Promise Me: Arrow 2x09 Review (Three Ghosts)
It is mid-season finale time and Season 2 provides one of Arrow’s best. Oliver’s truly horrific past is revealed as he hallucinates in the present day, but are they truly hallucinations or something more?
Let’s dig in…
Olicity
Before the ghosts, we must deal with Barry Allen. Oliver is coding on the table because that’s just something he does from time to time. Felicity begs Barry to save her “friend” (okay honey, we’ll go along with that moniker for now) but Barry protests he’s more comfortable with corpses. Well keep talking buddy and he’ll be one soon enough! But Felicity is faithful that Barry, and only Barry, can save Oliver.
Do I feel Barry warrants this level of trust from Felicity? His forensic science skills are quite helpful, but nothing Felicity couldn’t learn in half a day. It’s true he put together some of the vigilante puzzle pieces, but I’ll refrain from calling it actual sleuthing. The kid just opened his eyes and looked - something the Starling City Police Department should try sometime (cough*Quentin*cough). I’ll admit my reaction was more in line with Diggle’s when Barry pulled out the rat poison, but Felicity made the call and where she goes so goes my nation.
To be fair, Oliver Queen didn’t deserve the level of trust Felicity gave him either. If anything, Oliver was more deceitful than Barry. Yet, Felicity saw something good in Oliver. She saw something kind and compassionate underneath all the lying bad boy bravado.
Barry’s goodness is at the surface. You don’t have to dig for it like we do with Oliver. The kid is a freaking golden retriever to Oliver’s cane corso. No offense cane corso owners. We all know they love a good snuggle just as much as the next dog, but you have to admit there’s an intimidation factor there.
What was I talking about? Oh right, Barry. Felicity wasn’t looking for goodness in Barry. She was looking for balls. Not literally. That’s gross. Shame on you. I mean, did the kid have the stones to man up and get the job done when he’s needed? Can Barry Allen be a hero?
Oliver’s beating heart says yes! The kid sciences his way through saving Oliver’s life and Felicity’s trust is rewarded. And Barry is rewarded with Oliver choking the life out of him with a single hand. I know I should be more concerned about Barry, but that was so hot.
Anywho, Oliver knows Barry knows and he also knows Felicity is the reason Barry knows and knowing all of this means Oliver is not happy. Not a big shocker really. If anyone thought Oliver would be cool with Felicity telling her maybe date his dark and twisty super-secret superhero persona raise your hand.
*crickets chirping*
Yeah that's what I thought.
This leads to perhaps the greatest Olicity fight of all time. Well, until next week. But for now this is the greatest Olicity fight of all time.
Oliver: You told him who I am.
Felicity: Yeah, I did.
I just LOVE the way Felicity says this. It’s very matter of fact and not an ounce of sorry in her. She made a call. Oliver will have to deal with it. Just like the hundreds of times Oliver made a call and she’s had to deal with it.
Oliver: That’s not your secret to tell, Felicity. I decide who finds out my identity.
He’s so hurt. He never thought she would betray him like that. It almost makes you feel sorry for him for about 1.2 seconds.
Felicity: Well, we didn’t have time to get your vote what with you unconscious and dying.
And we have arrived at the logical portion of this debate! Oliver was dying. Diggle and Felicity didn’t know how to save him. She took a shot in hopes that Barry & his forensics would do better. Was he as good as an ER? No, but the lack of cuffs around Oliver’s wrists are a nice side effect of Dr. Allen’s treatment. Also, he could just be dead. Gotta pick your poison, Oliver. (HA! GET IT?)
Oliver: What happens if he leaves here and goes right to the police?
Felicity: He wouldn’t do that.
Barry: I wouldn’t do that.
Barry, shush. The adults are talking. Let Felicity save your life.
Felicity: I trust him.
Oliver: I don’t!
This is what you call a difference of opinion. (Not for nothing, but if The Flash taught me anything it was that Oliver was right). Also, you know one of the reasons why Oliver doesn’t trust Barry is because he was Felicity’s maybe date to the party he was throwing for his mother. The man had to do a shot to get through their dancing/swaying.
Felicity: What are you gonna do? Put an arrow in him?
Oliver: I am considering it.
HA! If you don’t laugh out loud at this moment, then I don’t feel we can bond on a comedic level. It’s okay, we can bond over other things. It just makes me sad that you don’t understand true hilarity when it’s before you.
Felicity: Don’t worry, he’s kidding!
Oliver was absolutely not kidding, Felicity.
Felicity: How is it any different from when your mother shot you and you came to me for help?
Felicity: 1 point Oliver: 0 points
Barry: Your mother shot you?
Oh, peanut that merely scratches the surface of Oliver’s familial history. Don’t get me started on the Lances.
Felicity: Or when you brought Dig down here when he was poisoned with curare?
Felicity: 200 points Oliver: 0 points
Oliver: The difference is that I did my homework on both of you! I don’t just tell people easily.
OLIVER WE KNOW YOU HAVE TRUST ISSUES. IT HAS BEEN WELL ESTABLISHED. I’m sorry you didn’t get to creep on Barry for six months prior to meeting (or three years), but isn’t that exactly Felicity’s point? Eventually, Oliver had to trust Diggle and Felicity. He had to take a leap of faith because his life (or their lives) was in danger. Life and death don’t allow for much vacillating.
Oliver didn’t know for sure Felicity or Diggle wouldn’t turn him in. In fact, it was looking highly probable in 1x04 hat Diggle was going to call the cops. (Our girl was always stalwart.) That’s the thing about trust – there are no guarantees. This is why Oliver has such a difficult time giving it. Faith cannot be proven. We can always be betrayed by anyone, at any time. It’s why they call it a leap. You are flying across the unknown and praying someone will be on the other side to catch you.
Barry: I’m not going to tell anyone, and you don’t have to thank me, but you should thank her instead of being kind of a jerk.
Barry, you are going to die. This alpha does kill, but I appreciate the defense of Oliver’s woman.
Barry: Mr. Queen.
This bought Barry a stay of execution. Never underestimate the power of good manners and respecting your elders.
So, hey! There’s still a super strength psychopath on the loose, a point Oliver seems to remember and begrudgingly accepts Felicity’s decision. No apology or thank you of course. This is Oliver after all.
They have a much (MUCH) bigger fish to fry. Barry does have his uses. He pulled his fingerprint off Oliver’s neck, which is the best evidence to go on thus far. Listen, I really try to not like Barry Allen but he’s just so damn likeable sometimes – especially pre-Flash, pure as the driven snow, Barry.
The fight between erupted so quickly I almost forgot to discuss Oliver’s trip to the “in between.” That’s what I’m calling it at least. As they performed CPR, Oliver was hovering between life and death. And who does he see? Shado.
She reaches for Oliver and the scary part is - he reaches back. At the exact same time, you can hear Felicity in the background softly calling to Oliver, but she sounds very far away.
Felicity: Oliver, stay with me!
Shado: Stay with me
Both women call to Oliver. One in the here and now and the other… somewhere else. There are some moments that perfectly encapsulate Oliver’s internal struggle, and this is one of them. Live in the present or die in the past.
This is not the first time Arrow parallel Shado and Felicity. It is no small thing. Shado was someone Oliver was romantically involved with on the island. Someone he loved. The woman they draw a similar connection to is not Laurel or Sara or whatever "maybe-date of the week" they can cook up, but Felicity. The “friend.” The person he could really care about, but will not allow himself to. DO. NOT. FORGET. THIS. MOMENT. You’re going to need it in the back half of the season.
Oliver is not doing well post poisoning and asks Barry if there are any side effects and what do you know? Hallucinations (and excessive sweating) are common side effects to rat poison. Good to know.
Felicity is all sweet and concerned.
Felicity: You’re hallucinating? What do you see? All sweet and concerned.
Oliver: A girl named Shado that was with me on the island.
Until Oliver says that.
Felicity: Shado. Sara. How many women were you marooned with? Are you sure this wasn't fantasy island?
So clearly Oliver is not the only one experiencing jealousy in this episode. This is something Barry quickly picks up on because he has eyes.
Barry: You’re really worried about him, huh?
Felicity: He takes crazy changes, even when he’s not hallucinating about beautiful island girls.
Barry: The other night I asked you if you liked Oliver.
Felicity: I told you. I don’t.
Barry: I remember. But if you did, I could see why. I mean, Oliver Queen, he is a billionaire by day and saves the city by night.
I think this exchange is really important, because we seldom hear Felicity’s perspective on what’s going on (or not going on) between her and Oliver. Underneath all that jealousy, is a healthy dose of insecurity. Felicity does not feel she measures up to the other women in Oliver’s life.
This is not the first time she’s commented on someone else’s beauty and that person’s proximity to Oliver. She made similar comments about Laurel last year. It’s almost like Felicity doesn’t feel like she’s as beautiful as those other women. She can’t hold Oliver’s attention the same way they can.
It's unfathomable to the rest of us because she’s gorgeous (and Oliver would be the first to say so), but it’s also completely heartbreaking. Felicity grows in confidence exponentially throughout Arrow, but it’s easy to forget where she started – the IT girl with a "crush" on Oliver Queen and had no hope he'd ever return her love.
Barry’s attention has to be a little confidence booster, but I don’t think she’s truly picked up on Oliver’s jealousy or at least picked up on that jealousy is the primary emotion contributing to his ‘tude.
Barry: I just have a little experience with liking someone who doesn't see you the same way.
As for Barry, aka The Red Condom, he recognizes he doesn’t quite measure up to Oliver Queen. Good. Got that out of the way. But he also has experience with unrequited love (Iris West alert!). It’s sweet and empathetic, but SO MANY FRIEND VIBES between these two.
There is a lot made about the next scene between Oliver, Felicity and Barry. Oliver has come to the foundry to blow off steam and would like some privacy. Does he clock that Felicity is alone with Barry in their humble abode? You bet. Is there a sadness as Felicity grazes her hand against Oliver's arm as she leaves? Absolutely. Any physical touch with this woman is just a reminder of what he can't (or won't allow himself to) have.
A common opinion in the fandom is that Oliver came to the bunker looking for Felicity to have a talk. He was heartbroken to find her with Barry. So, he covered for it and asked to be alone.
Eh. I never really agreed with that. The man came with equipment. He had a tennis ball. Nor do I think he would discuss his hallucinations with Felicity right now. They are not in the best place.
He’s still pissed about Barry (for multiple reasons). She didn’t have a wildly positive reaction to what he said about Shado. He has yet to reveal to anyone what happened to Slade. We’re getting into some dark stuff in Oliver’s past, and as close as they are, I don’t think Oliver is ready to reveal all of that to his Girl Wednesday. He doesn’t even really discuss it in detail with Diggle.
I genuinely think Oliver came to the foundry to be alone, because that is very much Oliver’s comping mechanism at this point in the story. Communicative Oliver comes later. Much later. We’re only in Season 2.
Oliver: I have to stop this.
Felicity: Oliver, Gold left you half-dead which is 50% better than how he left Detective Hilton.
Source: selinas
UGH. This scene. THIS SCENE. Crushes my soul every time because it’s just so spot on with their characters at this moment. Olicity fans were salivating for any crumb of romantic tension between these two and this scene delivers in spades. It doesn’t smack you in the face though. Stephen and Emily do amazing job with the unspoken words between Oliver and Felicity.
Of course, Felicity is worried and doesn’t want Oliver in the field, but it's a major milestone that she asks him to stay. I can’t remember her doing that before. It’s getting more difficult for Felicity to keep her concerns at bay.
This is such tried and true romantic trope – the love interest asking the hero to come back to her. It’s kind of mind-boggling the writers played this card so early in Olicity’s development, but here we are and I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
When Felicity says “Promise me?” everyone in the room takes notice – Barry, who has read a few romance novels or watched a couple movies and knows what that statement really means. Felicity wants Oliver to come back… to her. But sure, she doesn’t like him. Ok pumpkin.
But if we really want to point the finger at who kicked off the romantic undertones look no further than Mr. Oliver Queen. Yes, he’s trying to reassure Felicity, but that soft gentle voice conveys more than reassurance. Yes, he will come back… to her. He levels those blue eyes at her too and stares deep into her soul. Yeah, it’s not hard to see why Felicity has a crush.
But our girl ups the romance with “Promise me?” Even Oliver looks surprised Felicity had the guts to say it out loud. But here’s the killer. HE. DOESN’T. PROMISE. HER.
Source: @olicitygifs
This drove me up the wall when I watched it live. He just stares into her eyes, long past any time frame that’s appropriate for “just friends.” Then he just flips the switch. Emotions shut down, flick his eyes away, and walk off. Game face on and ready for battle.
Why didn’t he promise her? Because Oliver will not give Felicity his word if he can’t keep it. He respects her too much to lie. Oliver is not sure he’s coming back, but he can’t say that. It will only frighten and worry Felicity more. But he can’t give her the promise she wants either.
This is where the ultimate roadblock between them rears its ugly head. Oliver is rather fatalistic. He doesn’t have a death wish. He wants to survive, but he’s not fighting for his life. Not really. He still believes death will find him on the battlefield and in some respects, he’s resigned to it.
Yes, he wants to keep Felicity save, but he also wants to limit emotional attachment because he doesn’t want to cause her more pain if he dies. Oliver is hallucinating (or seeing visions) of those in the afterlife because he has one foot on the door. He keeps Felicity at arm’s length and will not allow the extremely obvious feelings between them to actually grow into a real relationship. He cannot promise a life with her because he’s not sure there will be a life to have.
That’s why there was a push and pull between Shado and Felicity begging him to “stay with me.” The past and the present. Guilt and forgiveness. Life and death. These are the forces constantly at war in Oliver. At some point, he will need to decide but today is not that day.
Andy: Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. - The Shawshank Redemption
THIS is why Oliver is so frustrating, and THIS is why the writers made reference to the Solomon Grundy nursery rhyme. It’s about the fleeting nature of life and how fragile it is. Roy, Shado and Barry have their lives altered forever in a matter of moments by the episode's end. It can all be over in the blink of an eye.
Yet, despite knowing that on a basic level – Oliver continues to live half a life. There is no fight in him for anything more. Even with all the Barry jealousy – he’s not doing anything about it. He’s not knocking on Felicity’s door and asking her out for a cup of coffee. He’s just fuming Felicity has the nerve to move on.
THIS IS EXACTLY THE POINT. Life is fleeting. Barry is a signal to Oliver that Felicity will not wait forever. He will lose her if he doesn’t start fighting.
And that’s exactly what the final "ghost" is here to tell him.
We are blessed with a major Olicity milestone – their first hug. Oliver is triumphant in the fight against Gold and returns to the bunker, safe and sound. Felicity is there to welcome him home.
What I love about this moment is Oliver sees Felicity running to him and he opens his arms to her. He doesn’t push her away. Oliver holds her. It seems like a small moment, but it’s not. This time was scary. This time was too close. This time it doesn't hurt to touch her. They both need it to be reassured.
Diggle: Still have a ghost problem?
Oliver: No, I got the message.
He holds Felicity’s gaze as he says this. Oliver listens to Tommy. The barrier came down a little. Underneath that hug is a whole lot of fight.
Oliver is rewarded with an outward sign of his heroism. Every great superhero needs a mask, and Oliver receives his from an unlikely source – Barry Allen. He’s a fanboy until the end. Bonus? It gives us this iconic OTA shot because the entire show has been reoriented around these three core characters.
But it is Felicity who officially anoints Oliver with his mask. This is the way it should be. Felicity has always seen Oliver’s light. She has always believed in him. She always knew he is a good man with a good heart.
When Tommy calls Oliver a hero it’s a moment of grace. It is forgiveness. When Felicity calls Oliver a hero, it’s a moment of acceptance. It is faith. And Oliver Queen is starting to believe.
Then comes the CANON EVENT. Slade is alive and HE KNOWS OLIVER’S ROMANTIC ENDGAME.
Slade: I’m going to tear everything he cares about away from him [Quentin]. Destroy those who choose to follow him [Roy]. Corrupt those he loves...
Who does the camera cut to? Felicity. This shot could have been anyone – Sara, Thea, Diggle and hell yes Laurel. The director chose Felicity. This is a little thing we like to call foreshadowing my friends.
There are no more ghosts. Only the living. The past is about to come crashing into the present. This war with Slade Wilson will force Oliver to make some very important and life altering decisions about who he is and who he loves. And maybe, just maybe, move him closer to the person who can make, and keep, promises to Felicity.
The Ghosts and The Island
After Oliver pulls the arrow out of Roy’s leg, he has another run in with Shado in the hallway of the Queen mansion. Oliver touches her face and Shado feels real. She also has some interesting things to say.
Shado: Put down your bow. Take off my father’s hood.
Oliver: I wear that hood to honor your father. To honor you.
Shado: If you want to honor me, stop fighting and live. Or everyone you love will die.
Clearly not feeling good about Shado’s survival in the flashback. This vision warns Oliver there is a fight that he cannot win and those he loves will be collateral damage. Ghost Shado wants Oliver to stop fighting and live.
What’s interesting about Ghost Shado is she’s not entirely wrong. For Oliver to find peace and forgiveness, he must learn how to truly live and not just survive. And yes, this crusade does put people he loves in danger (hence the secret identity) – particularly when we find out WHO that danger truly is.
There is a cost to war. Ghost Shado is begging Oliver to stop waging it because the fight that’s coming is one he cannot win – not without losing those he loves. Ghost Shado wants Oliver to be happy – for whatever time he has left. It’s a foreboding warning. One that would be sweet if it wasn’t so terrifying.
But Ghost Shado is also asking Oliver to skip to the end and it’s an ending he hasn’t earned yet. It’s sort of like skipping to the end of a good book. The middle is what makes the ending so great. It’s the journey that matters. Yes, Oliver must learn to live in the present day and not be haunted by the past. But he can’t just drop the bow, dust of his hands, and say “All better!” Trauma doesn’t work that way. The only way through is through. The bow and hood are Oliver's way through.
Oliver still has many struggles and lessons to learn before he can truly heal. This fight Ghost Shado warns of is coming no matter what he does. So, the very last thing he should do is put down his bow. Oliver cannot find peace. Not when there’s a war to win.
Alright, so what the hell happened to Shado? We pick up immediately where we left off in the flashbacks which is Slade dead and Oliver, Shado and Sara being kidnapped by Ivo. Honestly, how many times has Oliver been kidnapped? It’d be safer to work for a cartel at this point.
Ivo: But I do care about you Sara, which is why I won’t choose to kill you. But he might.
Oliver: What are you talking about?
Ivo: Time to choose Oliver. Who lives and who dies? But pick quickly because in 30 seconds I will shoot them both.
Well fuck. We’re always demanding Oliver open up and tell us about the island. This was the first time I realized maybe I don’t want to know. What happens to Shado is something out of a Stephen King novel. What Oliver must live with is horrific. He begs for both Shado and Sara’s lives. But in the end, he makes a choice.
Oliver chooses Sara, but to call it a choice is a complete joke. His body just reacted. Ivo put a gun to Sara’s head and Oliver threw himself in front of it. The way Shado winces, knowing Oliver did not pick her and that she was going to die, is gut wrenching.
You can easily make the argument that if Ivo aimed at Shado first then Oliver would have thrown himself in front of her as well. Then Sara would be dead. It was simply a matter of order. Ivo ultimately picked because he chose Sara first. I imagine this is something Oliver tells himself to sleep at night, when sleep is within the realm of possibility.
But to truly understand Oliver’s guilt, and the way it tortures him, is by acknowledging he did make a choice. A choice under duress of course. (None of what happened is Oliver’s fault.) But he defiantly protected Sara. The gun on Sara ultimately revealed the truth of Oliver’s feelings. Oliver loved Shado very much, but he loved Sara more.
Somehow, in Ivo’s psychopathy, he saw that. Yes, he was angry at Sara’s betrayal, but he knew she betrayed him for this boy. He knew Oliver and Sara mattered to each other, so Ivo took that love and twisted it into something awful. That’s why he put the gun on Sara first.
This is why Oliver cannot forgive himself. He feels all the responsibility for Shado’s death, but he must also live with the fact that he didn’t love her enough in life.
What makes it worse is that Slade did love Shado more. This is something that recently dawned on Oliver in the flashbacks. Slade would have chosen Shado and not thought twice about Sara Lance. Not only did Oliver lose a woman he loves by saving a woman he loves, but he also betrayed his best friend while doing it.
It’s okay, Oliver. You don’t have to tell us anymore. Not if you don’t want to.
This brings us to Oliver’s second ghost – Slade Wilson and he has some thoughts on Oliver he’d like to share.
Oliver: You’re not real.
Slade: Neither are you. You told everyone when you started this crusade it was about making up for your father’s sins. That was a lie. This charade is to atone for your sins.
Oliver: You’re dead.
Slade: You are not a hero, or a friend, or a brother. You are nothing.
This doesn’t sound like the Slade Wilson we know and love. Yes, he’s angry but he’s also unhinged. Like really unhinged. There’s a crazy look in his eye we’ve never seen before. The Slade Oliver is “remembering” in this hallucination is not the Slade we know. But we will come to know him soon.
A brawl erupts between the two and, if Oliver is hallucinating, then he’s really just fighting himself. This actually would look pretty funny.
Slade: The island didn’t make you strong, kid. It revealed you to be weak.
This is Slade’s parting shot before throwing Oliver in the glass case holding his suit and shattering it. The suit, the symbol of his heroism and his love for Shado, falls to the ground. Maybe it’s the symbol of his failures. Slade made sure to point out that Oliver failed to save him, Shado and his city. This “hallucination” is more like a psychological evisceration.
In the flashback, Slade wakes from his Mirakuru coma and runs to save Oliver, Sara and, of course, Shado. He’s been super charged and takes out Ivo’s henchmen with serious force, punching through the chest of one man and chucking the other into a tree like he’s a doll.
He’s too late to save Shado and cradles her dead body in his arms, sobbing. Sara tells Slade that Ivo shot Shado for no reason. Oliver’s guilt has taken root already because he thinks Sara is lying to Slade, but in reality – that’s exactly what happened.
Before Oliver faces off with Cyrus Gold one more time, Barry drops a bomb on him. Oliver’s blood is clean. He has no trace of rat poison, so he should not be experiencing any hallucinations or excessive sweating. This means I am well within my rights to go all spiritual on you, ok? CUZ SCIENCE SAYS NO HALLUCINATIONS.
Oliver is slowly but surely getting smarter with every episode. Well, sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back, but he at least knows that when it comes to the bigger life questions there’s only one person to go to for advice.
John Diggle.
Diggle he’s been to war. He knows Oliver is suffering from survivors’ guilt (and a massive case of PTSD). John has tangled with his ghosts as well.
Oliver: How’d you make your ghosts go away?
Diggle: I figured out what they were trying to tell me.
Oliver: Which was?
Diggle: That’s for me to hear Oliver. You have to figure out what yours are trying to tell you.
Diggle and Oliver share a lot in common, but there’s something really beautiful about John separating his experiences from Oliver. John keeps his ghost’s revelations private because whatever message Diggle’s ghosts gave him was meant for his soul only. It’s not relevant to Oliver and vice versus. Oliver isn’t hallucinating. He’s in a spiritual crisis. Some roads you must walk alone.
Barry and Felicity track down Cyrus Gold and Oliver faces off with him AGAIN. Oliver is losing badly. AGAIN. He’s down and out when suddenly he hears a voice.
Get up Oliver.
TOOOOMMMMMYYYYY!!!! (This is a rule. Every time you hear Colin Donnell’s voice you scream Tommy). This is one of Arrow’s best surprises. I remember watching it live and gasping. Then burst into tears when Tommy kneels down next to Oliver. DAMN HE LOOKS GOOD. The afterlife was kind to Tommy Merlyn. This final ghost gives Oliver a precious gift, one he desperately needs – forgiveness.
Tommy: You’re not gonna die down here.
Oliver: Tommy? Tommy, I’m sorry. I let you die.
Quentin is right. Oliver blames himself for every death, but particularly for the loved ones he believed he failed. The first thing out of his mouth is an apology because more than anything Oliver is desperate for forgiveness. We all know that there’s nothing to forgive. and so does Tommy.
Tommy: You didn’t let me die, Ollie. You fought to save me because that’s what you do. What you have always done. You fight to survive.
Everything about this speech is perfect and heals any wounds from the season one finale and the devastating final moment these two best friends shared. Colin’s delivery is spectacular. (WHY DID THEY KILL HIM OFF???) With a single breath, Tommy relieves Oliver of his burdens and guilt. He reminds Oliver of the very thing that makes him a hero – his unrelenting and selfless fighting spirit.
Oliver does as instructed. He gets up and fights back. Only this time, Cyrus Gold is no match for Oliver’s fury. There is no drug in this world that can combat his will to survive.
He beats Gold by killing him. I think? Or knocking him unconscious and burning his face? It's unclear, but the super soldier is down for the count. Oliver also manages to revive a Mirakuru poisoned Roy by willing him to fight and survive as well.
So, what does all of this mean? Were Shado, Slade and Tommy really ghosts? The short answer is yes – well two out of the three. I absolutely believe both Shado and Tommy were ghosts, reaching for Oliver from the beyond to give him the messages he needed to hear.
Shado’s warning was an ominous one. Oliver’s crusade is bringing a war to his doorstep, and it will cost him the people he loves. It already has. Shado also wanted Oliver to stop fighting and live. She’s right. That is a huge lesson Oliver still needs to learn.
When Diggle is in Cyrus Gold’s apartment he finds the Solomon Grundy poem. In the DC comics, Cyrus Gold became an inhuman zombie named "Solomon Grundy" after being murdered. But as Arrow points out, Solomon Grundy was originally a poem. It’s a nursery rhyme that describes the seven stages of life from birth to death. A man lives his whole life in one week.
It's speaks to the fragility of life and how it can change in an instant. As evidence by what happens to Shado, Roy and Barry in this episode – the people you love can be gone in an instant or irrevocably changed. Life is short, so live it fully and make sure those you love know you love them.
This is where Oliver is having a little difficulty. He is not living his life to the fullest. He’s not really living his life. He’s fighting. He’s surviving. But he denies himself the things that would make his life full and happy.
Yet, he lives in a high stakes world where death can come any moment. So, yes Shado is right. Oliver is wasting precious time. Living his life is the best way to honor her and Yao Fei (and his father). At some point, Oliver needs to put down the bow.
But not now, which is where Tommy comes in. If you need further evidence that Tommy is truly a ghost and not Oliver’s inner voice or some hallucination then look no further than the word “hero.” Oliver would NEVER in a million years call himself a hero, let alone hallucinate that Tommy would call him one.
No, this message came from Tommy and Tommy alone. Right now, the city needs the The Arrow and while it is possible for Oliver to wear the hood and be happy – it is not the time for him to stop fighting. If there is a war coming than Oliver is the city’s best chance to win it.
This brings us to Slade and he is not dead. So, how can he be a ghost? Well, he can’t. If you listen to the things Slade says to Oliver they are all the hateful things Oliver believes about himself. I don’t think Slade is a hallucination brought on by rat poison. He is a hallucination brought on by Oliver’s self loathing and guilt.
This is why Tommy’s appearance is so vitally important. He’s the only person who can get through to Oliver in this moment. Oliver will believe Tommy’s forgiveness and faith in him. Oliver needs to believe he is a good man worthy of being a hero if he is going to beat Slade Wilson.
He also must believe he is deserving of love. Tommy is not just talking about the battle with Gold or with Slade. He’s telling Oliver he needs to fight for his life. Start fighting for who and what he wants. Start living. Because Tommy knows how fleeting life can be. The question is can Oliver keep the promise he made to honor Tommy and can he be the hero Tommy knows he is?
Roy and Laurel
Oliver removes the arrow he shot into Roy’s leg in a hilarious scene, but it takes the kid all of 5 minutes to get into trouble again. He’s injected with Mirakuru and becomes Blood’s newest super solider. He doesn’t tell Thea, but what else is new? Let’s rejoice that Roy has finally joined the main storyline. That took the better part of a year and a half.
Speaking of storylines, does Laurel even have one yet? They’ve marooned her so far off the main plot I forgot she was actually on the show for a hot minute. What did Laurel’s return bring us? She got some flowers, went on a maybe-date with Sebastian Blood, didn’t remotely help Thea/Roy/Sin in any real way and cried with her dad when his partner died.
Wow. She’s super crucial. It’s unbelievable she missed a few episodes. How did we make it through? I’m on the edge of my seat for what comes next in Laurel Lance’s journey.
Stray Thoughts
Rat poison. I try really hard not to learn my science from Arrow, but rat poison. REALLY? That cannot be a thing.
Oliver choking Barry. Ugh, so many problems would have been avoided if Oliver just snapped his neck. I have zero problems with Oliver snapping Future Barry’s neck, but present-day Barry is a puppy so no can-do Scooby Doo.
Praise Baby Jesus and all that is holy that we didn’t have to suffer through another Queen Christmas party.
Roy: My anger is dulling the pain.
Sin: This will dull it better.
The best line of the episode goes to Sin. No contest.
I feel Oliver woefully unprepared Quentin for Cyrus Gold. He can feel a little guilty.
THEY DID A PSYCH EVAL AT THE BLOOD DRIVE AND LAUREL SAID IT’S NOT OUT OF THE ORDINDARY?? You mean a health history??? That’s not a psych eval ADA Lance. Good lord do they purposefully make her look like an idiot?
Barry: If you ever decide Oliver Queen isn’t the guy for you, if you decide you want to go on a date with someone else, um you should know that guy he’ll be on time.
Give it up condom boy. Oliver Queen is the guy for her. And he’s always on time.
Barry gets electrocuted and becomes The Flash. YAWN. Who cares? I know I know. Literally millions of people. Leave me to my bitterness.
Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 2x09!
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