Romance authors on latest 'Arrow': Stunned!

USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling romantic thriller author Allison Brennan and bestselling historical romance author Lavinia Kent are back to dish about Arrow ... and stunned!

AB: I want to talk about this episode from the end to the beginning, but I'll resist. Another great installment in this fantastic series. However, while the episode started out extremely strong, it kind of fizzled a bit near the end, until the very end.

In the last episode, we left Oliver Queen as public enemy No. 1, in Lance's quest to destroy him and prove he's the vigilante "Arrow." Then, Roy Harper, Arsenal, confesses in a spectacular move and is arrested. Oliver doesn't want to let Roy take the fall for him, but Roy's guilt over killing the cop while drugged on Mirakuru coupled with the fact that Oliver saved his life propels Roy to sacrifice himself. I really loved Roy in this episode — he has grown from an antihero in season one to a true hero in season three. He's loyal and steadfast, necessary for a No. 2, but also complex, not a caricature.

As an aside — I'm having a bit of a logic problem with how the police just readily accepted Roy's confession. Remember the episode in season one where Roy is about to be killed and Oliver saves him? I suppose Laurel's legal maneuverings are what kept this more believable, but there were some issues with this. Still, it was a great twist.

LK: Yes, stunned is the word.

And I understand wanting to start at the end. In many ways this episode seemed like two separate episodes. One that took up the first 90% of the show and one that filled the last 10%.

I, too, loved Roy in this episode. He understood exactly what he was doing in pretending to be the Arrow. He is both finding his own peace and letting Oliver continue to save the city. "For the first time since I found out what I did, I am OK." It is such a simple phrase, but it sums up everything Roy has gone through this year. This is his moment, his redemption. (And that's even before we know the whole story.)

I am still not quite believing Captain Lance. I do understand that he is returning to his original beliefs, but he feels very shortsighted to me. His absolute focus on bringing down Oliver leaves him missing the big picture of everything that is going on in the city. He in many ways is becoming a vigilante himself, i.e. one with a badge. He is acting out his personal need for vengeance, not protecting the city. Although, I do understand in his mind the two are mixed.

I do have to confess, I loved the scene of Lance entering the Arrow cave and looking around. We knew from the trailers that it was coming, but it was still a wonderful moment to have him enter and just stare. It's always fun when you see something through fresh eyes. And then to find only Roy's fingerprints!!

I also wanted Lance to show some interest in capturing Deathbolt (villain of the week). It just doesn't ring quite true to me that he is so focused on Oliver, rather than pursing the more immediate threat.

As with last week, I have to confess that I wasn't drawn into the villain plot (it almost felt like a distraction from the story I wanted to follow), although I did love seeing Oliver's dilemma at not being able to be the Arrow when he needed to go out and stop Deathbolt. He is having a hard time learning to lean on his team and his friends. It was hard for him to ask Ray for help — but what a wonderful moment. I loved the awkwardness of the triangle combined with Ray's geekish joy.

AB: Oliver's inner struggle was evident in this episode. We've seen it before, but this time I truly felt his frustration. Rock, meet Hard Place! He didn't want to let Ray fight the battle because Ray doesn't know what he's doing. Sure, he has a super suit, but he's still a science geek (a very cute, very rich science geek), and he's not a fighter. The first battle proves this, as Ray is taken out pretty darn quickly by Deathbolt and barely gets away.

As an aside, I also watch The Flash and in this week's episode Felicity and Ray came to Central City to get help with a power problem in the super suit, then they helped save the day. Ray definitely fits in well with the people at Star Labs! There was one comment Felicity made to Caitlin Snow about Ray: "He's like Barry in Oliver's body." Then Felicity froze and said, "I didn't say that!" ROFLOL, I cracked up. Because that was so accurate!

The triangle between Oliver, Felicity and Ray became more pronounced this week, because while Felicity couldn't say I love you to Ray, she almost said it to Oliver. She's truly torn. Ray is perfect for her in every way — he's smart, he's rich, he's handsome, he's noble and heroic and compassionate. He's the light to Oliver's dark. He's the light like Felicity is the light, and they are really very much alike. But one thing I noticed this week that I didn't really consider before ... Ray doesn't need Felicity. Sure, he loves her and cares about her. But he's an optimist. He will absolutely survive and be the same if Felicity walks out. Oliver needs light in his life, and the only way he can get it at this point is from Felicity. Whether that's going to work or not, we don't know. But without the light, there is only darkness for Oliver.

LK: Wow. I'd never thought of it that way. And I completely agree. Oliver needs Felicity to keep him balanced. Ray has balance by himself. I think this episode clearly hints at how they are going to resolve this tangle of relationships.

I was glad to see Oliver and Ray working together, to see Oliver teaching Ray how to be a hero — and Ray getting past the emotions of the triangle, to be an eager student. Oliver has the instincts and Ray has the technology. It was great to see them put the two together, to lean on each other. And I did love the moment when they set up the neural interface and Ray said he hoped Oliver had played a lot of video games.

AB: Exactly. I loved when Oliver was using the neural interface to help Ray fight. When they lost the connection, Oliver talked him through it, giving Ray courage and support. To close out this segment, near the end of the episode Ray brought Deathbolt to Star Labs (The Flash), which sets up ... something. I think the only thing I didn't like about this thread was that its only purpose was to train Ray and set up a future storyline for The Flash ... we didn't learn why Deathbolt was in Starling City, what his motivation or his goals were. That was a bit of frustration.

LK: Yes, I feel like the writers are setting something up and not giving us quite enough information. It was interesting learning that Deathbolt did not get his powers in Central City. I think this will be the beginning of bringing more meta-humans to Starling City.

I actually think the purpose of this thread was greater than just training Ray. It was about teaching Oliver that he needed help from his friends, the same theme that the Roy storyline demonstrated and also the flashbacks.

AB: I thought the flashbacks were well balanced and related well to the current story. I loved that I was proved right that the general was the bad guy and not Amanda Waller! But while there was a sense of urgency, I just feel that while the flashbacks are good, they have been spread out for too long. I sense that these are all leading up to what happened to Maseo's son and how he ended up with the League of Assassins, but it could have been done a bit better, IMO.

One of the conflicts Oliver had was after Roy was first attacked in prison, he wanted to break him out. But Felicity and Diggle talked him out of it, because Ray needed Oliver's help with Deathbolt. So while Oliver is helping Ray behind the scenes, Roy is stabbed by a guard and left for dead. Fast-forward to Lance telling Thea that Roy is dead and putting the blame on Oliver's feet. But I didn't believe he was dead ... yet I didn't figure out that it was all in the plan!

LK: I have to confess that they did have me believing that Roy was dead — for at least an instant. I wasn't surprised when he appeared alive, however. And it made so much sense of Roy's not wanting to see Thea earlier, because he didn't want to lie to her.

It was quite the complicated plot that Roy, Diggle and Felicity cooked up. I wasn't sure that I quite followed it all, but I didn't need to. I was just glad that Roy's alive — and that we'll probably see him some in the future. I do wish he'd been able to say goodbye to Thea before he left. It was hard watching him leave without having that moment of resolution. His stoic leaving was perfect, though, and made such perfect sense. It was clear that he couldn't stay, that he had to remain "dead," but equally clear that he was leaving as an equal.

AB: I agree — I would have liked that Thea/Roy closure, but I don't think Roy could have left if he faced Thea. I thought this was one of the best episodes Colton Haynes (Roy) has done, and I wish they had more of him. I read that he's only in one more episode, and I really don't like that he's being written off the show (if that's what's happening — and I think it is). I think Roy provides a great balance for Oliver in many ways, and gives Oliver a little brother of sorts, where he needs to think twice about what he does because he knows that Roy will follow him to hell and back. I love their relationship. The whole riding off into the sunset thing fell flat for me.

LK: And now for what we've been waiting for — the last 10% of the episode! I completely did not see this coming. I thought that Roy's "death" was the one we had been hearing about. Even when we see Ra's in Thea's apartment, even when they start to fight, I did not believe that the episode would end with him gently stabbing her. Is it possible to gently stab someone? I would not have thought so, but Ra's managed it. It almost felt like a tender moment as he held her while she died.

AB: I just can't believe that they would kill off Thea. Is there where we get to see the Lazarus Pit? Is this where Oliver goes all dark side? Is Malcolm going to grab her and Oliver won't know that she's dead/dying? Does Nissa take her to the Lazarus Pit? I did love how they didn't have Thea go down without a fight, but this is Ra's al Ghul. She really had no chance. Still, there are a lot of questions!

LK: I do think we are going to see the Lazarus Pit in action. My basic guess is that Ra's is going to offer to put Thea into it in return for Oliver becoming the Demon's Head. I don't think what actually happens will be as straightforward as that, but I think that is the basic plan.

I also know from my son that when someone is put into the Lazarus Pit in the comics, they go crazy for a while. This would be my guess as to why Roy comes back. Part of Thea's craziness will be blaming Oliver for Roy's death and only his return can help bring her back to sanity.

I am curious what Nissa will do. Could a resurrected Thea become the new Ra's? (My favorite pet theory — although I don't actually think it will happen.) What will happen with Merlyn? Will Oliver finally say yes to Ra's? Will the season end on that cliffhanger? AND WHAT ABOUT OLIVER AND FELICITY? There've been some very hot trailers and I will never forgive them if they turn out to be a dream sequence. LOL.

AB: The next episode is called The Fallen, and the season finale is titled My Name is Oliver Queen. That, to me, says it all. I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but I'm excited to go along for the ride!

Allison Brennan is a USA TODAY 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.