Arrow 3×20 Review: The Fallen

It’s gotten to the point where I just don’t understand where they’re going with Arrow lately, but I do know that I don’t really care for whatever it is they’re trying to do. Whether Oliver will continue to move forward with taking over the League, or whether he has a plan to somehow get out of that situation…either way it feels like we’re being teased, maybe even tricked.

Speaking of tricking, while I certainly didn’t want Oliver or Thea to die, this whole idea of acting like characters are being killed off, only to be brought back to life almost immediately, is already tiresome…about as tiresome as the will he/won’t he back and forth regarding Oliver taking over the League. At least “The Fallen” answered that question (for now) – faced with the choice of losing Thea, Oliver finally gave in and headed to Nanda Parbat.

Once there, the deal was that Ra’s would use the Lazarus Pit to heal Thea so long as Oliver remained to be his heir. Malcolm spent a good deal of his time warning Oliver against this, insisting that the waters “change people in their soul”, but other than the initial surprise of Thea leaping out of the pool and “attacking” Oliver, not much has really happened in that regard. Her original amnesia – thinking Oliver was dead and Moira was alive, but also understanding that Malcolm was her father – could have been an interesting path to follow, but instead she later remembers that Oliver is alive and that she hates Malcolm (and I assume that also includes her knowing that her mother is dead).

Meanwhile, this turn of events played a big part in Oliver and Felicity taking their relationship to the next level. It all seemed a bit rushed, to me – them needing Ray’s jet to get to Nanda Parbat, Ray agreeing but also giving up on Felicity because he realized she loved Oliver, Felicity confronting Ra’s al Ghul (seriously though, you go girl!), and then Felicity finally telling Oliver she loved him, leading to a sex scene that was quite drawn out considering how quickly they got to that point.

Don’t get me wrong, I was all for an Oliver/Felicity hookup – but I’m torn between hating that it happened now of all times (when he’s apparently having to “give up” his old life), and wondering if it’s just foreshadowing something bad happening to Felicity. And when she drugged Oliver and basically did her best to orchestrate their escape, for a time I thought that particular “something bad” was about to happen. Except it didn’t. Although they got caught and Oliver was forced to remain at Nanda Parbat, there really weren’t any consequences – Maseo didn’t even get in trouble for helping them. At the same time, I can’t help but think that there were a whole lot of “yets” in there.

Speaking of Maseo, between his presence at Nanda Parbat and in the Hong Kong flashbacks, he featured quite a bit in this episode. Unfortunately the Hong Kong flashbacks were poorly placed, making it really obvious that he was going to try to help Oliver in the present. Additionally, they spent all that time trying to get hold of the virus, and in the end it was released anyway…yet somehow they’re all still alive? I wish I could say that I was interested to see where this goes, but I just don’t feel any suspense there.

In the end Oliver excepted his League of Assassin’s brand and put on the outfit, supposedly giving up the part of him that was Oliver Queen and becoming Al Sah-him, “heir to the demon”. But there are still three episodes left this season; obviously things aren’t wrapped up yet. And how can there be Arrow without Oliver Queen?

Have you been enjoying the more recent episodes, or are you a bit frustrated like myself? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Author: Tara Lynne

Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning.

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