That being said, the episode as a whole was saved by a killer final 10 minutes, which saw Thea finally severing ties with Malcolm, Oliver recording a heartbreaking message to William, and Felicity getting the use of her legs back just in time to walk away from Oliver. (Oh, the irony!) Yes, serialized television is a marathon — the ebbs and flows of long story and character arcs — but, sometimes, the culmination of those longer arcs can make an otherwise lackluster episode just a little bit better. That is what happened with “Taken.” Let’s break down all of the big developments… Like the one-off appearance of Constantine, this was hard to swallow as someone who hasn’t watched Vixen.There is little reason to care about her character (though she did get some killer lines), and Arrowdoesn’t try to give us much reason to. For me, it was frustrating to see Mari get more character-driven scenes with Oliver that, realistically, he probably would have been having with someone else. (I appreciate Mari’s own insight about William given her own upbringing, but would Oliver really take it into account over his best friend’s?) This felt like a missed opportunity to develop some of the dynamics Oliver has with the rest of the main cast. And Vixen’s confusing involvement here just made me wish she had been given an episode where she could have had more of a focus.
An apparent end to the son drama.
Hopefully, this is the last we’ve seen of the secret son drama. For a plot line that was introduced way back in season 2, you’d think Arrowwould have had a better plan of execution for how William and Samantha would affect Oliver and Team Arrow. Nope. Instead, we’re given episode upon episode reiterating Oliver’s flawed logic about how keeping secrets someone keeps your loved ones safe. (It doesn’t. Case in point: This episode. Or, you know, any Arrow episode.) That being said, Stephen Amell acted his butt off as Oliver recording a video message to 18-year-old William. We understand how much Oliver is sacrificing here (even if, again, his logic feels weak), and that is all up to Amell’s acting. It makes you wonder what he could have done if Arrowhad given him more scenes with William. Weirdly, my favorite part of the William reveal was what it meant for Laurel. Seeing her admit to her father that, even though she knew Oliver wa s a crap boyfriend, this revelation still hurt her felt so incredibly real — as did Detective’s Lance assumption that Oliver has a whole army of illegitimate children running around. (Probably true.) As is usually the case, the relationship between Laurel and Lance is easily the best father/daughter dynamic on this show, and their interaction here was a nice, light reminder of that fact. This has never been more clear than in their final scream-match with one another in Thea’s apartment. It was a nice touch to bring Robert into the conversation, as Thea’s relationship with the father who raised her (and his loss) informs how she feels about Malcolm. This moment was a long time coming, and acted so perfectly. It’s been a long time since I’ve been afraid of Malcolm Merlyn, but between losing his hand, his army of assassins, and his daughter, I am terrified of what Malcolm will do next.
Damien Darhk has been defeated?
This moment felt weirdly anti-climactic. Probably because it was Vixen — again, a character Arrowviewers just met — who can take credit for his defeat. Or maybe I’m calling this one too early? Darhk is still on this show as Malcolm’s apparent prisoner, if the promo at the end of tonight’s episode is anything to go by. But, without his totem, there’s really not much Darhk can do. I’m not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, Merlyn is a much more personal and, therefore, interesting villain for Team Arrow. On the other hand, the show has already invested so much time in Darhk to have his quest for power end now — not to mention that Neal McDonough is a delight as a bad guy. I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. Maybe Darhk and Meryln could be co-bad guys. Yeah, they both seem like the type to share power. It’s settled, then.
Oliver and Felicity split up.
It’s so damn heartbreaking to see these two split up after they’ve come so far — and since Oliver has learned so much about being in a committed, healthy relationship — but I am so proud of Felicity for trusting her gut on this one. In my eyes, she was 100 percent in the right here. Oliver lied to her for months about the existence of his son while they planned their wedding, while she put her faith and trust and hardship on Oliver in the period after her paralysis. Then, icing on the wedding cake (too soon?), Oliver makes another major decision about their lives without her in sending William away. Not cool, Oliver. Not cool at all. I have to admit: I was really worried that this show didn’t realize how weak Oliver’s logic was in lying to Felicity, but I stand corrected. Now I can only hope that Olicity’s path back to one another (because, let’s be real, we all know they will eventually reconcile) is not too repetitive of Arrow season 3 Olicity dynamics. I cannot take another Arrowseason 3. In the mean time, I feel pretty bad for Team Arrow — because you know the lair is going to be so awkward for the forseeable future. Silver lining? Felicity can walk again! Huzzah!
The flashbacks — now with zombies!
The Lian Yu crew found a cave. But, first, Oliver had to show his tattoo to a zombie. Just another week on the island!
