Been waiting all week for this and it didn't disappoint. Last week I said that my gut had the killer of Sara being Thea. Now I'm not so sure anymore. The entire episode we are led to believe that the killer is Simon Lacroix / Komodo. Sure, he was in fact killing people with arrows, but he didn't arrive into town until after Sara had bit the dust. So, I knew he would turn out to be a red herring. Before the final scene had played, I had already made up my mind that it wasn't Thea. The last scene pretty much confirms that it was her since she was half a world away, training with Malcolm Merlyn, becoming the bad ass that she is. Unless she likes to jet set in a private jet, kill someone and return back to base, I just don't see it being her or Malcolm. So, who do I think it is then? My money is on Tommy Merlyn. Huh? Didn't Tommy die at the end of Season 1? Yup. But this is a superhero show. People come back. And the thing that makes me think he will be back is that he was featured in the flashback sequences with him on Hong Kong looking for Ollie.

So, we now get to see a different side to Laurel as she tries to adjust and come to terms with Sara's death and she's not handling it well. Obviously this is the catalyst that propels her to take up the Black Canary personae, but she has a long way to go. Needs some serious training at the hands of Ollie. Also, by the end of the episode, they have pretty much kick-started the impending romance between Felicity and Ray Palmer.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I gave it a little more thought to who may have actually killed Sara while watching tonight's episode. My money is on Sin (Bex Taylor-Klaus). She was Sara's "little sister". My feeling is that Sin may have resented Sara for leaving her to go back with Nyssa al Ghul, which may have left her feeling rejected and alone. Her anger festers and builds and then one day....she snaps and kills Sara. She's the only logical one. Also, the fact that Sin has only appeared in a handful of episodes (7 total) would be the one to slip by fans of the show. No one really remembers her and are not even thinking of her as a prime suspect. Yup, it's her!!!!!! It's gotta be. Also, from the look on Sara's face just before she is shot, her reaction is that she knows this person and Sin being on a rooftop would have her surprised by it. BIG BOLD LETTERS! It's....

What the f*ck!!!! This episode may be called The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak, but all anyone is going to talk about happens in the finale scene when it's revealed that Roy killed Sara. I say again.....WHAT THE F*CK! I wasn't even close to being right at all and how could I? He's part of the Team Arrow and was vital to the success. Now my only guess to what made him snap that one fateful night is that he is suffering from the after effects of the Mirakuru venom from last season where those that take it have serious rage issues. As for Felicity, it was nice to see some back story to the character and who would have ever thought of seeing her as a Goth Hacker in college. She looked TOTALLY different from what I know. Charlotte Ross made her first appearance as Felicity's mother.

As soon as Roy confessed to everyone about killing Sarah, I knew 100% that he wasn't the one. You don't discover a major bombshell like that and then confessed the following week. This particular plot has to drive the entire season. So, my money is on the chick at the end that is also an Archer. But who the f*ck is she? She said her name is Cupid, but I've never heard of a DC character called that. Anyway.... Roy will now be known as Arsenal and not Red Arrow. The bulk of the story for this one actually centered on Laurel's Boxer/Trainer/Ted Grant/Wildcat, who just so happened to be a former vigilante as well and has the skills to actually train Laurel. I think this should silence those that are complaining that some "boxer" is gonna turn her into a Superhero.

Updated the Season 3 Title Card as well.

In the words of Ralphie from A Christmas Story....."Ooooooooooooooh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck". Seriously, what the f*ck! That ending shocked me. But before we get to that, there were a lot of big reveals for the mid-season finale. First, Laurel confesses to Thea that Sara is dead. Then Oliver finds out that Thea has been lying about Merlyn and where they were for the past 6 months. Then Arrow confronts Thea in person and soon discovers that she can kick ass. The look on his face said it all when she jumped off the balcony. Then Merlyn confronts Oliver and reveals that Thea is the real killer of Sara (most-likely brainwashed as was hinted).  Then Oliver, for the ultimate sacrifice to save Thea from harm from The League of Assassins challenges Ra's al Ghul in a fight to the death. But before that happens, Oliver settles his affairs and finally tells Felicity that he does in fact love her. Epic moment.

And now for the fight. My mindset going into this was that we would get a great fight with both having their moments to shine. Nope. The fight was fairly short (by TV standards) and Ra's al Ghul literally finishes Oliver off, plunging his sword through his chest and out of his back. For added measures, Ra's al Ghul literally kicks Oliver off a cliff that has to be 500 feet high. Fade to black. Seriously, what the f*ck!!! That was a great episode and an unbelievable way to end on a cliffhanger until the show returns. Ack! The wait is already brutally long and its only been 5 minutes since the episode ended!!!!!! Oh, and there's the little matter of Ray Palmer unveiling the ATOM Exoskeleton. BAM!!!