Arrow: Inheritance (7x17)

Okay! Let's just dive in. Poor Oliver.

Cons:

I actually liked this episode quite a bit, but I want to be honest about how contrived some of this is becoming. A lot of people have to act a little bit like idiots in order for this to work. Specifically - I know that Oliver wants to trust Emiko, and I can sympathize with him having a blind spot. That's fine. I can even understand why the others would want to help her out, too. But to leave her unattended in the bunker, to take absolutely no precautions... that's just dumb.

Dante continues to be a nothing villain. Super bland, uninspiring to the max. We get this hint that Emiko is actually the one in charge of this branch of the Ninth Circle, which could be interesting, except it's kind of confusing as to why she would be, if Dante was her teacher and mentor.

As much as I'm liking the development of Archer, and Felicity being unknowingly complicit in her own future ruin, I have to point out that so much of what's happening in the present timeline seems to have no connection to the flash-forwards. Does the Ninth Circle play a role twenty years from now? We are really staring down the barrel at the end of this season, and I'm feeling really dissatisfied with the lack of solid information.

Pros:

I briefly mentioned this above, but I just want to say how much I love the whole Felicity and Archer story. For years, Felicity has messed with powerful technology with impunity. Sure, there have been moments when she's had her doubts or her missteps, but by and large she's been at the top of her game. Here, we see how excited she is about her breakthroughs, and we can also already see how messed up her idea is. Everyone being traceable through their DNA? That's a dystopia, my friend. It was also super cool to see Alena again. I think the message that science for science's sake is always a good thing can be troubling. I agree that progress is a good thing, but when you get super brilliant computer geniuses in a room together, and you've got Felicity desperate to protect her growing family... stuff can break bad really fast. I'm eager to see how that develops.

John Diggle and Oliver Queen have long had one of my absolutely favorite relationships in this show. Diggle brings up the parallels between Andy and Emiko, and encourages Oliver to think hard about placing his trust in his new sister, above his family and his team. The thing is, John is right, but he's not lecturing Oliver or chastising him in any way. John has done the exact same thing, and he knows that as much as Oliver might be walking into a trap, he can't really do anything different. The thing about John is that he'll tell Oliver the truth, but when Oliver decides to go ahead anyway, John will be right there with him, backing him up.

This whole season is full of awesome female characters. One of the unexpected delights has been watching Laurel develop, as she tries to prove that she can be a good person. Her exchanges with Emiko and Dinah in this episode really elevated Laurel to the next step. (I'm just now realizing that we don't know her fate in the flash-forwards... that could be interesting). Of course Oliver would have a hard time trusting Laurel's word that Emiko is hiding some dark secret, but I like that Oliver still does follow Emiko, sure to take every lead, and follow every clue.

Dinah tries to convince Laurel to do things by the book, for the greater good, and we're seeing how Laurel is having trouble with that. It's an interesting tension within this show, and I think it works better when it's operating in the background instead of being the focus: vigilantes vs. cops. It's become vigilantes working with cops, and all of the inherent difficulties that come with that. Dinah and Laurel encapsulate this issue better than any other character in the show.

I don't often give a shout-out to the fight choreography, but oh damn. Oliver and Emiko's fighting is seriously amazing! The deflected arrows, the evenly matched hand-to-hand... so dramatic. So good. It was also fun to see Oliver be a good old fashioned bad-ass with a bow and arrow, knocking almost all of the drones out of the sky with lighting-fast precision. Hell yeah.

I'll admit that Emiko was really interesting to me in this episode. Her situation with Dante reminds me a bit of Thea and Malcolm Merlyn, if only we could get a bit more development with Dante. There are questions as to how much of her behavior is brainwashing, or anger towards the Queen name, or genuine gratitude for Dante... obviously, for Oliver's sake I hope that we can see Emiko come back from the darkness. I'm interested in where this is going.

8/10