This episode was so fantastic on so many levels. The acting by Stephen Amell, Willa Holland, and Caity Lotz was so powerful as they tried to process these painful re-surfacing memories. The memories were such a unique way to replay 5 years of episode history. It was nice to replay those special moments without totally consuming the episode with old footage. Hats off to Arrow's creative team for that--it was very nicely done.
There was such nice character interaction in this episode. It was so enjoyable to see the core cast interacting this much together. I thought it was adorable that even Lance, as well as Moira and Robert, kept insisting that Oliver just had cold feet, while he was having these resurfacing memories. Paul Blackthorne and Stephen Amell are so good together in scenes and so great to watch. Poor Thea just seemed so depressed and lonely in this episode from the start, something she normally hides pretty well as the Mayor's chief of staff and by helping Quentin Lance.
Bringing back all the big bads was such a nice touch too. I do not remember such an episode that made me cry, laugh, and cheer all within an hour time frame. I came into this crossover a little unsure of how "aliens" could play out in the Arrowverse, but I love the "mind games" that these aliens played on the heroes in both the first and second part of Invasion. It was so unlike past threats that the heroes have battled.
These core characters really have been through so much over these last five seasons, and seeing all the characters that have been lost was such a powerful reminder of that. I am hoping that the aliens leave peace offering in the end in the form of resurrecting Laurel/Black Canary. TeamArrow just seemed so much more complete with her in this episode-even wit her role as the bride. This truly was a love letter to the fans. Also, I loved every second of Stephen Amell shirtless in the opening scene. But, I missed not having a shirtless scene with all of his scars because it tells such a painful tale of the challenges and torment that Oliver has been through. I think this was a well-written, well-designed, and very well-acted 100th episode. 10/10
There was such nice character interaction in this episode. It was so enjoyable to see the core cast interacting this much together. I thought it was adorable that even Lance, as well as Moira and Robert, kept insisting that Oliver just had cold feet, while he was having these resurfacing memories. Paul Blackthorne and Stephen Amell are so good together in scenes and so great to watch. Poor Thea just seemed so depressed and lonely in this episode from the start, something she normally hides pretty well as the Mayor's chief of staff and by helping Quentin Lance.
Bringing back all the big bads was such a nice touch too. I do not remember such an episode that made me cry, laugh, and cheer all within an hour time frame. I came into this crossover a little unsure of how "aliens" could play out in the Arrowverse, but I love the "mind games" that these aliens played on the heroes in both the first and second part of Invasion. It was so unlike past threats that the heroes have battled.
These core characters really have been through so much over these last five seasons, and seeing all the characters that have been lost was such a powerful reminder of that. I am hoping that the aliens leave peace offering in the end in the form of resurrecting Laurel/Black Canary. TeamArrow just seemed so much more complete with her in this episode-even wit her role as the bride. This truly was a love letter to the fans. Also, I loved every second of Stephen Amell shirtless in the opening scene. But, I missed not having a shirtless scene with all of his scars because it tells such a painful tale of the challenges and torment that Oliver has been through. I think this was a well-written, well-designed, and very well-acted 100th episode. 10/10