Tonight marks the end of the line for the second season of Arrow on the CW. Just like the first season, the final episode is a culmination of an intense story between good and evil. The good is represented not only by Oliver Queen's Arrow, but his motley crew of sorts: Diggle, Sarah (The Canary), Felicity, Laurel, and Detective Lance all team up to battle Slade Wilson and his army of chemically enhanced brutes. What's on the line? The whole entire Starling City.
One of the reasons this season has been so good is that this story hasn't been going on for just one story arc, but both. The deep history between Slade and Oliver has reached a fever pitch, built brick by brick (or should I say episode by episode) until something has to give. Nothing has been done haphazardly. While they have been developed almost perfectly as foils with their own agendas and personalities, so has the rest of the cast. You invest yourself in them because they are all dynamic and layered. Even with as bad as Moira Queen could be, to see her die at the hands of Wilson while Oliver looked on was gut-wrenching and one of those "oh no they didn't" moments. These aren;t characters who bounce around without repercussion. There are consequences in the world of Arrow, and no one is safe.
Another reason why this season has been so strong? The incredibly well placed flashbacks. Used in the first season to chronicle the history of Oliver and the rest on the island, they have been since used to show the history of the rest of his family and friends as well. They aren't put in without a lot of thought, and can explain pretty much any questions the viewer previously had.
The city is in shambles and the hero is on the mend mentally and physically with a battle between two sides set to meet in the streets. Remind you of anything? There is definitely a lot of influence of another DC hero, as in Batman's Dark Knight Rises.
No matter how it ends, there is no questioning Arrow's second season has been even better than the first. I have no idea how it will culminate and what it means for next season, but that's kind of the point, isn't it?
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