I am so very sorry it took me this long to update. It has been a weird couple of weeks and I was also a little stuck with how to continue the specific situation I have everyone in… I hope you guys like this chapter. Let me know what you think.
Chapter 49
You know me well, always depressed, tryna find a better version of me you know I love you to death even if we both break down tonight
Oliver
They sat in comfortable silence for long minutes. Both of them deep in thought. He was still remembering his conversation with Tommy all those years ago, including several others later on. He eventually turned his eyes towards Sara, studying her, wondering what she might be thinking about. It was while observing her and part of his mind still occupied with Tommy that another thought crossed his mind, another memory pushed towards the forefront of his mind. Another part of his story he had yet to share with Sara. It had never come up before; it had never been the right time. There never had been enough… he had never really gotten the chance to… maybe now, maybe now was the right moment to share one of the hardest events in his past with his wife. He was already making confessions, confessions she was taking better than he had expected, better than anyone else had ever taken any of his confessions. There was no anger, no yelling, no pushing, no accusations, no judging and no diminishing of his pain or trauma.
He was sharing his past, parts of his very soul with someone and for the first time in years, the conversation helped him feel better instead of making him feel worse; more guilty, more horrible, more like he was the scum of the earth and all of his choices had been wrong.
He felt heard, seen and understood. He felt loved. And he knew, he knew now more than ever, that Sara loved him for who he was. That she loved every part of him. And that included the monster within. He felt accepted for who he had been and who he was now.
'Everything I was, made me everything I am.' No one understood that better than Sara.
Maybe sharing that part of his past would help her, maybe knowing just how much Tommy had loved them… maybe it would ease some of her pain and guilt, or maybe it would make it even worse. He wasn't sure what he should do. He wanted to share his past with her. He wanted her to know what he had been through when she hadn't been with him. He wanted to share his past with her because he wanted to. Not because he had to. He wanted it to be his choice. Not something he was forced to do because of events that he has no control over that came to be because of his past. He wanted Sara to know every last part of him. He didn't want to have any secrets from her anymore.
He was tired of the secrets.
He was tired of keeping everything inside. Not being able to share what he had been through was exhausting and the weight was almost crushing him. Maybe Dig had been right all those years ago when he had told him that secrets had weight and that the more one kept, the harder it was to keep moving. He sometimes felt like his feet were made out of lead while his shoulders were being crushed by the weight of his past, by his responsibilities and all the expectations everyone pushed onto him. And maybe, maybe Dig had been right, and sharing all the weight that was his past with his wife might help, might ease some of the burdens he was carrying on his shoulders. And he hoped she would eventually do the same and share her past with him, too. All of it, not just parts. If they both talked about everything that had happened to them during the times they had been apart in the last ten years, and not just isolated events as they had been doing so far, maybe they could move forward. Maybe they would feel better.
He wanted to know what she had been through; he wanted to know… but he would never push her. Never make her tell him something she wasn't ready to share or didn't feel like sharing but maybe having him open up, letting her in and sharing some of the worst moments of his life with her would lead to her feeling comfortable enough with him to do the same. And hopefully it would help her too. Maybe this was a way for them to help each other. Maybe it could be another step for them to get better, to improve for Mila. Maybe if they were lucky some of the voices in their heads might even disappear or at least be quietened a little. And maybe it would help her understand he loved her the same way she loved him. That he loved every single part of her, including the demons under her skin. That there was absolutely nothing she could ever do to change that. Nothing she could do that would make him stop loving her. And hopefully that knowledge would help her feel more secure in her, in their life and her role in it.
Oliver gathered his thoughts and tried to focus on the specific event he wanted to share with her. But as usual, his mind got sidetracked and reminded him of those first four to five months in Hongkong. Reminded him of all the times he had asked Amanda about Sara. How he had eventually agreed to do what she wanted him to in exchange for her looking for Sara. He had hoped they'd find her. That she had managed to swim back to shore, like she had the night they had tried to take the freighter. She had survived the sinking of the Gambit during a category two storm. So, she should've been able to survive the calm sea when the freighter went down. She was an excellent swimmer; she had always been a good swimmer. So, there was no doubt in his mind that she might have survived and managed to swim back to shore. The question was just what had awaited her there?
He recalled how Amanda had threatened him after his ninth attempt at an escape. How she had tried to get him to cooperate again by threatening his life. And how he had told her he didn't care.
"So, this morning makes how many escape attempts in the last five months?" Amanda hadn't sounded angry, just resigned and slightly annoyed. Not that he had cared about her feelings.
"Nine." Which weren't enough if anyone had asked him. He had wished it would've been more. The first few times he had tried to get away and find a way to go back to the island and look for Sara. Part of him still hoping she had survived too. And was just back to their former situation on being stuck on the island with no way off.
"What we have here is a failure to reach an understanding." He had only partially paid attention to her words. He couldn't care less about anything she said. It was her fault he had been stuck here, a prisoner incapable of getting away or finding Sara until only a couple of days ago when she had shattered all of his hopes with a piece of clothing and jewelry.
"Go to hell." It had only taken Amanda a couple of days to return and let him know they hadn't found Sara. That she wasn't on the island or any ship that had been close by. She had also handed him over a small bundle. A bundle that he soon learnt was the jacket and necklace Sara had been wearing. The clasps of the necklace had been broken, as if someone had forcefully ripped it from her neck and the jacked… there had been rips and tears on it and stains that looked like blood. Amanda had told him that this was all that they had found, washed up on Lian Yu's shores. That there was no sign of her. That they would've found her if she had been on the island, if she had still been alive. That she had probably drowned after the explosion and the ocean's wildlife had done the rest.
He could vividly remember how he had felt, how the bile had risen in his throat, how he had felt like throwing up and screaming at the top of his lungs at the same time. All he had wanted to do was rage and attack and yell. Tell Amanda that it had been her fault, that she could've saved Sara too. That maybe, if they had gone looking for her the first time he had begged them to that maybe they could've saved her. Found her. Or at least retrieved her body. So that her family would've been able to bury her.
This had been the event that had led to his ninth escape attempt that had led to him logging into his e-mail account.
"So, this is my reward for saving you from drowning in that freighter off the coast of Lian Yu?" What the fuck did she expect? She had saved him and let Sara die. She had saved him only to have him exchange one prison for another. Did she seriously expect him to be grateful for that? To thank her for this new hell she had created for him? Knowing that he was alive because Sara wasn't. That someone who had deemed his life more important than Sara's held him hostage. Someone who cared so little for another innocent human being. Someone who couldn't have been bothered to go look for a twenty-one-year-old woman for months. While she could've saved her, had they gone back earlier. Had they listened to him. They might have been able to save her too. They should've saved her too. Sara didn't deserve to die. And end up being eaten by… he could feel his stomach churn and the bile rise once again. He swallowed, not giving his kidnapper the satisfaction of seeing his weakness. He tried to change his train of thought. Tried to push the thought of Sara away. It hurt too much. He needed to focus on something else.
"Yeah. Why'd you do that?" He tried to get some information. Tried to find out what she wanted from him. Why she had deemed him worthy of saving while having no issues with letting Sara drown. So much for changing his train of thought.
"That's need to know. Suffice to say, I have need of a man of your capacity." Always the same answer which wasn't really an answer. It was so damn frustrating.
"I don't care. I don't care about anything except going home. And you should know that. You should know that I will never stop trying to escape." And he wouldn't. He meant it. He was going to get home. He was going to make sure he got home. Just like Sara had wanted them to, like he had promised her they would. So, he could honor his promise to her. Make sure her family knew how much she had loved them.
"And you should know that it's extremely easy to kill someone the world already thinks is dead." Death threats were nothing new to him anymore and did little to change his mind or motivate him.
"Kill me, then. I don't care." The look on her face let him know that this was not what she had expected or the effect she had wanted her words to have. But it was true. He didn't care anymore. Yes, he wanted to go home. And part of him would never stop trying to go home, but another part, the almost bigger part, didn't care anymore. Didn't care if he was going to live or die. Honestly, ever since he had received proof of Sara's death, he almost wished he wouldn't wake up in the mornings. That he would just die too. And then maybe, maybe if he were lucky he would get to see her again. Be with her again.
"We're going to have to try this another way, then." Of course, she knew how to push the right buttons to get him to cooperate in the end.
Amanda Waller hadn't gotten the position she had been in for nothing.
Oliver tried to get back to his original train of thought before his mind got sidetracked and reminded him of that horrible moment he had been tricked into believing Sara had died. He wasn't sure to this day whether it had been Sara's actual things or replicas ARGUS had created to make sure he believed the rhetoric they wanted him to believe. Yeah, Amanda had been screwing with him from the very beginning. He only hadn't known it yet. Not until…
He was still trying to find the right place to start. Still unsure if it was the right choice, hoping he wasn't making things worse for Sara. That sharing this part of his past wouldn't lead to her feeling even more guilty for not coming home sooner and blaming herself for what had happened to Tommy. It hadn't been her fault. The thought of blaming her had never even crossed his mind.
Had there been moments he had wished she had come home sooner? Of course. But not because of what had happened to Tommy. Simply because he had missed her. Because knowing she was alive would've been such a release. Because if Sara had come home earlier, he wouldn't have felt so alone, so out of place. Coming home would've been easier if he had been able to share it with someone who understood the challenges, understood how difficult it was. To share it with Sara. Because it would've meant one less year in the League for her. One less year of killing. But he would never hold her choice against her. Had he not done exactly the same? He could've gone home after Hongkong. He chose not to. He understood her choice to stay away better than she knew… huh, that might be yet another event to share with her, and soon. But not right now. Not today. Today was about Tommy.
It was just as easy for him to recall the moment he had seen his best friend for the first time in three years as it had been to recall the moment ARGUS had caught him for the ninth time.
He remembered looking through the scope of the rifle Maseo had placed in his hands and the moment Tommy had turned around. It wasn't hard to recollect the different emotions that had all hit him at once at the sight of his brother. The wonder, awe and disbelieve. The love, joy and hope. Quickly followed by the dread, panic and horror his new reality brought with it. Amanda wanted him to kill his best friend. Amanda would have Maseo's family, his innocent son, killed if he didn't shoot his best friend, his brother. They couldn't seriously expect him to do this? He would never be able to do that. Even less now… now that he had already lost Sara, for good this time… not that he would've been able to kill Tommy even if Sara had still been alive and by his side. As she should've been. But especially now, shortly after, he had already lost one of his best friends. They couldn't expect him to kill the other one, too. He was already responsible for Sara's death he would not be responsible for Tommy's too. He couldn't have both of their blood on his hands.
He couldn't believe what Maseo told him. Not the part where Waller wanted Tommy dead, no matter what it took and how it was a test. Nor the part where it was his fault Tommy was in this position to begin with. Which brought him to the hardest part to believe. Tommy came to Hongkong looking for him. Because he had managed to log into his email account. Tommy was in Hongkong to look for him, three years after the world was led to believe that he was dead. Tommy came here simply because there might be a chance he was alive. His best friend hadn't given up on him yet. He hadn't given up hope yet. Tommy still believed he was alive. All it would take for him to go home was to make sure Tommy would see him… and that was also all it would take for both of them to end up being killed. Tommy was his salvation, his one chance to go back home… Tommy was the one thing he could never reach, he needed to let him slip away from him. No matter how much it hurt. How difficult it was. But he needed to make sure Tommy survived. No matter what. Tommy needed to live. And in order for that to happen, he needed to make sure his brother would leave Hongkong as fast as possible. But he also knew Tommy, he wouldn't leave. Not as long as he felt there was a chance he was still alive. He knew that for sure because he would do the same for Tommy were the roles reversed. He needed to find a way to get Tommy to leave, to make sure he believed the lie of his death. He needed to destroy his last hope of being found and going home. No matter what it took.
"How did I… what the hell is going on here? Where am I? Please, please don't… please don't hurt me. Just… just let me go, please. I promise, I… I won't tell anybody about this." Tommy and his reaction to the situation reminded him so much of himself those first few months on Lian Yu. Hearing Tommy's voice for the first time in years was like a balm to his very soul… but then hearing the fear and desperation in it nearly destroyed him. Knowing, knowing what this will do to his best friend. Knowing how difficult it was to recover from such an event… not telling him… all he wanted to do was reach out and hug him, hug him and never letting him go again. He wanted to fall apart in his best friend's arms sobbing, finally being able to let go of his emotions and grieve Sara. Because not having her here with him now, now when Tommy was just within his reach, when home was so very close, was even more excruciating than it had been before. And he had already felt like someone had ripped his heart from his chest and left a gaping wound, but now… now it was so much worse. Freedom had never been this close and yet never further away. He swallowed hard and focused on the task at hand. Saving Tommy's life.
"Would a fisherman throw his prized catch back into the sea?" He was grateful when there was no sign of the emotions he was internally battling in his voice, and it came out cool and collected. With no trace of the anguish, he was feeling.
"What are you talking about? Look, whoever you are, you really don't want to do this. Do you have any idea who I am? Who my father is?!" It was so very easy to detect the fear and confusion in his best friend's voice, and it was nearly destroying him. Doing this to him was killing him. But it was the only way… god, all he wanted to do was hug him and ensure him he was going to be okay. That he was safe and nothing was going to happen to him. But he couldn't… not without signing Tommy's death sentence.
"You're Thomas Merlyn. You've been looking for Oliver Queen." Referencing to himself in third form felt strange. But he kept on pushing his feelings away and playing his part in the charade. He kept on repeating the same mantra in his head, reminding himself that this was the only way to save Tommy's life. It was all for Tommy. All that mattered was making sure Tommy would get home safe.
"How… how do you… how do you know that?" Tommy's voice was trembling and yet, he sounded slightly intrigued.
"A simple hack of a missing billionaire's email account. I knew somebody would come looking for him, but I thought it would be his... mother. His sister. But you, the son of the CEO of Merlyn Global. Jackpot. My friend, you are going to make me a very rich man." God, this hurt. Just the thought of his mom… of little Speedy was nearly crippling… so close. Home was so close… all he'd have to do was let Tommy know… but he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk getting Tommy killed. Not when he had already lost Sara. It wasn't worth the risk. Going home, it wasn't worth it. Not if Tommy had to die for it, like Sara did.
"So, Oliver didn't... He isn't..." His brother sounded so very broken when the realization that he had been chasing a ghost hit him. And Oliver felt his heart break because he knew exactly how Tommy felt in that very moment. Because he had felt the exact same way just a few days ago when Amanda Waller had handed him what little was left of his Pretty Bird. He needed to focus, he needed to be strong just a little longer. Stay in character just a few more minutes. All he wanted to do was ease Tommy's pain. It was the one thing he couldn't do. He wasn't allowed to do. Tommy had to live.
"Oliver Queen is dead. He's rotting at the bottom of the ocean. And you will, too, if your father doesn't pay that ransom." He should be. He wished he was. He wished he was the one rotting at the bottom of the ocean instead of Sara. Or at least with her. So she wouldn't be alone.
"I'm in here, please help! Help!" Finally. He could hear the sirens and then Maseo's voice. He faded away, watching his best friend be escorted by his handler. Watching his glimmer of hope disappear. Hearing the fear and gratefulness in Tommy's voice. And he could feel the tears fall, no longer able to hold them back. No longer able to deny his pain at watching his brother leave, knowing he had caused him immeasurable pain and destroyed any hope Tommy might have had that he was still alive.
Sara
She was still mulling over everything Ollie had shared with her this morning. From what he was dealing with concerning his team, over Malcolm and William all the way to Tommy and how their actions had hurt one of the most important people in their lives. Sara felt horrible knowing they had made Tommy feel like they didn't trust him. Tommy had always been insecure when it came to people, and the reasons why they might spend time with him, trusting people, had never been easy for him. Not that it was hard to understand. Tommy had tended to keep people at arms' lengths, it had kept them from knowing him and his family dynamics; it had kept them from noticing things and asking questions he hadn't wanted to answer. She knew how much Ollie trusting him and taking him in, treating him like family meant to him.
Ollie and she had known Tommy's deepest, darkest secrets. He had trusted them with everything. And they hadn't returned the favor. They had not included him. They had kept a secret from him. And not just any secret. An enormous one. She could only imagine how much that must have hurt him on top of the pain losing them must have caused him. They hadn't done it to hurt him. They had never meant to hurt anyone. Hurting Tommy had been the last thing they had meant to do. Quite the opposite, actually.
They had meant to protect him.
Keep him out of the mess that had been their involvement. They hadn't wanted to put him in a position where he was forced to choose between them and Laurel. They had both struggled with the weight of the secret their involvement had been. Keeping it had been one of the hardest things they had ever had to do… well, at least back then. But the consequences of people learning about it would've been so much worse. Sara was almost certain that Ollie and she wouldn't have managed to make it work had things gone according to plan. Had they reached China and stayed away from home for as long as they had intended to. Everything would've come to light once they'd come home. She was pretty sure they wouldn't have been able to make it work through it all. They had been too young, too dumb, and too scared of commitment. Neither one of them had been ready for the relationship they would've inadvertently ended up having. It would've gotten too serious too fast. It already had. The only thing that had kept them from realizing just how serious they had gotten had been the fact that Ollie was officially dating Laurel. They would've sabotaged their relationship early on otherwise. They had both had serious commitment issues back then. Plus, the thought of really giving them a shot at an actual relationship would've terrified her. The thought of losing Ollie if they had given it a serious shot and it wouldn't have worked out between them had been frightening. Ollie had always been such an important person in her life. The thought of loosing him had always scared her to death. And she had known him. She had known how he was. How scared of commitment he was and how unworthy of unconditional, genuine love and devotion he had felt. It was something he was still struggling with to this day.
"He came looking for me. Tommy…" The object of her mulling's voice pulled from her thoughts.
"What?" She wasn't sure if he had spoken before and she had simply missed it or if she was missing some context because he had yet to give it to her. All she knew was that he made little sense right now. Not that it mattered, she knew how hard it was to find the right words when it came to explaining events from the past. So, she pushed her thoughts away and turned her entire focus on her husband.
"After ARGUS fished me out of the waters and took me to Hongkong, I tried to escape so many times." He stopped after that, lost in his thoughts for a moment, something she understood all too well. It didn't take him long to continue though.
"One time I managed to log into my e-mail account before they caught up with me...and Tommy… Tommy must have had it monitored or something..." The memory seemed to overtake him once again and it was in this moment that she understood just how difficult whatever it was he was trying to share with her was for him to talk about. Whatever had happened was something he was still struggling with to this day. She was intrigued, had been from the first sentence she had registered.
"He came looking for me. Tommy..."
But she wasn't going to push. She knew he would continue as soon as he was ready and had managed to gather his thoughts. She squeezed his hands in silent support, trying to let him know she understood, that he could take as long as he needed, that she was here to listen, whenever he was ready to go on and share the event of his past with her. He was quiet for long minutes before squeezing her hands in return, in a silent form of gratitude before continuing his tale.
"Anyway... he came to Hongkong, looking for me. Amanda wanted me to shoot him. She wanted me to kill my best friend. Maseo helped me come up with another plan and executing it so that Tommy would live. I kidnapped him, and told him that Oliver Queen was dead, that he was rotting at the bottom of the ocean. Then Maseo showed up dressed as a police officer, saving him. I've never… He never stopped looking for me, Sara. Three years, I've been gone for three years at the time and he still flew halfway across the world just because, maybe I could've still been alive… and I… he died right in front of me, Sara. I should've… it should've been me. Tommy never did anything to deserve to die the way he did. He should've lived. It should've been me, Sara. It should've been me…" Ollie's heartfelt words took her by surprise. She hadn't known most of what he just told her. She hadn't known that Tommy had gone to Hongkong looking for Ollie. And it made her wonder… had he been looking for both of them for all those years? Just like her mom had been? Of course he had. Tommy had loved them just as much as they had loved him and they would've never given up on Tommy had he been the one missing, they would've never stopped looking for him, never stopped hoping… so this shouldn't have come to a surprise to her. And yet it still had been.
Sara was still wrapping her head around the newfound information when the man in front of her broke down. Repeating how he should've been the one who had died that night, over and over again. She could feel the tears falling from her eyes while her heart constricted in pain. She scooted forward a little, so she could draw Ollie close and wrap him in her arms. She held on to him as tightly as she could, an action he reciprocated, crying with him. Mourning their brother together. It hurt, god it hurt so damn much. And Ollie was right. Tommy had done nothing to deserve to die so young. Out of the three of them, he was the one who deserved it least. He had been so much better than the two of them.
She should've been here. She should've been here and helped Ollie with the Undertaking. Maybe then Tommy would've lived. If only she had come home sooner. Maybe all this pain could've been avoided.
Oliver
Oliver blinked his eyes, slowly awakening. Feeling disoriented. He couldn't remember falling asleep. And it took him a moment to get his eyes accustomed to the bright light and therefore for him to recognize his surroundings. One of the first things he noticed, while his eyes were still adjusting to the sunlit room, was the weight and contours of Sara's body partially on top of him. He looked down and saw her fast asleep, her head and one of her arms on his chest, one of her legs thrown over his and her rounded stomach slightly pushed into his side. He bent his head down and kissed the top of her head. They were in the living room. On the couch. Right, they had both ended up lying on the couch after he had broken down in her arms.
That had not at all been how he had thought him telling her about Tommy in Hongkong would turn out. He wasn't sure how it had taken the turn it had. Not that it mattered. He had told Sara what he had meant to. And they had agreed to mourn Tommy together. He just hadn't expected sharing that memory with her to turn into him, reliving the moment of Tommy's actual death. Which was still something he had not yet shared with Sara. Not really. He wasn't sure if he could. Wasn't sure he was able to. Just the thought hurt so bad… he wasn't sure how he was supposed to talk while he felt his heart was being ripped out of his chest while a boulder was sitting on his chest, restricting his intake of air. Never mind the fact he wasn't sure if he could find the words to explain… he looked at his peacefully sleeping wife again. If there was anyone he could tell it to, it would be her. Talking about it might help. No matter how difficult it was. He wasn't sure if he could talk about it. Wasn't sure he could tell her. But he could try. Later. After she had woken up, and they'd had some lunch.
He was torn between getting up and fixing them some food and staying on the couch with Sara and maybe trying to get some more sleep himself. He looked at her again, studying her closely, trying to figure out how fast asleep she was and whether the chances of her waking up by herself anytime soon were big or small. Given the steady rise and fall of her chest and the peaceful look on her face, chances of her waking up in the next hour were small, unless Mila woke up and decided to do some gymnastics. One of his hands softly stroked the entire expanse of her stomach and when there was no movement as a response from their daughter, he was pretty sure that both of his girls were fast asleep. He decided to take a page from their book and try to get some more sleep too.
The last twenty-four hours had left him severely exhausted, so catching up on his sleep did sound nice. He closed his eyes and let Sara's breathing lull him back to sleep, at least for a little while.
Notes:
Okay, so I've addressed something that has been bothering me for a while in this chapter. I have sort of mentioned it once before in one of the Invasion chapters but felt like elaborating here. Oliver never asked Amanda Waller about Sara and whether they've found and saved her too. Oliver never looked for Sara on Lian Yu his fourth year back on the island. He just assumed she had died, even though he knew that she had survived a similar situation, during a category two storm before… why? Why did he just assume she was dead? Why didn't he look for her back on Lian Yu? Why didn't he ask the people who have been on the island for years by that time if they've seen her? It never made any sense to me at all and since I decided to rewatch the Season 3 flashbacks in order to write this chapter it just made me wonder that much more and my mind decided it needed to come up with an explanation. And this is what it came up with. I hope it makes sense. Let me know what you think about my take on the situation.
I'm also just assuming Oliver is purposely lying to everyone when he's telling them that he doesn't speak Chinese because we all know Shado had taught him Chinese and he ends up speaking it fluently. So, yeah, he understood everyone who spoke Chinese perfectly, he just pretended not to.
Parts are directly taken from the show and the transcripts of .org were used for those.
Chapter title is from the song "Time" by NF.
I once again have an Arrow rant for you guys, lol.
I tried to care for Dinah Drake but I just don't feel her... I don't know... lived outside of civilisation for years doesn't know how to live like a normal person anymore... been there seen that... loved it with Oliver and Sara... feels just lame and boring now. It's just... I don't know...
The Rene flashbacks were weird. What were they supposed to do? What did they have to do with the overall episode? Why do we suddenly, after 12 Episodes get flashbacks to the recruits? Why not do it from the beginning? They feel really weird right now. And it doesn't fit with the overall flow of the episode, season or series.
Plus it's an episode about guns but the issue there was his wife's drug abuse. Not the guns.
I'm sorry but I just didn't feel any of the Rene scenes either. There was still no build up, no actual reason to care about a woman we've only known for like half an episode, not even... it came out of nowhere and wasn't even told right or in a way I was going to care. Same goes for his daughter. I'd like the focus on William please...
And why is Oliver suddenly unsure about how he feels about guns? Why hasn't that been an issue before? He had sponsored the cash for guns run in season 2 when the 'Mayor' was controlling the Glades and murdering people.
I don't know this episode felt less like an episode of Arrow to me and more like a political propaganda piece for gun control. And I come from a country where you're not allowed to have guns and we have very little gun violence because of it. So I don't really have an opinion on the matter, I don't understsnd enough about the issues or the Second Amendment in the US to have an opinion on it. It just felt to me like the Episode was written with a political agenda in mind and not the overall storyline of Arrow... maybe I'm wrong and we'll circle back to Oliver's decision here in the future and there will be some sort of consequences coming from it... I don't know... anyway I didn't feel this episode and I felt like this episode was for nothing... plus very little Oliver in it. At least Thea's back for now. Which brings me to my next point, when did Susan become Oliver's girlfriend? When did they become rather serious? I seemed to have missed that...
I was so hoping this Episode would give me something I could use but nope... nothing. I hope the next one gives me something, that's the least Arrow could do since I'm forcing myself to watch it...