Life Sentence: Arrow Season 6 finale

      I have mixed emotions about the finale. After it aired last night, I would have said, it was not the best finale nor the worst.  I took the time to re-watch it on the CW app and then I've mulled it over nearly most of the morning and I can see something that the writers and Stephen Amell said about it.  They  said that if we went back to season one we would understand the ending.  I think I  can see  what they were saying.    This, readers, is the most difficult review to write.

 

    Right away the action starts when the Green Arrow comes into the police station with the FBI.  The action packed fighting engages the viewer immediately.  Because it starts so intensely, we know that what lies ahead of us  shall be equally intense.  We find out that Oliver has made a deal with Samanda Watson.  All the team including Felicity gets immunity from prosecution.  Felicity walks in and says, "I hope I get immunity too..." and she stands by Oliver unaware of the full cost that must be paid for that immunity, as she nervously fiddles with her ring, looking so small next to Oliver.

       Oliver:  Throughout the episode Oliver talks with each team member except Curtis. He talks first with John Diggle. He's worked the longest with John.  He has the most history with John. Oliver gives John another Green Arrow suit. He tells John that there's nothing  against having two Green Arrows.  John says, "It's not about the suit."  I think it has always been about John wanting to be viewed as an equal partner.  Oliver has always had a difficult time letting others in or sharing his thoughts. I think we see that from the very first episode of Arrow.  Oliver keeps things to himself. That's his nature.  I think partly because  that's who he is--his  nature is to keep things inside. I think it also has to do  with his upbringing.  His parents did not engage much with their children.  They loved  Oliver and Thea, but you never got the feeling that they played much with them as children, or encouraged a close relationship.  What John wanted from Oliver, and he got in the finale, was respect as an  equal partner.  They are brothers, after all.

Oliver talks next to Rene.  Samanda told Oliver about Rene's conversation with his daughter, and he confesses to Rene that he at first thought of him as a thug, but he was wrong.  He was proud  of Rene  and what he had done. Rene had always wanted to hear those words from Oliver, because he respected  him.

Later he talks with Dinah, and he tells her that he understood that she wanted revenge for the death of Vincent. She then says that she respected Oliver as well.

All of these talks that I mentioned are compelling and move the emotions, but for me, the whole season should have led up to this.  We never fully understood why  these people turned on Oliver.  Reader, if you understood it, please share it in the comments. I just never saw it.  Oliver finds  out that Rene turned state's evidence on Oliver, and then suddenly everyone's angry with him?  This is way they wrote it, so that when in the end we find out they only wanted Oliver to be proud of them as individuals, it almost made me upset.  It just didn't ring true.  Why didn't this happen earlier?

    Oliver taking the Fall:  Oliver calls what he has done  his penance.  He has been the vigilante. He has taken things into his own hands, because the police either couldn't or wouldn't.  Oliver from the beginning of the whole series has been willing to take the blame for all that he's done.  He knew there was no way to get Diaz without more help, so he reached out to Watson, knowing he would have to take the fall for it  all to protect everyone he loves. That's what being a hero  is all  about. Calling Watson was a last resort.  Should he have told Felicity and discussed this with her?  Yes, but he knew if he had she might have talked him out of it, and he couldn't risk losing her life or William's.


     Oliver and Felicity:  Felicity approaches Oliver and as always she directly wonders  why he's doing "Oliver's farewell  tour," you have to love Felicity's directness.  She wonders what Oliver has  given  to Watson in exchange for their immunity.  Oliver tells her that it was all his idea.  He almost tells her then what he's done, but then they are interrupted.  I know that both Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards spoke about the touching scene between the two characters and how much they  loved it , so we all anticipated a tender moment.  Although touching the heart,  I found it greatly disappointing on a certain level.  I  wanted Oliver to get up and hug her and kiss her, so that seemed such a huge let down. Then  he says, "I wanted to get Diaz, but William deserves one parent. I wanted to save you and William more."  As I have had time to think about it, I think that if Oliver had held Felicity and kissed  her, he wouldn't want to leave. He had to keep his distance. If you think about Oliver from the first time we met him, there is a part of him at the core that holds back a little for his own mental safety.  Yes, the viewer wanted them to hug and  kiss, but that's what made this scene  all the more tender, because we know he would not have let go. I  think Felicity understood this too. She's almost begging, and he's holding back tears.  I think we have to step back, and think of the story from the season one, and then we can get into his head and understand.  We may not like it, but we can understand it, and that, for me, actually makes it more bittersweet.

  

      Felicity:  Felicity is the light. Color is always important in storytelling, Felicity dressed in that pink sweater, symbolizes her faithfulness. She's faithful not only to Oliver and William,  but she's been faithful to the team and the people she loves.  I read comments on Twitter, that Felicity's going to be so angry with Oliver, but I don't know that angry is the word. I know she would have wanted to discuss this with Oliver, but if she had, would he have done  this?  Oliver knows he wouldn't have done this and that's  why he didn't tell her.  It's a risk he's willing to take to keep her and William  safe from Diaz.  Felicity loves him, and I think in the end when they  finally do talk, that she'll understand. I thought it sad and touching when Oliver asks about William that she says, "He's trying to understand  why he's left with a woman he's only  known for less than a year."  I heard a little anger in that voice.  She frustrated.  How will they all go forward?  Felicity's faithfulness will see them through.     

Lance and BS:  Because the death of Quentin Lance was leaked to the press, it came anticlimactic.  I almost wish they had Quentin going off with BS.  The touching scene for me was the talk he and Oliver had.  Oliver: You're a good father.
         Lance: So are you.
         Oliver:  I  had a really good example.
         Lance: Your father was a good  man.
         Oliver:  I'm not talking about my dad.

Stephen Amell's acting in this scene brought me to  tears.  You could feel the love Oliver has for Lance.  In so  many ways,  Lance was a better father than Robert Queen.
When Lance and Oliver talk in the hospital room, Lance knows the cost of what Oliver has done. As a police officer, Lance knows what it means for Oliver to have gotten immunity for the others. He knows that Oliver had to give something in exchange.  As Oliver exists the room, Lance says, "Oliver, it's a hell of a sacrifice."

 Laurel Lance (BS)  loved Quentin, and so we see that she had turned the corner and is closer to redemption.  I don't see her as fully redeemed  yet.  Oliver was right to yell at her for what she did to Diaz.  She wanted revenge for Quentin, but Oliver knew that Diaz is a hard man  to kill, and would get away.  I guess she'll be around for season 7.  We can't seem to get rid of any form of Laurel Lance, can we?

     Diaz: Diaz is like a cornered animal.  He's backed into a corner and he's lost all the self  control and patience he's had.  He reacts instead of thinks.  In the scene with Oliver fighting him before BS sends  Diaz over the edge into the water, we have so much darkness.  The darkness  of  Diaz is realized during the fight, we  hardly can distinguish between Oliver and Diaz. This darkness symbolized the evil behind Diaz.  In the beginning of the season we never saw much of  the main villain.  When we did, he's always controlled, but now we see the real villain that will be carried over to season 7, along  with infamous Longbow Hunters, whoever they are.  You would have thought the writers would have given  us a glimpse of them, but then again the writing this season has not been consistent.

    Samanda Watson:  Samanda Watson has strong feelings about vigilantes.  She values the law above all else and so she has finally gotten what she wanted: Oliver to admit he's the Green Arrow and serving a life sentence for it.  At first, and I wrote this this morning on a comment on Olicity-Arrow's Facebook page, that Samanda said to Oliver in 622 when  he admitted to being the Green Arrow, "And the truth shall set you free."  But we never heard what the second thing was she wanted from Oliver.  Some think it was to go  to prison for life, but I thought perhaps the second thing she wanted from Oliver was to go to prison to help her get more information about someone on the inside, but now I am not so sure. It certainly would make for an interesting start to season 7.  Working for the FBI on the inside would be a little like Prison Break.  But when Oliver is left just standing there with  all the other  prisoners yelling their revenge,  I wondered if my  guess  were correct.

Did you notice the look Watson had when  Rene called his daughter?  She clearly was moved by that.  Also she gave Oliver an extra half hour to be with his family.  She may be having a change of heart.  She will clearly  be in season 7 because the FBI is sticking around until Diaz is caught.

Final Thoughts:

• Season 6 had it's share of highs and lows, so it was mixed for me.  The finale left me stunned that Oliver will serve  a life sentence, but we all know that won't be for long.  I still think Samanda has something she needs and wants from Oliver.
• Didn't you find it interesting that Oliver talked privately  with every member of the team except for Curtis?  Why do you think that was?  He certainly turned  on Oliver and had so many annoying remarks I came to dislike him  intensely.  
• Although disappointed that Oliver and Felicity didn't have that hug and kiss, I can see why they  didn't; it's part of Oliver's core to keep his distance especially when he's hurting. He has to steel himself emotionally or  he'll lose himself.
• I'm sorry Lance is gone.
• Stephen and Emily nailed their scenes
• Season  7 looks  like it will take us in new directions with new writers.  How will Oliver be able to return home to his family?
• The scene with Sara hugging Felicity touched my heart.  
• I will have a summary of the season coming out next week, stay tuned!
• Also I am thinking of writing a fan fiction story about Felicity visiting Oliver in prison, would anyone be interested in that? Please share your thoughts.