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Arrow: Dark Waters

"Congratulations, Damien. You're famous."

Well, I really liked it until those last two minutes. Obviously, the theme of this episode was consequences, Oliver's actions having a direct effect on those around him.

Let's talk about the big cliffy at the end of the episode first. There are a few blatant issues with this scenario. First and most importantly is whether Felicity is dead or just gravely injured. My guess is she's just hurt, and the next episode will deal with her fight for survival. I still don't believe she is the one actually in the grave, even though the show is trying its hardest to make us believe she is.

The reason I think it's not is that killing Felicity would be monumentally stupid. Not only because she is the primary love interest on the show for Oliver (Laurel will never work in that respect), but because she is also the heart and brains of Team Arrow. Killing her would cripple our group to such an extent that it would destroy their effectiveness. Which may be the whole point of her death, if the writers go that route. Sure, a character like Curtis might be able to step in and take over some of that kind of technology support, but then something important would be missing from the show: humor and light. Felicity is probably the one character who is indispensable. Plus, her death would probably drive Oliver back to that dark place that he has been trying so hard to walk away from.

My theory is that if she is the one 'in the grave', then it is a fake out for Darhk so that he thinks he succeeded. The other option is that someone else is in that grave, someone who will die in the next episode (or so). This cliffhanger didn't really answer the question, it just made me frustrated with the writers. One last thing, why would Oliver get into a limo with limited visibly and no defenses when the HIVE is still gunning for him?

At least Damien is living up to his potential as a villain. He is dangerous and so much fun at the same time. hey are working to give him a real character arc, so much so that it was just revealed that he has a family. Does that humanize him some? Plus, what is with the underground cornfield? What is this plan? Is HIVE going to destroy the world and put the survivors in an underground bunker with a bunch of corn?

We also got a bit more on the Andy front, but nothing major happened there, either. Diggle might be going about things the wrong way by being super confrontational, I wonder if forgiveness would be a better route to take? Well, I guess sometimes confrontational attitudes breed a strangely healthy relationship, like Thea and Malcolm. She clearly wants nothing to do with him, but he does keep coming back.

Flashback:

We got some limited movement on the Island, as Oliver learned to dive in an hour and retrieved some maps of Lian Yu that he can use to figure out the map he stole from Reiter. Except he got bitten by a shark and Conklin showed up to give us yet another cliffy.

Bits:

Donna and Quentin are pretty cute together. I keep wondering if maybe all this foreshadowing towards Thea, Diggle, Laurel, and Felicity is to keep us from guessing that it's Lance in that grave.

Oliver rescuing the little Felicity clone was more foreshadowing for the end of the episode when he couldn't save Felicity.

I loved Malcolm as Green Arrow. Oliver once again saved Malcolm.

The ring stuff made me think of Bonanza Syndrome, where any female love interest for a male lead would end up dying shortly after their engagement/marriage.

So the only two explanations for how Darhk survived is that he can either protect himself from explosions, or he teleported away from it somehow?

Quotes:

Quentin: "Listen, um, Laurel doesn't know." (about Quentin and Donna)
Felicity: "Yeah, I'm gonna hit myself with something very heavy so that I don't know either."

Felicity: "If we can reduce just 40% of the toxicity that's produced by the bacterial micro-organisms that have just sprung up here..."
Mini Felicity: "We can swim in just 12 more days if the restitution rates stay consistent."
Felicity: "Yes."
Laurel: "She's like a mini-you."

Laurel: "Are you sure that Darhk didn't make it out of the explosion?"
Felicity: "Have you seen any horror movies? These guys don't stay dead. Especially if you can't find the body."

Malcolm: (to Laurel) "Excellent. You've got your bondage outfit on."

This was a pretty good episode and a fairly good fall finale, but the frustrating elements kinda ruined it for me.

2 out of 4 underground fields of corn.

Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.

7 comments:

  1. Other posters have noted that the death takes place 6 months after the premier and it seems like it's only been 3 months since then. So if Felicity is the one dying, it will be really, really slowly. I to think the "death" could be something to throw Dahrk off and it won't be a real death. If not, I'd bet on Quentin or Digg or maybe Oliver's son?

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  2. The ending really annoyed me. Not just because Felicity is the sun the Arrowverse revolves around for me, but because...I mean, really? She and Oliver managed to not get shot despite a hail of bullets and then he jumps into the front seat (which you'd think would draw the shooters' attention there) and she stays on the floor and somehow gets shot.

    I think it's really interesting that with a world of magic at his disposal, Dahrk is using guns and street warfare to terrorize Oliver. I suppose you could argue that he's trying not to give himself away to a guy who is definitely not the Green Arrow (thanks, Malcolm) but it feels like more of a statement by the show than that.

    Also, I just had to laugh when Dahrk was talking about seeing who is under the Green Arrow's mask. Doesn't he know Malcolm? How could anyone not place that jawline and chin.

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  3. Felicity: "Have you seen any horror movies? These guys don't stay dead. Especially if you can't find the body."

    I'm glad Felicity has read Billie's 10 Rules of Television. http://www.douxreviews.com/2011/01/billies-ten-rules-of-television.html


    I don't like the idea of a dead Felicity, so I'm just going to assume that will work out okay. But I did like the Hanukkah theme (do I get a cookie on the day I finally spell that holiday correctly the first time?), with the lighting of the tree/candle at the end and the emphasis on hope in adversity. After the Christmas-heavy episodes of TVD and Flash, it was nice to see another holiday on the CW.

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  4. I knew something was going to happen to felicity cos of the engagement. Those are just the shows I watch. No one can be perfectly happy. Lol. Also I loved her comment about not seeing the body. Made me think of the 10 rules of television (which no 10 just happened with Grimm as well.)

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  5. I think the person in the grave is Diggle. Let's be pragmatic. What is Diggle's role this season? Too introduce HIVE and to give us Andy drama. Andy drama should be resolved soon, and then what? What other purpose does he serve? The answer is to be Oliver's best friend. The friend and support Felicity can't be. Flashing back to the season premiere. Barry showed up late. Which shows that it is not Felicity. Barry cares too much and would make sure to be on time. This tells us it is someone Barry does not know to well. We can also tell that it was someone close to Oliver, because he is going to kill again. He comes out and says it. "I am going to kill that man." Which leaves us two options. Thea or Diggle. It won't be Thea, because they need a Speedy. Someone who can pick up the mantel and carry on if something happens to Oliver. Besides, she has a ton of Daddy issues that need to be addressed, and the writers love that. Which leaves Diggle. Who only has one outstanding isssue, and that is HIVE and Andy, who are this season's focus. Sure he has a wife and daughter, but that will just give it the tragedy it deserves. Finally, looking to the future, that is the best move to make. Diggle's death would leave Oliver in a darker place, a place that would complement the darker tones the final flashbacks will have to take. On the island, Oliver will have to accept his mission, finish getting the scars, and come back a dark man willing to kill. In conclusion, all signs point towards Diggle in the grave.

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  6. Ya know, for some reason Diggle never even showed up on my radar as a possibility, but you make a very strong argument, Will. I think I may be in the Diggle is Dead camp now. They've really made strides in bringing Diggle back to being Ollie's friend and support after a season or so of him just glaring at Ollie so it would really hit hard if he were to die. At least for me. He's always been one of my favorites so it always bugged me that he's kinda been sidelined as of late, now that Felicity is the heart and voice of reason. No offense to Felicity, I still love her.

    I do not believe not one bit that Felicity is gonna die, so this whole scenario just fell flat to me. It just felt so fake that after all they went through, they wouldn't at the very least have Diggle tailing them to keep them safe. They even admitted like right before that they didn't believe that Damien was dead. That was a relief by the way, it's nice to know even the Arrow crew is catching on.

    Could it be that they're setting up Felicity to take on an even more Oracle-like position? Wheelchair-bound for some episodes, perhaps? For the rest of the season? The entire series!? Nightwing!??!

    Good job to Laurel for actually being useful for once, and even using the Canary Cry to accomplish something rather than just slightly inconveniencing so henchmen for like two seconds. Malcolm was fun in this episode as well.

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  7. That ending was way too much of a On Her Majesty's Secret Service ending (mixed with a sort of West Wing vibe due to the music?). When they got into the limo I knew what was going to happen. Bah! Don't Majesty's Secret Service Felicity please.

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