Arrow: My Name Is Emiko Queen (7x10)

Melodrama runs in the family, apparently! Let's meet Emiko Queen.

Cons:

Diggle going behind Oliver's back to use Diaz for help is... well, it's kind of stupid. Here's the thing about Diaz: he's boring. Here's the other thing about this situation: we don't understand the stakes well enough to get why using Diaz is a good risk. Who is this person that ARGUS is trying to take down? Why do we care? I honestly don't feel very connected to Diggle's story when it's completely divorced from Team Arrow.

And then the same complaint that I've been having all season about the flash-forwards: we still don't know where Thea is, where Oliver is, now we don't know where Emiko is either. We don't know what caused this terrible rift between Team Arrow. Sure, we're starting to get some answers revealed here and there, but it's happening too slowly, and certain pieces of information are being obscured through sloppy writing, because there's no good reason for these people to be talking around important pieces of information.

So, before the crossover event, Felicity and Oliver were having marital troubles. Then, in the crossover, we see them reconnect, which is cute and great or whatever, but is that really it? Are we not going back to exploring how Olicity's time apart has hurt them? And where's William? Still in boarding school? I just hope that we get to explore the family tensions more moving forward and that there's more to that plot thread.

Pros:

Despite my continued complaints about the flash-forwards... I am finding the Rene vs. Dinah thing to be incredibly powerful. Their scene together, especially the moment when Dinah told Rene that Felicity was dead... wow. That just gutted me. There is such an interesting and inherent tragedy in seeing these two good friends on opposite sides, and knowing that they both must have suffered terribly to end up at this point. Although I still wish the pacing would go a little faster, I'm so excited to find out what exactly happened.

It might be a bit simplistic, but I also like the way this episode is drawing very explicit parallels to Season One of the show. It's doing this in two key ways. The first is that Rene is complicit in a plan to blow up the majority of Star City. This is just like the Undertaking, only now the Glades have the power and the rest of the city is in danger. Obviously we know that Malcolm Merlyn was the bad guy for orchestrating such a terrible disaster, but we know he was doing it because he was in terrible pain over the death of his wife. So... it begs the question: what sort of terrible pain is Rene in that would lead him to accepting such a horrible plan? He wasn't the one to orchestrate Felicity's (supposed) death or the plan to blow up the city, but as of right now it doesn't look like he's going to stop it either.

The other parallel is obviously between Oliver and Emiko Queen. We even get the image of her standing at the grave of a dead parent and vowing to make things right. She's motivated by revenge, and by rage, and she's alone with a lot of questions about her family. She wants to work alone, but reluctantly allows Rene to assist her. It's all very... Oliver of her. I can't wait to see them interact next week.

Stephen Amell is an incredible performer when it comes to angst, so I was just loving all of his emotions and pain as he realized that his father had abandoned a woman and a child, and that his mother had purposefully kept their identity a secret and left them to fend for themselves. Yikes. This is some heavy stuff. You'd think poor Oliver would be done learning new and devastating information about his parents, but apparently not. I've always kind of liked the aspect of Arrow that leaned in to the family soap opera, so this stuff is perfect for me. Poor, distraught Oliver! I want more now!

And despite what I said above, I do like seeing Oliver and Felicity in perfect accord, working together and supporting each other emotionally. Felicity is such a good wife, and a good partner for the Green Arrow.

It was smart that we spent this episode watching Emiko as the Arrow, and we didn't see Oliver do much, or even don the outfit. The focus was right where it should be, and it also heightens the anticipation to see Oliver kick some ass again really soon.

That's all I've got for now! This was an okay episode, not a great one... but I still have high hopes for how this season will progress.

7.5/10