Arrow: For Whom The Bell Tolls

I loved it.  It combined action, drama and a true cliff hanger. For whom the Bell Tolls followed Oliver/ Arrow as he tried to stop a manically evil Malcolm Merlin (John Barrowman) from using his earthquake device to destroy Starling City.

He succeeded in a way; Detective Lance diffused the bomb before it went off thanks to Felicity's help.  "If I learned anything as a successful businessman it's redundancy," Malcolm said to Oliver. 

Translation; there was another bomb, which, went off causing death and destruction in its wake.  The episode's title refers to the ending.  Who lives? Who dies? It's obvious that Laurel, Detective Lance, and Oliver all live.  But what about Thea, Moira, Diggle, Roy and even Walter? What about Malcolm and Tommy?

I'd love to see them both live.  I was starting to get into the darker, grittier Tommy (Colin Donnell) as he dealt with the fact his best friend killed people as the vigilante.  I would've loved to see the dynamic between him and Malcolm as well after Malcolm's reveal as Dark Arrow.  That would've really messed Tommy up.

 But if I had to pick between them, I'd say Malcolm lives- he was in the 'panic room' for a while, he had an escape plan in place. Besides redundancy, I'm sure as a successful businessman he always had a contingency plan.  Character aside, I love John Barrowman, and if I can't have him  as Jack Harkness on Torchwood, I'll take him as Malcolm Merlin on Arrow.  I also hated that line... Writers: You  can think of better final words writers than that!

I was back and forth on Laurel for the whole season.  The last few episodes I found her annoying. I wouldn't care if they revealed in the season 2 premiere a piece of debris fell on top of her and she died of her injuries.  I am curious as to what they're going to do with that character to make her less annoying. 

There have been hints Oliver's going to be completely honest with her.  How will she deal with the fact her boyfriend has killed people? That he's been lying to her since he returned from the island? That the presumed dead Tommy knew? So much drama to play out in that relationship.

Is it Season 2 yet?