Arrow - Sacrifice

Arrow's First Season finale begins on the eve of The Undertaking with Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) in the clutches of Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman). After escaping, with the timely assistance of Diggle (David Ramsey), Starling City's vigilante gathers the troops who include Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne), who puts his career in jeopardy to help save lives. Oliver convinces Tommy (Colin Donnell) to confront his father and Moira (Susanna Thompson) to stand-up publicly and reveal Malcolm's plan, but the threat of stopping the Dark Archer falls on the shoulders of Green Arrow alone in a season finale where not everyone will survive.

With the Glades in total panic Thea (Willa Holland) heads out to rescue Roy (Colton Haynes) but is unable to talk him out of trying to save as many people as possible. Showing off her hacking skills, Felicity finds the location of the device on a fault under an old subway line and talks Det. Lance through defusing the bomb. Although they are successful in preventing the detonation of one device, they underestimate Merlyn who triggers a second explosion even after his plans have been laid bare to the public.


Flashbacks of the island pick up after the murder of Yao Fei (Byron Mann) with Oliver, Shado (Celina Jade), and Slade Wilson's (Manu Bennett) attempt to stop the plane from being shot down. Ollie sacrifices his best shot off the island to kill Edward Fryers (Sebastian Dunn) and save Shado's life. With Fryers dead, and this storyline concluded, it will be interesting to see what next season's flashbacks have in store for our hero (and the possible romantic entanglement with Shado).

The show ends with the death of one regular, the arrest of another, and a dramatic goodbye call from Detective Lance to Laurel (Katie Cassidy). Given the outcome of the season finale, things could certainly be shaken up next season as I'd expect to see Rickards, and possibly Haynes, look to join regular cast. With much of the city destroyed by his plans there will be plenty for Green Arrow to do when Arrow returns in the Fall, and the lingering question of how Tommy's death (and possibly that of Det. Lance?) may effect his relationship with Laurel who producers have hinted we will see in fishnets sooner than we might expect.