*This review is spoiler-free*

Arrow's been making some massive strides and thankfully, the mid-season finale keeps things moving at full speed. The amount of pure fan service and buildup in this episode is downright crazy and I sincerely have a tough time believing any fan of the show won't be blown away after watching this one.

First and foremost, "Three Ghosts" does a great job giving Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) a confidence boost and the dude's totally lovable. From standing up to Oliver to acting like a fanboy and dropping some much needed logic about Oliver's disguise, Gustin's sold me on his ability to bring Allen to life. And the ending with him? Well, let's just say it's beyond satisfying and very well executed. Brilliant stuff right there.

The stunt work remains impressive as we're treated to even more displays of super-strength. From "Solomon Grundy" taking on police to Oliver getting a rematch against the brute, it's all thoroughly entertaining and mostly devoid of infamous shaky cam. A fight in Arrow's hideout utilizes close cuts too often and that takes away from what could have been a stellar melee, but the rest of the chaos makes up for that. Besides, that conflict is more about the emotion.

Good action's fun and all, but a mid-season finale is all about setting the stage for the second half of the season and hitting us with some huge shockers. "Three Ghosts" does that and then some. And then again. And again. Basically, this final episode feels like one phenomenal setup for the future. To further cement our anticipation for the show's return in January, a certain villain lays out their agenda and the way it's directed is fantastic.

Seeing as this is spoiler-free, I won't ruin all of the respect they give the source material in this episode, but I will say there's more than enough of it to go around. We're not just talking about a name drop, either. There's ginormous developments with a few characters and the final two scenes are sure to make any fan cheer or get goosebumps. Game changing moments have definitely been delivered.

While there's some nice fan service with Cyrus' conclusion and we had a solid emotional moment right before it, I couldn't help but feel disappointed with the physical conflict. Oliver's a tactical guy, yet once again, he seems to think arrows, fists and feet will cut it against a guy who can literally tank bullets. You have trick arrows, man, so use 'em sooner when you know you're outclassed! Additionally, reveals in the season's story and a certain character already having a role in the modern era takes away from what could have been an emotionally compelling scene during the island plot. But on the plus side, it'll clearly give proper motivation to another character, so at least there's that.

"Three Ghosts" is a legitimately impressive episode. Not only does it cover plenty of ground and deliver some major nods to the comics, but it also does an absurdly good job building the hype for the second half of the season. Truth be told, I've had plenty of mixed feelings about this show since its debut, but honestly, these last two weeks have been excellent. Way to step it up, Arrow! The future definitely looks awesome.

And it deserves everyone of those stars.

The ending>>>>

Guys, I was squealing like a little girl the moment Barry walked into his lab and I saw the lightning. I wasn't expecting the particle accelerator to be used like that and I couldn't love it any more! The wait until next year for more Barry will be unbearable!

Have to wait till I get home in the morning to check this out. This season has been pretty satisfying overall.

lol that ending made me cry of joy.

A day of celebration for a Flash fan like me

Each episode this season has been better than the last this year. And this season overall is leagues about the last one.

I think its been very impressive and I've only had very minor gripes so far.

Dat ending

You could imagine how I reacted in the second to last scene lol. I fell out of my chair and started jumping around. I really didn't expect her/him (trying to keep it spoiler free) to come this early.

holy shat is the only way to describe this episode!

Adding the particle accelerator to the equation at least makes more sense than lighting + chemicals = Flash. Interested to see where they go with Roy. I guess he isn't going to be an archer, huh? Glad Lance is going to get re-promoted, although that it is an unfortunate way for it to occur. Seeing Ollie be a badass with that arrow removal in front of his sister's friends was cool too. I LOVE THIS SHOW!

Roy and Powers = hmmmm???

Slade with banging white dyed stripe hair and eye patch = Going gaga!

And making of The Flash = Need Electroshock Therapy

Fantastic mid-season finale

This show is the truth!

OOOO MAN I MISSSED IS SPOIL IT FOR ME

Each episode is improving from the last. Can't wait to see Slade try destroy Oliver piecemeal by piecemeal.

Are you sure you want me to spoil it for you?

Barry becomes the freaking Flash. I didn't expect for it to come so soon!!

Can't wait to see this!!!

That ending scene. Candy for a comic fan!

Don't watch Arrow often, saw this episode and it was pretty damn awesome!

Would be funny if there are no powers on Arrow, Barry dies, and he hallucinates his time as Flash right before he passes away--Lost style. :D

@batmannflash: *smilea at the sky* just as I suspected. Sweeeet.

@ultrastarkiller: you need to watch it soon! The scene was perfectly executed. Accompanied by the music

@batmannflash: I am now I caught it 30mins in. Roy just got hit for some reason lmao.

Oh god THAT SCENE! And the rest was pretty fantastic as well, no doubt about that, but that scene... was perfect.

OH. MY. GOSH!!!

This episode...I'm speechless! From the big reveal with Slade, to Ollie getting his mask, to freakin' Barry Allen becoming the freakin' Flash!!! This episode had everything to make comic book fans both cry and cheer at the same time!!!

THIS. SHOW. ROCKS!!! ^__^

This episode was better than the Green Lantern Film. That last scene. The accident. omg. everything else. why her?!? slade went so badass, ripping hearts. That line.

The last two ending scenes were both fantastic. This might have been Arrow's best episode of the entire series!

well i would say the episode where it touches on black canary was probably one of the best orgins told . i feel like this current season is 1000 times better than season 1 wich i did like but this seems more story driven wich is always a great thing.

@deathstroke19: lol her/him... Your name kinda makes you transparent lol. I'm JACKED too

The ending with Barry and seeing Brother Blood's friend and Oliver Queen finally getting a mask. Great episode. I want more Arrow!

Surprise ending made me overly excited. More than Batman Vs. Superman.

enjoyed the episode, but i did have to chuckle a bit at how ollie's new mask magically applied his eye paint for him. Barry must have gotten it in Tahiti, because as we all know, "It's a magical place" lol

Totally agree! When he did that, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "OMG, this is really about to happen! THIS moment , one of the key moments in all of DC comics is really about to happen TONIGHT!" As of tonight we have now seen all of these big moments take place on the big and small screens...

1. Kal El's ship being sent of from Krypton to Earth
2. Bruce Wayne's parents being murdered in front of him
3. Hal Jordan receiving his GL ring from Abin Sur
4. Tonight's event

All I need to see now is a comic accurate depiction of the birth of Wonder Woman and I'll be complete.

This episode was fantastic!!!

The fact that Barry Allen finally got his "Flash" powers and Oliver finally gets his mask at the end of the episode made this episode definitely worth seeing!

O Arrow you magnificant Bastard

Why couldn't Mannu Bennet have been chomping on a cigar!

"Three Ghosts" and Arrow seems to be my go to example now for how a show can both of the "realisim" (even if it really isn't film realisim) of the Nolan Trilogy and the powers and crazyness of Man of Steel (but you know actually good).

Cheap Plug to User Review

HOLY SHIT. O_O

This episode was so amazing! I can't wait for more Arrow and the upcoming Flash show!

That ending made my inner comic book geek burst out. Bravo to everyone on the show

the best episode so far imo.

Slade in suits

Metahuman battle

Solomon grundy teaser

Roy Harper

and of course the Flash!!!

Wow. This season just goes to show how good a comic book live action interpreting can be.

This season has had no duds some episodes have been good, some have been great, and like tonight some have been awesome. I hope the showrunners at agents of fail have been watching this show for some inspiration.

I was worried about Oliver's aversion to killing people when the season first started up, but over time the writers worked me. Back to loving Arrow as usual.

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE and roy getting the serum is interesting....i think it'll finally give ollie a reason to mentor/train him

@redhood21: i think the serum is only going to last for short while then will get that scene where we find out roy on drug but instead of drug it the super power serum

That was a hell of a season finale, is it January yet?

HaHa. That about sums it up, was really cool.

Liked the episode alot, except for what happened to Roger Cross's character and Shado.

Credit to whoever did the soundtrack as well, especially the parts that Barry was on... well done there.

Loved the irony of Barry always being late, The Flash always being late heh. Not sure if that's from the comics but it's a nice touch.

Slade was channeling Knightfall Bane in that voice over montage, when Felicity's image came on and he was talking about destroying Oliver, i got chills and not the good kind, he better not touch Felicity hehe.

Oliver wasn't kidding when he stated in the first season that he had to make tough choices, the Shado choice scene was brutal.

Arrow is producing some unreal quality output at the moment. This 2-part mid finale should be getting some awards no doubt.
(not that i care about awards, or see them as meaningful or anything of the sort but if someone is going to get an award it might as well be Arrow, get the show some more recognition and perhaps do away with the outdated mind set that The CW isn't a good network and hopefully bring more viewers in

Really good review, i liked that you talked about the camera angles in fights. It's something that really annoys me in reviews of actions films or series. Cut aways are a bad directing choice.

Solid review with no spoilers, looking forward to seeing this episode next week(UK delay)

For one thing, Sara's reference in an earlier episode to Ollie and Shado trying and failing to reconnect after their ordeal all but confirmed that Shado survived the island. This episode strongly suggested otherwise. Maybe Slade will be able to use his magic blood to save her, or maybe that exchange between Sara and Ollie will take on a very different context once we know the full story. Either way, we know with 100% certainty now that Ollie and Slade didn't part on good terms.

I will go ahead and say this is my second favorite episode of the series (right after League of Assassins). A lot of ground covered here. And plenty of interesting setup for the future.

I loved Felicity's comment about how many women Oliver has been with. Though I do wish that they would stop pushing her crush on him. The two worked better, in my opinion, when they were partners and didn't display romantic feelings.

And it was very cool seeing Roy, Thea, and Sin acting as their own sort of team. I'm not sure that I like the super-powered Roy idea, but hopefully that will only be temporary and will ultimately lead to him becoming Speedy/Red Arrow/Arsenal.

Slade has me very intrigued. I do hope that we get to see him in-costume at some point. And while Shado's death was very moving, I hope they don't try to make that Slade's only motivation for hating Oliver. That would reduce to nothing the character and his past friendship with Oliver.

Flash scene was pretty cool. I wish they had ventured an explanation for why Barry was affected by the particle accelerator from so far away while nobody else was. But nevertheless, it was a pretty dynamic scene. I hope we get to see it re-done and extended in the Flash pilot episode.

While I liked Shado, her death looks like it'll definitely be moving the plot along. We're only on year two out of five on the island. And now Oliver's only "friends" left are Sara and Slade. Ollie says that Sara apparently dies on the island at some point. And judging by how well trained she becomes between her "death" and her eventual return to Starling City, I'm going to assume she dies relatively soon. They've got a lot of time to cover on the island but things are happening very quickly. I'm curious how things will play out.

Brother Blood needs a new mask. His current one really irks me every time I see it. And I think it's about time Detective Lance either deduces that Green Arrow is Oliver or that he try to confront Oliver about Sara being alive. Sara's been gone for a while now and Lance hasn't really done anything to inquire about her current whereabouts or her past.

All in all, pretty stellar episode. I'll go ahead and give it a 9.5/10. There were still some scenes that felt needless and there is some setup for future episodes that has me apprehensive. But "Three Ghosts" delivers where it counts. January can't come soon enough.

this show is definitely one of the best tv shows out there

and could someone please teleport me to next year so i could watch the pilot

Bring on The Flash Pilot!

Satisfying episode. I wish the serum had turned Slade's hair white, though.

@citizenbane:

So. Much. Awesome.... Brain. Still. Expanding....