There's only one thing I'm sure of going into the Arrow Season 2 finale: Amanda Waller will not turn Starling City into a crater.

Pretty much everything else is up for grabs, wouldn't you agree?

With Arrow Season 2 Episode 22, Slade made his play for Starling City in his quest to rob Oliver of all that he loves. In the process, Officer Lance became Detective Lance again, Sara got her official moniker as the Canary, Malcolm Merlyn tried to save Thea, Roy got the Mirakuru cure and before he was killed by Ravager, Sebastian Blood told Oliver the one person left to die will be whoever he loves the most.

Just another normal day in Starling City!

Arrow Photos from "Streets of Fire"

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There was no love lost when Sebastian met his maker, the poor blind bastard. After turning on Slade and giving Oliver the cure, I'm not exactly sure how he thought he was going to carry on. Not even a speech about his horrible childhood and his attempt to slay his demons via the mask made him in the least bit sympathetic.

On the other hand, from the moment Malcolm Merlyn returned, I was rooting for him to reach Thea. Even if he she sides with evil, she needs someone she can trust so badly right now that even a psycho killer seems a viable alternative. And oh boy -- wasn't John Barrowman nailing every line he said?

From "I'm her father," to the cocky bit about being out of arrows while in a brawl to his final appeal to Thea before she shot at him, everything out of his mouth was delivered with an emotional punch I was not expecting.

Does anybody think Thea really shot Malcolm? I don't. I think she shot past him. She was angry enough to shoot him, but also probably angry that so much of what he said hit home for her. She didn't want to hear common sense from a maniacal killer, she wanted him to be the horror she played up in her head.

It seems we may have come to the point when the Dark Archer joins the Arrow. At least long enough to save Starling City. It could be his redemption round. 

Isabel Rochev is gone and in her place is Ravager. Honestly, she's never been much of a woman and far more of a bitch, so she fits the role perfectly. Felicity hitting her with her car was priceless.

Speaking of Felicity, she was on fire tonight, but so were Laurel and Sara. All three of Oliver's girls were at their pinnacle. Felicity was delivering her "you keep fighting" speech, Laurel was cheering on her little sister and Sara ran into a burning building to save a little girl.

Talk about piling it on to try to distract us from knowing who Oliver loves the most. While everyone has their favorite girl they want him to love, it's kind of hard to want him to know he loves her because that will mark her for death. If Slade could pick the pre-island Oliver the choice would be easy -- he most definitely loved himself the most. He'd have a fighting chance.

If Slade survives the season with this vengeance on his mind, I fear Oliver will pull even further away from whoever he loves just to protect them. Marc Guggenheim tweeted out a finale teaser: "I love you," is in the dialog. That's not a spoiler any more than watching the preview is, so calm down.

We have no idea who says it when or where or to whom. Will someone be dying as they hear those words or as they say them? Maybe it's a sigh of relief and a pure announcement of the sentiment after the dust settles. Will Oliver's greatest love die, leaving room for another to claim that spot? Someone waiting in the wings, perhaps. Oh who knows, but the suspense is killer.

Some random thoughts:

• Roy is cured!
• Nyssa is coming back for the finale -- will it be the League of Assassins vs ARGUS?
• If Sara dies (I'm saying if because speculation is what we do), maybe that's where the Black part of Canary comes from. If Laurel takes her place, she's going to be a whole different breed.
• The scenes with Laurel and Sara were also emotionally charged. Both actresses did their characters justice.
• Was I the only one totally expecting Felicity to go in for a kiss instead of a hug with Oliver? It was so close.
• Even if Malcolm was shot, his costume is probably bulletproof.
• Don't you wish they had made a Mirakuru "mist" cure? How are they going to inject all those guys? Seems impossible and like some vials will get broken.
• Starling City need a new mayor.

Alright -- now it's your turn. Hit the comments and talk about everything Arrow! If you want to see it all again, you can watch Arrow online via TV Fanatic 'cause we're cool like that.

Did Thea shoot Malcolm?

Here is your first look at the Arrow Season 2 finale, "Unthinkable."

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.