he's had to make.  For them.  So they actually DO get to grow up.  This is heartbreaking as well...because Ollie has LESS time with his children, whereas Barry and Iris got A LOT of quality time with Nora.  But in the end, Barry and Ollie will not be around to see their kids grow up.  It tears at you, because have seen the kind of fathers they can be.  And you feel even more for their children, who will miss out on them growing up.  

Diggle has been trying to adjust to the brevity of the situation, and is the one person who feels that there is ALWYAS a chance.  It's great optimism.  He's never a quitter, and he'll fight to the death.  But he always BELIEVES there's a way.  For him to have to watch Lyla fulfill her destiny and become Harbinger is hard enough...to know that his brother, his best friend, his teammate...will not survive this Crisis.  Hit hits John on a deep level.  To also see how Connor turned out, he is proud, but still doesn't want to see him grow up in a dark world.  I think it prepares John real nicely should the Guardians of the Universe come calling.  I think we ALL want to see that.

I'm very curious that, with the things Team Arrow did in the present, how much of history has been changed for the adult Mia and William, as well as Connor, when they eventaully DO get back to 2040?  Will it be the same, or will it be better?  I'm VERY curious what Team Arrow did to alter the history of these kids, for when they eventually go back home.  And not just from a Star City perspective...but from a personal one.  How will Mia and William's relationship be if Diggle fulfills Ollie's requests, and makes sure that they get to spend time together.  Will their relationship with Felicity change?  I'm hoping we have these answers after CRISIS.

It has been an emotional rollercoaster for this last season.  I'm glad we're on the ride, but I am extremely sad to see this show go.  So much more Ollie could do, and the things I would've liked to have seen as far as taking him in a lighter direction.  But we have to accept the reality that Ollie's story is done.  But I am thankful for this journey---it's been extremely fun.

I thank all of YOU who stop by this blog and check it out.  Do ME a favor, willya?  TELL people about it!  I'd greatly appreciate it!  Also, don't forget to subscribe and leave some comments.  I DO enjoy connecting with all of you.  

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS is here...and we will prepare to say goodbye to Oliver Queen.

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