Last night's finale of Arrow suffered from much of the problmes that had been plaguing the show for months, and proved to be a fitting end to a lackluster and disappointing season. The show could've really benefited from a two hour finale, like Agents of SHIELD was given, as they tried to tackle so much in the 43ish minutes and came up empty on every front. At no point did the audience feel any tension nor did they ever believe that anyone was in any real danger -- the stakes were never set and the audience had no reason to get emotionally invested in the episode. As soon as the conflict was introduced it was resolved by Ray -- an off-screen solution that was glossed over in order to shoehorn more Olicity scenes.
To be honest, I didn't have a problem with the first scene, in which Felicity tells Oliver to "fight to live", but that was the only scene between the two that was halfway bearable. Her pleading with Ray to sacrifice the city in order to save Oliver was selfish and didn't come across the way I would believe the writers had hoped. The scene in which she uses the ATOM suit to save Oliver was probably the most ridiculous scene of the series thus far. There are so many reasons why that should not have worked -- the size difference of Ray and Felicity and her expert usage of the suit, just to name a couple. Before I'm labelled as a "hater", I would not have a problem with Oliver and Felicity being together should it be done correctly, but the writers are forcing a romance with no chemistry in order to please fans and are doing it in the most inorganic manner. The romance does nothing for the show except get in the way of important plot. If they can find a way to use the romance to supplement the plot next season and improve Felicity's writing, I'll be all for it, but I don't have high hopes for that happening.
Another scene that bothered me, considering the circumstances, was Diggle's extremely petty verbal jabs directed at Oliver in the beginning. Yes, the man kidnapped your wife, leaving your child alone, but he did what he felt he need to and they'll both be dead anyway if you don't resolve this conflict. The only choice he had was accept Oliver's decision and help him defeat the League.
The death that Guggenheim teased was a total cop out. Every viewer goes into the finale with a preconceived notion that the main villain has a 50/50 chance of dying. There's nothing that "will stick" about Ra's death, it's just what you'd expect from a finale. The "climactic" fight between Oliver and Ra's did not capture any of the tension that the characters' first fight conveyed in the mid-season finale -- it's like comparing the lightsaber duels from the original Star Wars movies to those in the prequel trilogy, the former added character and plot depth, while the latter were just there to look good.
Ironically, the episode started out relatively strong. The scene with Barry saving Team Arrow was fun, the fight on the plane was exciting, but it went downhill from there, cultivating in an ending that you'd expect to see in a romantic comedy starring Rachel McAdams rather than a comic book based show starring a brooding archer.
It's obvious that they will be using Damian Darhk as the main villain in season four as they explore HIVE and their connection to Diggle and his brother. I'm curious as to how many episodes they'll go without Oliver before bringing him back to Starling. Based on their track record, they'll probably rush him back for the end of episode one. It will also be interesting to see how Malcolm handles his new title as Ra's and leader of the League of Assassins. Malcolm is a very morally ambiguous character, as he usually acts in a manner that will ultimately benefit himself in some way, and I'm sure he will remain that way throughout the next season.
Overall, the finale showcased the plethora of problems that were present throughout the season. Sloppy writing, forced romances and love triangles, unfleshed plots, and a lack of direction left fans yearning for more and wondering if the show will ever recapture the glory of season two.
In an earlier article, I said that I thought Arrow would be able to deliver a worthy finale and set up for an epic season four. I was very wrong.