I have to admit that after all these years of characters either not telling the truth or making illogical decisions in order for a new plot point to arise, you would have thought I would be used to it, but 'Taken' proved to have one too many head scratching moments for my liking. But other than that, it was a well-rounded and emotional filled episode that succeeded in most areas.
We began seeing Felicity trying to walk again after last week's reveal that Curtis created a bio stimulator for her and we ended with her seemingly fully healed after walking out on Oliver. For Felicity, the idea of her being able to walk right as she broke it off with Oliver served as a good metaphorical link to her making her own decision and using her own strength in terms of the relationship and walking but I just didn't feel that the decision in the first place was the logical one.
I backed the Felicity character up last year when she made the "I don't want to be a woman you loved" speech but I can't really back her up now. She heard everything she needed to hear in this episode from Samantha and Oliver when it comes to him not telling her about William, but yet she still broke it off. I'm not as pro Olicity as I used to be, but I just would have liked to see a better end although I did like that they kept virtually the same dialogue as the break up had months back in the crossover episode.
This week saw the first live action appearance of Vixen, who currently has her own animated series with its second season on the way this summer on CW Seed. Constantine was unavailable as Oliver said he's in literal hell, but I guess I can forgive Oliver's over used "I think I know someone" gag one more time if it means we got to see a new hero but I think her presence felt underwhelming surprisingly. I really liked the actresses' performance, but I think the action with her character didn't really fit the tone of the show. Her powers seemed goofy, cheesy, and sometimes even awkwardly unnecessary as I think she fits more into the animated series better or perhaps Legends of Tomorrow down the line. Although I did enjoy Oliver's line "we had an animated encounter last year", very subtle Arrow writers. Very subtle.
Vixen decided to give Oliver her own advice about his son as she had her own parental issues growing up but I thought Diggle's speech was a lot better. Oliver has seen Diggle's parenting first hand and how well he has adjusted over this year and a half, wouldn't you think he would take advice from someone as close to him as Diggle, rather than someone he met less than a year ago? That bothered me a bit.
Laurel had a few moments this week as she also dealt with the revelation that Oliver has a son. I can't help but notice that in the same episode that Felicity and Oliver broke up, Laurel cried over something related to Oliver. Not sure if we are supposed to look into that at all but her struggling with the fact that Oliver lied to her about something again made sense to me. I don't want to see them get back together, but I have liked the direction they are taking Laurel much more than I have in previous seasons.
Before Darhk was de-powered he shared several terrifying instances with Team Arrow. Him showing up in the parking garage with Oliver and Felicity was eerie although the trailer spoiled that last week. But I really liked that he once again seemed as if he was one step ahead of Team Arrow at every corner. The fact that his powers are apparently gone proposes an interesting question. Is this the time that Malcom steps in and becomes the big bad? I hardly think Darhk is done but it felt like a weird place to leave him in.
The flashbacks this week were kind of stupid as we saw a zombie-like version of Conklin making threats against people in the prison. It made me laugh. In present day, plenty of questions still are up in the air. I was tending to lean towards Thea being in the grave again, but It would be weird to see her put in a death situation again. So I guess the only real options are Lance, Diggle, or Lyla? Being the new head of ARGUS certainly puts a target on Lyla's back, but I don't see it coming from Darhk or Malcom. I do still believe that Oliver saying "I'm gonna kill him" is him referencing Malcom somehow. But we shall see. In all, It was an enjoyable episode but a few logic issues kept it from being as good as it should have been. Another great performance from Amell in the last scene as that makes two straight weeks we ended with a bittersweet moment.
+Amell's performance as he dealt with everything
+Laurel's moments
+Oliver & Dig rooftop scene
+Felicity can walk
+Darhk being terrifying
-Vixen's powers looked goofy in live action
-Logic issues
-Zombie Conklin
7.7/10
We began seeing Felicity trying to walk again after last week's reveal that Curtis created a bio stimulator for her and we ended with her seemingly fully healed after walking out on Oliver. For Felicity, the idea of her being able to walk right as she broke it off with Oliver served as a good metaphorical link to her making her own decision and using her own strength in terms of the relationship and walking but I just didn't feel that the decision in the first place was the logical one.
I backed the Felicity character up last year when she made the "I don't want to be a woman you loved" speech but I can't really back her up now. She heard everything she needed to hear in this episode from Samantha and Oliver when it comes to him not telling her about William, but yet she still broke it off. I'm not as pro Olicity as I used to be, but I just would have liked to see a better end although I did like that they kept virtually the same dialogue as the break up had months back in the crossover episode.
This week saw the first live action appearance of Vixen, who currently has her own animated series with its second season on the way this summer on CW Seed. Constantine was unavailable as Oliver said he's in literal hell, but I guess I can forgive Oliver's over used "I think I know someone" gag one more time if it means we got to see a new hero but I think her presence felt underwhelming surprisingly. I really liked the actresses' performance, but I think the action with her character didn't really fit the tone of the show. Her powers seemed goofy, cheesy, and sometimes even awkwardly unnecessary as I think she fits more into the animated series better or perhaps Legends of Tomorrow down the line. Although I did enjoy Oliver's line "we had an animated encounter last year", very subtle Arrow writers. Very subtle.
Vixen decided to give Oliver her own advice about his son as she had her own parental issues growing up but I thought Diggle's speech was a lot better. Oliver has seen Diggle's parenting first hand and how well he has adjusted over this year and a half, wouldn't you think he would take advice from someone as close to him as Diggle, rather than someone he met less than a year ago? That bothered me a bit.
Laurel had a few moments this week as she also dealt with the revelation that Oliver has a son. I can't help but notice that in the same episode that Felicity and Oliver broke up, Laurel cried over something related to Oliver. Not sure if we are supposed to look into that at all but her struggling with the fact that Oliver lied to her about something again made sense to me. I don't want to see them get back together, but I have liked the direction they are taking Laurel much more than I have in previous seasons.
Before Darhk was de-powered he shared several terrifying instances with Team Arrow. Him showing up in the parking garage with Oliver and Felicity was eerie although the trailer spoiled that last week. But I really liked that he once again seemed as if he was one step ahead of Team Arrow at every corner. The fact that his powers are apparently gone proposes an interesting question. Is this the time that Malcom steps in and becomes the big bad? I hardly think Darhk is done but it felt like a weird place to leave him in.
The flashbacks this week were kind of stupid as we saw a zombie-like version of Conklin making threats against people in the prison. It made me laugh. In present day, plenty of questions still are up in the air. I was tending to lean towards Thea being in the grave again, but It would be weird to see her put in a death situation again. So I guess the only real options are Lance, Diggle, or Lyla? Being the new head of ARGUS certainly puts a target on Lyla's back, but I don't see it coming from Darhk or Malcom. I do still believe that Oliver saying "I'm gonna kill him" is him referencing Malcom somehow. But we shall see. In all, It was an enjoyable episode but a few logic issues kept it from being as good as it should have been. Another great performance from Amell in the last scene as that makes two straight weeks we ended with a bittersweet moment.
+Amell's performance as he dealt with everything
+Laurel's moments
+Oliver & Dig rooftop scene
+Felicity can walk
+Darhk being terrifying
-Vixen's powers looked goofy in live action
-Logic issues
-Zombie Conklin
7.7/10
