Arrow: Due Process (7x06)

My first review of Arrow! I have been binge watching this show hard over the past few months. It is the perfect mix of angst and shallowness for me. Not to say that the show is shallow, but what I mean is, I needed something "dark and gritty" that didn't feel like real life, and this hit the mark. So, what did I think of this episode?

Cons:

Oliver's attitude towards Laurel was a little bit annoying. It was somewhat understandable, sure, but I feel like the whole thing could have been avoided so easily if Felicity would just go visit Oliver and tell him the game plan. It seemed like a silly little diversion of the plot to have Oliver refuse to work with Laurel at first.

The flash-forwards are... well, I don't hate them. I really don't. I'm intrigued by older William and I'm certainly thrilled to see Roy, who has been one of my favorite characters since the moment he appeared onscreen. But this whole business of Felicity secluding herself, and now apparently she's dead, and she was trying to do a city-wide "undertaking" type thing, and she abandoned William? Like, what? I know that there's more going on here than we're being told, but the fact that I'm meant to believe any of this crap is a little insulting to my intelligence. Also, the narrative is bumping up against logic when it comes to the mysteries they are withholding. Wouldn't Roy or William ask about Rene or Curtis? Or Diggle? And where's Oliver? Where's Thea? Laurel? We're being kept in the dark as an audience about these characters, but it's a little forced.

Pros:

Over on the other CW show that I watch, Supernatural, I have this continuous complaint about them not letting things drag out far enough. Whenever the brothers are separated, they resolve the conflict within an episode or two. This is due in part to the format of the show. Here, I really admire the fact that we're six episodes in, and Oliver is still in prison. Yes, this episode contains a glimmer of hope that he will be released very soon, but they are playing out the full pain of this separation. Oliver and Felicity have only shared the screen once all season, and it's been with glass between them! As much as I'm eagerly awaiting their reunion, I also admire that they're making us wait for it.

If I had been reviewing the first few episodes of this season, you would have heard me casting serious doubts about Stanley. From day one, I thought, this character is either a) way too one-note and kind of annoying, or b) hiding something. Ding, ding, ding. I'm intrigued as to what he knows and why he seems to be hiding something from Oliver. I'm sure we'll find out more very soon!

This whole Felicity vs. Digg thing is making me really sad, but I think it makes actual narrative sense. If anyone's reading this, you should know that if I had been reviewing Season Six while it was on, I would have spent a great deal of time railing against the utter stupidity of the whole "New Team Arrow" stuff. The split between Rene, Dinah, and Curtis on one side, and original TA on the other was forced. And stupid. And aggravating beyond belief. I hated the direction they took all of that. I hated that even John turned on Oliver because of his supposed failing in leadership. All that said, I didn't hate the concept in and of itself, that there could be real arguments and tensions between this team of intense and complicated people. And that's what we're seeing now. Diggle suffered the loss of a friend when Oliver when to prison, but he's got his wife and son, and he's got a job that he feels fulfills his duty to help the world. Felicity has been separated from her husband and her son. She has been pushed to the very edge. It makes sense that while they'd both want to do whatever it took to catch Diaz, they would be coming at it from very different angles.

Laurel. Another thing that people would know if I'd been reviewing all along is that my relationship with the character of Laurel is... complicated. Original Laurel, both as a lawyer and love interest of Tommy and Oliver, later as the Black Canary, was kind of hit-and-miss for me. And new Laurel is the same way. I don't hate her. I don't find her totally boring or worthless as a character. But... something has never quite clicked. All that said, I'm pretty happy with this reformed Laurel from an alternate dimension. I like that she's been trying for six months, and really seems to have solidified her place as Laurel, District Attorney. Her motivations might be entirely self-serving, but the results are the same - she really is trying to do the right thing. Her weird friendship with Felicity is giving me life. Also, I miss Quentin, and Laurel is the closest tie we have to that beloved departed character.

Anatoly! My relationship with Laurel might be complicated. My relationship with Anatoly is not. I know he's been an intermittent bad guy over the years, but I just love the hell out of him. My heart was in my throat throughout the whole episode. I don't want him to die! I love that he's out there, to be pulled back in the story if need be, kind of like Slade Wilson. I want Anatoly and Oliver to have a heart to heart. I love their weird friendship.

I guess that's what I've got for now. I'd love to spend more time with Curtis and Rene in the coming weeks... and I can't wait for Ollie to come home!

8/10