Arrow – Invasion!

By: Stacy Miller

With “Invasion” it’s the 100th episode of Arrow and the continuation of the Heroes vs Aliens epic crossover event. Superheroes from Team Flash, Team Arrow, Supergirl and The Legends joined forces when aliens known as the Dominators arrived on Earth. The heroes were under temporary mind control inflicted by the Dominators, which caused them to fight each other. However, once they were free of the influence, all except The Flash were beamed away. But where?

The episode opens with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) out for a run near the family estate. He surprises his fiancée Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) while she’s in the shower. It is the day before their wedding and both are blissfully happy. So, it looks like this is an alternate universe instead of Star City. And in this world, Oliver Queen is not the Green Arrow. And oh yeah, his parents are alive. It is all part of the Dominators’ plan to destroy the humans for in reality, Oliver, Thea (Willa Holland), John (David Ramsey), Sara (Caity Lotz) and Ray (Brandon Routh) are asleep in alien pods.

Meanwhile at Green Arrow headquarters, the team as well as Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) are trying to find out where everyone has gone. Cisco touches Green Arrow’s bow in the hope that he’ll be able to vibe the heroes’ whereabouts. Presto, Cisco sees the alien ship. Fortunately, as they have a piece of the alien ship, it will help them track their friends. Curtis (Echo Kellum) is giddy by this. “We’re gonna hack alien tech. This is seriously the best day of my entire life!” he exclaims.

But back to slumber land, superhero style. Before the rehearsal dinner, Thea presents Oliver with something called hōzen, which is an arrowhead as a symbol of reconnection. This scene reminds me of the scene in the pilot. Arrow is doing an excellent job honoring the series in the 100th episode with these little reminders of its history. Moira (Susanna Thompson) and Robert Queen (Jamey Sheridan) enter the room. It is such a warm family scene and you can feel the love. “You’re practically a completely different person. You both are,” says Moira Queen.

Sara Lance has arrived at the Queen mansion for the wedding. She happily greets Laurel with a hug. However, the warm affection they show each other doesn’t seem as comfortable as it should be between sisters when one is about to get married. Plus, Sara has a strange reaction to Laurel’s canary necklace. Additionally, Oliver seeing the Smoak Technologies sign on the building feels strange to him although he doesn’t know why. He and his father Robert talk about Queen Consolidated as Robert is soon to be mayor and wants his son to fill his place as CEO. Their talk is interrupted by a criminal who tries to rob them at gunpoint. It is then that a figure wearing a hood and carrying arrows saves them. Oliver has a strange reaction upon seeing the hooded man. At police station, Oliver is shown a sketch of the hooded vigilante that resembles the sketch of “the hood” from way back in Arrow’s pilot. In this alternate reality, Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) doesn’t have an alcohol problem and is proud of the man Oliver Queen has become as he used to be a spoiled playboy. But now he is a worthy potential husband for his daughter Laurel.

And later that evening at the rehearsal dinner, Sara Lance and Ray Palmer meet each other for the first time, but they both have glimpses of a past together (and viewers see scenes of their Legends of Tomorrow history). Sara is polite to Oliver and acts like a future sister-in-law so it’s obvious that in this reality there’s no past romance between the two. But Oliver is preoccupied with his encounter with the hooded man who saved his and his father’s lives. Interestingly, he finds the elevator that leads down to Team Arrow’s lair. His arrival startles Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and the hooded vigilante comes to her rescue. When his hood is removed, we see that it is John Diggle! As Oliver introduces himself to the hooded man saying, “My name is Oliver Queen,” John attacks him and warns that “No one can know my secret.” Another nice shout out to the pilot, this episode is the gift that keeps on giving for the nostalgic fans. Then, both John and Felicity each experience flashbacks of their pasts with Oliver.

On the day of Laurel and Oliver’s fairytale wedding, Moira is helping Thea get ready. “I’ve never been happier,” Thea says, but then has a flash of her mother’s murder. And Sara and Laurel are getting for the wedding, too. Both are angry with Oliver for leaving the rehearsal dinner without telling anybody. “You’re lucky I’m not a trained assassin or anything,” comments Sara. The déjà vu continues. Oliver arrives and after Sara leaves, telling Laurel that he wants to elope. He is confused by all the unexplained memories that he’s been having. The only thing he knows for certain is how much he loves Laurel. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by John. Both John and Oliver come to the same conclusion that they are having the same hallucination of a history between them. But how is this possible? Enter Slade Wilson a/k/a Deathstroke (Manu Bennett), who starts fighting with John and Oliver. Sara joins the melee and ends, killing Deathstroke with a sword. Her skill with the weapon surprises her, but they come to the realization that they aren’t the only ones in this dream/hallucination. Thea Queen and Ray Palmer are a part of it, too. They realize that the the Smoak Technologies building may hold the key to getting them off Fantasy Island.

Meanwhile back in the true reality, the only way to save their friends and break through the alternate reality is to break through the aliens’ technology by using a McGuffin falange that will work with the dilithium crystals. The only person that has this McGuffin falange is a Dr. Laura Washington. Thankfully, the heroes have The Flash (Grant Gustin) and The Girl of Steele a/k/a Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) to assist in this mission for the McGuffin falange. Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez) is not happy that Supergirl is part of the team as Rene mistrusts all aliens and Meta Humans due to their abilities, but changes his tune pretty quickly when Supergirl saves him.

In the alternate reality world, it’s amusing to hear Thea and Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) talking about Tommy being a doctor in Chicago. Although she knows this new life is not her real life, Thea is happy. She thinks they should just let Kara and Barry be Earth’s protectors. After all the sacrifices they have made, the new life would be their reward. But Oliver tells her, “I didn’t make those sacrifices for a reward, I did what I did because I thought it was right.” Oliver wants Thea to return with him back to the real world, urging he needs her in this fight. But Thea doesn’t want to leave explaining, “I can’t lose them again, I can’t lose my family.” But Thea, Oliver is your family too.

So, it looks like Thea will be left behind while Oliver, Sara, John and Ray return back to their lives. But, of course, the Dominators aren’t going to let them get away that easy. And Thea decides to join them after all. They’ll have to fight the past villains of Arrow: Deathstroke, Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) and Malcolm Merlyn to get back where they belong. Thankfully, our heroes defeat every one of them. Laurel shows up and shares a tearful goodbye with Sara and Oliver. And as a love letter to the loyal Arrow fans, we are treated to a hoard of flashbacks from the ninety-nine previously aired episodes before the team takes off in a portal back to the real world.

At Team Arrow headquarters, the team is able to use the alien technology and determine that their missing friends are in outer space. Meanwhile, Oliver and company are able to defeat some Dominators and board an alien space ship which Thea is somehow able to pilot. But the Dominators are in hot pursuit on another space ship. Fortunately, the Waverider saves them. Their computer, Gideon, translates a Dominator phrase which says “we are nearing completion of the weapon.” So, they learn that the Dominator mothership is planning a war on Earth.