'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 7 'Purgatory': The past, present, and future collide in Oliver's final story before 'Crisis on Infinite Earths'
Goodbyes are hard, especially when the person you're saying goodbye to is a hero who's inspired millions both in his own fictional world and in ours. But that is exactly what 'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 7 'Purgatory' comes down to: a goodbye to the greatest hero the Arrowverse has ever seen.
You can check out our live play-by-play of the episode here. Spoilers for the episode ahead.
In the final episode before the inevitable 'Crisis on Infinite Earths', the show takes things back to the beginning with the entire Team Arrow assembled on Lian Yu, the island that began Oliver's journey of becoming the hero he is today.
It's a pretty poetic story, with the present Team Arrow and the future Team Arrow standing side by side to face the enemies of Oliver's past one last time.
Filled with tearful goodbyes to his best friend, his children, and the team that stuck with him through thick and thin, 'Purgatory' hit us all right in the feels and hit us hard.
But even with all the emotions, the episode still delivers some kickass action scenes, especially in the final battle between Team Arrow and the assembled forces of the resurrected Edward Fyers (Sebastian Dunn) and his minions.
If we're going to nitpick, it was a bit confusing how Fyers and Lao Fei (Byron Mann) managed to return to life and how they disappeared again once Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson) became the Harbinger but we have no issue accepting it as it helps make the episode all the more powerful.
Lao Fei's return was especially touching and his conversation with Oliver about legacy was exactly the sort of Jedi wisdom you'd expect from Oliver's original mentor.
Now that the 'Crisis' is here, complete with red skies and lightning, things are about to kick into high-gear (not that we were going slow before) and that means it won't be too long before Oliver's predicted death comes to pass.
In a way, this was the calm before the storm but we are so very glad that the show wrapped things up with such a beautiful story that paid tribute to Oliver's history, his current greatness, and the legacy he will one day leave behind.
'Crisis on Infinite Earths' begins with 'Supergirl' on December 8, airing exclusively on The CW.