Arrow Recap: New to the Hood — Plus: What Did Oliver Give Felicity?
This week on The CW’s Arrow, Diggle learned that heavy is the shoulder that wears the quiver, while William’s prep for a math test wound up adding Oliver + Felicity.
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‘BROKEN’ ARROW | Since taking over as Green Arrow in Oliver’s stead, Diggle apparently has managed fine, though it was just a matter of time until someone — namely, FBI Agent Watson — noticed that the town vigilante is no longer actually, you know, shooting arrows. But even more importantly, whilst in pursuit of Onyx (an ex-CIA operative who once stole some gold and is now killing would-be snitcheszzzz), Diggle in a critical moment couldn’t make a decision about whether to chase a wayward truck loaded with toxic gas or the baddie herself — his hesitation resulting in several civilian injuries. Back at the bunker, Diggle cops to his failure, while Dinah urges the team to “move on” past this hiccup. In private, Dinah questions Diggle if his brain or his compromised brawn is the issue, but he maintains that his tremor problem has faded.
Despite his resolve, Diggle freezes up a bit again, during another, climactic skirmish with Onyx and her men, though he snaps out of it in time to properly delegate team members to neutralize the threat of released nerve gas and capture Onyx (after a CW-caliber homage to Banshee‘s famous car fight). Better yet, afterwards Felicity and Curtis unveil their solution to the new GA’s “image” problem, by way of a powered crossbow that fires actual arrows. We the viewer, meanwhile, then learn that Diggle is managing his tremor problem with an apparently black market drug that he’s shooting up with outside of seedy strip clubs.
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HOT FOR TEACHER | The chill between Oliver and William is thawing, but Dad — as proud as he is of the D’s he got in school — is ill-equipped to guide his son through the prep for a tough math test. After perfectly guessing what Oliver’s devil-may-care approach had been, Felicity counsels him to instead help William isolate and work through the problems. When Oliver comes up short in that respect, he does what he should have done from go and asks three-time Nevada math champ Felicity to tutor William. After that successful study session (which earns William’s approval of Felicity as a cool chick), Oliver pays his onetime fiancée a visit at the loft to gift her with a key to his apartment.
Felicity lightly questions the gesture, seeing as there was concern about too much change for William to process, too soon. Oliver however observes that his son’s life — as well as his own — can only be the better for having Felicity in it. And with that said, the duo share a kiss… and presumably a lot more.
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ELSEWHERE…. | Since Mayor Queen has (as I have always thought) basically undermined the value/ability of the SCPD by turning a blind eye to Green Arrow & Co., the city council passed new anti-vigilante bill. Needing to nip that in the bud some while not drawing further attention to his secret identity, the mayor used a loophole to subject the potential law to a citywide referendum…. Felicity and Curtis have yet to name (Oracle is apparently off the table) let alone identity the mission of their start-up… Agent Watson’s pin board reveals that she doesn’t have just Oliver in her cross hairs but Diggle, Rene, Felicity and Lance as well.
What did you think of the episode “Next of Kin”?
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