Arrow 7x20 : Confessions review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it. 

Murder, violence, intrigue and confessions. This week's episode of Arrow is a strong case for one of this season's best. And it beginnings with the finding of a crime scene. Upon reflection Dinah calls in all of Team Arrow to interview. So she interviews, Oliver, Rene, Diggle, Felicity and a mystery person who I won't spoil just yet. Team Arrow had been dealing with a terrorist attack in a subway location where Emiko was inside preparing to set off her weapon. The episode reverts to flashbacks, cuts and quick time scenes all that work in it's favor throughout. It's a unique episode of Arrow that's for sure. So in the interview room all Team Arrow members tell their story. One face may seem very familiar to fans of this show since it's beginning. Roy Harper (Arsenal, Red Arrow etc) makes his return to the show after getting a call to come help with The Ninth Circle problem. So we're thrown days into the past as Roy arrives in Star City. He says he's been away still helping Thea and Nyssa with the destruction of Lazarus Pit's all over the world. Oliver tells him about Emiko to which he only responds with did he tell Thea. Oliver says he will soon as the issue with the Ninth Circle is resolved. So as all of Team Arrow go to the subway location to stop Emiko from unleashing the weapon the story of two guards being murdered in cold blood is told from each of their perspectives. First you have Oliver, then Roy, then Felicity, then Diggle and then finally Rene. All churning out the same story but each with slight little tweaks. Dinah and another SCPD officer are presiding over all these interviews and it gets pretty tense as Dinah demands the truth from them all. 

The action scenes here are done pretty great throughout as Oliver takes on Ninth Circle members, Roy gets knocked out by Ninth Circle Members and Rene tracks down Emiko. Diggle looks for weapon to shutdown and Felicity is monitoring everything from inside the security room. Chaos comes from every direction as the two bodies pile up and the suspicion of just who did kill the men comes to a head. At first it looks like it's Renee who does it, then Diggle and finally Oliver. There's so many twists and turns here that it's hard to keep up at times. And when it's finally revealed who killed the two security guards it's not really surprising but it is so how it happens. Roy turns out to be the killer as he loses control and murders the two cops. Back at the bunker all the team rallies around him and agree to lie in order to keep anything from happening. As Oliver quickly puts it. If Roy goes down the entire team goes down. Later as the episode is nearing it's end Roy tells Oliver why he lost control. It turns out shockingly enough that he was killed while out destroying Lazarus Pit's with Nyssa and Thea. They used the Lazarus Pit to bring him back to life ( much like in the comics ) but his bloodlust has been getting out of control and that's why he killed those two guards. Team Arrow eventually gets let off the hook as even Dinah was part of the plan to lie which puts her job in danger. I didn't expect that Roy twist which was nice to be honest and while I'm not surprised by it I still didn't think the show would go down that route. 

The episode ultimately draws to a close with one final encounter with Emiko inside of an abandoned building. Inside Oliver and Emiko talk before Emiko finally unleashes some truths. She tells Oliver that she knew of the Queen Gambit's destruction. She says she didn't tell anyone as she wanted their father to suffer for how he treated her and her mom. Emiko could've easily prevented Oliver's 5 year time on Lian Yu if she told but no she wanted him to suffer also. Who knows if she did tell of the impending destruction Oliver probably would not have become the Green Arrow. Infuriated by his sister's words Oliver shoots an arrow at her but Emiko is cleverly behind a screen which the arrow hits. She says she has the entire building rigged to explode and says her goodbye to her brother as the entire building almost caves in around him. The last thing we see is Oliver under a pile of rubble with Felicity calling out to him from the bunker. So like I said at the beginning this episode is incredibly strong and unique. It had to deal with a lot of different things and I felt like it did it well. The murder mystery theme / who done it scenario was engrossing and the ending just made me wanting more. Only 2 episodes remain now. Let's hope they are as good as this one was. 

★★★★