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    Felicity Flies and Arrow Retires in “My Name is Oliver Queen”: “Arrow” Season 3 Finale Review


    After almost eight month of watching, the third season of Arrow had finally come to an end. It ended with a loud but sad bang. Like the two previous season finales, tonight’s episode is about Oliver saving his beloved Starling City. Here are the highlights of “My Name is Oliver Queen,”  the 23rd episode of the third season of Arrow: 

    Leaving Nanda Parbat. The show opens with Oliver travelling with the League to Starling City to fulfil the final test for Oliver’s ascension to Ra’s. Meanwhile, Felicity and the rest of the team wake up in the dungeon in Nanda Parbat. Malcolm reveals that he and Oliver had created an inoculant from Oliver’s blood and Malcolm had injected them with it without their knowledge. Oliver had to do it as he knew Ra’s will further test his loyalty by killing his friends. However, this does not appease them. Returning a favor, Flash appears and frees them from the dungeon. At this point, Tatsu separates from the group in order to return to her life of solitude. 

    Plane crash. After a heated conversation with Ra’s, Oliver reveals his true self to Ra’s and with Nyssa’s help, ends with a fierce encounter with the League. His objectives are to kill Ra’s and destroy the virus. However, he fails from his missions as Ra’s escapes with the virus. The plane then crashes but Oliver and Nyssa manage to survive. 

    Damien Darhk. Oliver then reunites with his team who is still furious with him. As the team searches for clues as to where Ra’s will possibly spread the virus, they stumble upon the location of someone named Damien Darhk. Oliver then realizes that Ra’s true intention of destroying Starling City is to kill Damien, his one greatest nemesis. The team hatches a plan of taking Damien captive to be traded to Ra’s for the virus. However, the plan fails as Damien had already fled Starling City upon knowing about the biological attack. Ra’s then informs Oliver that the bio-weapon Alpha Omega had been released earlier in four key locations in the city. 


    Counter moves. The team moves on to locate the possible locations. While Felicity searches for low-level radiation hotspots, Ray Palmer works on creating the air-borne nanotech inoculants which can stop the contagion. Laurel informs his father Lance about the biological attack. Expectedly, the two end in an angry confrontation and blaming each other for everything that has happened. Still, Captain Lance mobilizes the police for the incoming attack. 

    Someone else.  Amidst all the drama, Oliver and Felicity manage to sneak a little time together. Oh sweet! Oliver tells her about his dreams – that she pleads with him not to be the next Ra’s and he concurring only to end up with the Ra’s knife in his chest. Oliver confesses his failure to defeat Ra’s, whether as Oliver or Arrow. Felicity tells him that both men has tried and failed and that Oliver has become someone else. He has become something else and that could be the person who can finally defeat Ra’s.


    The bio-attack. Felicity is finally able to identify the four locations and the team divide into four – Oliver, Black Canary and Nyssa, Dig, and Malcolm. However, a League messenger appears and informs Oliver that Ra’s is waiting for him at the Starling City Dam. Meanwhile, Dig spots a runner with a briefcase and chases after him. He almost gets killed in the fight until Thea in red hood and mask comes and shots the runner. After opening the case, it is empty and Dig realizes that the bio-weapons are the League’s people themselves. The assassin kills himself, thereby releasing the virus to the surroundings. Thea and Dig are untouched as they were inoculated, but the people around them begin to die one by one. 

    Final battle. Oliver and Ra’s meet at the dam and after opening speeches from each other, they engage in a heavy heart-pumping high-adrenaline sword fight. The police have spotted them and Lance, feeling a little sympathy at that point, calls Felicity to notify her that the two are about to be shot by the officers. Felicity pleas to Ray to save him but he cannot do so as he is still working on spreading the cure to Starling City. While the team are able to capture the three other bio-weapons and prevent them from killing themselves, Oliver continues his fierce swordplay with Ra’s. In one decisive action, Oliver kills Ra’s and then the police officers shot him. He falls into the water but someone in Ray’s A.T.O.M. suit flies in and saves him. In one cute and funny moment, Felicity is revealed to be the one in the suit (and they would have kissed if not for the crystal ball-like head cover). Finally, and thank goodness, Starling City and Oliver are safe once again.

    Hong Kong tragedy. The remaining events in Hong Kong are shown as flashbacks. Oliver manages to capture General Shrieve in a brief encounter. Three days later, Akio is burned and his ashes are placed in three containers. In frustration, Oliver tortures Shrieve but Maseo shots the man to free him from pain. Maseo then abandons Tatsu as she only reminds him of his failure of saving their son. Tatsu plans to go back to her homeland and enter the monastery. Seeing the monster he has become, Oliver desires to be alone. Not wanting to go back to Starling City, he embarks on Triton’s Daughter, a ship bound for Coast City, USA. 

    Heroes, demons and separations. After saving the city, the team regroup and say each other’s pieces. As the Arrow is publicly believed to be dead, Oliver decides to retire from his crime-fighting crusade and spend his days as an ordinary citizen with Felicity. He intends to take her away from Starling City. This leaves Black Canary, Dig (which Oliver advises to put on a mask) and the new vigilante Thea (A.K.A. Red Arrow or Speedy) to protect Starling City. Ray is also saddened to see his new Vice President vacate her position. Later, Oliver appears to Malcolm and their plot is revealed. Malcolm desires to be the next Ra’s and has staged everything to make it happen and Oliver will never ever forgive him about it. Still, he gives him Ra’s ring which he had taken during their last battle. In the final scenes, Ray is working with his A.T.O.M. suit when the entire top floor of the Palmer Technologies building exploded. In Nanda Parbat, Malcolm assumes the position as the new Ra’s and Nyssa bitterly succumbs to his rule. Meanwhile, Oliver and Felicity are travelling happily on the road together. 

    FINAL THOUGHTS. Perhaps, this is the most exciting and satisfying season finale so far. It was a very thrilling and chilling scene when Oliver declared in the plane, “My Name is Oliver Queen,” thereby defying his Al Sah-him identity. It was a defining moment and I could hear all Arrows fanatic leaping and dancing for joy. He had never been Al Sah-him after all.
    The finale episode also has no loose ends, except for some few teasers. This is very clear what happens to Starling City and to Nanda Parbat after the bio-attack. So Malcom becomes Ra’s and we can only pray that he has no more grand scheme against Oliver and Starling City (remember his madness in the first season?). Starling City is now in the hands of our new heroes – Speedy, Black Canary and John Diggle (the show’s original creation). It is quite sad that we have seen the last of Roy. And will Ray Palmer be back to join the crusade? 

    The biggest question is whether Oliver ultimately retires. What situation will force him to go back to Starling City again and resume his crime-fighting crusade? Will the vigilante Arrow be reborn? Or will a new superhero emerge? Green Arrow perhaps?
     

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