Arrow 803 Review: Leap of Faith

     Readers, I stepped  back a bit before I  watched Arrow's Leap  of  Faith episode.  Without the Felicity/Oliver story line, I  felt the show did offer what I wanted in a story.  Then I  listened to my readers who looked  for an honest review, which I don't think they fully got from  me, because  I wasn't interested in the story anymore.  In fact one reader said "If you don't feel you can enjoy the show  anymore, perhaps you  shouldn't watch.  She  had a  point.  I considered  not watching, but then I thought, what if I watch the next episode  of Arrow  as though it were a new show, one I  had not seen before, would that change anything?  In fact as Stephen Amell has  stated, the Arrow we knew ended  with season 7, so that's what I did I watched this episode  as if  I  had not ever  seen the show before, and it honestly did change  how I viewed it.

     Similarities: Of course Arrow is the same show, but it has new dynamic now.  Oliver has to save the fate  of the whole  world in order to save the one  thing he  loves more than life itself, his family: Felicity,  William,  and Mia.  If  you go back to some of my  early reviews you  will notice that I said Arrow  reminds me so much of the Odyssey.  It's the story of Odysseus who has  gone to fight in the Trojan war and wants to return  home.  He has many hindrances  on his  journey.  Oliver still wants to go home, but home now is Felicity, William, and Mia.  In prior seasons Oliver fought to  right his wrongs his father had  done, and along the  way, he met Felicity, who  drew him to the light, and  Oliver became  a hero.  Now in this final season, Oliver is a hero in his own  right, who like  Odysseus must fight a war that could destroy the world. The cosmic being, The Monitor  tells him that he has seen him die in fighting this war, much like  everyone thought Odysseus died in the Trojan war. Oliver is willing to lose everything to save the world but most importantly his  family, because  family is the one thing that keeps Oliver in  the light; it's what he lives for.  He clings the photo of Felicity and Mia, in much the same  way he clung to the life raft on the Island.  It's his  anchor. 

    Oliver on Nanda Parbat:  Oliver goes to Nanda Parbat because he wants answers to the questions that Tatsu made think about, can Oliver trust Mar Novu?  He hopes that Nyssa can give him the answers he looks for, but she gone. (As an aside, Katrina  Law is now on Hawaii 5-O and plays  a great part!)

Thea is there, and she helps Oliver.  It was good  to see Thea and Oliver interact again.  Thea has grown up.  She has fought Athena because of what she did to Roy, and Roy is  taking some  time to recover, from  the  killing he  had done in Star City.   So in the future, did Roy  ever say why he  was on  Nanda Parbat without Thea?  I don't recall they answered that question.  Anyway, Oliver wants to find out if he  can trust the  Monitor.  He's  sacrificed  so much for the  Cosmic Being.  Trust is everything to Oliver.  It's important to him that people trust him, and that he can trust others.  Trust is huge  part of  who Oliver is, so he feels he has to be able to trust him if  he's going to do  everything  the Monitor wants/needs  done.  As Oliver said to Thea, "I wrestle with the decision I made. I  need to be 100 percent sure my death will protect hose that I love and keep them safe."

           Talia shows up on the scene  with her  trainees, and knows  where  Oliver  might find  the information, but in the course  of going to the vault  where her  father kept this information,  Athena shows  up to fight with Oliver and Thea.  This action part of Arrow was pretty  good, and  reminded me of the the Last Crusade from Indiana  Jones. Remember all the things he had to overcome to get to the chalice?  He had to make a Leap of Faith, much like Oliver has to do.  Also Thea and Talia battle for the right to have Ra's sword and  be the leader of the League of Assassins.  Thea  in a clever ploy wins, and lets Talia live.  Thea suggests to Talia that they both rule, but instead of a League of  Assassins, how about a League of  Heroes?  Those moments were good ones.

       Who didn't cry when Oliver and Thea said goodbye?   Thea had been a part of  Arrow from the beginning, so it  was a touching  moment and  you could feel the love and friendship Stephen Amell has for Willa  Holland.  When Oliver cried holding his sister, thinking it might be the very last time he will ever see her, it certainly caused  this  reviewer to cry as well.  They both nailed that scene.  This is what sets Stephen Amell apart from other actors today.  He has become the character, not an easy task to do.  I also enjoyed the moments when they talked about their parents, they  lied, they had secrets, and  they  were far less than perfect, but Thea said, " They thought they  were protecting us; they made us heroes".  Just like what Oliver and Felicity  thought they were doing with William and Mia, by leaving William with his grandparents, and Felicity keeping it secret what she was  doing to help the Glades, they thought they were protecting their children.  They made them heroes.

        I also enjoyed  Thea's parting words to her brother, "See you later, and please don't die."

Oliver/Thea: William/Mia:  In the future, we see the parallels between brother and sister Oliver and Thea with brother and sister William and Mia.  In the future Mia is like Oliver, wanting William to stay away and stay safe.  She doesn't want him to go with her to  fight JJ and the Deathstroke "gang". Just like  Oliver wanted  Thea to stay behind and the camp and stay safe.  Like Thea, William insists that he can do this and  he wants to do this.  I thought those scenes occurring rather in tandem was really awesome and the best part of the future flash forwards. 

Mia and Oliver:  I know that Mia's brashness and her making quick, snap decisions can be irritating, it just another reminder of  how much like her  father she is.  Think how Oliver was during the first two seasons at least.  He  was  always  making quick decisions and he came across  as brash, and she has that same quality.  It just shows she has a  lot yet to learn.  Also, I wonder how Oliver will react to her since she is so much like him.  I can see a few arguments brewing, can you?

            Flash-Forwards:  The story line there is a bit confusing to me, because I'm not interested in the characters, but that being said, the writers did do something shocking.  They  killed Zoe.  I was shocked by that.  Were you?  Do you think she's really dead?  The dynamic between brothers Connor  and JJ was interesting too.  When JJ killed Zoe, Connor lost it all and was willing to kill JJ.  My guess is he did not.  I think he was  taking  from the timeline  in 2040 to the current timeline.  More on that later.

                 Lyla and John: Here we get a backstory for Connor.  I had thought that perhaps Sandra might die, so they adopted Connor as a result.  Apparently that happens  still in the future, so we shall  see more of that part of  the story.  John doesn't like secrets, and apparently Lyla has been keeping one for a long time.  How long has Harbinger been working for the Monitor?  When she tells John, "Promise me you'll always remember the good times," was she  referring to her possible death? Or do you think when John finds out that Lyla has been  working for/with the Monitor, he'll be so angry he can't forgive her?  That gave me something to think about.  What has the Monitor old her?  How much does she know?

                    The Shocking Ending:  Before Oliver took leave of Thea, the lighting changed for Oliver and  he was gone.  He's in the bunker, and with him also are  Dinah, John, Rene, Connor, Mia, and William.  Mia still had the tears she shed over Zoe in her eyes, she is clearly surprised.  William looked dumbfounded, as does Connor.  They are in current time Star City in the bunker.  Will they stay in current time?  How will Rene feel when he finds out that future Zoe is dead?  What about John when he finds out what JJ  has become?  Then there is Oliver, will he ask about Felicity?   Then too the shock of  Rene and Dinah finding out Felicity was pregnant and they didn't tell them, but John knew.  Oh my, what an episode the next one will be!  Are you ready for it?

              News:  Emily Bett Rickards will return to the Arrow Finale:  Will Oliver and Felicity finally be reunited forever?  Let us hope so. So now we can focus  on the the rest of this season with great anticipation.

Final Thoughts:

• I've watched the last two episodes of the  Flash and now I don't think I trust the Monitor. I wonder if the Monitor is  with one of the heroes and the anti-Monitor  is with the other hero?
• I read that heroes will die in the Crossover event.  Will Lyla die?  
• Were you surprised at the ending?  I certainly was, and I look forward to next week
• I will say resetting my thinking about Arrow, certainly helped me focus in a new way.  Arrow is still the same.  Felicity and Oliver's love story is still present, it's just in a different form.
• Please leave your thoughts in the comment section, and if you feel I've missed something important let me know.