#but the primary viewing audience is probably ten year olds who think fifteen is like close enough to being potentially capable

[bluewithpurplepolkadots]

”Why does Master Splinter barely ever seem to leave the lair in missions to help the turtles in the 2012 series? He’s an adult!”

Because it’s a kids show so the primary solver of the problems involved is obviously going to be the kids. Having an adult swoop in and solve everything/baby sit all the time would probably be kind of boring for the intended audience. Boring for everyone actually. Next question.

[jbuffyangel]

Let It Go: Arrow 5x21 Review (Honor Thy Fathers)

See... this is what happens when I don’t pull all nighters. My life interferes with my ability to write insanely long reviews. Sorry for the wait my friends. Your patience is appreciated.

There comes a moment in every person's life when you realize your life is your own, a separate entity beyond your parent's expectations and dreams for you. You also see your parents for what they are... imperfect people just like you. There is freedom in these realizations and it is a crucial part of adulthood. As you grow older, your life is less and less defined by being what your parents leave behind. You begin to wonder what you will leave behind. You define a legacy for yourself. You learn how to live for yourself.

That is essentially the process both Oliver and Thea are going through in "Honor Thy Fathers" but because they are superheroes everything is on a super scale. Both Oliver and Thea faced their past tonight. They saw Robert Queen for who he really was and with those lessons came a certain peace. The past is no longer weighing them down. Both Thea and Oliver are free to look to the future.

Not quite sure what to do with a television show that gives me everything I've been waiting for on a narrative level. So... Imma gonna drink wine and throw confetti.

Let's dig in...

Olicity

I am very specifically incorporating Oliver's section of the review with Felicity because he could not have gotten here without her. That's true for both this episode and this five year journey.  

This is sort of my Arrow mantra, but let’s do this again for old times sake shall we? In every hero's story, there is a great love. This love is what the hero fights for, sacrifices for and lives for. This love is what makes the hero a hero. 

The wonderful thing about Oliver and Felicity's love story is they are each heroes in their own right. The love Oliver has for Felicity has helped her evolve into the hero she is and the love Felicity has for Oliver has helped him evolve into the hero he is.

However,  "Honor Thy Fathers" was specifically about Oliver. The road to the Green Arrow was long and difficult. I've always said when Oliver becomes the Green Arrow he will ready for Felicity. She is the last piece to this puzzle. However, he cannot become the Green Arrow without her.  Oliver must walk this road alone sometimes, but he also must walk it with Felicity. What's so beautiful about "Honor Thy Fathers" is not only did Felicity walk those final steps with Oliver... she held his hand.

Chase sent Oliver a corpse encased in concrete because... the fun? Honestly, Prometheus does the most fucked up things and I love him for it. Arrow has found its off the wall, loony tunes Joker and please oh please can we keep him?

It's a fifteen year old corpse, so it's not Robert Queen like we presumed. It's actually much worse. It's the body of the man Robert Queen killed. Now, way back in Season 1 the audience was told this little nugget of information in the flashbacks of 1x21 "The Undertaking." Oliver, however, was not.  For those of you who are like me and have absolutely no recollection of this information, allow me to fill you in:

Robert Queen: Because I'm not the man you think I am. About a month before the opening of the steel factory, the one in The Glades,  I was approached by a local councilman. He wanted money. Told me that's the way everything was done in The Glades. I told him I never paid a bribe in my life.  We got into an argument. I didn't want to hurt him,  I swear Moira, but he fell.

Moira: Oh dear God.

Robert: The work I'm doing with Malcolm, with the list, it's my penance Moira.

Moira: So you'll atone for one murder by committing hundreds? Thousands? Robert, you listen to me, whatever wrongs you've committed, whatever mistakes you've made, preventing this horror is your chance to make it right. Please Robert, promise me you won't let this happen.

Robert tried to make it right. He plans in motion to stop Malcolm. He told Moira everything was going to be alright... and he got on the boat.

Note the episode number. We found out the truth about Robert Queen in the flashbacks of 1x21. It is no accident that, four years later, Oliver is finally coming to grips with that truth in 5x21. Robert Queen's death is the catalyst for Oliver's hero's journey and the beginning of his pain. This road for Oliver began with father, which is why it has to end with him.

Our lives can change in a breath. One decision, one moment, can change your life, change you, forever.  As Robert Queen held his son on that boat he was given a gift. A moment of clarity.  Robert saw his son for who he was and everything he could be. When Robert looked into Oliver's eyes, he saw the legacy he wanted to build, but death would not allow. Robert didn't know how, but somehow he knew Oliver would survive. Oliver would make it home. He would make it better. Oliver would right his wrongs.

Anatoly: That video. He wants you to save your home. I do not think Kapiushon is what he had in mind.

The thrill of the characters voicing my thoughts never gets old. 

Anatoly is right. Robert Queen never imagined the Green Arrow. He saw something different I think and it gave Robert the courage, and the peace, to pull the trigger.

However, Robert's death has weighed Oliver down for ten years.  Oliver has never been the same since then. He blamed himself for Robert's death. It's the reason why Oliver believed he enjoyed killing. He believed he was a monster long before Prometheus came into the picture. He just was too scared to admit it.

Arrow is pushing Oliver to face the truth on multiple levels. Last week, he confessed his deepest shame to Felicity and discovered that his deepest fear, Felicity leaving, was for naught. Instead, truth is what brought her home. 

Truth is what made Felicity stay. Truth led Oliver to forgiveness and opened the door to the love that's been waiting for him all along.

But Felicity isn't the whole story. There's more truth Oliver has to discover, both on his own and with Felicity by his side. Primary among that is the truth about Robert Queen. Oliver has to understand who his father really was and what that means for him.

Naming the darkness was the first step.

Confessing to Diggle, so Oliver’s mind could understand the truth, was the second step.

Confessing to Felicity, to love, so his heart could believe the truth, was the third step.

And understanding his father, in a way Oliver never has before, is the final step.

Step to what you ask? To letting the pain go.

Oliver is convinced Chase is framing Robert. There is no way Robert killed this councilman, even though Dinah and Lance bring some hard-to-defy evidence like Robert's DNA under the councilman's skin. Damn that pesky concrete. Conservation is a motherfucker.

Oh Oliver... my sweet summer child. You poor bastard.

It's no secret that Oliver views his family with rose colored glasses, but there's something eternally innocent about the way Oliver loves his family. It's like he's trying to hold on to the way he remembered them before the Island. Except, every new secret unearthed makes that memory seem further and further away.

What Oliver doesn't understand, and what he will come to realize, is seeing someone for who they truly are is still love. Unconditional love doesn't mean we are ignorant to the flaws of those we love. It doesn't mean we cannot demand better. It simply means we continue to love that person while acknowledging the truth of who they are. It's a more complete way of loving. A more honest love.

Of course, Chase has thought of everything, which includes irrefutable proof that he leaves with his father's attorney - the last man to see the councilman alive. The proof is security footage of Robert Queen killing the councilman.

Now, generally speaking, this is the least murdery murder video I've ever seen.

It's CLEARLY an accident, but that makes it all the more tragic. Instead of telling the truth, Robert Queen runs away. He covers it up. If Robert had confessed and shown the video to the police, yes there probably would have been consequences (Murder 2 is a thing), but nowhere near as severe as the punishment for covering it up.

This mistake is what led Robert Queen to Malcolm Merlyn. It why Robert believed in the list. It was his penance. It's also what put him deep inside The Undertaking and squarely in Merlyn's crosshairs.

Shame runs deep into our marrow, until it becomes part of who you are. Robert's shame led him down a dark path, just like Oliver's did. Say what you will about Robert and Moira's marriage, but it was confessing to his wife that made Robert see the truth. Just like Oliver confessing to Felicity made him see the truth.

Oliver is horrified after watching the video. So... let's talk about this because Oliver's reaction is slightly confusing. First, he knew Robert was a murderer. Robert shot the other man on the raft  before he shot himself. THAT COUNTS OLIVER.  

Also, his involvement with the Undertaking was pretty shady. So, why is Oliver freaking about little Mr. Accidental Death?

Well... I think we need to keep a couple things in mind. First, this is five years later. Initially when Oliver came home he had a lot of difficulty with the knowledge that Robert failed the city, the list and the Undertaking. 

By the time Oliver arrives to the end of 1x23, and his battle with Merlyn, he believes his father was trying to stop The Undertaking and that's why Merlyn killed Robert. All factual. So, after the events of Season 1, Oliver is able to view his father in an honorable light despite his past mistakes.

As for the man on the raft, Oliver views that murder as his father doing what he had to for Oliver to survive. The key is, Oliver is able explain his father's actions to himself. He is not able to do the same with the councilman.

I don't think Oliver has as much of a problem with the killing as he does the lying, which is extremely interesting given what he's just gone through with Felicity. Oliver can tell the difference between accidentally knocking someone into a pit of cement versus breaking someone's neck. Intent matters. So, Oliver is willing to give his father a pass on the actual killing because it was an accident. It's why Oliver defends Robert to Thea.

Oliver: That was an accident.

Thea: Yeah, an accident he tried to cover up.

Yuuup. That about sums it up kiddos. A+ work Queen sibilings. Both are right. It was an accident, but Robert did nothing to try and save the man. Concrete actually takes some time to harden there Bobby. You could have taken a minute to investigate or call the police. There was time.

Instead, Robert leaves and covers it up.

Oliver is having a very Felicity Smoak like reaction to all of this. Oliver thought he knew everything about his father. He thought he knew all of Robert's secrets. Oliver had dealt with and processed all of those secrets. Then, he comes to find there's another one lurking around the corner. Is it the worst thing Robert ever did? Well... it's not good! That's for sure. 

Whether or not it's the worst is debatable, but the excuses and reasoning Oliver used to justify his father's actions on the raft and with the Undertaking don't quite fit with the councilman. Oliver has the rug pulled out from under him with this revelation. It makes him question everything about Robert Queen.

This is precisely what happened to Felicity when she discovered Oliver's lie about William. Felicity thought she knew Oliver's secrets and processed all of them. Felicity thought they were past this and then she comes to find out that there's another lurking around the corner. She had the rug pulled out from under her.

The effect is jarring and takes some time for Oliver to process - just like it did for Felicity. Luckily for Oliver, he has Felicity to help guide him through it precisely because they've found a way to weather the William lie.

I love Felicity's reaction to Oliver watching Robert's video again. "No pressure." I mean... seriously. 

The enormity of what Robert was putting on Oliver's shoulders is not often discussed, but this was one hefty load to bear.  The fact that Oliver rose to the occasion is just more proof Robert Queen saw the hero Oliver truly could be in those final moments.

Oliver: Chase wants to destroy the basis for everything that we’re doing here and that crusade began with my father. Everything that I’ve done, everything, has been in some way about honoring him.

Once again, Oliver tells Felicity what he's afraid of. He's getting pretty good at this isn't he? 

He tells Felicity that he missed the truth - Robert Queen is a murderer. Oliver puts killing the councilman and covering it up in a different bracket than helping Merlyn with the Undertaking (but ultimately trying to stop it) or murdering the man on the raft. For Oliver, this is the worst thing Robert has ever done. Robert Queen would agree.

Chase's mission is to get Oliver to believe he's a hypocrite and a killer. The subsequent confession that resulted from the torture made Oliver believe those things were true. Thanks to Diggle and Felicity's love, Oliver understands the truth now. There's a difference between enjoying killing and believing he enjoys it. Oliver's deepest fear was that, deep down, he was a monster. The killing was a manifestation of who he truly is. As I explained in my 5x20 review, the reason Oliver so readily believed the lie is because he believes he killed his father. 

Oliver believed he was a monster before he stepped foot on Lian Yu.

Except, Oliver isn't a monster who enjoys killing nor is he to blame for Robert Queen's death. Oliver Queen is an imperfect man, as we all are. Oliver is realizing on a deeper level that his father was just as imperfect. This is ultimately a gift. It's pushing Oliver to see what Robert truly meant by, "Right my wrongs."

Oliver likes to put people in boxes - including himself. You are either one thing or the other. People are far more complicated than that. Oliver is not a sociopath who enjoys killing. However, he has killed. Those two things are not the same though and there is a wide berth in the distinction between the two. It's the same with Robert Queen. Oliver's father may not be as honorable as he thought. However, he's not the monster Adrian Chase claims him to be.

At first, Oliver feared his mission was a lie because of who he is. Now, he fears it's a lie because of who Robert Queen was. Everything he's done was to honor a man who wasn't very honorable. In fact, Oliver has killed in his father's name. Is it any different than what Chase is doing for his father? Maybe Chase is right. Maybe Oliver is a hypocrite.

To which, Felicity responds...

The conversation Oliver and Felicity have about his father is nearly identical to the one she and Oliver had about him, which is exactly the point. Like father like son. The only way to stop the cycle is to change it.

No matter who Robert Queen was, he was a man who inspired Oliver to be a better man and save the city. All of which Oliver accomplished. Felicity argues perhaps the reasons for beginning the journey are not as important as the journey itself. PREACH MY SISTA!

As Oliver struggles with the truth of his father, Felicity tells him once again what she knows to be true. Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, makes lives better, including hers. Felicity sees what Robert Queen saw in that boat. She's always seen it and that belief has helped Oliver see it too. Oliver did it. He became everything Robert asked him to be. Rather than question his motives for becoming the Green Arrow, Oliver simply needs to embrace it.

In other words... Oliver needs to let the past go.  

As Oliver laments his inability to really move forward, because the past always pulls him back, 

Felicity rightly points out it's because Oliver lets it. LORD IS THAT THE TRUTH.  

Listen, it’s not like Oliver’s pain isn’t understandble. Homeboy has lived through THE SUCK. But... he doesn’t have to keep living there.

We cannot change the past. We can, however, change how we deal with it. 

None of us belong to our past. None of us are defined by it. The past is a piece of who we are, but it is not the sum total of who we are. The difference between Oliver being hostage to his past and moving forward to the future is a matter of choice. It's been one Felicity has been asking him for a long time to make. Oliver simply hasn't been ready until now.

It's the same as confessing his secret. Say it out loud Oliver. Say it out loud so you can let it go. It's the reason it was so vitally important for Oliver to confess his shame to Felicity. Love reflected the truth to Oliver. Once he understood it, Oliver was able to let the shame go.

Not only does Oliver tell Felicity he knows she’s right...

he believes she's right. This is why Oliver needs Felicity. It why he will always need her. Knowledge speaks to the mind, but belief comes from the heart. It's why Oliver is able to process Robert's lie for what it is... and let it go.

Equally important is Oliver reaching out to Felicity. There is an ease between them. No more walls, but rather the intimacy that comes from the love and truth between them. 

William was once a taboo topic, but now they talk easily about his whereabouts. Oliver asks Felicity for help with William and is reassured by it. THY NAME IS CHARACTER GROWTH!

And then... WE HAVE SHOULDER TOUCHING!!! 

My actual reaction:

This is the Olicity equivalent to foreplay. Do not ask me where the rebuild is. SHOULDER TOUCH = REUNION. These are Olicity maths that don't lie.

More importantly, when Oliver discovers what Robert did he doesn't make the same mistake and push Felicity away. He doesn't isolate in his pain. Nor does Oliver allow his worst fears to dictate his reaction to her love.

Instead, Oliver opens up to Felicity. He's already told her the one thing he never wanted to. Facing that fear and shame makes facing all the rest easier. Lian Yu will always beckon to Oliver every time his past rears its head, but 5x20 taught Oliver how to leave the Island behind in a way he's never known before.

He makes the same choice in "Honor Thy Fathers." He didn't know it then, but there was a piece of himself Oliver was holding back in Season 4. 

Oliver understands that now and faced it. This time, he doesn't hide from Felicity. Oliver chooses to leave the island behind and walk through the door Felicity opened in "Underneath." 

Oliver shows Felicity the video. He listens. Oliver lets Felicity in. Her words land because Oliver allows them to.  In this moment, Oliver chose home instead of the island because now he understands how to. Now he understands there's nothing to fear in that choice. This is the change Felicity asked for.

Oliver is ready.  He's ready for Felicity, which means he's ready to be the Green Arrow - in the way he's meant to be.

Oliver puts on the suit, but it's Felicity's speech that galvanizes the choice. Oliver must become the Green Arrow to be worthy of the kind of relationship she deserves, but he cannot become the Green Arrow without her. Putting on the suit as a direct reaction to Felicity's words is the perfect way to encapsulate this symbiotic balance. It reinforces absolutely everything I've believed about Arrow and have spent the last three years writing about. I have to be honest, it's an extremely satisfying moment and worth waiting five years for.

Felicity harnesses his light once again. Felicity's belief makes Oliver believe like it has so many times before. Only this time Oliver knows he is worthy of the responsibility in a way he hasn't before. The darkness no longer has power over Oliver because he faced it. It means Oliver is able to see himself as more than just one thing - killer or hero/sinner or saint. He understands he's a complicated man, an imperfect man, but a man who is determined to always be better.

This belief also leads Oliver to some truth about who Robert Queen really is. Oliver is able to see his father the same way - a complicated man, an imperfect man, but a man who was determined to be better. This clarity leads to a gift.

Oliver tells Chase mid battle Justin Claybourne was going to disown him because...

The truth bomb is a bit jarring to be honest because the revelation to Oliver was off screen. I think I would have preferred to see Oliver obtain this little golden nugget and know the ace up his sleeve going into the fight with Chase. It felt less like a bomb and more like

I'm being a little nitpicky. I know, which is why I'm letting it go.

Chase wants to a side by side comparison of their fathers, Robert and Justin. Fine, let's play Crazy Pants. Let's just say accidentally killing a man and covering it up is on the same level as trying to gas the population with a terminal disease in order to make millions off the antibiotic. Or let's say being complicit in a plan to kill hundreds or thousands with an earthquake machine is the same as the terminal disease plan. Perhaps that's a more equal side by side comparisons.

First, Justin Claybourne expressed no remorse. In fact, most of those people landed on the list because they rejected the concept of remorse. It doesn't make it okay that Oliver killed him, but it certainly doesn't equate to the remorse Robert Queen felt for all his wrongs.

If this is really about honoring their fathers, then Chase missed a very key element. Justin Claybourne never wanted Sam to honor him. His father didn't want anything to do with him.

It's a moment of clarity for Oliver. Robert Queen was never asking Oliver to honor him. Robert was asking his son be more honorable than him. Robert believed in Oliver's goodness, in his heart, and had absolute faith his son would be a better man because... he already was one to Robert.  Robert never stopped believing in Oliver and he gave up his life for this belief.

I don't think Oliver ever looked at it that way before. He understood his father made a courageous sacrifice for his survival, but Oliver has been so consumed with the guilt and shame over his father's death that he was never able to see himself through Robert's eyes. I don't think Robert was viewing Oliver with rose colored glasses. He knew the good, the bad and the ugly about his son and still... he believed. Robert saw Oliver the way Diggle sees him. The way Felicity sees him. Oliver Queen is imperfect, but he is worthy. Unconditional love is not an ignorance to flaws. It is belief in spite of them.

It's important not to discount William's role in Oliver's realizations and evolution. You understand how much your parents love you when you have a child of your own. I didn't know I had the capacity to love that much until my daughter. How does one put the infinite into words? It's a love absolutely worth dying for, but more importantly, it's one worth living for.

The councilman's murder revealed Robert's deepest shame. Oliver understands the full meaning of, "I'm not the man you thought I was" because he knows the truth. And because of everything he's gone through this season.

Robert Queen is where the shame began. Robert Queen is where the shame must end. Oliver sees his father clearly now and he understands that Robert's sins are not his own. 

We are not condemned to live our parents lives, to make their mistakes or become who they were. There exists a choice. Make no mistake - it is very easy to fall into the same patterns as our parents. That's why we must be willing to see them for who they are - imperfect people. Just like us.

For so long, Oliver Queen has lived in the past. He allowed the past to dictate and control who he was. 

Felicity's request to stop living in the past finally lands with Oliver because... he's ready for it to. The darkness has lost its power over him. The light has taken the stronger hold. Oliver is just... done. He's tired of being pulled back. It's time to move forward.

Sometimes it's easier to see who we are when we see ourselves reflected in someone we love. Thea immediately assumes because of who her parents were that's the reason she's grown up to be a monster.  For Oliver, the last thing Thea is or could ever be is a monster.  If Thea's fate isn't predetermined in Oliver's eyes... then wouldn't that be true for him as well?

Of course it is. We are not carbon copies of our parents. Oliver is not fated to be like Moira and Robert anymore than Thea is fated to be like Moira and Malcolm (and Robert). Their parents are part of Oliver and Thea, of course, and that includes their mistakes. However, they are not beholden to them. Our parents lives can be a great gift to us. We can see the twists and turns of their lives - the places where they made mistakes and where they triumphed. We are not meant to become our parents, but rather to learn from them - the good, the bad and the ugly. Not unlike the past.

Oliver gives Thea the video Robert left of her. He knows it was wrong to keep it from her. Oliver thought the video would be a burden, but he understands now it can be freeing for Thea. She needs to see herself through Robert's eyes, just like Oliver did.

There's another moment of significant change in Oliver. He doesn't kill Chase. The councilman's murder makes something crystal clear to Oliver - Robert's wrongs started with killing. Therefore, they cannot be fixed with killing.

"What good is a family without a soul?"

Anatoly you speak my truth! This is the question Robert asked himself in the video and it’s the question Oliver needs to start asking himself this. What good is Oliver really doing if he loses his soul in the process? 

This has never been about the people Oliver has killed. Most, if not all, were very bad people and the world is better off without them. Oliver was justified in killing them, but that's really not the point. The point is the cost to Oliver's soul. All of this death takes a toll on him and it strips little pieces of it away. Oliver has to stop giving those pieces away, so he has to stop killing. Arrow is pushing Oliver to a stronger moral code. Something to hold to beyond rationalizations and justifications, because those can ebb and flow. That's not real morality. We can justify pretty much anything if we need to.

It's why Arrow incorporated killing with lying. It's not just about killing, but a broader morality. A more honorable one. Robert killed and he lied. Oliver killed and lied. We've seen the ramifications of both those choices and the roads they lead down. 

Anatoly: The people closest to you always pay for your sins. You are paying for your father’s. Who will pay for yours?

Death begets death. There’s been a cost for Oliver and sometimes it was more than he can bear.

This is generational. Oliver is no longer the son. He's the father now. If he doesn't want to repeat Robert's mistakes, if this is really about being a better man, then Oliver has to learn from his father. So, William isn't pulled into the same generational cycle. It gives his mission, his morality, a new focus. Oliver has to look to the future, and not the past, to define it.

But first... there's one last thing Oliver needs to do for his father before he can really let it go.

Sometimes, if we're lucky, we are given a glimpse. It comes to us like... truth. I've experienced this in my own life. Once as a small child and then again, years later, when I was pregnant with my daughter. The first time it happened I was only 11. It was the night before a big and risky surgery and I was scared. I didn't want to fall asleep, primarily because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up after the operation. So, I was trying to stay awake as long as possible. I decided to say a prayer. I don't particularly remember what I prayed, but I do remember a voice. Loud and firm, but very gentle. It said, "You are going to be fine. Go to sleep." In that moment I was absolutely overwhelmed with a sense of peace. I never felt calm like that and I instantly fell asleep.

You can call me nuts. It's okay. Sometimes I wondered if I dreamed it, but then it happened again. When I was facing a life threatening pregnancy with my daughter.  The voice was just as firm and loud. It kept saying, "28 weeks." And I knew, I KNEW, that's how long I had to hold on for my child to be okay. Eventually, my body just gave out and the doctors had to deliver her. My daughter's birthday was exactly 28 weeks to the day. As they wheeled me into surgery, I knew it was possible I might not wake up. The same peace overwhelmed me and I also knew, no matter if I survived or not, everything was going to be okay.

Y'all know by now I'm Catholic, so you can figure out who I attribute the voice to. I tell these stories because I think sometimes in moments of life and death, we're given these glimpses for a reason. These glimpses give us the strength to face what's coming, even if what's coming is death. Those moments weren't lonely for me and it gives me hope, that when it is my time, I'll be able to face it without fear.

We enjoy stories because they entertain, but also because they remind us of our own lives or we are able to glean some truth from them. I was hooked on Arrow before Felicity Smoak showed up. 

Robert Queen's death is what hooked me. It was shocking and jarring. I immediately understood the horrors Oliver had survived and that it was just beginning. I needed to see where his story went.

So, that's what Robert's words to Oliver mean to me. 

He was a given a glimpse and that is what gave him the strength to pull the trigger. I've often wondered what the glimpse looked like, whether it was a voice or an image or maybe both. Arrow answered a lot of questions in "Honor Thy Fathers" (like how Oliver learned to fly),  but this was the question I wanted answer - What was Robert’s glimpse? It was this...

Robert Queen never imagined the Green Arrow. He only saw his son, dressed in a fine suit, taking responsibility for what he did. Oliver admitted Robert killed the councilman. He stood up and told the truth. By doing so, Oliver freed Robert of his shame. Oliver freed himself too. More than saving the city, this is what Robert meant by "right my wrongs."

Oliver isn't able to offer any defense for his father's crime because... there isn't one. Except perhaps fear, but that doesn't justify his actions. Oliver does, however, tell Star City about the man that he knew. He tells them that Robert, in a moment of courageousness, sacrificed his life for his son. It doesn't erase his sins, but penance isn't about that. It's about atonement.

A Face Like Mine by Peter Bradley Adams

I know he had a reason

I know a man can get lost

Whatever he believed in

I know he suffered the cost

 His picture's almost faded

But I filled in the lines

And nothing's unforgiven

So father don't you cry

 Now the years have found me

With a child of my own

Another generation

That must carry the load

 But somewhere there's a memory

In the back of my mind

I see my father smiling

With a face like mine

This is a monumentally huge moment emotionally for Oliver. This is what letting go of the past looks like. Had Oliver found out about the councilman's murder four years ago, he would not have done this. He would have not told the truth. Oliver would have covered it up in the name of protecting his father. Oliver has a deeper understanding now of the truth honor really requires. He also understands what his father really needed in terms of "righting his wrongs."

Oliver also tells the truth about how Robert Queen died. "Honor Thy Fathers" is not the first time Arrow has used this title. 1x02 was entitled similarly, "Honor Thy Father." Oliver is very vague about Robert Queen's death.

Oliver implies, if not flat out lies, that Robert went down with the boat. That's the public story. It's the story Diggle knew before Oliver told him the truth. It's what Thea believed before Oliver told her the truth.

Now, Oliver tells Star City the truth.  He tells everyone how Robert Queen really died. Oliver admitting this publically is such a profound statement on his healing.  He  isn't carrying the guilt or shame for Robert's death anymore. Whatever wrongs his father committed, Oliver can look back and see that moment, the moment where everything changed, as one of profound courage and unconditional love.

"I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets. You asked me to save this city. To right your wrongs. I will. I swear. But to do that, I can't be the Oliver that everyone wants me to be. Which means that sometimes to honor your wishes I need to dishonor your memory."

Oliver made this speech to his father, kneeling in front of his grave. He had such a different perspective back then on what honoring Robert meant, the necessity of lies and the danger of truth.  The weight of the past, of what Robert had asked of him, is weighing so heavily on Oliver in this moment it's almost crushing him.

This confession, admitting Robert's guilt and how he died, is the last weight of the past that Oliver finally puts down. 

By doing so, Oliver truly honors his father. He breaks the cycle of lies with truth. Oliver breaks the cycle of killing by seeking a different kind of justice. He's allowed family, 

friendship 

and love back into his heart. 

He's made lives better as the Green Arrow. 

And as Oliver Queen.

He's saved the city. 

Oliver has been forgiven  

and has learned to forgive himself. 

He's the Oliver he never thought he could be.

This is all Robert Queen has ever wanted for his son. He never wanted Oliver to be like him or live in the past. All Robert wanted was for Oliver to live his life to fullest for himself and for the people and city he loves. That's the life Robert died for. So... live it Oliver.

Thea Queen

Of all the characters on Arrow, I think Thea's arc has been the most complex and interesting. Truthfully, I didn't like Thea very much in Season 1 and watching her evolution has been one of the great joys of this show.  

Yeah, she was benched in Season 5, which sucks, but it happens to every character eventually. My concern any time a character leaves the Arrow cave is they will be immediately regulated to Laurel Lance land of S1 & S2, where it feels like they are on a different show. That's sort of what happened with Thea this season.

My preference, of course, is to utilize Thea the best way possible (and in every episode) like they did Season 1- Season 4. However, this is television and it is an imperfect medium. So, my next preference is to use the character in targeted episodes that produce maximum narrative punch. Arrow achieved maximum punch with Thea in "Honor Thy Fathers."

Oliver and Thea are on very similar trajectories this year, which I wasn't expecting at the beginning of the season. I sort of thought Oliver would have his crap together a little sooner. HA! I know. Foolish child.

Truthfully, I just didn't see Prometheus coming nor was I expecting the darkness bomb that was 5x17. Oliver's 2B journey is very similar to the journey Thea has been grappling with since, really Season 3. 

Is she a monster? Listen, being Malcolm Merlyn's daughter isn't easy and if I had that psychopath's genes in my DNA, I'd be giving the mirror a serious and hard look.  

Of course, Thea only need to look at Tommy for hope that maybe she's nothing like her father and DNA doesn't determine our souls.

Ugh. Still so painful.

I actually think Thea is more like Moira than she is Merlyn.

BABY MOIRA LIVES!!! 

Moira pulled some seriously shady stuff, which includes being complicity in the murder of hundreds. Moira was always willing to do whatever was necessary to protect her children and reconciled that her love for them balanced her sins in the cosmic equations. Moira was willing to go to the depths of hell itself if it meant keeping her children safe. This love gave Moira the strength to give up her life for Oliver and Thea.

Thea operates in a similar way. She's driven by love, like her mother, and not revenge and hate, like her father. But Thea understands something that even Moira did not. No matter how much their parents loved them, it doesn't excuse everything they did. Since Thea is driven by love, she can apply this lesson to herself. Being willing to do whatever is necessary to protect those she loves isn't an absolution. There's still a price to be paid.

What I love about Thea is her realism, especially when it comes to their family. She's the complete opposite of Oliver. Thea hears Robert killed a councilman and thinks, "Yup. Makes sense," while Oliver rails idealistic platitudes about their parents. It seems pretty clear there's only one Queen sibling who actually watches Arrow. I suggest Seasons 1-5 on DVD for Oliver for Christmas Thea. It'll make a nice stocking stuffer.

Oliver faced his own internal monster these past few episodes, which has prepared him to help Thea. Maybe in a way he wasn't capable of before. Now, he understands what Thea feels on a deeper level because instead of avoiding that pain like he has for the last five years, Oliver finally faced it. Well... after Chase tortured him, but Oliver still did all the work after, so I'm giving him points.

Oliver harnesses Thea's light by realizing that maybe he's not the person she needs right now. Who Thea needs right now is her father - Robert Queen. Oliver was afraid that what Robert says in the video would be a burden to Thea. He didn't want his sister to feel like she has to take care of him, which as Felicity accurately points out, is so Oliver Queen. Oliver sometimes fails to understand that this whole family thing is reciprocal.

What Robert tells Thea isn't a burden. It's freedom. 

It's such an exquisitely emotional moment, because we realize how well Robert knew both his children and how much Thea needs her father right now.

Thea is stronger than Oliver. She always has been and Oliver knows that. As much as Oliver has survived, as much as he's overcome, there is always a moment when pain shuts Oliver down. I don't attribute this all to his PTSD. This happened to Oliver before the Island. Part of his journey to the Green Arrow is to learn how to process pain and adversity in a healthier way.

“Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up.” - Four, Divergent

Thea isn't like that. Pain doesn't shut Thea down. 

It wakes her up. 

She finds a way to absorb the pain and uses it to make her stronger.

“If there's a crisis, you don't freeze, you move forward. You get the rest of us to move forward. Because you've seen worse. You've survived worse, and you know we'll survive too. You say you're all dark and twisty. It's not a flaw, it's a strength. It makes you who you are.” Derek Shepherd, Grey’s Anatomy

Robert speaks to the core of who Thea is. 

Souce: @oilversqueen

Her strength is what makes her the rock Oliver Queen can crash against. There are two things Oliver cannot survive - losing Thea or Felicity. Oliver needs his sister to go on living. Losing her would be his breaking point. Oliver doesn't come back from that.

This love Thea feels for her brother, and everyone she loves for that matter, is often what causes her to cross lines. Robert gives Thea a gift because his words help her refocus that love. Oliver doesn't come back from losing Thea and there's more than one way to lose someone. If she wants to help her brother, then Thea has to hold the moral line as well.  Thea can love just as intensely as Moira and Robert (and maybe even Malcolm), but she can also love differently. That's how she breaks the cycle.

Oliver passes along the advice Felicity gave him to his sister because, after five years, he's finally realized she's always right and life would just be a lot simpler if he just listened to her the first time.

I think the words land with Thea for the same reason they land with Oliver. The past is a heavy burden to carry and there just comes a point when you are tired. You want to let it go. Someone just needs to tell you that it's okay. The Queen siblings are tired. They are ready to let this go. (So is the audience kids. Go with God.)

So that's what Oliver does for Thea. She's not a monster. She's not destined to become like Malcolm or even Moira and Robert. Thea is her own person and it's okay to let the past go. It's okay to start living for herself, because... Oliver is right. That's what Moira would want. That's what would Robert want. It's what they died for.

Lance and Wild Dog

Seriously, I ship it hard. The friendship between Lance and Wild Dog has been one of the surprises for me this year. It's taken a little while to get there, but their scenes together are really starting to land with me.  Paul Blackthorne and Rick Gonzalez just play off each other so well. Their two characters just blend together, which is kind of shocking when you look at how different they are.

Rene wants his daughter back. This makes me so damn happy. I enjoy hero stories that are moving somewhere. Rene's intent and purpose for being Wild Dog took a little while to flesh out, but ultimately my take away is- this year with Team Arrow prepared Rene to be the father Zoë needs.  Like so many before him, the mask was an outlet for his grief and rage, but I am seeing a less wild version of Wild Dog these past few episodes. He is learning. He is growing. He is far less annoying. Damn it. I like him.

His reticance about putting Zoë through a hearing I think actually shows how good a father Rene is. He doesn't want to put Zoë through emotional trauma. Rene is harboring a lot of guilt for what happened to her mother, for the reason Zoë is in foster care to begin with. It would be very easy to believe she's better off. (Does this sound like anyone we know?)

Lance tells Rene he's right. The hearing may bring up bad memories for Zoë, but that's exactly why he needs to go. Rene needs to get his daughter back so he can give her new memories - happy ones - of them together. Otherwise, all she be left with is the bad. Rene has resigned himself to living in the past and by doing so he's resigned his daughter to the same fate. He's refusing to look to the future, to the possibility of happiness, because of what happened in the past.

Lance became pretty emotional during his little chat with Rene and pretty much begs him to go to the hearing. Quentin Lance is a hard shell to crack, but once you do he's just full of ooey gooey yumminess. He cares about Rene. He's seen how much he's grown and Lance firmly believes Zoë is better off with her father.

I also think some of the emotion can be attributed to Laurel. She's always there, just underneath the surface, for Lance. Lance has a hefty amount of guilt for how Laurel died and for the pain his alcoholism caused her. Quentin doesn't have the same opportunity that Rene does. He can't make new happy memories with his daughter. He will never have that chance again. So, some of this for Lance is trying to get Rene to see that he still has a future with Zoë. Lance does not.  All he has left is the past.

It's why Rene not showing up makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. So it's one of two options: A) Rene still has a ways to go or B) my girl @callistawolf is right and Prometheus already took him.

Stray Thoughts

This really could have served as a season finale for me. I mean... obviously Chase is ten steps of Oliver, got captured intentionally and is going to fuck shit up crazy pants style. But from an Oliver Queen emotional evolution standpoint? I'm good. He's everything I ever wanted him to be (which is how he'll beat Prometheus).  Eh... well... alright, if I'm being honest I need him to kiss Felicity. Then we can trot off to Season 6.

First up in the "Arrow Finally Answers Series Long Questions" Robert taught Oliver how to fly. It was some of his last happy memories of his dad. Awww. Also... Oliver had a skill before the island? I didn't know that could happen!

Deathstroke mask washed up on shore and Oliver used it as a grave marker for Slade because he was his friend. Oliver also felt it was some sort of sign BECAUSE IT WAS. DUN DUN DUNN!!!!!

Oliver was only on Lian Yu for TWO DAYS before the boat rescued him. A boat Anatoly arranged.

Oliver's Tom Hanks Castaway hair do was a wig. Oh Arrow... that's very meta of you.

"It makes Isobel Rochev look like a bad practical joke." Hmm...  did you sleep with Chase Oliver? Asking for a friend.

Me: Well... Oliver and Diggle haven't done a concrete hole yet.

Curtis, and not the T-Spheres, took someone down. PROGRESS!

This might be the truest thing anyone has ever said about Oliver.

Prometheus pulls out a sword. I start looking around for Oliver's Ra's Al Ghul Killin' Sword. Would seem handy at the moment.

Source:sharingmyworld

Is there anything cuter than Proud Felicity? The correct answer is no there is not.

Mini rant: Dinah asking Curtis whether or not they should move in on Sampson was kind of ridiculous. DINAH IS A COP. She would know that the guns could be legal and they need to wait to have actual evidence of a crime for the case to hold up. We did not need Curtis to explain this to her. See... this is what bugs me about Curtis. More often than not, they are dumbing down characters (mostly FEMALE) to give him something to freaking do. 

I love the name Zoë. Always have.

There's always someone on this fucked up Island Oliver. How did you not check the whole island before Anatoly left? Have you not watched the damn show?

***None of the gifs are mine. If you’d like me to remove it or credit you, just drop me a message.