Broken Hearts – Following Felicity calling it off with Oliver, another scorned lover comes to town. It’s Cupid (stupid) and she’s declaring on love and happy couples. The preliminary hearing of Damien Darhk hits a big stumbling block, forcing Laurel and Quentin to make a very risky decision. Meanwhile, back on the island, Reiter finds the artifact he was looking for but it bodes very badly for Oliver and the rest of his captives.
So there’s a deal breaker on enjoying this episode, and that is how you feel about “Olicity”. While there is some fun from the awkwardness of maintaining their vigilante working relationship despite no longer being involved, significant amounts of the episode involve their relationship or feelings being discussed. If that’s the kind of Arrow material that usually has you sticking an arrow through each eyeball (the double Deathstroke), you’re not in for a fun episode. In general though, most of the romantic and relationship fallout scenes are at least tolerable if not good in places (although a certain big day comes with a fully stocked cheese buffet). This is helped by having quite a smart conclusion as Felicity accepts that she still loves Oliver, but it’s the crime-fighting lives they lead that will always create a conflict between their relationship and their duty to the city. The subject matter is also helped across the episode by the return of Cupid as her patented band of “crazy ex” livens up the heavy drama with plenty of fun and madness. Her just-married joy ride is particularly entertaining. Her whole anti-love angle also plays well on her past episodes of being a lethally hopeless romantic. Her last two romantic affixations died on her (both The Arrow and Deadshot last season). Now she’s started her own noble crusade to stop anyone else falling in love and sparing them from the pain she went through, “My name is Carrie Cutter, after one year of having my heart ripped apart, I came back to my city with one goal.... to let love die!”.
Overall, the character relationships/Cupid sections are more or less enjoyable but not up to the show’s usual standards. If they were the sole subject of the episode that would be a problem but thankfully, it has something much much better to offer in support.
Anyone that’s been enjoying the recent sophomore season of the Marvel/Neflix Daredevil series will have witnessed a certain well-known character going on trial across several episodes. By a curious coincidence (although there is a Marc Guggenheim connection), Arrow looks to be following suit. Based on this episode alone, it looks set to be one of the season’s real highlights as the de-powered Damien Darhk goes before the courts.
Firstly, it gives Laurel a fantastic storyline of her own as the prosecuting DA representative. Ever since Sara Lance, we restored and left to board the Wave Rider, Laurel has felt more of a servicing figure to other characters, the one they talk to about their feelings or helps with their problems. Now, we finally get to see her take the spotlight again and it’s better for happening by day with no billy club in sight. The court scenes of the preliminary hearing bring in excellent aspects of legal drama to the show with plenty of twists and turns from Darhk’s fiendishly proficient defense lawyer (it’s wonderful to imagine Darhk actually summoning him from hell). The script also makes very clever use of events throughout the season as various characters take the stand and discover how problematic a witness testimony can be when having to conceal your secret crime-fighting alter ego.
Similarly, this arc provides great material for Quentin in the way he combines with Laurel. The stakes of his controversial sacrifice play testimony are also very well conveyed as we really feel the personal impact it has on both Laurel and Quentin as he implicates himself in order to do the same to Darhk. Quentin’s arc over the entire season has revolved around doing whatever it takes for the sake of his family, and this feels a very natural extension of that. In fact, it even givens the feeling of more to come. Right now, Quentin has jumped to the top of the “Who is in the grave” suspicions list. Will his actions against Darhk cost him and result in one last fatal sacrifice to save Laurel (and maybe the entire city)?
The flashback story this week delivers progress but frustrates a little for only telling what feels like part of a story. We finally find the mystical object that Reiter has been searching for and the scenes create plenty of intrigue over just how its powers work but that’s about it. It’s all too often the Achilles Heel of the flashbacks (particularly since season 3) that minimal screen time each episode makes their story feel far too slow and trudging. It’s like reading a novel by just one page each day -- by the time you actually get somewhere, you’ve long forgotten why it mattered in the first place.
So after 4 weeks of rest and relaxation, Arrow returns with an average single week story and the beginning of a first class multi-episode arc. It’s likely to be a Marmite episode for some fans but with end results, that will satisfy all. Bonus points for Cupid digging the sleeveless Green Arrow look and some good stunt work from Thea. Love might well be a bullet in the brain but here it also trades some pain for pleasure.