The Redemption of Star City: Review of Arrow 722

       I know this was  a season finale, but for me, this clearly was a Series Finale; it ended the series with grace, dignity, and beauty.  Stephen Amell had stated that he told the  writers to write season 7 as if  it were the last.   The last ten minutes, as wonderful as they were, seemed just a bit rushed.  I would like to have seen the episode a special, longer one, extended to an hour and a half. It wouldn't feel as rushed.That being said, I felt satisfied that it ended with grace and dignity and that Oliver and Felicity, in spite of all the hardships they had to endure, finally are together at last.  Let's get the tissues and begin.

       Oliver and Emiko:  Emiko and the Ninth Circle are about to unleash a bio weapon on Star City, and it's up the team to stop them.  This is another area that felt a bit rushed.   I know that people felt Emiko as villain fell flat and she wasn't up to the status of an Adrian Chase or a Deathstroke, but for me it worked.  The idea of yet another villain in May, coming to destroy Star City may feel like a trope, however, this one is Oliver's own sister, wanting to bring it down all for revenge of how her father had treated her.  What felt rushed was her redemption. This part of the brother/sister story should have taken more time to develop, so the impact of her redemption at the end would have held more depth of meaning.  Oliver tells Emiko that she killed her mother, because she turned to the Ninth Circle to exact revenge,  and  it was the Ninth  Circle that killed  her mother. She was also ultimately to blame for all the loss in Oliver's life.  All that turmoil stemmed from the loss of the Gambit.  It caused his  father to commit suicide and to  leave his guilt with Oliver.  It caused Oliver being tortured on the island  for 5 years.  It caused the death of Tommy, his mother, and Quentin. All that loss because she allowed the Gambit to be  destroyed without telling  anyone.  Tears came to Emiko's eyes.  At the point of death, which came to her from the Ninth Circle, she tells Oliver she's sorry, saying, "I just wanted to be a Queen."  I'm watching this and thinking, "Well, you sure went about it in a strange way."  I'm sorry, but I felt little sympathy for her, because her story wasn't fully developed.  We got her background handed to us late in the game, and so this whole arc felt rushed to me. At least Oliver didn't take the blame for her death.  He confronts her honestly about the anger he felt towards her, while at the same time wanting to give her the redemption that he had experienced. Clearly Oliver has matured.

        The Team:  The team works together to try and stop Emiko from unleashing the bio weapon.  Her again the story seemed rushed.  I know they only have 42 minutes to tell the story, and that's why I thought a two part story for the finale would have been sweet.  Anyway, I digress.  The police are against them because they think the team has killed 6 of their officers.  Sargent Bingley knows they did  not, but he's on his way to the hospital.  The team escapes from the police and  head back to the bunker to find Curtis, Laurel, and Ben Turner, who has gotten his parole thanks to Laurel.  Oliver seemed surprised to see Ben but grateful.  They will try to stop the Ninth Circle.  Rene worries about Zoe, and John tells him that Lyla is taking JJ to a  safe place, and she will take Zoe. Then he turns to Ben and says, "You have a son too, don't you?  We'll pick him up too."  More pieces  of the puzzle are being put into place.  With the help of Overwatch, they go to the place where the weapons via drones are being released.  Sargent Bingley shows up and tells everyone that the vigilantes are not responsible and they help stop the attack, but not before a few people are severely injured.

The team returns to the bunker.  They have saved the City, and Dinah can go back into the police department, and  Rene and John and still work with the team.  Roy is going to leave, and we know he puts himself on Lian Yu, so he wont' hurt anyone  anymore.  They plan to make the Mark of Four: The four pillars of heroism: Courage, Loyalty, Selflessness, and Compassion.  If anyone is  in trouble the others will come.  Then Oliver and  Felicity say they are leaving.   We  know they have to leave to protect Oliver's family from the Ninth Circle.  Then Oliver get's emotional and says that he started this journey alone hoping to leave a legacy, "but my legacy is this team."  They all turn and and look at the place where their suits are.  It reminded me of the end of season 4 when only Oliver and  Felicity stood in the same spot.  The team and  left Oliver and then Felicity walks in, and tell him she's not leaving.  Then the lights go dim, and Oliver stands alone with tears.  It was a touching moment, and perfect for the end of the series. So I honestly didn't understand it because  we know it will be used in Season 8. 

        Oliver and Felicity:  John has arranged for a safe house in a perfect area.  Everyone there is either ex-CIA, or ex-ARGUS, so Oliver's family will be safe.  Then Oliver and Felice tell John they're having a daughter, Mia. John's so happy for them, and then OTA says their farewell to John.  Oliver tells Felicity that this isn't an island, but they never had a honeymoon. This is followed by a beautiful montage of  tender moments between them.  Oliver and Felicity on the porch, talking, holding hands, and dreaming about the baby.  We see the birth of Mia again, and walks with the baby.  Oliver holding her up in the air and seeing her smile.  Felicity comes into the room and Mia lays in sleeping Oliver's  arms, Mommy talks to smiling and cooing  Mia, and Daddy wakes up.  They stand in the kitchen and Oliver pours wine,  which Felicity calls, "Mom juice."  She says that as much as has missed fighting with the team, she has enjoyed every moment they've had together, and she wishes William could be there, because Mia needs a big brother.  Oliver says that he wants to talk to the grandparents about shared custody, and the Monitor enters.  We then find out what happened in the last crossover.

       We knew Oliver made a deal with the Monitor to save Barry and Kara. (Does anyone think that Barry or Kara are the same kind of heroes that Oliver is?)  The Monitor said that he couldn't do it, but that Oliver could.  To  maintain the balance of the multiple universe, Oliver would  have to go with the Monitor.  Oliver thought he'd have more time, and then Oliver asks, "What are you not telling me?"  The monitor then tells Oliver that in the upcoming crisis he sees Oliver die. He needs Oliver to help him.  It is then we have those tender, sweet moment where Oliver pours out his heart to the love of his life as tears just flow down his eyes.  Stephen Amell's acting was incredible and perfect, as was Emily's as she kept wiping the tears away from Oliver's eyes.  She wants to comfort him.  Oliver tells her that his only regret was not telling  her sooner that he loved  her.  Then he tells her the very same words that she had spoken to him at Nanda Parbat.  "You opened up my heart in ways I didn't even know were possible."  He says to Felicity that Mia will be smart and beautiful like her mother. This is the first time Oliver has ever  called Felicity beautiful.  He then asks Felicity to protect William and Mia, and to tell Mia everyday that he loved her.  She promises him, and then she tells him that "We are the best parts of each other."  She would find  him wherever he was.  Oliver bends over to hug Felicity and they hold each other tightly, and then he leaves and Felicity kneels down to the floor weeping. These well acted scenes  deserve recognition.

      Flash  Forward:  I  enjoyed the parallels between the fighting  in the future with Mia and then that of Oliver in the present.   Oliver uses his arrow and flies down from the building, and Mia does the same with her Dad's bow that Roy gives her.  Since Felicity erased Mia's DNA, Mia is the one who can stop the Archer  program, but it is a dangerous thing to do.  Felicity says no  at first, but they all know that they must do it, so Felicity give William and Mia tight hugs thinking this they may die.  The poignant moment touched this reviewer's heart, but the saddest moment came when Felicity tells Roy, Dinah, and Rene, that she failed to keep Oliver's promise.  That's how certain she is they may not make it back.

 Mia is ready to cross a dangerous place knowing she may die and not get out in time  so she says to William, "Take care of Mom;she's  lost so much already."  William says he just got used to having  a sister, he isn't losing her now.   Mia's ready to touch the button that will blow up all the systems and her hand shakes she has seconds to leave, but she makes in the same way Oliver made out of Palmer Tech.

The Glades and Star City are safe.  It will take time to rebuild trust but there are four heroes who will be there to take it over, Mia, William, Zoe, and Connor.  The set up for the spin-off.  Dinah, Roy, and Rene, and Felicity will have to leave, because the vigilantes will be blamed at first.  Felicity has her children meet her at their father's grave.  She wanted them all to be together one last time.  Mia says, you can call Mom, but Felicity knows she won't be able too.  She's waited 20 years to make this journey.  She hugs her children and makes them promise that they will take care of each other, much like Oliver promised her.  Felicity meet the Monitor, and as she touches her wedding band, the Monitor tell her that she cannot return, but Felicity walks through the portal to find Oliver and to be with him forever.

       The Portal:  Does the portal that Felicity walks through represent the entrance to heaven?  I don't have a definitive answer for you.  It sure seemed like that.  It also seemed  as though the Monitor and Oliver would have to go through the same portal, right?  So it could be heaven, but I'm not certain that the writers wanted us to have a definitive answer  for that.  When he tells Felicity that she can  never return and she willingly goes, does that mean the end?  If it's heaven then they are happy because they are together.  Felicity knows that Mia and William will be fine. In the science-fiction world anything is possible.  When they are by Oliver's grave it says he died in 2019.  So if he is really buried there, and it's not a ruse for the Ninth Circle to presume he's dead, he had to die before the Monitor took him, which makes no sense.  I'm thinking that Mia would  have been born around October based on when Felicity found out she's pregnant.  Mia looks to be about at most 5 months old, maybe six? If that's the case, then wouldn't Oliver have died in 2020 assuming the Monitor taking him meant death.  So, I'm not sure Oliver dies. However, if  Oliver is dead, I don't believe he'll stay dead. The whole Monitor thing left more questions than answers, for me at least.

Beatrice and the Ninth Circle:  It looks like this Beatrice and the Ninth Circle will figure into the Crisis of Infinite Earths.  It would have been nice to have had some clue about her earlier. We know she was  upset with Emiko for making the world aware of the Ninth Circle.  Again I feel this whole season has lacked  some plot developments, but more  on that in my season review.

      Final Thoughts:

• I'm not sure I'm interested in watching season 8.  This felt like a Series Finale, and it satisfied me in the end. Some people thought that Oliver and Felicity should live in peace with their children and watch them grow up.  I  understand those feelings, but Arrow has never been  about that kind of ending.  It's certainly been a  darker show, but what has meant the most to me,  is that they found each other,  and stayed together.  Marriage and children on a show can work.  Perhaps somehow at the end  of season 8 the Monitor allows them to return and be with their children. It still won't have the impact for me that this ending had.  They were heroes in the light who sacrificed themselves for the good of  others.
• I still would like to have seen this as a two part ending so it didn't feel rushed and properly developed.
• Did the Monitor take Oliver and Felicity to heaven?  I honestly don't know.  The Monitor said he saw Oliver die in the crisis that's coming, but we don't know if someone else will find out about what Oliver has done, and in exchange for Oliver will give himself or herself, and Oliver will come back.
• What did the Monitor mean when he told Felicity she could not come back?  Would Oliver want to come back without Felicity?  
• What happens to John Diggle?  He's not mentioned in the Flash forwards.  We never saw him, so does something happen to him?
• If I feel any disappointment it lies in the fact that everything in season 7 set up the stage for the stupid Crossover. I never liked them, and only watched them for the reviews.  I think the series should  have ended here.  I'm so thankful that Stephen told the writers to write for a Series Finale.  
• The CW says that in addition to the 10 episodes of Arrow, we will also get an extra retrospective of all 8 seasons. The CW has also stated that all the characters from the season finale will be ion season 8. Huh? Does that include at some point Felicity? Is she there in name only? So then Ben Turner will be in season 8 and he must be one of many to die, for Connor ends up in the care of John and Lyla.
• They saved the city; they were heroes in the light; they raised children who continue the legacy. Well done.
• My guess as to next season is that Oliver works with the Monitor to save the universe from its crisis. His reward will find that Felicity has found him. 
• Arrow will change times once again following Flash on Tuesdays. 
• Will you tune in for all or some of Arrow Season 8?