3 Moments of Goodness from Arrow Season 1 Finale “Sacrifice” 

[WARNING: Major Spoilers for Arrow Season 1 Finale]

The season 1 finale of Arrow was amazing. Incredible. Action-filled. And emotionally-exhausting. There are so many good performances and moments that I hardly know where to start. That being said, if you’re reading this article that probably means that you’ve SEEN “Sacrifice” for yourself and know exactly what I’m talking about so instead of recapping the whole episode, let’s focus on my top 3 Moments of Goodness.

1. After seeing Laurel and Oliver get hot and heavy last week, I was unsure how their interactions this week were going to play out. But their scene in the foyer? Phenomenal. Stephen’s ability to convey emotion has long been obvious…the looks on his face, the gleams in his eyes, when he delivers, it always feels 100% genuine and hits us at the core.  His admission that the island didn’t really change him, but rather made him the person he’s always been deep down inside was an incredible revelation…especially since that’s the same person that Laurel has always seen in him. It gave us a real understanding as to why Oliver feels such a deep connection to Laurel…when someone believes in you at a time that you don’t believe in yourself, that’s powerful stuff.
2. Moira stepped up! Like Oliver, I did not see that press conference coming and I honestly do not think she could’ve possibly dealt with it better. I love that Moira finally realized that she had to come out from the shadows and do the right thing, not the right thing FOR HER but the right thing. Moira puts on a tough front, but I’ve long felt she was a weak character, bending to the demands of Malcolm. So to see her call out Malcolm and expose his plan, even though it meant she would be arrested, was a great way for her to take Oliver’s words to heart and essentially be a vigilante of her own.
3. And a finale wouldn’t be a finale without my favorite pairing  – Ollie and Diggle! They had a handful of great scenes together, but watching them take on the Dark Archer put Batman & Robin to shame. I loved that Diggle would not let Oliver take on the Dark Archer himself because “A soldier never lets a brother go into battle alone“. These two and Felicity are what the Three Musketeers WISH they could be. Anyways, back to the fight. Diggle and Ollie know each other so well that they were able to anticipate one another’s movements and I seriously felt that they each brought their own individual skills to the battle and complimented each other so well. That being said, Malcolm had clearly had some SERIOUS training because even in a 2-against-1 battle, he was holding his own and even dominating most of the time. When he stabbed Diggle, I felt my stomach drop, but having the final face-off conclude with Oliver and Malcolm was necessary. As Oliver said before, he had been beaten by Malcolm twice before, so this was his fight to finish…but the fact that Diggle was still there physically to support Oliver on the rooftop, even though he wasn’t able to fight, was a phenomenal metaphor for their dynamic.

Now I know what you’re thinking, what about Tommy’s death?! No worries, that moment has a whole article of its own, just as it deserves. Click here to see my Arrow Moment of Sadness. So, what’d you think of the finale? Where will season two go now that the Dark Archer is dead? Will there be another overarching plot or will Ollie simply clean up the city’s criminals one by one? I can’t even begin to guess what will happen when we return and as much as I hate to wait til fall for more new episodes, I’m on board! And in the meantime, I’ll just be here, slapping my water.

Arrow returns for season two this fall on the same night in the same time slot, Wednesdays at 8/7c on the CW.