Tonight’s episode of Arrow follows last week’s surprise betrayal of the team by Lyla Michaels who tranquilized them after they returned from Russia on their mission to find a means with which to stop The Monitor, but the follow up from that betrayal sees Oliver in a unique situation: Quentin Lance is somehow still alive and Oliver finds himself dealing with a timeline that isn’t quite as he remembers it which proves to be a mystery all its own.
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Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Arrow, “Reset”, below.
We open with Oliver waking up on the couch in his home. Mia, Connor, and William come in and are surprised to see him, wanting to know what he’s doing there. They gloss over most of what happened previously with Lyla tranquilizing them and it becomes pretty clear that something is off. Oliver is expected at a fancy event, but he meets up with John who reveals that they were tranquilized two days ago. Lyla and Diggle try to smooth things over as well, but Oliver is aware something is wrong — especially since Palmer Tech is back and Quentin Lance is alive and well and also the mayor.
But it’s weird. Quentin is aware of Oliver going to prison. He was also shot by Diaz, but in this timeline — Quentin survived. Oliver says he remembers things different. Rene interrupts his conversation with Quentin to reveal an issue at the police station, so Quentin and Green Arrow go to help. Quentin decides to go in and speak with the criminals as they have demanded while Green Arrow goes around back to help. Quentin distracts the criminal and Green Arrow arrives to save the day but that’s when things are revealed: Oliver is stuck in some sort of Groundhog’s Day-like loop and it won’t be over until he stops it.
The day starts over. A bewildered Oliver approaches thing a bit differently and heads to the party, again trying to talk to Diggle about the situation. He tells Diggle he thinks he’s in a time loop and that there’s a bomb in the police precinct. He also tells Quentin about it, with Quentin asking him how he can help as Quentin actually believes him. He also discovers, in the course of this second loop that he’s not alone. Laurel is also trapped in a time loop, and when time resets for a third time they attempt to work together. They manage to stop the bomb, but it doesn’t stop the time loop. Oliver wakes up at home again.
They figure out that Quentin’s death is the reset point and Oliver figures out that saving Quentin is how the stop things. That makes saving him their new goal. As Laurel is leaving, Lyla approaches her, and Laurel is not having it. She says that she’s going to expose her once this time loop is over. Oliver goes to try to defuse the bomb and Diggle goes to talk to him and, yes Oliver tells him about the time loop again. Turns out the bomb isn’t the key Oliver thinks he is. Diggle gives him a pep talk and then agrees to get him into Argus. At the bunker, Laurel stays with Quentin and she tells him the truth of her reality – Laurel tells him about his death. Quentin tells her that his death, saving her, was the best way he could have gone. When Oliver calls with information about the merc’s hideout, they go to assist him. Turns out, it was a trap. Everything goes boom and then out walks Lyla. She tells Oliver he’s missing the point and can’t fight things – and then she shoots Quentin. We reset.
This time, Lyla isn’t at the party and Laurel and Oliver try to figure out how they get out. Oliver is trying to connect how it all works and he sorts out that this time loop is a test. They go back to the merc’s hideout and disable the bomb and then do the next step of their investigation into who wants Quentin dead. It leads them to a company down by the docks and Quentin promptly gets shot. Quentin has a tearful goodbye with Laurel, with Laurel telling him that he is the reason she’s become a better person and she tells him how much he means to her. She gets a chance to say goodbye. It ends Laurel’s time loop.
But Oliver is still trapped. Lyla comes to him in the Bunker to tell him that and tells Oliver that Mar Novu needs him to learn his lesson – things are inevitable. He can’t fight his fate. Oliver and Quentin start directly at the business on the docks and quickly come under attack with Oliver still bent on saving Quentin. Quentin tries to talk some sense into Oliver and tell him that maybe he needs to make his peace with things – he has. Oliver remains stubborn but Quentin takes off his vest and gives in. We reset.
This time Oliver approaches things differently. He stops to appreciate his children and tells them he’s proud of them. At the party, he is somber and goes to speak with Quentin. They have a moment together and Oliver thanks Quentin and says goodbye. He then meets with Lyla who reveals that he has finally understood. He can’t change his fate. Lyla also reveals that she’s been working with The Monitor for awhile and for the same reasons Oliver is. And she tells him that Oliver is the only chance they have to survive Crisis – and every mission he’s been on has been a test, but all his missions have also had a purpose to face Crisis. And now, one last mission.
Oliver and Laurel wake up. They’re back in the right timeline. Laurel’s time with Quentin was a gift, a reward for not betraying Oliver. Oliver’s lesson was that he had to learn that he couldn’t fight his fate. The episode ends with Oliver and Laurel discovering that they are definitely not in Star City. They’re on Lian Yu.
Arrow airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
