Tonight was a conclusion (of sorts) to the slow burn ignited by Prometheus at the beginning of this season.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of tonight, I wanted to take a minute and say thanks to you, the readers. Many moons ago, I wrote in my first column that I was a newcomer to Arrow. As such, I was a little nervous to take the reins because I knew Arrow was very popular and had a large following. I didn’t know how my writing in regards to the show would be received. My concerns were soon put to rest when I realized you were open and receptive to me sharing my thoughts and opinions on the show and its characters. So, thank you, guys!

Let’s get back to this evening…

I actually thought the episode moved a bit slow in the beginning, but understand it sort of needed to in order to set the pace.

I’m sure fans of Slade were pumped to see him suit back up! Anyone get a count on how many times he addressed Ollie as “kid”?

He played his part well—throwing us off a couple times by jumping from side-to-side in order to help Ollie. Hey, even Ollie has some tricks up his sleeve. I did find it kind of ironic that at one point, Ollie tells Thea that he doesn’t want to have to rely on Slade because he doesn’t trust him; but in the end, Slade turned out to be one of (if not) the biggest help to him. He even tried helping Ollie by making him understand that he needs to forgive himself for his dad’s suicide and everything that has gone wrong since.

I also liked the surprise addition of Captain Boomerang to team Ollie, too. At least before he double-crossed Ollie and showed that he’s actually with Prometheus.

Speaking of which…

What do you think happened with Malcolm and Captain Boomerang after Malcolm switched places with Thea and stood on the mine? No way he was quick enough to step off and survive the explosion.

Again, the flashbacks were sort of just background noise to me. The episode really doesn’t pick up until Prometheus makes his appearance.

I think we can all agree that the relationship between Prometheus and Ollie borrows from a standard storytelling element—and one that is prevalent with two other DC characters: Batman and Joker. That similarity between the four characters really started to show the past couple episodes, but especially tonight.

Many people ask why Batman doesn’t just kill the Joker. This then usually opens the door to a discussion about Batman and the Joker needing one another to essentially exist—the age-old question of does good exist without evil and vice versa. This is a recurring theme that is explored in a number of different storylines and mediums. The Joker often wants Batman to kill him, thus destroying Batman and everything he stands for by making him break his “no kill” rule. It’s a hardcore length to go to prove a point, but the Joker is a deranged character. The same of which can be said about Prometheus.

I thought it was cool that this season took us on a ride that explored this same concept and ended full circle for Ollie with the island and with Chase’s death by his own hand.

My favorite part tonight was the fact that Ollie met Chase on the boat. Here’s why…

Last week, right before Chase gets on the helicopter, he turns to Ollie and says, “I’ll see you on the boat.” I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but I knew it would probably be addressed. When it did, it was just another nod to the mad genius of Prometheus. He knew Ollie would make it through the island and wind up on the boat with him. He planned for it! If he can do that, there’s no reason to think he doesn’t have things set up to continue after his suicide. Blowing up the island upon his death is probably the first step in a bigger plot…

While on that topic…when I said that tonight was a conclusion “of sorts” to the Prometheus arc, that really is the truth. On one hand, the immediate threat of Chase is gone—that ended when he turned the gun on himself. But the Prometheus web is still very much alive—as evident by the team being caught in the island explosion (awesome cliffhanger by the way). Ollie just better not be naïve to this, like he has been this whole season.

When it comes to the team on the island, I’m thinking that there could be some sort of crossover with heroes from one of the other shows. It’s just a guess, but maybe a portal of some kind was opened and they were able to get out, because there’s no way they could have gotten to safety in time. I guess we’ll have to wait for next season to find out!

While I don’t know what the Couch Club plans may be for the future, I really enjoyed my time this season and wanted to thank you again for accepting me into the Arrowverse!

Enjoy your summer!
Matt
 

Matt Ross covers Arrow as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. Catch new episodes of Arrow Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST) on The CW.