Allison Brennan and Lavinia Kent on 'Arrow': Wow! Wow! Wow!

Paste BN and New York Times bestselling romantic thriller author Allison Brennan and bestselling historical romance author Lavinia Kent are back dishing about Arrow ... and preparing themselves for the end!

LK: Wow. I saw so much of this coming — and some of it not at all. From the opening clip when Ra's reveals that Maseo gave him the Alpha-Omega weapon and we see the shock on Oliver's face, revealing that he is not a brainwashed zombie, to the "all hope is lost" ending, this episode sped from moment to moment, from revelation to revelation, leaving me breathless.

I had to watch it a second time to be sure I hadn't missed anything.

What did you think, Allison? You talked about your theory last week, some of which came true and some of which didn't. Did you love Oliver's expression in those first moments?

AB: My gut told me that all this was a big plan and that Oliver didn't tell his team in order to have their reaction be believable ... but I was stunned that Maseo gave Ra's the Alpha-Omega weapon. I wasn't surprised that Merlyn was part of Oliver's plan because he's the only one with deep knowledge of Ra's, the League of Assassins and Nanda Parbat. I don't trust him, but that's what makes this whole plan so exciting. Is Merlyn really working with Oliver? Against him? Both? Does he have another agenda?

The brief look on Oliver's face when he found out about Maseo said it all. What I love is that Stephen Amell can convey so much without saying a word.

You are SO right in that this episode wowed me. It was fast, but gave us brief, necessary "quiet points" with Thea and Roy (more later!). The big mid-episode fight when Malcolm Merlyn leads Team Arrow to Nanda Parbat to destroy the plane that is supposed to deliver the bio-weapon was brilliant. I love, love, love the choreography of this show, and this episode took it to another level. For television it was truly spectacular. And when Ray came flying in wearing his Atom Suit to defeat the plane? I was cheering him on ... though, I'll admit, the flying suit is a bit too The Flash for me. It's a bit too light for Arrow.

I was heartbroken about the Maseo/Tatsu fight. I wanted Maseo to be saved, but the way they set it up ... it worked. The fact that Maseo gave Ra's the poison, that he told Oliver that the League wasn't his prison, that he couldn't escape his prison ... watching through flashbacks the death of his son and how Tatsu sang to Maseo after she stabbed him ... just like she sang to their son ... and how Maseo thanked her for freeing him from his prison. It was a brief but powerful scene.

LK: I have to admit to being confused by Maseo's character. I really liked your theory that he was the one teaming up with Oliver. It may be simply that we didn't see enough of the present-time character development for it to all make sense. We saw so much of Maseo in the flashbacks, the Oliver's friend Maseo, that it is hard to reconcile him with a man who can so callously give over the Alpha-Omega weapon. I understood his feelings of being in prison after his son's tragic death (the subject of this week's flashbacks), his desire for revenge and his wanting to join the League of Assassins, but I couldn't quite understand his lack of care over the consequences of any of his actions. I thought this was the biggest weakness of the episode.

I did love Tatsu/Katana. I've enjoyed actress Rila Fukushima ever since watching her in Wolverine, and she did not disappoint when she put on her mask. As with Maseo, I wish we'd learned more about Tatsu. The writers have given us small hints, but there's a larger story, and I want to know it. I hope we see more of her in season four.

Maseo's death at Katana's hand was a perfect bittersweet moment. You could see it coming, but its tragedy still hit me hard. Even knowing that Maseo was not sad to die did not lesson the anguish of that moment. It was beautifully done. Wow.

And then to so quickly transition to Team Arrow's capture and Oliver's revelation that he was going to marry Nyssa. Felicity's face, so filled with denial, made the scene so believable. Her pain and disbelief were bare for all to see.

AB: Oliver didn't have much time with Team Arrow alone, and he said, "If you talk, we die. Trust me." That said it all. They have to trust him ... and Diggle can't. Oliver betrayed his trust so deeply by joining with Merlyn and not Diggle. And in many ways, I think Diggle can forgive Oliver becoming Al Sah-Him easier than Oliver hiding his plan to take down the League of Assassins from him.

I think the team has been up and down so much that they don't know what to believe. I think Felicity wants to believe ... until she found out Oliver is marrying Nyssa. Can she regain her trust? That should prove to be a fun twist in season four!

Merlyn ... wow. Did he "betray" Oliver or is that part of the plan? With him you just don't know. It was really Tatsu telling Oliver after she healed him that he would have to sacrifice what he loves the most to defeat Ra's. That's what he's had to do, and while that pains me on an emotional level, as a writer and a fan, I'm completely involved with the complexity and conflict Oliver's choices have put on the characters and the future. We totally understand what he's doing and why he's doing it ... and after what Ra's did to Thea, there really was no other choice. I loved at the beginning how Oliver and Merlyn thought they would have months to take down the League, but are now required to act faster.

LK: Oliver really has been forced to create a situation where even if he wins he'll have nothing to go back to — except maybe Thea. When Diggle says, "You didn't just lose my friendship, you lost my trust, my respect," it demonstrates how Team Arrow now perceives Oliver and then Oliver sums it up to Ra's, repeating Tatsu's sentiment, "Then I will have nothing, and no one to go home to." Oliver has given up everything, and for what? Can he still save the day?

As we move toward the end of the episode, Oliver throwing the poison gas into the prison cell and then heading to his wedding with Nyssa, it does feel as if all hope is lost, and even knowing that somehow it will work out (and having my own theories on how) I still am caught holding my breath.

Even having seen the clips of the wedding, and reading that it was actually going to happen, I found myself watching in disbelief. The ceremony was visually beautiful and exciting, Nyssa trying to stab Oliver, but it was its juxtaposition to the scenes of everyone slowly being overcome by the poison gas that led to the real tension of the moment. Wow.

AB: My theory on the poison gas? One of two things: First, it's a sleeping gas, not the Alpha-Omega virus. They all went to sleep. OR, it's the real virus ... but Oliver inoculated all of them. (I would probably go so far as to say Merlyn did it ... maybe the inoculation is airborne and he did it on the plane, or it was in something they drank. But with Ray not in the original Team Arrow plan with Merlyn, it might have been while they were in Nanda Parbat.) We KNOW they are either inoculated or that it's not the real virus because no one had blood coming out of their mouth, and that was the big sign of infection. Yet something was in the vial because they were all knocked out.

As far as the wedding, it had to happen once Ra's said it was to happen. Why? Because it would have been a cheap way for the writers to get out of the Oliver/Felicity conflict. Even if Team Arrow eventually forgives Oliver in season four, if he's married to Nyssa (or even if he's not, but Felicity can't forgive it) it provides organic conflict for their characters to both keep them apart and bring them together. The tension will be so, so good ... I can practically see it now!

I love Nyssa. She is truly a complex and intriguing character, and I can't help but wonder if Oliver — when they're alone — will bring her into the plans. They have one thing in common that unites them: Sarah. What I thought was an almost tender scene was, earlier in the episode, when Ra's spoke of Nyssa's mother and showed her the jewels he gave to her mother after she gave birth to Nyssa. The look on his face, and on her face, showed a love and affection and respect that I think has always been there ... but in the end, Nyssa can't overlook what her father is forcing her to do (marry Al Sah-Him). This scene truly shows the anguish in many father-daughter relationships, and the love/hate relationship Nyssa has with her father.

LK: I loved that scene, too. I hadn't considered how it reflects many father-daughter relationships, but I completely agree. I hope Oliver brings her into the plan. Her character deserves to be part of the resolution. She has suffered so much, had so little "normal" — and I think she's a great addition to the cast.

When I watched this episode for the second time, I saw a similar point repeated three times, the idea of having your enemy come to you of his own accord so you could trap him. Sometimes the idea was reversed, but the point was the same. First, Diggle chased the thief/vandal to his gang so that Team Arrow can get them all at once, then Ra's "shakes the grass to lure the snakes," and finally the flashback when the general reveals that he wanted them to bring him along so that he could get them all together. Now, we just need to wait for next week to see if Oliver's plan is actually a plan within a plan.

AB: You know it is! But he'll have to improvise ... and he'll have to make more sacrifices. The events of these last four episodes of the season — the three we've seen and the one yet to come — will have far-reaching consequences and set up season four.

LK: And what about Thea and Roy? We've hardly mentioned them up until now. Thea's storyline was so separate from everything else this week. I loved seeing her back with Roy, even if I don't want her to leave Starling City to be with him. I am enjoying her character growth on the show.

What do you think, Allison? And are you ready to see her in Speedy red?

AB: I am so glad that Roy and Thea had that one final moment and that they parted on good terms. Even though I want them to be together, Roy understands that Thea would have to sacrifice everything in order to live as a fugitive. He loves her so much that he can set her free. And Thea loves Roy so much that she can be free. I think this story arc from season one to the end of season three, for Roy and Thea, was very well done. Roy has grown into a hero. I will miss him. I really loved his character and loved who he became. I understand writing him out (and whether it was because of him or the show runner, I don't know, but story-wise it works), but I can still miss him!

Thea is also growing into her role as Speedy! Roy leaving her the suit ... it gave closure to that story and opened another.

LK: Oh, and what about Ray (who continues to be the best guy in the world — and still not right for Felicity) signing over the company to Felicity? I did not see that coming. Do you think she'll be Oliver's boss next year? I can't wait to see all the new dynamics.

AB: Nope, didn't see it coming, but it's true to character, isn't it? And you're right — he is a great guy and not right for Felicity ... just like Barry Allen (the Flash). And, truthfully, while I've enjoyed his scenes and his contribution to the show, the Atom doesn't fit with the tone of Arrow, as I said earlier. It's too light ... and while we need lightness sometimes, this feels off.

The lightness that works for Arrow, for example, was when Felicity's tablet was destroyed by an arrow and she turns and throws it at the assassin, and is momentarily stunned and thrilled when it hits him in the neck and he falls to the ground. Then he topples over and she sees the arrow in his back and Merlyn behind him, and she says, "Oh. That makes more sense."

Felicity has the best lines. : )

LK: Next week's concluding episode promises to be even bigger. I only saw the first seconds of the trailer before TiVo cut off, but it was enough to increase my anticipation. Will the team survive the gas? (OK, yes, we know they will.) And how? (I agree with your theories, Allison. Either they've all secretly been inoculated or it's not actually the Alpha-Omega weapon.) Will the wedding be concluded? (I am guessing yes and then next season they'll have to figure it out.) Will any of the Alpha-Omega be released in Starling City? (I am iffy on this. I think some will, but not much.) When/how will Oliver reveal that it has all been an act? (Not a clue on this one. I do think Team Arrow will not be quick to forgive.) How does the Flash get involved and what does he do? (I am guessing that his speed is needed to help with multiple releases of the toxin at the same time. I am praying they don't use him to set back time.) Will Oliver and Ra's have a final showdown and will Ra's die? (Yes, and I think it will look like he does.) Will we meet next season's villain and will it be Damien Darhk? (I am guessing yes, but it's completely a guess.)

Are there any more questions? Allison, you had great theories last week, what do you think will happen in the finale?

AB: We have the same ideas on the gas in the chamber, because those two scenarios are the only thing that can work. I don't think the gas will be released in Starling City, and I don't really like the idea of the Flash coming in to "save the day" because, like I said, while the cross-over episodes are fun, the shows have completely different tones. If they set back time, I will be furious, because that's the easy way. Rarely has it been done well. Sometimes in science-fiction it works ... like in the reboot of the Star Trek franchise ... and the future is changed because someone went back in time and affected one thing ... but in this show, it would be jumping the shark and tick me off.

There has to be a final showdown between Oliver and Ra's ... it's been greatly anticipated. And Oliver has learned how to fight from the master himself, which was what Merlyn said would be necessary to defeat him after Oliver came back from the mountain alive. There will be repercussions from everything that has happened, but whether it's a cliffhanger (the virus being released) or an emotional hangover (Team Arrow can't forgive Oliver), I don't know. Both can work. And I was wondering the same thing ... is Damien Darhk coming in at the end of the next episode? Or maybe just as a shadow lurking? It's been hinted at in a couple of episodes ... but I'm very excited!

LK: One more week ... and then we have to wait four months.

P.S.: I'm attending a Nocking Point wine-tasting this weekend — meeting Stephen Amell. Big fangirl squee.

Allison Brennan is a Paste BN and New York Times bestselling author of romantic thrillers. Her latest release is Compulsion. Lavinia Klein is a bestselling author of sexy historical romances. Her latest is Bound by Bliss. 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.