Romance authors dissect 'The Offer,' latest ep of 'Arrow'

Allison Brennan and Lavinia Klein are back after the three-week break! And they're so excited to talk about Arrow. It's been much too long.

LK: Wow. I was so excited to watch this episode after the endless (in my mind) break. And now I am not quite sure what to think. This episode seemed to be about everything and nothing all at the same time.

I think my nothing was the Murmur, villain of the week, storyline. It just didn't seem to move the story forward much. It separated and then brought together and then probably separated the police (Detective Lance) and Team Arrow, so we end up basically where we began. Other than that, it just seemed to be, here's a bad guy, let's have Team Arrow save the police force and look good doing it. Sorry, if I am a little brusque.

What I loved about this episode was what I saw as its theme: identity. If the previous episode was about transformation, this episode was about firmly stepping into who the characters are now (with a couple of possible exceptions). Oliver firmly moves into who he wants to be as the Arrow; Laurel settles in even more as Black Canary; Ra's is unmoving in who he is, but ready to retire; Merlyn also recognizes that he's who he is — even if he might like to change; Felicity has made her choice with Ray — and I think because of it can become involved with Team Arrow again; and Thea ... I think Thea is the one who is still in the most flux and yet, at the same time, she is accepting herself in the broken state she is in.

What do you think, Allison? How did you read the episode? Were you happier with Oliver this week?

AB: Ironically, I liked this episode more than the last. I think it did move the story forward. The entire episode really focused on Oliver accepting who he is, so you're right in that it's about identity — as well as purpose. Ra's talked about the purpose of the League of Assassins and his role as the leader, and how he and the Arrow are really the same in their quest for justice. What Ra's says gives Oliver a lot to think about. Oliver lamented that even though they've been fighting crime for two years, Starling City is as crime-ridden as ever. What's his purpose if he's fighting but everything is staying the same?

That Oliver is even considering The Offer from Ra's shows his self-doubt as well as his need to reflect on his purpose. At the end it's clear that he has weighed everything and made a decision (to decline the offer) because Felicity helped him see why he became the Arrow in the first place.

But to get there was truly a journey that he's been on all season. Who is the Arrow? Who is Oliver Queen? Can both exist? Can they have a symbiotic relationship, or must one be dominant? Michael Keaton in the original Batman talks about duality, and I felt that theme carried here as well.

The scene between Captain Lance and the Arrow after Team Arrow gift-wraps the bad guys for the police was pivotal — while Lance and Laurel had their falling out over keeping Sara's death from Lance, Arrow and Lance hadn't talked about it ... and Oliver needed to hear Lance's raw emotion and mandate that he'll have nothing to do with vigilantism. For a year they've had a good relationship, one where they depended on each other, but now that's gone. Arrow is needing to operate in the dark again, and even though at the end Team Arrow saved the police station and took down the bad guys, Lance didn't forgive Oliver for keeping Sara's death from him.

LK: One of the things that I love about writing this blog is hearing your viewpoint and how it can change my own. I think I was a little distracted during Ra's speech, and it didn't quite hit me until I read your answer — and then it replayed in my mind. I agree completely. I think it was only the Murmur storyline that I really found lacking, just a tool to push things along.

And you are right about it being Oliver's, or rather the Arrow's, story this week. One thing that I found very interesting about Oliver this week and in recent episodes is that we are actually seeing very little of "Oliver." It's almost all the Arrow. Even when he goes to ask Felicity for help and finds her flirting with Ray, he changes to his deeper Arrow voice. I think he is really finding his identity as the Arrow, but will still have a struggle with being Oliver again.

I did love the scene with Felicity in the Arrow Cave where she once again shows she is the soul/conscience of Team Arrow and directs Oliver into who he is and who he must be. "I don't think you are the Arrow so that people will say thank you." (And I seem to be obsessed with the color choices for Felicity's clothes. I loved that her blue dress matched Ray's suit and tie, marking them a couple, but then it also matched the Arrow Cave exactly. I felt like they were really showing that she is Team Arrow's core.)

Allison, were you any more comfortable with Felicity and Ray this week? Do you agree that her being with Ray in some ways lets Felicity keep Oliver in her life?

AB: Because I feel this season is really about Oliver learning — and accepting — who he is at his core, it shows that he is more "Arrow" than "Oliver." I don't think he can ever go back to being just Oliver Queen. And I don't think he wants to. He's truly not the same person he was when he left on the Queen's Gambit eight years ago. He has fundamentally changed, and this season — showing him less and less as Oliver — highlights that.

I'll admit, I wanted more about Ray and his supersuit! That ending where he flew off, I thought we'd see something about it ... but I can wait. I don't hate Felicity and Ray together, because he's cute and nice. I don't think they have the same chemistry that she has with Oliver. And I really like how Felicity pointed out near the end of the episode that their not being together was Oliver's choice. That makes me wonder that if he makes a different choice down the road, will she be available? But this was the first episode where I saw them as friends — actually better friends than they were at the beginning.

Speaking of friendship, this new friendship between Laurel and Nyssa is very interesting! I've always liked Nyssa's character. She's unyielding and a true warrior. When Ra's sent Nyssa away after she learned of his offer to Oliver, I felt her pain and rage and betrayal. It should have been hers. She is his daughter. I'm wondering what her plan is, because she was just too friendly, too nice when she returned to Starling City to help Team Arrow. I think she plans to kill Oliver ... but I also suspect (after the end of this episode!) that she'll end up either proving herself to her father, or killing him and taking the role of Ra's herself, with Oliver's blessing.

How Laurel fits in, I'm not sure yet ... but I really loved how at the beginning, Oliver tells Laurel she needs more training, and then when she's fighting with Nyssa, Nyssa tells her she's competent. Laurel asks if that means Nyssa is willing to train her — and considering that Nyssa trained Sara, that training could make Laurel far more formidable. She's definitely taking the next big step to becoming the Black Canary ... because I really hated Laurel in the first two seasons (especially season two), I didn't think that the writers would be able to redeem her. I don't hate her anymore, so that is definitely a big kudos to the great Arrow writing team.

LK: I actually wondered when Ra's sent Nyssa away if his purpose was for her to go and redeem herself. I thought she was going to come to Starling City obviously bent on vengeance. I liked her much more subtle approach. I was guessing that she'll die at the end of the season and then end up in the Lazarus Pit — becoming one more who survives Ra's blade. (Oh, and I am forgetting how much they surprised me by having Nyssa also understand Thea at the beginning of the episode. At the end of the last episode I felt it was a real cliffhanger and the writers handled it so smoothly by having Nyssa continue to blame Merlyn.)

I have to confess, I loved Merlyn in this episode, too. I thought John Barrowman's acting was superb. He didn't have a lot to say, but his face said it all. During the scene where he overhears Thea and Oliver discussing that she is not a murderer but she is broken, the tangled emotions on his face were wonderful. I felt that I could see his desire to be more than he is and at the same time his acceptance that he cannot change much. He wants to be a good father to her, but doesn't know how. He truly believes that offering to let her kill him is being a good dad.

I also liked him acting the older sage and telling Oliver that Ra's offer was not an offer. It adds more depth to his not-quite-a-villain character.

I think my other favorite acting moment came right before the first commercial break when Oliver leaves Nanda Parbat and the camera closes in on Ra's face — Ahh, the understanding and the mystery.

Did you have any favorite moments in the show?

AB: John Barrowman has always been great in this show as Merlyn. I definitely firmly put him on the villain side, but every villain has a redeeming quality. His happens to be a keen understanding of how everything works together. When he mentioned the prophesy to Oliver — that the next Ra's al Ghul would survive in battle — also highlighted that maybe that's what he'd been planning all along when he drugged Thea, had her kill Sara and sent Oliver to Nanda Parbat. I see Merlyn as always thinking 10 steps ahead of everyone else, always having a contingency plan and never (or rarely) being surprised.

I actually had a lot of favorite moments — every scene moved the episode forward in a pivotal way. I feel momentum building in a big way, like a snowball rolling down a mountainside. It's like everything before Nanda Parbat was pushing that rock up the mountain, Nanda Parbat put that rock on the edge, and this episode started it down the hill, gathering snow and debris. I can't wait to see the explosion at the end! I have a feeling the season finale — and every episode leading up to it — will be epic.

LK: One thing that was not my favorite in this episode was the backstory. I've mostly loved the way they tie the present and the past, but I haven't felt it in the last two episodes. This episode just seemed to be about Oliver and Akio, Maseo's son, running from the mysterious people chasing them. (I am guessing Waller because of the earphones.) There was that one great moment at the end when Oliver sees Shado, but I am waiting to see what they do with that. I am hoping it will explain Oliver and Slade's big problem, but they may also have it be mistaken identity or completely different and more mysterious.

Do you agree, Allison? I know you've also enjoyed the interplay with the backstory in the past.

AB: I totally agree that the flashbacks aren't working as well now as they had in the past. I think it's because they're balancing the flashbacks with the Current Story, and that there really isn't much to show in the past at this point while also keeping it relatable to the current story. A minor flaw, but a little annoying. The Shado sighting? Interesting. I don't see how it can be her. She was shot in the back of the head. Twin sister? Maybe. Lookalike? Maybe. Hallucination? Doubtful.

I'm rarely surprised in television shows or movies, but when Ra's dressed as the Arrow and killed the bad guys, then let one survive to tell the story ... that surprised me. It directly answers Merlyn's concern that The Offer was not actually a choice, and definitely will propel the rest of the season. What makes it so compelling is that it puts Ra's in the middle of the action in Starling City. Does that mean he's going to stay? That there will be a big epic battle between him and Oliver? Will Oliver kill him? Or Nyssa? It's clear (to me) that Nyssa will be the next Ra's and that Oliver will help make it happen. If I'm wrong ... well, my sons will never let me live it down because I'm rarely wrong.

Plus, this storyline will definitely help maintain organic tension between Captain Lance and the Arrow, and I'm not sure how that will play out in the end.

LK: I do think the struggle between Ra's and Oliver will take up the rest of the season (along with some villains of the week), and I completely agree about Nyssa becoming the next Ra's. I think we will see more of Oliver's temptation, his desire to do more and additional discouragement as Ra's actions force people to see the Arrow as a vigilante. I personally felt that they moved this storyline a little too fast. I wanted to see some of it grow naturally before being forced. I wanted to see Ra's prediction slowly come true, not such quick turnabout, either on Lance's part (because of Sara's death) or because Ra's was changing the playing field. I understand that the writers have time constraints, but it all felt rushed to me.

Have I missed anything? Is there anything more you think we need to talk about?

AB: I didn't think it was rushed — they've been building to this moment all season. At this point, Team Arrow is united, but the darkness is circling — the problems with Lance, Ra's being in town, Nyssa's unknown agenda, Ray and his supersuit, and Merlyn's end game. All with Oliver continuing to be challenged as to his identity and purpose. I felt this was the lull before the storm.

I loved this episode, and cannot wait until next week!

LK: And not to forget — the winner of an e-book and Nocking Point mug from our last post is: Cindy L. Locklear. (AND, Cindy, you are completely right. We don't spend enough time talking about how funny Felicity is. Her expression when Oliver walked in on her and Ray flirting was wonderful.)

I loved reading your responses and will definitely do another giveaway soon. I was amazed at the response. Please forgive me if you asked a question and I haven't replied. I was swamped with the combination of a deadline and one of those annoying "emergencies" that isn't a big deal but takes a lot of time. I will get replies out in the next day or two.

Getting to know you all has been a great experience. It is so fun to share the love of Arrow with such a great group of articulate people.

AB: Absolutely! What do you all think about The Offer? Oliver's duality? Captain Lance? Ra's coming to Starling ... and Nyssa training Laurel? Or what about Thea and Roy? Did they get back together too fast, considering all Thea has been through? Or was it destined to happen?

Also — great news! My publisher is running a sweepstakes to give away signed copies of Notorious, the first novel in the Maxine Revere series. Book two, Compulsion, arrives April 7. You can enter the contest and find out more about the series here. Good luck!

Allison Brennan is a Paste BN and New York Times bestselling author of romantic thrillers. Lavinia Klein is a bestselling author of sexy historical romances. They both watch Arrow with their sons, Allison on the West Coast and Lavinia on the East Coast. And now, they enjoy recapping their favorite show together. Find out more about Allison and Lavinia and their books at www.allisonbrennan.com and www.laviniakent.com.