I am not quite sure what to make of Arrow’s season 3 finale. I kept on waiting for the other shoe to drop but it didn’t come.

Let’s recap that action to what led to a somewhat lackluster ending.

Hong Kong Flashback

Oliver takes down Shrieve before his men can open fire. Maseo and Oliver take down Shrieve’s men and Oliver puts an arrow through Shrieve to keep him still. Later, Akio’s ashes are divided into three different little urns that Maseo, Tatsu and Oliver take. Oliver goes back into the pharmacy to torture Shrieve. Maseo and Tatsu sees what Oliver has done. Tatsu is appalled while Maseo kills Shrieve to put him out of his misery.

Later, Maseo tells Tatsu that he has to leave because he failed his son. Tatsu begs him to stay and that she loves him. Despite all of that Maseo still needs to leave as every time he looks at Tatsu all he sees is his son and his failure. This of course is the point where Maseo goes to Nanda Parbat to join the League of Assassins.

Tatsu boards a boat bound for Japan where she will head to a monastary near her home. Oliver boards another boat after telling Tatsu that he needs to be alone as he can’t go back to Starling City and surround his family with his darkness. I am guessing this boat will lead Oliver back to Lian Yu.

The Flash to the Rescue

In the last episode, the alpha-omega weapon was unleashed on Team Arrow and Malcolm. We thought the team was dying but instead they are alive thanks to Oliver and Malcolm’s plan to secretly vaccinate Team Arrow. Everyone isn’t happy that Olive tried to kill them but Malcolm says it was all part of the plan to get Ra’s to trust Oliver.

Calling on the favor owed from last night’s The Flash, the Flash blurs into Nanda Parbat, takes out League members, breaks Tatsu free and eventually Team Arrow not before Felicity reveals Barry’s secret identity to Malcolm. Barry tells Team Arrow that Olive needs them despite all that is happening. Also, Barry seems to think that the Lazarus Pit is a hot tub and that it’s cool.

Just before Team Arrow leaves, Tatsu tells Laurel that she is returning to her life of solitude as she only left when Oliver called for help. I hope this isn’t the last time we see Tatsu or Katana.

Meanwhile, on League of Assassins air, the plane has been sabotaged and Ra’s thinks it was Nyssa but Al-Sah-Him defends her. Ra’s realizes it was his protegee that sabotaged the plane and feels betrayed that Al-Sa-Him would do that. This is where Oliver declares that his name isn’t Al-Sa-Him or that other name Wareeth-Al Ghul but it is Oliver. A fight breaks out on the plane that Nyssa and Oliver win but Ra’s escapes withe alpha-omega and the only parachute. Oliver and Nyssa manage to crash land the plane.

At Palmer Technologies, Malcolm tries to formulate a plan with Team Arrow but none are listening to him. Ray is alerted to a break in and it is Nyssa and Oliver. Everyone isn’t pleased to see Oliver as Diggle punches Oliver. So Ray gives the room to the original Team Arrow to talk. Diggle still feels betrayed and Felicity is trying to understand. Eventually, calmer heads prevail and assignments are handed out. Laurel will talk to her father about helping evacuate Starling City, Ray is to figure out a way to contain the bio weapon and also a way to release the vaccine. Felicity is working on figuring out where Ra’s could be. Team Arrow gets a tip that Ra’s enemy Damien Darhk is in Starling City and is Ra’s target for the bio weapon. At the hotel, Damien Dhark isn’t there but one of his employees played by Christopher Heyerdahl who played Zor-El in Smallville. The Faux-Dhark gets killed and Ra’s phones to say that he has distributed the bioweapon in four different areas.

Laurel visits her father who doesn’t seem interested in seeing her. Laurel calls out her dad about drinking again and tells him that he needs to help Arrow save the city from another attack for his daughters

Back at Palmer Technologies, Oliver is contemplating over the sword that “killed” him when Felicity comes in. Felicity gives him a great pep talk that involves repeating the show’s opening of being someone else and something else. But it is said quite lovingly that it seems to inspire Oliver anew. This scene actually gets me on board with Olicity as I finally saw some chemistry between the two.

The four locations is eventually found out and Diggle arrives in one location and sees a shady guy with a metallic briefcase. Diggle chases after the guy but he knocks him out. Just when things look dire for Diggle, Thea in the Arsenal gear takes out the guy but there was nothing in the briefcase. This is when Diggle learns that the man was the bioweapon. Diggle tries to evacuate the square as much as possible but some people do fall to the ground. Thea is okay as Malcolm vaccinated her.

Nyssa and Laurel manage to take out another guy without spilling blood; same goes for Malcolm. Meanwhile, Oliver is summoned to a nearby dam to fight Ra’s, which they do. The police are also there ready to shoot the men once a clear shot is achieved. Lance calls Felicity to tell of this fight so she asks that Ray swoop in to save Oliver but he says he can’t as he is very close to being able to vaccinate all of Starling City and that Oliver would want him to do it.

During the Ra’s and Oliver fight, it looks like Ra’s has gotten the upper hand but not Oliver does and kills Ra’s. Just before dying, Ra’s gives Oliver the ring that signifies him as the new Ra’s. The police take this moment to shoot Oliver several times in the chest and he falls into the dam below but luckily the Atom swoops in to save Oliver. But it wasn’t Ray but Felicity that saved day and wishes she could kiss Oliver.

Back at Palmer Technologies, Oliver tells Team Arrow that he thought he needed to do things alone but they beat Ra’s because they were a team. Oliver realizes that Starling City has a lot of heroes to protect it and he won’t be one of them. Oliver says that he can’t be the Arrow anymore so he wants to discover this new Oliver Queen and wants to drive off in the sunset with Felicity. Ray is disappointed at losing a vice president but I am not sure if we got that payoff of the transfer of ownership from the last episode. I guess that is something for season 4.

Diggle needs time to think about continuing on being on Team Arrow. Oliver suggests that if Diggle decides to stay on that he should adopt some sort of disguise. I am wondering what the show is setting Diggle to be from the DC Universe.

At Thea’s loft, Malcolm tells Thea he is leaving too. Before Oliver says goodbye to Thea, she hopes the team will call her Red Arrow while he says he already told the team to call her Speedy.

Oliver and Malcolm have a conversation where the former passes the latter what is obviously Ra’s ring. Oliver says that Malcolm is back to being his enemy now. We see Malcolm back to Nanda Parbat lording over the League of Assassins and Nyssa asking them all to kneel before Ra’s Al Ghul.

Meanwhile, we see Ray making modifications to the Atom suit that includes getting it to shrink. When Ray starts testing, an explosion occurs on the top floor of Palmer Technologies. I am not quite sure how this sets up Ray for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow or whatever it is called but we shall see.

Finally, we see Oliver and Felicity drive off to the sunset where Oliver declares that he is happy. I am pretty sure that won’t last very long as the duo will be called back into action when Damien Darkh makes an appearance as season 4’s big bad.

This season finale wasn’t as action-packed as past ones and I am not quite sure what they are setting up season 4 to be.