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Arrow: Collision Course

"This time around, everything's down to you. "

I never thought I'd say this, but Laurel's storyline was my favorite part of this episode. Go Figure.

First off, let me apologize for the delay. I came down with a nasty bug that turned my brain into sludge. This is my first semi-coherent day in almost a week. So we'll see how this goes. I reserve the right to re-evaluate once I have a fully functioning brain.

Laurel's motivations were multilayered and by far the most fascinating part of the episode which is amazing when you realize she spent most of the time lying on a couch writhing in pain. Quentin's attempts to win Laurel's trust are based on the belief that she is his daughter if he hadn't been there. I can't fault his reasoning and I think letting her call the shots in the relationship was the right course. I'm not so sure I buy that she's spent all this time in search of a father figure. I believe that her father's absence left her without the ability to expect more. Laurel's relationships with Zoom, Adrian and Cayden were transactional in nature. They didn't require trust or any emotional investment on her part.

Unfortunately, what Quentin needed most was time and given that everyone and their dog believed Laurel has the city's money, it was the one thing he was never going to get. Everyone, that is, but me. I may be wrong, but I don't think Laurel stole the 70 million. First of all, when did she find the time to make the trip and hide the bearer bonds? She's been laid up with a bullet wound since Cayden's final ultimatum. We know Diaz has proven he can manipulate footage and he would have made plans for that money. I think she was taking advantage of the opportunity to get away from Dinah. And let's be honest, can you blame her?

The funny thing is, I think having the OTA and the NTA show up was the last bit of proof Laurel needed to believe that Quentin is on her side. He stood up for her with Oliver, and he put himself between her and Dinah even though he was unarmed. Why else would she make that final play? I did not see that one coming.

Which brings us back to the family feud. We've rocketed past distrust and lack of respect to outright hatred. Up till now, I had assumed The Powers That Be were heading towards the OTA and NTA realizing they could not defeat the Big Bad until they learned to work together. Now I'm not so sure.

This episode did a lot to clarify the NTA's perspective. Dinah is right on the money (no pun intended) about Oliver's history of forgiving or at least going easy on people he cares for. He's done it with Helena, Thea, Roy and, now, Earth-2 Laurel. But he's also given Rene a pass too, which the NTA seem to forget. Oliver didn't kick Rene out for betraying him. He kicked him out for not following orders in the field. Oliver is no saint, but he's never killed anyone just for vengeance which is more than you can say about Dinah. This is why Curtis's speech about not being like Oliver left a bad taste in my mouth.

None of which explains why the OTA believed that Dinah had Laurel in the first place. They already knew she was at the scene when Laurel disappeared so the fact that her shoe print was there isn't proof of anything. Plus, if Dinah had Laurel since her "disappearance," she wouldn't have needed to get assigned the bank case. And let's go out on a limb and say that if Dinah did have Laurel, there had to be a less antagonistic way to find out. Unless they were deliberately trying to burn that bridge.

I also would have felt better if the NTA weren't right about Oliver giving in to Laurel so easily. He didn't even try to confirm that she had access to the money. He was just going to get her out of the country? Without any guarantees? What would he have done if Quentin hadn't offered to go with? And he tried to talk Quentin out of going. He's usually more on the ball than that.

Given Dinah's multiple attacks on Quentin (how does that man not have a concussion) and Oliver putting Rene in the hospital I honestly don't see how a reconciliation is possible.

In other news, that Armand is on the take isn't all that surprising. The fact that the case is built on sand is. The case was built by Agent Watson, and she doesn't strike me as the kind of person to leave things half done. Now I could see them having a problem if their case hinged on Rene's testimony, but it's hard to believe Armand knew Rene was injured let alone the extent of his injuries. If Armand found out that Oliver is the one that put him in the hospital, I would think it'd help his case not hurt it. Is that what could bury Oliver, or could it have to do with the very spoilerific guest appearance in next week's episode?

I've begun to feel like Charlie Brown, and the writer's room is Lucy with the football. They keep holding out tantalizing possibilities that they don't quite deliver on.

2 out of 5 Supersonic Spectrographs

Parting Thoughts:

What, Corto Maltese doesn't have telephones or email? The accountant had to fly all the way back to Star City to break the news?

Where do they get the money to invent all their new toys? And do they have so much that they can afford to crush them when they get pissed? That said, Mr. Terrific's Supersonic Spectrograph was just cool.

I was impressed that Rene picked a fight for a reason other than just being Rene.

The SCPD has a record of Black Canary's shoes. I think I'd get new shoes.

Who is taking care of Rene's daughter now that he's hospitalized?

Does this mean that Curtis and Felicity are no longer business partners? Don't know how that was supposed to work in the first place.

Apparently, Siu Jerk Jai is an alias of Black Canary from the comics. It means "little bird."

Quotes:

Oliver: "Well, the random murder of Cayden James – it doesn't feel very random."

William: "Felicity is teaching me about thermodynamics."
Felicity: "That's right."
William: "And we just really wanted cookies."
Felicity: "Narc!"

Curtis: "Diaz's trail has gone colder than my love life."

Laurel: "Well, it looks like I have an opening for a new domineering father figure. Feel free to send in your application."

Curtis: "You think you know someone then they do a triple worm/blue cobalt IP hack that you taught them right into your soul."

Rene: "Ain't karma a bitch?"

Quentin: "I'm sorry, but your brother is not exactly known for his light touch."

Felicity: " That was Alanis Morrisette-level irony."

Laurel: "Pack your sunblock. I always wanted to live somewhere tropical."

Rene: "They tossed away our bug like it was a – a bug."

Oliver: "If the people going after her didn't look like Curtis, Dinah, and Rene, would you even be asking this question?"
Diggle: "No. But I can't help but wonder, would we be doing this if the person they were after didn't look like Laurel?"
---
Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.

5 comments:

  1. I guess the writers are caving in to fan pressure and want to reintroduce Laurel and the villification of Dinah (who was apparently hated by the fandom from the start) is the only way they can do it.

    I don't see the two team working together ever again.

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  2. Laurel was definitely more bearable in this one, although I still don't understand why they didn't deep six the character permanently several seasons ago.

    And I was also wondering about the Felicity/Curtis business partnership. Curtis is my favorite of the Not-Arrow trio. Rene is okay; he's an interesting character. But I'm starting to hate Dinah, and I don't want to. I wonder if that's what they intended.

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  3. I'm trying to give Dinah the benefit of the doubt because I feel my current dislike for her is based more on what the writers wanted her character to do than on what Dinah is like. We'll see if I'm right.

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  4. I think this show has become almost unwatchable - the split team is not really believable and definitely is not at all enjoyable. I can hardly watch this nonsense anymore. I can’t stand Dinah, Rene, Curtis, Quentin who’s acting like a moron dumbass or Oliver. This storyline feels like they’ve hit the bottom of the barrel for ideas. I can’t beli this show has sunk so far.

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  5. I don't know where this storyline is going, but the 2 teams fighting is getting tiresome fast. The new recruits have not been very likable to begin with, not I just wish they are all off the show together. Why do they give Oliver people he can't trust or have his back on his team in the first place?

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