Arrow Season 8 Review: 5 Ups & 2 Downs From 'Reset'

1. Taking Oliver By The Hand

"You've always been a man who needed to see things for himself." Lyla Michaels told Oliver at the end of his test and, in all honesty, she wasn't wrong. That said, Oliver has always been a man who needed to see things for himself... multiple times. Truth be told, the Emerald Archer has been written in such a way over the years that his own pig-headedness results in a failure to learn from his past or his mistakes - simply because he doesn't see things as they are. The worst part about it is that it wasn't always intentional and, in a way, this episode fed into that.

'Reset' was so well-orchestrated that we all found ourselves scratching our heads just as much as Oliver and Laurel, but as it went on, it grew a little frustrating. When Laurel was gifted with her chance to say goodbye to Quentin and also free herself of the burden of the guilt that has stayed with her since his death, it all became clear... to everyone except Oliver.

This resulted in some on-the-nose dialogue as Lyla literally told him that "the only way to win is to accept the inevitable" - dialogue that was immediately rendered ineffective when Oliver hilariously responded that he had no idea what that meant.

As a standalone test, 'Reset' was highly effective in making Oliver Queen see the truth about the inevitability of his death in the Crisis, but it almost encouraged some of the more frustrating elements of his character as it beat around the bush in its attempts to get him there.

Now, for the positives...