Some Spoilers Ahead
Arrow's third season got off to torrid start, with many great episodes. Last week's episode was a bit of a step back, and while this week was a marked improvement of last week's, it still wasn't one of the greats. Last week proved that Arrow needs someone like Felicity Smoak, so it is fitting that we get an episode focused on her this week.
I wouldn't call this episode a huge origin story for Felicity Smoak. We all know that she is a great hacker, maybe one the best. This episode's flashbacks really focused on the hacker/anarchist side of Felicity. It was alright, but it was bit of a huge character swing. On the surface, she was very different. She looked different and she acted a little tougher and a bit more confident. It might've been a very surprising change for the character to be who she is today if done incorrectly, but the writers did a good job at keeping the core of her character intact. And props to Emily Rickards for being able to create a different Felicity, that still felt similar to the one we know.
The story aspect of the flashback tied in well to the story we had in the current time. Felicity created a "supervirus" that her boyfriend wanted to use to illegally change the world. It was fairly standard and a bit disappointing for me. I was hoping to see more of the MIT student. I was actually expecting something of those sorts. The hacktivist story felt a bit disjointed to me. I just felt everything with her boyfriend happened really quickly, and I never really bought into their relationship, which ruined a lot for me. But the fact that it tied in perfectly with the main action of tonight is what saved it for me.
This episode brought around the debut of Felicity's mom, Donna Smoak. Donna is a stark contrast to Felicity. Donna was a bit offputting at first, with how wild she was, but I came to enjoy her as the episode wore on. Her introduction was entertaining, especially with Ray Palmer visiting Felicity at her house and her mother's reaction to meeting Ray Palmer. I felt she was getting shafted a bit at the beginning, being relegated to watching baby Sara, though. I really enjoyed the brief falling out between Felicity and her mom. It seemingly came out of nowhere, because the writers only really started explaining Felicity's relationship with her mom this episode, but it gave Emily Rickards a really heavy scene to work with. It was a great chance for her to flex some dramatic acting muscles and she did a great job at it. Donna got some great moments after that. She really helped sell the scene between her and Felicity, and she really proved her worth in the final moments of the episode.
The main story followed Team Arrow as they worked to fight Felicity's "supervirus" that she created in college. The story felt a bit light on the action, with Team Arrow briefly showing up to stop a riot. The episode then went with the twist that Felicity's boyfriend was behind the cyberattacks. It wasn't too surprising, but props to the writers for bringing him back in a believable way. I don't really understand what his feelings were towards Felicity after he trapped her, which bothered me. It seemed like he still loved her, but it was also pretty clear that he was ready to kill her. All this brought a cool action scene, though, with the Arrow taking down some sentry guns, and Roy getting a chance to show his archery skills (which btw, his scene was pretty roughly cut). But Felicity is the one who kicked the most butt. She saved her own life this week, with a pretty unexpected take down. I was happy for Felicity, though.
In a quick rundown of other events this episode, Ollie getting frustrated with Thea was a bit tiresome. He should loosen up a bit, even though her money was blood money. Glad he thought better of holding his ground at the end, though. Diggle is once again given just about nothing to do. Laurel continued on her path to becoming Black Canary, but the scene with her dad felt like the most pointless scene in the show in a long time. Ray Palmer has become someone I want to see more of. He is an interesting character, who most definitely has some hidden agenda. I am also curious to see what Thea and Malcolm's agenda is. They are back in Starling City for a reason. And that end with Roy. Boy, I didn't expect that, and I don't believe he did it. It seems like he would've been caught or been a suspect by now.
Overall, this week was solid. It wasn't one of the best episodes of Arrow, but it wasn't one of the worst. I am hoping we start seeing a couple more hints towards the upcoming conflict/crossover with The Flash in the a few weeks, and start getting an idea of where this season is heading. Right now, though, I am just curious to see what comes of Roy's dreams. Is he still feeling the effects of Mirakuru or is something else ailing him? Or is there something more devious at work? Hopefully we will get an answer next week.
Arrow's third season got off to torrid start, with many great episodes. Last week's episode was a bit of a step back, and while this week was a marked improvement of last week's, it still wasn't one of the greats. Last week proved that Arrow needs someone like Felicity Smoak, so it is fitting that we get an episode focused on her this week.
I wouldn't call this episode a huge origin story for Felicity Smoak. We all know that she is a great hacker, maybe one the best. This episode's flashbacks really focused on the hacker/anarchist side of Felicity. It was alright, but it was bit of a huge character swing. On the surface, she was very different. She looked different and she acted a little tougher and a bit more confident. It might've been a very surprising change for the character to be who she is today if done incorrectly, but the writers did a good job at keeping the core of her character intact. And props to Emily Rickards for being able to create a different Felicity, that still felt similar to the one we know.
The story aspect of the flashback tied in well to the story we had in the current time. Felicity created a "supervirus" that her boyfriend wanted to use to illegally change the world. It was fairly standard and a bit disappointing for me. I was hoping to see more of the MIT student. I was actually expecting something of those sorts. The hacktivist story felt a bit disjointed to me. I just felt everything with her boyfriend happened really quickly, and I never really bought into their relationship, which ruined a lot for me. But the fact that it tied in perfectly with the main action of tonight is what saved it for me.
This episode brought around the debut of Felicity's mom, Donna Smoak. Donna is a stark contrast to Felicity. Donna was a bit offputting at first, with how wild she was, but I came to enjoy her as the episode wore on. Her introduction was entertaining, especially with Ray Palmer visiting Felicity at her house and her mother's reaction to meeting Ray Palmer. I felt she was getting shafted a bit at the beginning, being relegated to watching baby Sara, though. I really enjoyed the brief falling out between Felicity and her mom. It seemingly came out of nowhere, because the writers only really started explaining Felicity's relationship with her mom this episode, but it gave Emily Rickards a really heavy scene to work with. It was a great chance for her to flex some dramatic acting muscles and she did a great job at it. Donna got some great moments after that. She really helped sell the scene between her and Felicity, and she really proved her worth in the final moments of the episode.
The main story followed Team Arrow as they worked to fight Felicity's "supervirus" that she created in college. The story felt a bit light on the action, with Team Arrow briefly showing up to stop a riot. The episode then went with the twist that Felicity's boyfriend was behind the cyberattacks. It wasn't too surprising, but props to the writers for bringing him back in a believable way. I don't really understand what his feelings were towards Felicity after he trapped her, which bothered me. It seemed like he still loved her, but it was also pretty clear that he was ready to kill her. All this brought a cool action scene, though, with the Arrow taking down some sentry guns, and Roy getting a chance to show his archery skills (which btw, his scene was pretty roughly cut). But Felicity is the one who kicked the most butt. She saved her own life this week, with a pretty unexpected take down. I was happy for Felicity, though.
In a quick rundown of other events this episode, Ollie getting frustrated with Thea was a bit tiresome. He should loosen up a bit, even though her money was blood money. Glad he thought better of holding his ground at the end, though. Diggle is once again given just about nothing to do. Laurel continued on her path to becoming Black Canary, but the scene with her dad felt like the most pointless scene in the show in a long time. Ray Palmer has become someone I want to see more of. He is an interesting character, who most definitely has some hidden agenda. I am also curious to see what Thea and Malcolm's agenda is. They are back in Starling City for a reason. And that end with Roy. Boy, I didn't expect that, and I don't believe he did it. It seems like he would've been caught or been a suspect by now.
Overall, this week was solid. It wasn't one of the best episodes of Arrow, but it wasn't one of the worst. I am hoping we start seeing a couple more hints towards the upcoming conflict/crossover with The Flash in the a few weeks, and start getting an idea of where this season is heading. Right now, though, I am just curious to see what comes of Roy's dreams. Is he still feeling the effects of Mirakuru or is something else ailing him? Or is there something more devious at work? Hopefully we will get an answer next week.
Highlights:
| The Score: 8 out of 10 Stars |