I get why writers kill off certain characters sometimes, particularly as a show reaches its season finale and it needs to up the stakes. However, I really wish the writers hadn't killed off Moira. Susanna Thompson has been a magnetic presence on the show thus far, and her magnificent performance is going to be sorely missed.




The actress imbued Moira with a great deal of depth and warmth amidst all the lies and the deceit. I always felt like the writers could do endless things with her character, and I genuinely wanted her to remain with the show until the very end. Sadly Andrew Kreisberg felt otherwise, as this decision was made due to the fact that creatively, the writers felt Moira couldn't be taken any further (they had already exhausted her numerous secrets). That's a pity as I would have loved to see Mama Queen become Mayor and eventually achieve redemption.



Nevertheless, much like any death, we have to accept it, and I'd be wrong if I didn't note how effectively her demise was handled. All season long, I imagined a scenario in which Slade would recreate the infamous Shado/Sara choice, but utilize Laurel and Sara instead. So imagine my surprise when Ollie was faced with the utterly horrifying (and poetic) decision of choosing between his mother and sister. Suffice to say, Stephen Amell, Susanna Thompson, and Willa Holland knocked this sequence out of the frickin' park. The entire ordeal proved enormously harrowing to watch, and it was punctuated by the trio's powerful performances. 





Quite intriguingly, Moira revealed to her son that she'd known his secret ever since The Undertaking. It was a poignant moment for the show that sadly ended up being quite heartbreaking; after all, we'll never get to see what would have been a brand new dynamic between Ollie and his mother. On the bright side, this realization definitely makes me want to rewatch the second season and catch any clues that conveyed Moira's knowledge of her son's extracurricular activities. 



The flashbacks provided a beautiful parallel to the present day happenings. We were treated to another display of Moira's immense love for her kids when she paid off one of Ollie's pregnant one night stands. While the existence of this child will undoubtedly come into play in the show's third season (and I'm still not sure how I feel about that), it was quite satisfying to watch Moira protect her own through any means necessary. The character certainly went out on a high note, and the final juxtaposition of her standing alone in Queen manor as Ollie crawled next to her lifeless body was downright traumatic to watch.
 



Funnily enough, the episode was sort of weak until that final scene, as Roy's rampage couldn't possibly hold a candle to the Slade drama of the past few episodes. Maybe it's the fact that Colton Hayes isn't the most talented of actors, but I was sort of rooting for Sara to take him out permanently. Thankfully, it was still entertaining to watch Roy choke Thea and obliterate Sara and Ollie (even causing serious damage to our hero's leg in the process). Plus, in the grand scheme of things, the episode undeniably worked by utilizing Roy as a misdirection before the final set of horrors. 


And really when all is said and done, I can't remember the last time I was this sorry to see a character go; I was absolutely gutted by Moira Queen's death.