"Home Invasion" began moving the final chess pieces into place as Arrow Season 1 races to its finale.

And it’s certainly shaping up to be a wild ride.

The biggest recurring theme of the installment centered around the value and love Oliver has for Laurel. Through flashbacks, conversations, choices and actions, everything Oliver did always worked its way back to Laurel - and Oliver paid for those decisions with very personal costs.

Take Diggle. Oliver gave Diggle his word that he would make sure Deadshot was killed, but when the time came, Oliver made the choice to save Laurel instead. Most of Oliver’s enemies always ask Oliver what happened on the island, and Oliver’s actions tonight were the answer: The island not only made him an efficient and deadly weapon, but it also completely focused him on Laurel.

Island Oliver is always carrying the photo of Laurel and he’s always hiding her around Shado and Slade. Playboy Oliver is even willing to stop his make out session with Shado over the idea of getting back and telling her how he feels.

It’s time for Oliver to emotionally leave the island. There’s more to Starling City than just crime and Laurel and if he’s not careful the choices he makes and the people he (inadvertently) pushes away have the chance of making the space around him his own personal island in Starling City.

Diggle’s exit is also worrying for Diggle himself. He usually leaves the dirtier work in Oliver’s hands and provides backup, but without Oliver Diggle could very well decide to make Deadshot his very own priority, putting him in a situation that could prove fatal.

Tommy continues to follow each step in the Villains 101 textbook as he distances himself from everyone he cares about. He believes that no matter how many reassurances Oliver gives him about not pursuing Laurel that it’s going to happen; and in his eyes as long as he’s the one to do the breakup he can’t be hurt later on

However, the bigger issue here is Tommy himself. At times Tommy can’t stand Oliver and what he does, and at others, like tonight, Oliver is the best asset he can have.

Tommy finds justifications for Oliver and then immediately finds wiggle room around those justifications so he can head back towards his original opinion of him being the vigilante. But even those justifications are still mostly superficial, and this exchange between Tommy and Oliver begins showing his true colors:

Tommy: You still love her, don't you?
Oliver: It doesn't matter how I feel because what I do, I could never be with her. So you don't have anything to be afraid of she's never ever going to know my secret.
Tommy: It doesn't matter if she knows, I know, and I don't know how to be with Laurel knowing the entire time if she found out who you really are she would choose you. | permalink

Boil everything away and the biggest issue here is Tommy not feeling good about himself. Laurel and Oliver have both made something of themselves, while Tommy has not. Oliver and Laurel have similar goals and a (somewhat) similar vision for Starling City.

Two More Thoughts:

1. Thea and Roy are pretty adorable together. As is Roy’s admiration for the vigilante.
2. While I love the chemistry Oliver and Felicity, how I wish Oliver would stop directing his anger towards Felicity every time something doesn’t go his way.