Jessie Robertson reviews the ninth episode of Arrow season 6…
The Band is Back to being split up. Trust is like the title cards to Arrow – it’s always present in this show one way or another. The reveal that a member of the team gave Oliver up comes as a shock out of nowhere because it seemed what could be the motivation? So, we go all Dark Knight on the team (I swear this has happened before) and of course, they’re not one bit pleased about it. The reveal of Rene as the whistleblower was done well on-screen and while the reasons seemed plausible, not seeing her evidence feels like she could have easily been bluffing.
Having a party for Oliver and Felicity’s nuptials was a really pleasant scene which Arrow has too few of, and it reminded you these are real people with real lives outside of that bunker. The reunion of Felicity’s parents and subsequent run-in of Quentin were both well done. In fact, just like a few seasons prior, every scene featuring Quentin was a touching one: giving that watch to Ollie, trying to connect with the only Laurel left in his life, amazing work as always by Paul Blackthorne. Thea returning is also a welcome surprise and her taking to William gave him the actual dimension of seeming to be adjusting to his new crazy life.
The new team quitting leaves a damper on the show’s dynamics but doesn’t feel permanent, because as Curtis puts it, he’s still down with Helix. Is Rene really going to quit working at the Mayor’s office, his only source of income, especially since he’s trying to make good for his daughter? And Dinah will be working with Lance and Oliver closely at SCPD, so it doesn’t feel as permanent as the show would make it seem. The super-villain group forming is almost laughable in a way, as a few of them were basically just henchmen in past episodes. But, anytime Michael Emerson plays your big bad, it’s going to be a good time. His Cayden James has slight Ben Linus overtones but he’s much more malevolent; he’d rather destroy the city than just be in power like Ben. I don’t know how the team hasn’t checked the Arrow-cave for bugs especially in light of the new evidence that drove the team apart, especially since they know Siren was down there and she’s working with James.
With a break for this show looming, this hour swept by so quickly, and I was drawn into the next piece of the puzzle, but it leaves Arrow treading much of the same successful ground as last year.
Rating: 8/10
Jessie Robertson
