These are my thoughts on Arrow Season 4.
This season was spotty at best. The writing was all over the place for the characters, the plot didn't follow a lot of logic, fight scenes weren't as good, the flashback this season was horrid, and the nuance that makes this show great was somehow lost.
As for the good. Stephen Amell still sells the show well. Actually, overall, the actors are doing a fine job with what they have. In particular, Willa Holland, David Ramsey, Paul Blackthorne, and John Barrowman do an outstanding job. Katie Cassidy and Emily Rickards need to go back to the drawing board.
The most improved character this season was John Diggle. His character was much more flushed out than previously and I enjoyed watching the actor in the role.
Stand out character for me was the addition of Curtis Holt played by Echo Kellum.
Back to the bad.
One major problem that a lot of fans have been commenting on rang true for me, that Arrow has somehow become The Felicity Show. While I didn't jump on this fan fury quickly, I now agree. The season finale sealed it for me.
One example of the shift from Oliver to Felicity was in his battle with his inner demons. Oliver has struggled since the pilot about the darkness inside of him. That was, and is, cool. What changed this season, for the worse, was that Oliver's demons were judged by Felicity. It suddenly became only what Felicity thought that determined Oliver's goodness versus evilness. Viewers were supposed to take their cue from Felicity. Oliver was supposed to take his cue from Felicity.
Neither party should. It's just one person's opinion. Things are not always cut and dry.
Another example is all the plot heavy episodes with Felicity as the savior or reason for the episode.
Another issue with Felicity is she is no longer a likeable character for me.
Moving on.
Another thing that bothered me this season was all this nonsense about not killing people. The issue is that Team Arrow does kill tons of people. Apparently, the worker bees in HIVE don't matter to Team Arrow, only the big bads. That doesn't float with me.
Laurel Lance is an example of the poor writing that caused characters to be all over the place. Her story arc goes from unwatchable, as she is super annoying, to all of the sudden she's like some saint that everyone adored. Hardly. It's like the writers forgot what show they were writing for.
The plot was equally all over the place. We went from Thea's blood lust , Sara, and the Lazarus pit being huge plot points, to Ray Palmer, to HIVE being huge. It seems fine when you list it out, but as a viewer, it just didn't flow well. It didn't feel like one thing led to another. It felt more like a bunch of ideas being tossed together in a mixing bowl and whatever popped out when it did was fine. But it wasn't fine. Then throw in there the promos for Legends of Tomorrow and the horrible, horrible flashback story and it's all just kinda grrrr.
Let's talk about those flashbacks for a second. It was such a waste of time. I didn't care for Taiana (I just had to look up her character name because the character was so unimpressive I didn't learn it the whole season). I didn't care for Reiter either. The plot, outside of the idol, really didn't matter. Plus, it didn't really tie into present day. I mean, yeah. There was an idol on the island. Oliver had seen that magic before. Amanda Waller takes it with her. Sorta end of story there. So how did Darhk get it? Are there more of them? Who was Darhk before the idol? Cooler things could have been done.
The whole Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark boxing up of the idol at the end was heavy handed.
This season was spotty at best. The writing was all over the place for the characters, the plot didn't follow a lot of logic, fight scenes weren't as good, the flashback this season was horrid, and the nuance that makes this show great was somehow lost.
As for the good. Stephen Amell still sells the show well. Actually, overall, the actors are doing a fine job with what they have. In particular, Willa Holland, David Ramsey, Paul Blackthorne, and John Barrowman do an outstanding job. Katie Cassidy and Emily Rickards need to go back to the drawing board.
The most improved character this season was John Diggle. His character was much more flushed out than previously and I enjoyed watching the actor in the role.
Stand out character for me was the addition of Curtis Holt played by Echo Kellum.
Back to the bad.
One major problem that a lot of fans have been commenting on rang true for me, that Arrow has somehow become The Felicity Show. While I didn't jump on this fan fury quickly, I now agree. The season finale sealed it for me.
One example of the shift from Oliver to Felicity was in his battle with his inner demons. Oliver has struggled since the pilot about the darkness inside of him. That was, and is, cool. What changed this season, for the worse, was that Oliver's demons were judged by Felicity. It suddenly became only what Felicity thought that determined Oliver's goodness versus evilness. Viewers were supposed to take their cue from Felicity. Oliver was supposed to take his cue from Felicity.
Neither party should. It's just one person's opinion. Things are not always cut and dry.
Another example is all the plot heavy episodes with Felicity as the savior or reason for the episode.
- Felicity drives the plot for returning to Star City
- Felicity has problems with Oliver because of Ray Palmer's mistaken demise
- Felicity and the engagement (which I liked, but again, Felicity-centric)
- Felicity gets shot
- Felicity's recovery and visions
- Felicity not being able to work with the team
- Felicity's hurt feeling over Oliver's son
- Felicity's dad
- Felicity leaving the Arrow Team and then Oliver coming to save her from bees
- Felicity saying it's okay to kill Darhk
- Felicity saving the day against Darhk's missiles
- Felicity telling Oliver he has a schism within him
- Felicity being the last one standing with Oliver at the season finale
Another issue with Felicity is she is no longer a likeable character for me.
- She doesn't appreciate or acknowledge enough the efforts of Curtis
- She has double standards when it comes to lying. Oliver can't lie, but she can. Proof? She lies to Oliver when they are in the suburbs about helping Team Arrow. That's a big secret.
- She breaks up with Oliver because he lies to protect his son.
Moving on.
Another thing that bothered me this season was all this nonsense about not killing people. The issue is that Team Arrow does kill tons of people. Apparently, the worker bees in HIVE don't matter to Team Arrow, only the big bads. That doesn't float with me.
Laurel Lance is an example of the poor writing that caused characters to be all over the place. Her story arc goes from unwatchable, as she is super annoying, to all of the sudden she's like some saint that everyone adored. Hardly. It's like the writers forgot what show they were writing for.
The plot was equally all over the place. We went from Thea's blood lust , Sara, and the Lazarus pit being huge plot points, to Ray Palmer, to HIVE being huge. It seems fine when you list it out, but as a viewer, it just didn't flow well. It didn't feel like one thing led to another. It felt more like a bunch of ideas being tossed together in a mixing bowl and whatever popped out when it did was fine. But it wasn't fine. Then throw in there the promos for Legends of Tomorrow and the horrible, horrible flashback story and it's all just kinda grrrr.
Let's talk about those flashbacks for a second. It was such a waste of time. I didn't care for Taiana (I just had to look up her character name because the character was so unimpressive I didn't learn it the whole season). I didn't care for Reiter either. The plot, outside of the idol, really didn't matter. Plus, it didn't really tie into present day. I mean, yeah. There was an idol on the island. Oliver had seen that magic before. Amanda Waller takes it with her. Sorta end of story there. So how did Darhk get it? Are there more of them? Who was Darhk before the idol? Cooler things could have been done.
The whole Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark boxing up of the idol at the end was heavy handed.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Episode 70 Green Arrow:
I could watch the opening scenes between Felicity and Oliver ten times and still smile. How fun to see a "happy" Oliver. The chemistry issue they had last season? Absolutely fixed. I loved it. I truly believed that they portrayed that they were in love, that Oliver was happy, and that they were a believable couple. I also noted that another of my big concerns from last season, that Team Arrow, and Laurel in particular, didn't appreciate Oliver and what he brought to the team. That seemed to be addressed very quickly, which leads me to believe I wasn't the only one that had problems with the previous season in that regard.
I also love, love, love actor Neal McDonough. What an amazing casting choice. I truly, truly can not express how much I look forward to watching him this season. I hope he is in every freaking episode. Now this is a villain I can love to hate.
I just really like the actress who plays Thea. I think she is so beautiful and I love watching her on screen.
They also fixed Diggle! He now actually accomplishes something when he is in the field! Thank you CW for making this show so much better!
On a side note, I know you are bored, Felicity, but do you really want to take away Oliver's happiness? You know he is always putting others before himself. So when you say you want to return to Team Arrow, you know he will say yes just to make you happy. Ugh! Felicity! What are you thinking!
Episode 71 The Candidate:
Perhaps I spoke too soon where Laurel was concerned. Really? Everyone's all super-duper concerned about Thea because she is running aggressive since her return from The Other Hot Tub Time Machine, so much so Laurel and Thea plan a girls trip to Parbat to find out if The League of Assassins has any home remedies to help. So Laurel, in her INFINITE wisdom, decides to dig up her sister to resurrect her. Yeah. Let's just run that past the feasible/good idea meter. Technically, Thea wasn't even dead and she is having all these issues, so you want to dig up someone who has been dead for awhile to resurrect them? And, so, um, this doesn't strike you as A REALLY BAD IDEA!. Exhausting. Absolutely exhausting. My only explanation for this unfathomable turn is that the writers and producers realized too late how many of us adored Sara that they had to find any way to bring her back. Oh, man, do I have a bad taste in my mouth.
Episode 72 Restoration:
(Synopsis: Sara is brought back to life at the Lazarus pit.)
I loved the call back to the first season when Oliver and Diggle created the most absurd backstories for needing Felicity's help. This time, it was Felicity who told the unbelievable stories to Curtis Holt.
Was I the only one who missed/wasn't convinced by the sudden change from Malcolm to resurrect Sara? Something about Thea's conscience? Hmmm .... that seemed pretty weak.
I like how Oliver is always touching Felicity -- nice touch by the actor.
Episode 73 Beyond Redemption:
(Synopsis: Sara is chained up and escapes, because, duh.)
Laurel doesn't need Oliver's judgement ... really? You sure? You're acting like an asshole. I also love how later, whens she gets into the elevator all pouty and crosses her arms she is being soooooo judgmental for someone who moments before didn't want to be judged!
Yay! Someone kiboshed the throat screech!
I loved the scenes between Oliver and Quentin Lance.
When Laurel gets zapped and she falls to the floor, that is single-handedly some of the worst acting I have ever seen. I'm not even just saying that because of my disgust with everything that is Laurel Lance -- it was just really that bad.
Episode 74 Haunted:
(Synopsis: Sara isn't herself so Oliver asks a magician friend to restore her soul. Ray is still alive and Felicity gets weird.)
Okay, so let me get this straight. So The Green Arrow is NOT the leader even though he knows THAT guy?!?!?! A magician who can bring back Sara's soul?? Ummmm-hmmm.
Also, why does Oliver need to be a better friend to Laurel? This has to stop. However, I know my constant bitterness must be exhausting, so I will stop bagging on her in the blog. I don't want to be a nagging wife/broken record. Just assume from here on out I'm seething with her character unless otherwise stated.
On the positive side, how much do you love Curtis? I know I do.
Episode 75 Lost Souls:
(Synopsis: Ray is held prisoner and Felicity with the help of Curtis attempt to save him. They do.)
Disheveled! Felicity is disheveled! Yes!
Am I the only one who smiled ear-to-ear when Quentin and Donna have their meet-cute?!?!? I'm excited for this and I didn't even know it was something that I wanted.
Episode 70 Green Arrow:
I could watch the opening scenes between Felicity and Oliver ten times and still smile. How fun to see a "happy" Oliver. The chemistry issue they had last season? Absolutely fixed. I loved it. I truly believed that they portrayed that they were in love, that Oliver was happy, and that they were a believable couple. I also noted that another of my big concerns from last season, that Team Arrow, and Laurel in particular, didn't appreciate Oliver and what he brought to the team. That seemed to be addressed very quickly, which leads me to believe I wasn't the only one that had problems with the previous season in that regard.
I also love, love, love actor Neal McDonough. What an amazing casting choice. I truly, truly can not express how much I look forward to watching him this season. I hope he is in every freaking episode. Now this is a villain I can love to hate.
I just really like the actress who plays Thea. I think she is so beautiful and I love watching her on screen.
They also fixed Diggle! He now actually accomplishes something when he is in the field! Thank you CW for making this show so much better!
On a side note, I know you are bored, Felicity, but do you really want to take away Oliver's happiness? You know he is always putting others before himself. So when you say you want to return to Team Arrow, you know he will say yes just to make you happy. Ugh! Felicity! What are you thinking!
Episode 71 The Candidate:
Perhaps I spoke too soon where Laurel was concerned. Really? Everyone's all super-duper concerned about Thea because she is running aggressive since her return from The Other Hot Tub Time Machine, so much so Laurel and Thea plan a girls trip to Parbat to find out if The League of Assassins has any home remedies to help. So Laurel, in her INFINITE wisdom, decides to dig up her sister to resurrect her. Yeah. Let's just run that past the feasible/good idea meter. Technically, Thea wasn't even dead and she is having all these issues, so you want to dig up someone who has been dead for awhile to resurrect them? And, so, um, this doesn't strike you as A REALLY BAD IDEA!. Exhausting. Absolutely exhausting. My only explanation for this unfathomable turn is that the writers and producers realized too late how many of us adored Sara that they had to find any way to bring her back. Oh, man, do I have a bad taste in my mouth.
Episode 72 Restoration:
(Synopsis: Sara is brought back to life at the Lazarus pit.)
I loved the call back to the first season when Oliver and Diggle created the most absurd backstories for needing Felicity's help. This time, it was Felicity who told the unbelievable stories to Curtis Holt.
Was I the only one who missed/wasn't convinced by the sudden change from Malcolm to resurrect Sara? Something about Thea's conscience? Hmmm .... that seemed pretty weak.
I like how Oliver is always touching Felicity -- nice touch by the actor.
Episode 73 Beyond Redemption:
(Synopsis: Sara is chained up and escapes, because, duh.)
Laurel doesn't need Oliver's judgement ... really? You sure? You're acting like an asshole. I also love how later, whens she gets into the elevator all pouty and crosses her arms she is being soooooo judgmental for someone who moments before didn't want to be judged!
Yay! Someone kiboshed the throat screech!
I loved the scenes between Oliver and Quentin Lance.
When Laurel gets zapped and she falls to the floor, that is single-handedly some of the worst acting I have ever seen. I'm not even just saying that because of my disgust with everything that is Laurel Lance -- it was just really that bad.
Episode 74 Haunted:
(Synopsis: Sara isn't herself so Oliver asks a magician friend to restore her soul. Ray is still alive and Felicity gets weird.)
Okay, so let me get this straight. So The Green Arrow is NOT the leader even though he knows THAT guy?!?!?! A magician who can bring back Sara's soul?? Ummmm-hmmm.
Also, why does Oliver need to be a better friend to Laurel? This has to stop. However, I know my constant bitterness must be exhausting, so I will stop bagging on her in the blog. I don't want to be a nagging wife/broken record. Just assume from here on out I'm seething with her character unless otherwise stated.
On the positive side, how much do you love Curtis? I know I do.
Episode 75 Lost Souls:
(Synopsis: Ray is held prisoner and Felicity with the help of Curtis attempt to save him. They do.)
Disheveled! Felicity is disheveled! Yes!
Am I the only one who smiled ear-to-ear when Quentin and Donna have their meet-cute?!?!? I'm excited for this and I didn't even know it was something that I wanted.
Episode 76 Brotherhood:
I have no thoughts on this episode. I think I just blew through it to get to the next.
Episode 77 Legends of Yesterday:
This was not the best cross-over episode. I didn't care for either Kendra or Carter. Considering these two are supposedly going to be in the new spin off, I'm not too pumped to watch the spin-off series. However, we all know I will because I like Captain Cold. Oh, and I think Ray is going to be on it. I can't believe after reading other people's comments that they don't like Ray?!?!? What?!?!?!
Episode 78 Dark Waters:
(Synopsis: Holiday party is crashed by Darhk and Diggle, Felicity, and Thea are captured. Malcolm and Laurel save the day. Laurel gets pouty when not given her gold star. Oliver and Felicity become engaged only to have Felicity hit by a bullet.)
So in this episode, Malcolm and Laurel save Thea, Diggle, and Felicity by Malcolm pretending to be The Green Arrow and Laurel of course being The Black Canary. TBC uses her shriek to crack the glass and breaks them out. First of all, shouldn't Team Arrow get some kind of frequency blocking device so their own ears aren't pierced? I'm just saying, forethought. Also, Laurel can not help herself. Oliver JUST says he owes Malcolm one and Laurel just HAS to be all slimy and egocentric and say "I helped, too". God, STFU for once!
The proposal was actually really romantic.
Episode 79 Blood Debts:
(Synopsis: Felicity gets surgery, Oliver can't cope with her injuries. Green Arrow saves Darhk's family.)
Can I just remark, again, how much I love the character Darhk and more so the actor that plays him? So perfect.
I also kind of like that Oliver is too stressed and guilty to go see Felicity in the hospital. He really, truly doesn't know how to cope with Felicity being paralyzed.
Also, I am not loving the flashback island plot this season. It's soooooo boring.
Episode 80 A.W.O.L.:
I don't care about Diggle's brother. I also thought that ending such a strong villain in Amanda Waller like that was terrible. Stupid episode.
Episode 81 Unchained:
This episode is clearly more to set up a bigger episode. It showed.
Episode 82 Sins of the Father:
(Synopsis: Thea goes comatose, Malcolm is severely reluctant to give up being leader of the League of Assassins to save her. Nyssa is involved and is torn in every direction. Oliver comes up with some good scheming and saves the day, or so he thinks.)
Malcolm is officially the worst father on the planet. I mean, we all thought he was before when he used his daughter to gain control of The League of Assassins, but this? All you have to do is relinquish control and you can save your daughter with a potion. What a shit-head. I, for one, loved that Oliver chopped off Malcolm's hand. Oliver could have/should have killed him - I mean, it was a challenge-to-the-death duel. Instead, he lives. Malcolm only brought this all on himself. Of course, poor Oliver will be the one to suffer. I mean, I know Malcolm is the worst and all, but Oliver's son? That seems a bit much.
Episode 83 Code of Silence:
Can I just say, I love it when Felicity and Oliver argue over the headsets. It makes me laugh each time. Also, HOW MUCH DO WE LOVE CURTIS!! He is gonna try to save Felicity from her life in a wheelchair! I thought it was great acting by Stephen Amell in that scene when he says thank you to Curtis for finding a way for Felicity to walk again. It really did convey how unbelievable grateful and in awe you would be of someone who saved someone you loved from being paralyzed. Well done.
I love every scene Mama Smoak is in. Love her.
Episode 84 Taken:
(Synopsis: Oliver's son William is taken by Darhk. Team Arrow goes after him with the help of Vixen and Felicity gets upset over it)
The biggest problem I have with this show is that the writers give every other character besides Oliver the benefit of the doubt. Everyone gets free passes, but not Oliver. Poor Oliver. His whole world is about to implode because his son is taken. He is desperate to find him, Felicity is understandably upset, and Laurel has to find out about another infidelity. Tough couple of days.
Felicity is so mad at him for not telling her she breaks up with him. How about some understanding? How about some time? Literally, William is only returned to his mother a day previous, and Felicity uses this as a good time to walk out the door. She states, she held off until William was returned, but come on. How about a conversation with your husband? If it were me, and I was Oliver, I would start to get annoyed that at every turn Felicity's choice is to leave. It's like her default. I feel bad for Oliver, because he loves her and will blame himself, but really? If I were Oliver and thought about it, I'd get pretty pissed at Felicity. Her whole speech about leaning on each other when times get hard, how about Felicity show him that he can lean on her? The message she sends is with any mistake, it's over.
You are also about to read this correctly, I liked Laurel in this episode. I thought she was written well. I'd be upset too, even though it had been forever, to find out that my ex-boyfriend, that I still work with, cheated on me with a second person and had a baby. That's a long sentence because a lot happened. Laurel was upset but handled it well. She went to her father, whose reaction was perfect, and got a hug. Seriously, Oliver was an asshole before. But now? He's admitted he was, apologized to her, and now what? There really isn't anything anyone can do about it. The key is, she didn't take it out on everyone. I thought that was great. Maturity from Laurel. Who knew?
Some stupid stuff.
The totem is in the middle of the family room? Um, what?
The island story is just stupid. Something happen already.
Why is Malcolm not dead?
Episode 85 Broken Hearts:
(Synopsis: Cupid is at it again. Felicity moves out of Oliver's apartment and is terribly snippy as a coworker. Oliver and Felicity share their vows in a fake wedding, but Felicity still won't be with Oliver.)
Takeaways from this episode ...
Felicity is the worst. She has lied, she has made bad choices, she is not perfect. However, she expects perfection from Oliver.
Oliver needs to read a Cosmo magazine. Articles he should dog-ear: "You are perfect the way you are", "Don't change for a (wo)man", "Why do (wo)men feel the need to change themselves to keep a (wo)man".
Oliver begs Felicity at the end to stay with him, that he will change. He makes all kinds of promises that fall on deaf ears and a cold heart. Felicity says she loves him. Uh, I don't think you really love him. He is a complicated, complex man. Felicity should have known that.
Oliver doesn't have to change to fit Felicity's mold of the perfect man. He is fine just the way he is. Thea and John have accepted him, so should Felicity. She doesn't. Oliver is better off.
As for Felicity, is there ever going to be a man who meets her standards? I think not. I think it has to do with her father. Her father didn't pick her, so now she needs a man to pick her at all costs. Ray picked her, but it was too easy. She has a need to prove something, to herself, to her father, to ... I don't know. I think Oliver is better off finding someone who can love the whole him, and not try to make him something he is not. That is with most relationships and the Olicity plot thread is no different than real life - just because you love someone does not mean that you are right for each other.
87 Eleven-fifty nine:
(Synopsis: Darhk breaks out of prison, Thea could, but won't kill Malcolm b/c daddy issues, Darhk stabs TBC, Laurel professes her love for Oliver on her death bed.)
This was a really good episode. All the character interactions were really great. John and Oliver fighting. Laurel actually being a good friend to Oliver. Thea doing what people do a lot, saying something to try and convince themselves of it, as in, I don't care about my dad. Mmm-hmmm.
The scenes between Laurel and Oliver at the end were great. It was nice to see them touch upon how much love they had for each other. It was nice to see them find and admit some common ground.
However, Laurel shipping Olicity was a bit much.
It was also really, really unfortunate that the character was finally written with some warmth and they kill her off.
Poor John.
88 Canary Cry:
(Synopsis: Oliver rallies the troops to not lose themselves in the loss of Laurel. Imposter Black Canary on the loose. Felicity hypocritical.)
This was a very good episode. I thought the flashbacks really, really worked with Laurel and Oliver. If only the writing had been so good for Laurel throughout the last few seasons she could have been a really great character. That's on the writers. I almost miss more what she could have been, not what the writers actually wrote.
Felicity was super obnoxious this episode -- telling Oliver he knows he needs to kill Darhk. STFU. You lost all ability to inform Oliver or the Green Arrow when you left Oliver and the team for petulant reasons. Now you come back, after making such a big stand about him maintaining a moral compass and tell him to kill Darhk? Yeah, duh. He's been through the ringer more than you have so perhaps you should have deferred to him earlier ...
Now that Laurel is dead, and Felicity has acted so reprehensibly, Felicity takes on my most hated character. What makes it worse is when I scan up to the way the season has unfolded and reread the stuff she has done, I realize I hate her more.
90 Monument Point:
(Synopsis: Felicity and Papa Smoak try to stop the launch of nuclear weapons, Thea is in a dome with her dad, Oliver runs around).)
The (sarcastic) highlight of this episode is that Felicity needs to steal some kind of processor for her father from Palmer Tech that recently fired her. They need this in order to stop world annihilation. They are 90%, yes, 90% uploaded before they need to abandoned the task because 3 Palmer Tech guards walked in.
Three. Palmer. Tech. Guards.
Not Hive, not trained killers, not Darhk. 3 security guards. AGAINST THE ARROW AND SPARTAN. WTF. Later on in the episode 10,000 people die from an atom bomb, not counting the radiation in the water now. I honestly could not get past this insanely bad writing.
91 Lost In The Flood:
(Synopsis: Oliver and John go into Hive's hive to save Thea. Malcolm is somehow allowed to still live. Hacker Felicity and Papa Smoak save the day all the while not giving any credit to Curtis.)
Honestly, I was really annoyed that Curtis came up with the idea on how to stop a nuclear holocaust and he didn't get any credit for it.
Oliver really does seem inept lately.
When, oh when can the this horrible flashback storyline be done? It's so bad. So, so, so very bad.
92 Schism:
(Synopsis: Felicity saves the day and is still overly annoying to Oliver. Curtis again is the one who really inspires and saves the day and it's getting annoying that no one is noticing. Oliver becomes mayor. Flashback storyline comes to its final conclusion with zero payoff.)
This was not my favorite episode. That's a problem for the show, as a finale is supposed to be super good -- especial for a super hero show.
The plot just didn't make sense. Damien Darhk is somehow made mortal by all the Star City hope? Felicity, with the help of Curtis, destroys the missiles? Also, it was his idea, not hers, and she's gonna squawk at Curtis to keep the camera still? She's the definition of a boss that takes the credit for an employee's work.
Let's recap Curtis.
Um, I think the real hero lately is Curtis.
I have no thoughts on this episode. I think I just blew through it to get to the next.
Episode 77 Legends of Yesterday:
This was not the best cross-over episode. I didn't care for either Kendra or Carter. Considering these two are supposedly going to be in the new spin off, I'm not too pumped to watch the spin-off series. However, we all know I will because I like Captain Cold. Oh, and I think Ray is going to be on it. I can't believe after reading other people's comments that they don't like Ray?!?!? What?!?!?!
Episode 78 Dark Waters:
(Synopsis: Holiday party is crashed by Darhk and Diggle, Felicity, and Thea are captured. Malcolm and Laurel save the day. Laurel gets pouty when not given her gold star. Oliver and Felicity become engaged only to have Felicity hit by a bullet.)
So in this episode, Malcolm and Laurel save Thea, Diggle, and Felicity by Malcolm pretending to be The Green Arrow and Laurel of course being The Black Canary. TBC uses her shriek to crack the glass and breaks them out. First of all, shouldn't Team Arrow get some kind of frequency blocking device so their own ears aren't pierced? I'm just saying, forethought. Also, Laurel can not help herself. Oliver JUST says he owes Malcolm one and Laurel just HAS to be all slimy and egocentric and say "I helped, too". God, STFU for once!
The proposal was actually really romantic.
Episode 79 Blood Debts:
(Synopsis: Felicity gets surgery, Oliver can't cope with her injuries. Green Arrow saves Darhk's family.)
Can I just remark, again, how much I love the character Darhk and more so the actor that plays him? So perfect.
I also kind of like that Oliver is too stressed and guilty to go see Felicity in the hospital. He really, truly doesn't know how to cope with Felicity being paralyzed.
Also, I am not loving the flashback island plot this season. It's soooooo boring.
Episode 80 A.W.O.L.:
I don't care about Diggle's brother. I also thought that ending such a strong villain in Amanda Waller like that was terrible. Stupid episode.
Episode 81 Unchained:
This episode is clearly more to set up a bigger episode. It showed.
Episode 82 Sins of the Father:
(Synopsis: Thea goes comatose, Malcolm is severely reluctant to give up being leader of the League of Assassins to save her. Nyssa is involved and is torn in every direction. Oliver comes up with some good scheming and saves the day, or so he thinks.)
Malcolm is officially the worst father on the planet. I mean, we all thought he was before when he used his daughter to gain control of The League of Assassins, but this? All you have to do is relinquish control and you can save your daughter with a potion. What a shit-head. I, for one, loved that Oliver chopped off Malcolm's hand. Oliver could have/should have killed him - I mean, it was a challenge-to-the-death duel. Instead, he lives. Malcolm only brought this all on himself. Of course, poor Oliver will be the one to suffer. I mean, I know Malcolm is the worst and all, but Oliver's son? That seems a bit much.
Episode 83 Code of Silence:
Can I just say, I love it when Felicity and Oliver argue over the headsets. It makes me laugh each time. Also, HOW MUCH DO WE LOVE CURTIS!! He is gonna try to save Felicity from her life in a wheelchair! I thought it was great acting by Stephen Amell in that scene when he says thank you to Curtis for finding a way for Felicity to walk again. It really did convey how unbelievable grateful and in awe you would be of someone who saved someone you loved from being paralyzed. Well done.
I love every scene Mama Smoak is in. Love her.
Episode 84 Taken:
(Synopsis: Oliver's son William is taken by Darhk. Team Arrow goes after him with the help of Vixen and Felicity gets upset over it)
The biggest problem I have with this show is that the writers give every other character besides Oliver the benefit of the doubt. Everyone gets free passes, but not Oliver. Poor Oliver. His whole world is about to implode because his son is taken. He is desperate to find him, Felicity is understandably upset, and Laurel has to find out about another infidelity. Tough couple of days.
Felicity is so mad at him for not telling her she breaks up with him. How about some understanding? How about some time? Literally, William is only returned to his mother a day previous, and Felicity uses this as a good time to walk out the door. She states, she held off until William was returned, but come on. How about a conversation with your husband? If it were me, and I was Oliver, I would start to get annoyed that at every turn Felicity's choice is to leave. It's like her default. I feel bad for Oliver, because he loves her and will blame himself, but really? If I were Oliver and thought about it, I'd get pretty pissed at Felicity. Her whole speech about leaning on each other when times get hard, how about Felicity show him that he can lean on her? The message she sends is with any mistake, it's over.
You are also about to read this correctly, I liked Laurel in this episode. I thought she was written well. I'd be upset too, even though it had been forever, to find out that my ex-boyfriend, that I still work with, cheated on me with a second person and had a baby. That's a long sentence because a lot happened. Laurel was upset but handled it well. She went to her father, whose reaction was perfect, and got a hug. Seriously, Oliver was an asshole before. But now? He's admitted he was, apologized to her, and now what? There really isn't anything anyone can do about it. The key is, she didn't take it out on everyone. I thought that was great. Maturity from Laurel. Who knew?
Some stupid stuff.
The totem is in the middle of the family room? Um, what?
The island story is just stupid. Something happen already.
Why is Malcolm not dead?
Episode 85 Broken Hearts:
(Synopsis: Cupid is at it again. Felicity moves out of Oliver's apartment and is terribly snippy as a coworker. Oliver and Felicity share their vows in a fake wedding, but Felicity still won't be with Oliver.)
Takeaways from this episode ...
Felicity is the worst. She has lied, she has made bad choices, she is not perfect. However, she expects perfection from Oliver.
Oliver needs to read a Cosmo magazine. Articles he should dog-ear: "You are perfect the way you are", "Don't change for a (wo)man", "Why do (wo)men feel the need to change themselves to keep a (wo)man".
Oliver begs Felicity at the end to stay with him, that he will change. He makes all kinds of promises that fall on deaf ears and a cold heart. Felicity says she loves him. Uh, I don't think you really love him. He is a complicated, complex man. Felicity should have known that.
Oliver doesn't have to change to fit Felicity's mold of the perfect man. He is fine just the way he is. Thea and John have accepted him, so should Felicity. She doesn't. Oliver is better off.
As for Felicity, is there ever going to be a man who meets her standards? I think not. I think it has to do with her father. Her father didn't pick her, so now she needs a man to pick her at all costs. Ray picked her, but it was too easy. She has a need to prove something, to herself, to her father, to ... I don't know. I think Oliver is better off finding someone who can love the whole him, and not try to make him something he is not. That is with most relationships and the Olicity plot thread is no different than real life - just because you love someone does not mean that you are right for each other.
87 Eleven-fifty nine:
(Synopsis: Darhk breaks out of prison, Thea could, but won't kill Malcolm b/c daddy issues, Darhk stabs TBC, Laurel professes her love for Oliver on her death bed.)
This was a really good episode. All the character interactions were really great. John and Oliver fighting. Laurel actually being a good friend to Oliver. Thea doing what people do a lot, saying something to try and convince themselves of it, as in, I don't care about my dad. Mmm-hmmm.
The scenes between Laurel and Oliver at the end were great. It was nice to see them touch upon how much love they had for each other. It was nice to see them find and admit some common ground.
However, Laurel shipping Olicity was a bit much.
It was also really, really unfortunate that the character was finally written with some warmth and they kill her off.
Poor John.
88 Canary Cry:
(Synopsis: Oliver rallies the troops to not lose themselves in the loss of Laurel. Imposter Black Canary on the loose. Felicity hypocritical.)
This was a very good episode. I thought the flashbacks really, really worked with Laurel and Oliver. If only the writing had been so good for Laurel throughout the last few seasons she could have been a really great character. That's on the writers. I almost miss more what she could have been, not what the writers actually wrote.
Felicity was super obnoxious this episode -- telling Oliver he knows he needs to kill Darhk. STFU. You lost all ability to inform Oliver or the Green Arrow when you left Oliver and the team for petulant reasons. Now you come back, after making such a big stand about him maintaining a moral compass and tell him to kill Darhk? Yeah, duh. He's been through the ringer more than you have so perhaps you should have deferred to him earlier ...
Now that Laurel is dead, and Felicity has acted so reprehensibly, Felicity takes on my most hated character. What makes it worse is when I scan up to the way the season has unfolded and reread the stuff she has done, I realize I hate her more.
90 Monument Point:
(Synopsis: Felicity and Papa Smoak try to stop the launch of nuclear weapons, Thea is in a dome with her dad, Oliver runs around).)
The (sarcastic) highlight of this episode is that Felicity needs to steal some kind of processor for her father from Palmer Tech that recently fired her. They need this in order to stop world annihilation. They are 90%, yes, 90% uploaded before they need to abandoned the task because 3 Palmer Tech guards walked in.
Three. Palmer. Tech. Guards.
Not Hive, not trained killers, not Darhk. 3 security guards. AGAINST THE ARROW AND SPARTAN. WTF. Later on in the episode 10,000 people die from an atom bomb, not counting the radiation in the water now. I honestly could not get past this insanely bad writing.
91 Lost In The Flood:
(Synopsis: Oliver and John go into Hive's hive to save Thea. Malcolm is somehow allowed to still live. Hacker Felicity and Papa Smoak save the day all the while not giving any credit to Curtis.)
Honestly, I was really annoyed that Curtis came up with the idea on how to stop a nuclear holocaust and he didn't get any credit for it.
Oliver really does seem inept lately.
When, oh when can the this horrible flashback storyline be done? It's so bad. So, so, so very bad.
92 Schism:
(Synopsis: Felicity saves the day and is still overly annoying to Oliver. Curtis again is the one who really inspires and saves the day and it's getting annoying that no one is noticing. Oliver becomes mayor. Flashback storyline comes to its final conclusion with zero payoff.)
This was not my favorite episode. That's a problem for the show, as a finale is supposed to be super good -- especial for a super hero show.
The plot just didn't make sense. Damien Darhk is somehow made mortal by all the Star City hope? Felicity, with the help of Curtis, destroys the missiles? Also, it was his idea, not hers, and she's gonna squawk at Curtis to keep the camera still? She's the definition of a boss that takes the credit for an employee's work.
Let's recap Curtis.
- Curtis gives the hope speech.
- Curtis figures out how to stop the missiles from exploding
- Curtis stands in front of Felicity and her mom to protect the women
- Curtis last week figured out how to endlessly loop the Rubicon system.
Um, I think the real hero lately is Curtis.
What did you think of this season?
Until next time!
** If you would like to read my other blogs, please find them at:
http://www.madelinefresco.com
http://www.ihatemyback.com.
**** Madeline Fresco is a novelist who lives in San Diego. She is the author of CROSSED THE LINE, available for Kindle at Amazon.com, for Nook at Barnes & Noble, and as an ePub at other eBook retailers. You can also listen to her novel as a free, serialized audiobook at http://www.madelinefresco.com. Her second book THE CHOICE, is available on Kindle at Amazon. Her third book ANGUISH, is available for Kindle at Amazon.com
** If you would like to read my other blogs, please find them at:
http://www.madelinefresco.com
http://www.ihatemyback.com.
**** Madeline Fresco is a novelist who lives in San Diego. She is the author of CROSSED THE LINE, available for Kindle at Amazon.com, for Nook at Barnes & Noble, and as an ePub at other eBook retailers. You can also listen to her novel as a free, serialized audiobook at http://www.madelinefresco.com. Her second book THE CHOICE, is available on Kindle at Amazon. Her third book ANGUISH, is available for Kindle at Amazon.com