Arrow Season 2 Thoughts and Question

I know it's a little late, but out of curiosity, what did you all think of the Arrow Season 2 finale? Personally, I did really like it but I think it could have been better. What do y'all think?

Also, a question: When Slade said "The mirakuru isn't what made me hate you", would that have really been the case? I mean, I feel like if it was it would have defeated the purpose of the whole "warping the mind" aspect. I mean before he was injected with the mirakuru, he was a good, cool, and badass person. After, he slowly became bad, bat$#!^ crazy… And still badass but in a different form of badassery ;). Would Slade really have gone through such great lengths to get revenge on Ollie, or even attempt to get revenge at all, if he wasn't injected with the mirakuru? What do you all think?

I liked the finale, but I wish some things had gone down differently. I agree about Slade. He was a good enough villain, but I really wish that his motivation had been something more than just "Shado is dead, so I hate you!" Slade saying that the mirakuru influencing his mind wasn't a part of his anger kind of just reduced Slade to a childish, two-dimensional character in my eyes.

I'm not a fan of the "No kill rule" that they're pushing so hard. As far as Oliver Queen is concerned, I've always thought of him as the kind of hero who avoids killing when possible, but who is willing to kill if it is necessary. The fact that they're pushing "No kill" as an absolute rule just doesn't appeal to me.

Anything involving Amanda Waller doesn't interest me much. I was pretty psyched for the Suicide Squad when they were announced, but I didn't much like the episode focusing on the team, nor have I liked any of Waller's stale performances in any of her appearances. So it's disappoint that she will be playing a large role next season (according to the last scene of the finale).

Oliver's decision-making throughout season two has been rather abysmal. Pretty much everything that went wrong can be traced to his making a bad judgment call. That's not necessarily bad from a writing perspective, but I hope that they actually make all of Oliver's mistakes a plot point next season. Have him grow from the mistakes of his past in order to be a better decision-maker in the future.

And the timing for some things in the finale was pretty weird (like Quinton's near-death).

Asides for all of that, everything else was pretty cool. I really enjoyed Thea's arc throughout the whole season, and her monologue in the finale was pretty chilling. Felicity is always great, and I'm glad that they're not going overboard on the Olicity anymore. Subtle hints, I can handle. But I don't need it to take over the show.

They're not pushing the no kill rule very hard. All Oliver says in the opening to each episode is "I can't be the murderer I was".

In S1 he kills people left and right. He still has killed people in S2, notably Vertigo, but he just isn't doing it as his opening move anymore.

Him not killing Slade was more to do with them probably wanting to reuse such a great character later.

He's in fact exactly what you said. He has killed when necessary.

I disagree. A major plot-point towards the end of season two was that Felicity would rather Oliver NOT kill Slade, even at the expense of her own life.

Yes, Oliver killed Vertigo. But that was something that both Oliver and Felicity regretted, even though they were left with no other option. It seemed like the writers were using that as a stepping stone in the transformation of Oliver from being a killer to never killing again.

From a production standpoint, yes Slade was probably left alive so they can use him again in the future. But it seems to me that they're attempting to reach that goal by simply never having Oliver kill again.

I would be fine if it was just that Oliver, as you said, didn't kill as his opening move and only did so when absolutely necessary. But that's not how the season read to me while I was watching.

@supbatz: Didn't he kill Vertigo when it was necessary, I don't see him not killing as a problem. He only does it if it's necessary. Also why would the writers kill Slade, that would be very dumb of them.

@godzilla44: Again, yes Oliver killed Vertigo. But the way that the act was portrayed in the show, the characters made it seem like that was a bad thing. Felicity repeatedly showed guilt at having been the reason Oliver was forced to kill Vertigo. So in essence, the show used the "kill if absolutely necessary" idea by having Oliver kill Vertigo, but then portrayed doing so as a bad thing (to my interpretation).

And yes, I agree that killing Slade would not have been the best move. But I did not like how adamant Oliver was about not doing so. I realize that they were trying to make a point, Oliver tried to kill Slade on the island rather than curing him and it ended badly. But the way that Oliver dove into the conflict practically shouting "I refuse to kill Slade!" and the way Felicity basically said she would sacrifice her own life rather than have Oliver kill Slade really rubbed me the wrong way.

So the way I interpreted all of that, Oliver attempted the "kill only if it is necessary" idea with Vertigo and it just left everybody feeling guilty. And after that point, it seemed that they shifted to the "never kill, no matter what" mentality that I am not a fan of. For all I know, they could shift back to the "kill if necessary" mentality for season three. But the way season two ended, it seemed to me that they were moving in the direction of "never kill", a direction that I do not think is befitting of the character.

@supbatz: Well ya they were supposed to feel guilty because he doesn't to kill anymore.

Didn't like how Slade was jobbing.

I enjoy the season but I can not get over what happen to Slade's mirakuru cannon fodder at the end.

@godzilla44: Eh. I'd rather he just accept that he was given no other option.

@supbatz: Well ya that was the point he had no other option so he killed him

@godzilla44: Yes, but the regret he and Felicity showed at killing Vertigo was offputting to me, not the actual act of killing him.

Let's agree to disagree.

@supbatz: ok

It wasn't a perfect ending, but it was a good one.

And if anyone wants to know, The Complete Second Season comes out on September 16. Here's the cover:

Personally, I think the only logical explanation is that the mirakuru permanently damaged Slade's mind. Before the mirakuru, he wasn't "childish and two-dimensional", as @supbatz so perfectly put it. After the mirakuru, he was.

Also, bump!