Arrow 7x21 : Living Proof review

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

The penultimate episode of Arrow's 7th season has come and gone. And with it we learn a lot of things and look forward to what is sure to be one heck of a showdown between Oliver and Emiko. The episode begins where last week's ended as Oliver wakes up under a pile of ruble from the building that Emiko destroyed. Oliver turns his head to the side and sees various arrows and his bow that is broken. But that's not the most important thing. The episode having only just began surprised me with the inclusion of Tommy Merlyn right off the bat. Him and Oliver interact for a bit but it's left there for a few moments as we gotta deal with the rest of the team after the building's explosion. Well the first person we see is Roy, then Diggle, Dinah and finally Rene who seemed to have gotten the worst impact. All are fine however but want to find Oliver. Felicity gets in contact with them thanks to a booster from her apartment that just so happened to be teeming with SCPD officers. They have a warrant to search the premise and also tell her that she is under arrest for lying, helping with murder and even hiding a murder in Roy who as we know did kill the two cops in last week's episode. So how did the SCPD know all of this? they were tipped off by Emiko who really wants to destroy Oliver's name and everyone he loves. Later at the Bunker Emiko shows up as tensions are high within the building as the team search for Oliver and a way to shut off a back generator this has highly flammable chemicals in and around it. Felicity tells Emiko that she is pregnant and that her child doesn't need to be hurt. It's innocent, just like she was when growing up as Oliver's half sister. Emiko ends up shooting one of the mainframes it looks like and later the team find out that she just stole some arrows which isn't exactly anything concerning, or is it?

More on Tommy Merlyn now and we later learn that he is just a figment of Oliver's mind as he suffered a pretty bad concussion from the building's explosion. The episode uses Tommy so well though. They make him make Oliver realize that he has to let the notion of seeing red whenever he seems Emiko disappear. That he has a clean slate that both their parents didn't have. He also says that he can be better for not only his family but himself. It's all great to watch. In particular one scene where Oliver confronts Emiko and ends up shooting her with an arrow seemingly killing her. But behind him is Diggle who also gets shot by an Arrow that Emiko must've let off before falling to the ground. As Dig falls over a railing Oliver sees the one thing that he doesn't want happening. All team members on the floor each with an arrow buried in their chest. Oliver immediately snaps to his senses however and we see him back with Tommy. That scene had me thinking it was real and that Oliver had crossed that line again. But he didn't and it just shows what could and what will happen if he goes down that route again. Oliver and Tommy speak some more before Oliver questions Tommy's own identity. Or loss there of it, as he fully became what his father wanted. Which ultimately lead to his death way back in season 1. Tommy says Oliver can do things differently and as the team arrive to help him Oliver and Tommy say their goodbyes. Tommy says he will always be with him as Oliver joins up with the rest of the team and go off in pursuit of Emiko. 

The episode draws to a close at the bunker as the team learn of Emiko's true purpose. She has the weapon that had been seen in previous episodes. Her and the Ninth Circle are at the main SCPD building. Emiko is dressed as the Green Arrow in an attempt to further destroy Oliver's name which I thought was a nice touch. Inside chaos erupts as various Ninth Circle members murder SCPD cops. Even the guy who was helping Dinah in last week's episode and the guy who placed Felicity under arrest before she made her escape. But the episode ends atop the SCPD building with one final showdown between Emiko and Oliver. Oliver says she is better than this and that there's been enough suffering. Of course she doesn't listen and shoots an arrow before zipping off into the night with the weapon in tow and no real location to find. She could be anywhere, but I guess we'll find it all out next week as season 7 wraps up. This episode as a whole was extremely solid. Not as good as last week's which was unique in my opinion but definitely a good follow up. The tension between Oliver and Emiko is compelling. The inclusion of Tommy Merlyn was a welcome surprise and as for the future scenes? well they are the cause of this episodes many problems. They really brought the present day stuff to a grinding halt. I've never truly been a fan of them to begin with but I really felt it here. But I expect fireworks from both present day and the future in next week's finale that looks set to be huge. Until then Team Arrow!

★★★