Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Arrow Season 7 episode "Level Two." Read at your own risk!
Oliver hasn't had the easiest time in prison, but the latest episode featured perhaps the hero's greatest struggle on the inside. It began with psychiatrist Jay Parker's attempt to rehabilitate Oliver with his methods, which got pretty aggressive. Unfortunately, Parker's torturous methods eventually triggered a very painful memory Arrow fans know well. Fans were taken back to Oliver on the raft with his father, except this time, it was Oliver and William in a very twisted take on the scene.
In this warped twist on the Season 1 Arrow moment, Oliver was in the place of Robert Queen and a young William was placed as Oliver. Beyond that, the scene played out largely the same way, with Oliver talking to his son shortly before shooting himself in the head and dooming William to survive on Lian Yu. The scene was dark when it was first shown on Arrow, and this Season 7 take didn't make it any more cheerful.
While the two scenes seemed to play out largely the same way, there were some differences between the two Arrow scenes. The most important of which came in the men's final words to their sons, which somewhat changed the tone of the incident. Robert Queen instructed his son to "survive" just before pulling the trigger, while Oliver told William he loved him and to "live."
Arrow fans can debate the true underlying significance of "live" vs. "survive" amongst themselves, although the real part worth latching onto is the "I love you" Oliver gave to William. Jay Parker picked up on it as well, and asked Oliver why he told his son that he loved him. Oliver, of course, replied that William is the most important thing to him, and it appeared as though the two reached some big breakthrough in Oliver's inner psyche.
Oliver certainly seemed shaken up by the therapy session, although we're not entirely convinced this will be a life-changing moment that makes him walk away from being the Green Arrow. That said, Jay Parker seemed to hit a breakthrough, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the two work through some more issues while he's still in prison. This could this usher in yet another transformation in the hero's persona, provided the new hero hasn't replaced him of course.
Arrow fans will find out eventually as new episodes of Season 7 continue on The CW Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. For a list of other shows on television now and in the coming weeks, head on over to our fall premiere guide and give it a bookmark. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the most exciting superhero news.
