Arrow: Livin' in the Future (8x09)

Oh boy, I feel mean for saying this... but I just don't really care.

Cons:

Going into this, I knew it was the backdoor pilot episode. (Note that I'm titling it what the creators wanted to call it, instead of the name of the new show, as is standard). And I also knew it really wasn't going to be my cup of tea. I'm... weary of the Arrowverse. I think it's really sinking in for me here that Oliver fucking died, and it was in a messy and bloated crossover event that felt almost entirely divorced from the show I've been watching for eight seasons. There's really nothing left of the show I once loved - it has been fragmented and twisted past recognition. There are things about this new spin-off that seem cool and fun, and I hope, for the sake of a future with more genre shows led by female casts, that it does well. But I already know I don't care enough to tune in.

To get more granular for a moment, I found myself frustrated by this version of Star City in 2040, for the same reason I was frustrated by the flash-forwards in Season Seven. So many unanswered questions. We know that Oliver is dead... what about Felicity? Where is Diggle? Rene? Lyla? I get why every character can't be squished in here, but maybe just a mention, so we can know the status of the important players in this game? I think the obfuscation really works against the show's best interests.

Also, I know it's my own fault for not watching all of Crisis on Infinite Earths, but still... I'm confused by some of the specifics here. So we're in an alternate version of Earth, that combines all the various timelines/earths from the Arrowverse, right? So Mia and William grew up together. Does that mean everything still happened the same way, up to the point where Mia was born and Oliver had to leave for the Crisis? Because otherwise it wouldn't be Mia, right? So, again, where the heck is Felicity? And Mia is living at the Queen Mansion? Like, I guess it's good to see it, but it still feels random, and how did that end up happening?

This is a small thing, but Give. William. An Onscreen. Boyfriend. Yeesh, people. It's time.

Pros:

While the premise and characters here are not really enough to compel me to check the show out if/when it airs, I will admit I like the cheesy "girl power" thing. It's not particularly subtle, but it doesn't have to be. This is a superhero show, and Dinah, Laurel, and Mia are all bad-ass fighters with heroic hearts. It's cool to see them team up like this. And I was getting some super gay energy off of Dinah and Laurel's relationship... let's make that a thing, shall we?

I could also see, in the seeds of this set-up, ways in which it could make a cool show. You have the amnesia hook, where various characters don't remember their old lives and the Crisis, but some do, and as familiar faces keep popping up, it will always be a question of who knows what. I also like the idea of a romance between J.J. and Mia, and the complexities that have already arisen now that they both remember a very different relationship they once had. If Mia is still the hero who dons her father's outfit and saves the city, does that mean a part of J.J. is still the monster who killed Zoe?

Also, I straight-up love William. He's the best thing to happen to Arrow in its later seasons. The sibling bond between William and Mia is lovely, especially here in a world where they've known each other growing up. He's kind of a doof, but he's so smart and charming at the same time. And it is nice, you know, to have this sibling dynamic where the little sister is the protector, and the older brother is the one always in need of rescue. It might be a pretty basic inversion of a trope, but I frankly am all about that kind of indulgence!

I feel bad for this relatively short and somewhat negative review. I want this show to succeed, even if I won't be tuning in. I guess what I'm mostly feeling right now is a sense of anticlimax. Next week is Arrow's very last episode. Is Oliver really staying dead? Are we going to see Felicity again? I want to believe that I'll have a sense of culmination and completion after watching the finale next week. But for now, watching a backdoor pilot of a show I won't be watching... has left me feeling a little cold.

7/10