Arrow: Star City Slayer (7x13)

I enjoyed the potential of this episode, but felt it didn't quite hit the mark in some respects.

Cons:

For example, there's the William situation. The problem with the way this show works is that having a kid around can be restrictive for the kinds of stories they want to tell. But the fact of the matter is, William does exist, and Oliver is a pretty awful father to him most of the time. I don't need the show to be all about William, but over the past several weeks, ever since Oliver got out of prison, he should have been discussed a lot more than he was. His well-being should have come first, and William's grandparents are right to want him away from Oliver and Felicity.

We learn that Mia is Felicity's daughter. This, again, isn't a terrible idea, it's just that in the overall scope of the show, this reveal was pretty obvious. The minute this character showed up, everyone thought she was related to Oliver and/or Felicity. We also learn that Connor, ally of Mia, is actually Diggle's son JJ. We are getting these "shocking reveals" but not enough in the way of answers to make things truly satisfying. Where's John, then? Where's Oliver? Keeping us in the dark only works for so long, and I think we're well past that point now. These twists and turns pile up so much that they lose meaning.

I'll admit that at first when I saw that the Star City Slayer was Stanley, I got really excited. But the thing is, Stanley was a half-way convincing good guy when Oliver was in prison. He was cunning and capable and his villainy was well disguised. Here, the script and the performance made him seem completely unhinged, in a way that just doesn't square with the Stanley we met earlier in the season.

Curtis has been a fairly useless character for a while now, so on the one hand I'm glad that he's leaving so we can un-bloat the cast a little bit. But at the same time, this is a bummer, especially if this is his final episode. We see a farewell between Curtis and Diggle, and one between Curtis and Felicity, but we barely get anything between Rene and Curtis, and that relationship is supposed to be a big deal.

Pros:

I think a long section of "cons" usually gives the impression that I hated the episode, but that's really not the case. There were a lot of elements that I enjoyed, and some powerful character beats to discuss.

For one thing, as frustrating as the flash-forwards can sometimes be, I do like seeing the Arrow lair all messed up. I like the fight scenes. I like these characters working off of each other. I love Roy with all my heart as always. I like William telling Mia that he's gay and that Felicity is his mom. I like the idea of messy family dynamics being the core of the show, as Mia and William now learn that they're brother and sister (assuming of course that Oliver is Mia's father, which... I sure as hell hope he is!) At least this overabundance of reveals means that we're probably getting closer to actual concrete information. I like knowing that Felicity isn't dead. Of course, it's obvious, but it's nice to have that confirmation all the same.

I actually thought Dinah getting injured was an extremely powerful moment. It's not that I thought she was about to die - in fact, the flash-forwards confirm otherwise. But it was a chance for us to play out the true love and care that Team Arrow has for one another. Diggle, Curtis, and Rene are all so sincerely worried about her, and I got pretty emotional about it. I also think it's awesome that Dinah, who can barely speak, is more worried about Oliver than anything else. I liked seeing the gang rally around to help one of their own.

Oddly, I think that the stuff with William is actually pretty good, despite the fact that Oliver is objectively behaving poorly with regards to his son. William's reactions feel genuine to me. He's remarkably well adjusted and resilient for someone who has been through as much as he has in the last few years, but it's bound to get to him at least a little bit. The scene where Stanley has the Queen family trapped, and they communicate silently and defeat the bad guy was honestly so powerful, and it echoed the themes of teamwork and found family that this show has often been about. Getting William out of the narrative for a while makes sense. I'm glad that we won't have to grapple with the question of Oliver and Felicity being negligent parents all the time. And I'll admit that I'm very curious as to what happens to bridge the gap between what's happening now, and what we're seeing twenty years in the future.

I like the little hints that we're seeing, that all seem to be building up to whatever horrible thing happens that makes Rene a cold-hearted leader of the Glades, that separates William more or less permanently from his parents, etc. I might wish that things were moving a bit quicker, but still. We've got Curtis handing over sole ownership of Helix to Felicity. We see Dinah teaching Zoe how to fight, setting up a bad-ass future Zoe. We see Curtis rejecting the immoral ways of ARGUS, which might help to explain ARGUS' lack of presence in the future. I'm frustrated at the pacing, but the fact that I'm still curious about all of these things can only be a good sign.

That's all I've got for now!

7/10