Well, so much for happy holidays huh? There's no denying the Arrow writers have all the guts in the world, seriously, the guts those writers have, wow. Let me get this out of the way first, I'm still not sold Felicity is actually dead. For one, let's face it, Arrow has a history of 'killing off' characters and then 'bringing them back' later on. Second of all, I follow Emily Bett Rickards on social media and I just don't get the feeling she's done with the show... yet. Even with that in mind, Dark Waters was quite the episode. I mean it left me speechless and my sister in tears. Yep, tears. She's one hell of an Olicity fan. Even if it wasn't for the final few minutes, this was one of the most tension filled episodes the show has ever had. My heart was beating fast from beginning to end.
Arrow obviously loves to tie the holidays in with their mid-season finale as they have done so each of the four seasons. That helped give the episode some of the humor it needed early on as Felicity and her mother tried to add some Hanukkah flavor into a Christmas themed Holiday party the team was throwing. But that was really all the lightheartedness the episode had. Of course, the ring Oliver was going to propose with was thrown back into the fold this week and it was the crux of the episode. We all should have known because every time someone in this show finds some sort of peace, they get killed off. Also, I think Oliver should stop taking limos, they seem to be bad luck. (moment of silence for Moira)
Speaking of the devil himself, I wasn't initially sold on Damien Darhk as the big bad of this season. Not only was I not necessarily fond of Neil McDonough's portrayal but the character just hadn't done anything to impress me yet. Well, that all changed tonight. As I said before, this was a tension filled episode and one where I definitely felt the stakes and scope the writers were going for. That's all due to Darhk himself. I definitely believe he is a more than formidable foe for the team, or what's left of them. Although, I'm not sure I understood all that Darhk had planned with the bay, it felt a lot like Ra's Al Ghul's motives in Batman Begins, but maybe that's just me.
On a lighter note, it was fun to see Quentin have some unique interactions tonight. Not only is he now apparently dating Felicity's mother, but he found out Malcom is still alive. Did anyone else just figure he had already knew about Malcom? It's always the cop who finds out last. Malcom also had some great moments, even getting into the Green Arrow suit himself. Only, it was hard to enjoy that moment because of the craziness and near deaths that happened at the same time. The fight against HIVE with literally the entire team was pretty bada**, and it was nice to see Laurel get some use out of her Canary cry.
I guess I'll briefly touch on the island, only because Oliver got bit by a shark, otherwise, uneventful as usual. Another uneventful and really unnecessary part was Diggle's brother. I'm just not seeing where that's going. I know there's a reason he's alive but I'm just not on board yet.
There's a lot to digest with this episode, which is perhaps why the writers didn't definitively kill off Felicity. The more I think about it, it does seem likely that she is done for good. With all the variables, including the fact that the promo showed Oliver at a grave seemed to lean that way, but it seems too easy. Would they really tell us by showing Oliver at a grave in a promo? Plus, doesn't the whole issue with Oliver's son need to come up again? And the season premiere seemed to indicate Oliver is at the grave when Flash comes to talk a full 6 months later, it's only been 3 at most. I also just didn't really see the reason why she needed to die. I thought Darhk made quite the impression without even killing anyone. And you know in typical Arrow fashion the writers have him peacefully meeting with who we presume is his family just having a marry old time all while Felicity bleeds to death in her fiancé's arms, jerks.
If this really is the end for Felicity I think we can all say it was a good run. She always brought the show the humor it never had or really deserved and gave us several bada** nerd moments mixed with a little bada** fighting. But I'll say this, I hope this turns out to be for the better for Arrow. I don't like when shows do these things for dramatic fashion and I definitely felt like Sara's death last year was just that. And even Thea last year for that matter. As long as the show continues on in a better place than what it was I'll be fine with this move, just don't F it up Arrow. RIP.
+Tension
+Darhk finally left an impression with me
+Quentin's scenes
+Malcom in the suit
+Fight with HIVE
+Humor with the ring
+Felicity had a great night...until...
-Island and Diggles brother held back the episode a bit
-RIP Felicity..?
9.6/10
Arrow obviously loves to tie the holidays in with their mid-season finale as they have done so each of the four seasons. That helped give the episode some of the humor it needed early on as Felicity and her mother tried to add some Hanukkah flavor into a Christmas themed Holiday party the team was throwing. But that was really all the lightheartedness the episode had. Of course, the ring Oliver was going to propose with was thrown back into the fold this week and it was the crux of the episode. We all should have known because every time someone in this show finds some sort of peace, they get killed off. Also, I think Oliver should stop taking limos, they seem to be bad luck. (moment of silence for Moira)
Speaking of the devil himself, I wasn't initially sold on Damien Darhk as the big bad of this season. Not only was I not necessarily fond of Neil McDonough's portrayal but the character just hadn't done anything to impress me yet. Well, that all changed tonight. As I said before, this was a tension filled episode and one where I definitely felt the stakes and scope the writers were going for. That's all due to Darhk himself. I definitely believe he is a more than formidable foe for the team, or what's left of them. Although, I'm not sure I understood all that Darhk had planned with the bay, it felt a lot like Ra's Al Ghul's motives in Batman Begins, but maybe that's just me.
On a lighter note, it was fun to see Quentin have some unique interactions tonight. Not only is he now apparently dating Felicity's mother, but he found out Malcom is still alive. Did anyone else just figure he had already knew about Malcom? It's always the cop who finds out last. Malcom also had some great moments, even getting into the Green Arrow suit himself. Only, it was hard to enjoy that moment because of the craziness and near deaths that happened at the same time. The fight against HIVE with literally the entire team was pretty bada**, and it was nice to see Laurel get some use out of her Canary cry.
I guess I'll briefly touch on the island, only because Oliver got bit by a shark, otherwise, uneventful as usual. Another uneventful and really unnecessary part was Diggle's brother. I'm just not seeing where that's going. I know there's a reason he's alive but I'm just not on board yet.
There's a lot to digest with this episode, which is perhaps why the writers didn't definitively kill off Felicity. The more I think about it, it does seem likely that she is done for good. With all the variables, including the fact that the promo showed Oliver at a grave seemed to lean that way, but it seems too easy. Would they really tell us by showing Oliver at a grave in a promo? Plus, doesn't the whole issue with Oliver's son need to come up again? And the season premiere seemed to indicate Oliver is at the grave when Flash comes to talk a full 6 months later, it's only been 3 at most. I also just didn't really see the reason why she needed to die. I thought Darhk made quite the impression without even killing anyone. And you know in typical Arrow fashion the writers have him peacefully meeting with who we presume is his family just having a marry old time all while Felicity bleeds to death in her fiancé's arms, jerks.
If this really is the end for Felicity I think we can all say it was a good run. She always brought the show the humor it never had or really deserved and gave us several bada** nerd moments mixed with a little bada** fighting. But I'll say this, I hope this turns out to be for the better for Arrow. I don't like when shows do these things for dramatic fashion and I definitely felt like Sara's death last year was just that. And even Thea last year for that matter. As long as the show continues on in a better place than what it was I'll be fine with this move, just don't F it up Arrow. RIP.
+Tension
+Darhk finally left an impression with me
+Quentin's scenes
+Malcom in the suit
+Fight with HIVE
+Humor with the ring
+Felicity had a great night...until...
-Island and Diggles brother held back the episode a bit
-RIP Felicity..?
9.6/10
