Arrow Season 6 Episode 4
This Felicity-centric episode, directed by actor Gregory Smith (Everwood and Rookie Blue, among others), breathes some much-needed life back into this season of Arrow. This episode was a great reminder of why Emily Bett Rickards is so essential to the show’s chemistry, and why she deserves more storylines in her own right. The writers found a creative way to keep Oliver on the bench (or at least out of the hood) for one more week, while giving Felicity some of that much-needed screentime. Black Canary, Helix, and Cayden James are back This week is a blast from the past: Helena, of the hacktivist group Helix, shows back up on Felicity’s doorstep. It turns out Cayden James (Michael Emerson of Lost and Person of Interest fame) is a bad guy after all (Felicity knows you said so) and Helena needs help taking him down. Helena’s reappearance is a welcome one, as is the prospect of a nerdier, gothier Felicity. The tension between the two women – both brilliant with designs of saving the world – works well, and they keep each other as honest as people with secret identities can be. I’ve always wondered where literally any of Felicity’s friends are, and I’m glad she’ll have one sticking around, particularly one outside of the team. Yes, Felicity and Oliver are really back together After years of Felicity putting Oliver and Team Arrow first, this was both fun and cathartic. Felicity Smoak is a hero in her own right, and this episode honored that fact. There were still some clunkers when it comes to dialogue – “I’m a hacktivist, not a monster!” comes to mind, as does any and all uses of the word “hacktivist” – but at this point that feels part and parcel of Arrow, so I’ll take what I can get. The most surprising thing was watching Oliver try to display some emotional intelligence when Felicity was struggling with the idea that she freed an evil murderous mastermind. The poor guy had to speak very slowly, but he eventually got the hang of it. One of the best parts of this episode, aside from Oliver grimacing every time he realized he had to take a step back, was Ollie filling in as Overwatch down in the bunker. It turns out that in addition to emotional maturity, inspirational speeches and knowing his left from his right are not Oliver’s strong suit. And of course, Felicity finally asks the question we’ve all been wondering: can men really have it all? Or most specifically, how did Oliver manage to be the Green Arrow, the mayor, a boyfriend and a brother all at once? The answer, of course, is that at any given time was doing a crappy job at three of those things. This is just the beginning It looks like Helena will be sticking around, and Felicity will have more Helix adventures – Helix Dynamics, that is. Also sticking around? Black Canary, who the team both gains and then loses the ability to track geographically, and Cayden James, whose actual plan was more devious than originally imagined. It’s always good news to see an enigmatic villain in it for the long haul, although I’m wondering how many multi-episode antagonists this show can support at once. Between the FBI agent, Anatoli, Cayden James and the mystery person who outted Oliver as the Green Arrow, the Rogues’ Gallery this season is about as crowded as the bunker.
