Arrow, 5.04 - "Penance"

Warning: SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED.

Sorry for the late review everyone! Thursdays are my busiest days and though I actually watched the episode on Wednesday, I didn't get time to put together my thoughts until now. But I have a confession to make....I actually put this off for a little longer than usual, even when I got home and had time to write.

Arrow is different from all the other shows that have been featured on this blog so far. Supergirl and The Flash wouldn't even be here without the success of Arrow. It has been my favorite show ever since I stumbled upon some Olicity gifs on a Tumblr blog in 2014 - at around the time the first half of season 3 was airing. Having no context, I thought the interactions between Oliver and Felicity were adorable, and I was mildly intrigued. So during my freshman year midterms (aka the most inconvenient time ever) and Arrow hiatus, I started binge watching the show. And I was hooked. I immediately liked all the characters and though I knew Oliver and Felicity wouldn't get together until season 3, I shipped them almost instantly even in season 1. And by the end of the season 3, I thought they were solid, and would never be apart. They had driven off into the sunset and gotten their happy ending - finally.




Fast forward a little less than two years later, and....boy, was I wrong. Not only are the two no longer dating, Felicity has a new (ugly) boyfriend, and Oliver might get a new love interest soon. Therefore, not a day goes by where I am not bitter about how their relationship ended. Dear Arrow writers: These two were going to get married!!!!!!!! How the f*ck can you split them up over a poorly written storyline and say neither have time for romance, while simultaneously giving Felicity a new boyfriend?!?! Not only is this hypocritical, it also reeks of misogyny. Now that Felicity is the new female lead, replacing Laurel, her storylines have somehow been reduced and her scenes outside of Team Arrow are with her boyfriend. Great. Is this the Arrow female lead curse? Now that Laurel is gone, you're giving the bad plotlines to Felicity? Ugh.

Oliver and Felicity not being together has greatly impacted my enjoyment of the show. While I used to look forward to Arrow Wednesdays in excitement, I now look forward to them with much less enthusiasm. I never thought that after one and half seasons of domestic Olicity, I would have to see them end up back at square one. It is straight up discouraging to tune in every week and know that two people who deserve happiness with each other are not receiving said happiness from each other. This used to be how The Flash made me feel, only now, it's coming from my favorite show in the world. And that makes me sad, and is the reason why I procrastinated this blog post.

However, because I love and support the cast, I am pulling through with my show-watching for them. So yeah. This episode, Original Team Arrow finally reunites with the remaining member of the squad, the extraordinary John Diggle, aka one of my favorite characters in the world and one that deserves everything good. While I'm excited to have him back, the execution of the episode ended up being....kinda disappointing. Especially when it followed a really solid previous episode.

But let's go over the good parts first. I absolutely loved Felicity and Lyla's interaction, albeit brief. Their partnership has always been great, and they are so kickass together. After all, being John Diggle and Oliver Queen's girls always comes with a side of badassery. Lyla visits the two because she wants to break John out of prison for a crime he didn't commit. But get this - John doesn't actually want to leave, saying prison is punishment for his earlier "crime" of killing his good-turned-bad brother, Andy. Oliver is immediately on board, but Felicity is not. Her thinking is logical - John and Lyla would both become fugitives, and if John is not even on board, why risk such a dangerous mission? Though it isn't wrong, Oliver and Lyla are naturally undeterred, and leave to save an innocent man.

Felicity tries to stop them by sending in New Team Arrow, a band of rookie vigilantes Oliver is training to replace John, Thea, and Laurel. To be honest, they're cute and it's kind of like they're the children Oliver and Felicity deserve. I want to like them, especially since they're all POC, but I wish their character development had been better. For every episode Rene Ramirez aka Wild Dog has been in, he starts out with ignoring Oliver's instructions, causing consequences ranging in severity. Last week's was the worst - he created a drug dealer who doesn't feel pain, rendering him virtually invincible. Rene gets a talking to, proves himself worthy again and earns everyone's respect. This is a fine storyline, but it has happened in at least two episodes. It's getting kind of boring and even confusing now, as to why Rene refuses to learn his lesson. Curtis Holt aka Mr. Terrific was introduced last season as Felicity's employee matching her intelligence and wit, and while I liked him back then, his characterization is a mess now, and frankly, it's annoying. For example, he goes from saying Oliver doesn't have a good side to finding him cool. He even calls Oliver abusive at one point. While I'm on the topic - the writers seem to be actively TRYING to make Oliver dislikable this season. He is emotionally void in some scenes, and in others he's unnecessarily angry. Oliver is the love of my life, and he deserves better. We've seen him get over his f*ckboy days, sacrifice everything for the people he loves, and pay over and over again for his mistakes, but alas...the writers just love ruining character development. Stephen can act, guys - give him some good scenes. ANYWAYS. As for Evelyn Sharp aka Baby Black Canary aka Artemis, I'd like to see more development from her. Otherwise, she's the most likable out of the three. There's also Rory aka Ragman, whose town, Havenrock, was bombed by Damien Dahrk's nuclear missiles in season 4 because Felicity redirected them there to reduce casualties. He quits the team when Felicity tells him the truth, which was a very admirable scene in the last episode with exceptional acting from both parties. However, I do wish the storyline of Felicity's struggles with Havenrock could've been set up better, and not dealt with in only one episode.

Moving on - the new team obviously fails against Oliver's expertise at hand to hand combat. It's actually hilarious when Curtis says, "We're not gonna let you do this." as to which Oliver replies, "You're not gonna LET me?" It's weird - Curtis is clearly the worst fighter out of the new team, since Evelyn and Rene have street experience, and yet still acts like the team leader. He can get beaten to a pulp and still stand up, ready to discuss tactics and evidence. But let's just ignore the inconsistencies; the point is, Oliver easily defeats them and leaves.

It's a thrilling sequence to watch - Oliver is always just one step ahead of the prison guards, barely missing them as you let out the breath you didn't even know you were holding. Lyla's ability to remain calm and cool in tense situations adds to the scene, and FINALLY! The bros are reunited. Stephen and David have great chemistry after years of being friends, and David's chemistry with Audrey makes it even better. Lyla and John honestly have one of the healthiest relationships on Arrow after Oliver and Felicity, and I love them together. Arrow may screw a lot of things up, but I am grateful to them for giving their black mains stable love interests, unlike many other shows and studios. (Looking at you, Marvel.)

While Oliver's out of town, the baby vigilantes struggle to face season 5's second most lethal villain, Tobias Church. I'll admit, this season's villains are way better than the previous two seasons. Like way way way way better. They're more grounded, and therefore feel more threatening. Church smuggles an explosive into the SCPD evidence room in order to blow it up and steal weapons stored there. Rory comes back just in time to help, and though they put up a good fight, Church ends up kidnapping Rene, and Team Arrow is going to break him out next.

Rory's journey from quitting to returning to the team, I'll admit, consisted of some of the best scenes from an episode that didn't have many. First, Oliver asks Rory why he's leaving. Rory responds, "Felicity is a constant reminder of what I lost." The look on Oliver's face listening to Rory say that broke many hearts watching. While they were under completely different circumstances, Oliver relates to that statement more than Rory knows. This also just made me feel bitter again, because....Olicity does not deserve to be sad and apart. F*ck you, Arrow writers. F*ck you. Felicity talks to him next, in an attempt to get him to rejoin for their mission against Church. This was a particularly wonderful scene. Felicity admits her insecurities and the guilt that would forever be inside her, and Rory understands, but it's still too fresh and painful. My heart broke for both of them. The beautiful, brave and insanely smart light of my life (Felicity) needs to know it's not her fault, and my new son with the rags and the weird ears should be allowed to grieve. Eventually, after the mission, Rory realizes he needs to accept Felicity's actions and try to move forward. The two start a tentative friendship, something that I avidly support. I sure hope we'll be seeing more of it in the future.

Though I genuinely loved the few bright spots of the episode, overall, I felt like I had been let down. I'm sure my stress of that day contributed some of my negative emotions, but I feel like the writers are going in a direction that I don't approve of. Knowing that my enjoyment for my favorite show is dwindling, in turn, makes me feel even sadder, and I hate it. The writers' decision to put Olicity and OTA on the backburner while focusing too much time on characters we don't care about is not working, and as the ratings and social media buzz show, not a popular choice. I know it's unhealthy, but the fact that Oliver and Felicity aren't together, and John Diggle is being underutilized physically exhausts me and worsens my depression. I'll be tuning in until a line is crossed, of course, but I'm hoping that next week's will be better.

Rating: 7

Extras that didn't make it in: I will forever be bitter cute little baby Sara was erased for John Jr. Arrow already has a severe lack of women of color. Bring Sara back! Bring Tatsu Yamashiro back! Bring Amanda Waller back! Also, I tried not to talk about how much I dislike Laurel, at least in the actual review. There's so much discourse in the fandom about her, and I try to stay out of it for the most part. Again, the episode was chock full of the same kinds of inconsistencies that befell The Flash. For Arrow, it's always been the speed Oliver travels from place to place, and what Felicity does besides work for Team Arrow. Lastly, it's really kind of depressing how much sh*t happens to Star City. They don't deserve it. "What's in the box?" I know this is an inside joke between David and Stephen, so I'm wondering how he legitimately said that with a straight face. Can't wait for the bloopers of that scene! "For better, for worse", say John and Lyla.....a former Olicity line. Considering the current state of Olicity, is this an indication of the bad things to come? If so, I don't want to watch. I really don't.

*My next review will probably be of either Pitch or Supergirl. See you then!