'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 6 'Reset' is most meta episode ever with parallels drawn between Oliver's fate and show's ending
The story of 'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 6 'Reset' is all about accepting one's fate. Oliver Queen / Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) has finally come to terms with the fact that his death is inevitable, though if you think that's all this episode is about, think again.
With 'Arrow' ending after Season 8, the writers have clearly put a lot of thought into delivering a proper farewell season. In fact, the quality of storytelling has gotten so good in Season 8 that it's got us wishing there were more 'Arrow' seasons after this one but as with all good things, this too must come to an end.
Almost every episode of Season 8 has involved Oliver saying goodbye to someone important to him with a lot of fan-favorite characters returning to the show for the final run. In Episode 6, that someone is Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne).
You can check out our live play-by-play of the episode here.
For a change, this episode isn't about Oliver bidding farewell to someone he loves, it's about him accepting that all these goodbyes are final and there's no going back. Even though he hasn't spoken about it much, Oliver was always hoping deep down that the Monitor / Mar Novu (LaMonica Garrett) was wrong and that he could survive the coming 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'.
Now after an extremely fun story that put an Arrowverse spin on 'Groundhog Day', Oliver knows that survival is not in the cards for him. And with that realization, he is determined to make his death count, which parallels what the show itself is doing by making sure their final season is their best.
Just as Oliver had to accept his fate, the show is also accepting its own end. It's been one hell of a run but it's time to say goodbye and Episode 6 is a reminder to the fans that we are all just going to have to accept this fate, whether we like it or not.
'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 7 'Purgatory' will air on The CW on December 3.
