Collision Course Arrow 614 Review

          True  to the  title OTA and NTA collided in ways that right  now look unrecoverable.  Oliver as mayor has to  confront the various city mangers that the 70 million dollars that Cayden James extorted from them lies in a bank account  in Corto Maltese, and he has 48 hours to get it. Oliver and team find out that the Black Siren stole the 70 million, so now the chase is on to find her. A  lot happened in this episode, so I'm  breaking it  down in smaller bits.

             Olicity:  After Oliver leaves the meeting  with the city managers, he returns  home, his place of  rest and safety, and he finds Felicity and William cooking in the  kitchen.  I enjoy the home scenes  with our  hero.  Felicity in an  apron making cookies with William gave us another glimpse  of what a good mom she  is.  William had to miss  class  because of  a lack of funds, and so Felicity doesn't miss  a teaching moment to learn about thermodynamics, but William adds, "We just wanted to make cookies."  On a personal  level, I got double enjoyment from  this,because I home-schooled my children from kindergarten through high school, and I too used science as a learning tool, (or justification) to bake!   We need more moments with our hero in his home with his  family. 

Felicity goes into the field with Oliver and Diggle, because they have each other's backs and they need  one another.  I remember the times Oliver panicked  when he thought Felicity  was in the field.  Remember the Clock  King  episode in season 2?  Now he takes her along, but  he's still very protective of her.  When NTA arrives and  Felicity in anger  runs at Curtis for deliberately hurting John, Oliver puts his arm  out to keep her  back and protected, because he no longer trusts  NTA, and  who can blame him.  It was Felicity who found the bug that Rene planted on Oliver.  They are team  that we root for and love.  They've come a long way  together.  Their trust in each other has been earned.  We've watched it grow for 5 seasons.

Felicity and BS:  When Oliver says toward the end, "I know how much we wish she was like the Laurel we lost, but  she's not," the camera panned to Felicity who looked at Oliver and then at Diggle. It reminded me of time Felicity was jealous of Sara in season 2 and Diggle knew it and went to Felicity, they exchanged that same sort of look.  Perhaps I'm the only one who  noticed it.  Felicity has never, in my opinion liked or trusted BS. She never seemed to buy into the fact that she was in any  way like their Laurel.

      OTA: Original Team  Arrow has grown as a team.  They  are mature, but that maturity developed  over time. Remember when  Oliver didn't have John's  back because he was concerned for Laurel? But they worked things out and they  came  together as a team.  Then again in season 3 when Oliver took Lyla and Diggle was angry, and  even though he knew why Oliver did it, they didn't get through  it until season 4.  They've grown.  The best part of it all is that they all know that they need one another.  This sets  them apart from NTA, which I will talk  about later.  I think for me the best OTA scene is when  John  talks to Oliver and says that, "Going after former teammates may be a line that we can never uncross."  I like this because John's  telling Oliver his concerns.  He's with  Oliver, but he wants Oliver to  consider everything, and Oliver says, "I agree, but they crossed it first."  Oliver isn't doing this out of anger at the former teammates, he's making  a statement that John  can't disagree with, they did  cross that line first.  They stand together.  I don't necessarily think that John wants to do it.  We see Oliver's trust grow.  He's willing to trust  what Quentin  sees in Laurel.  My  personal feeling in this is that's stupid, because Quentin only sees BS as his daughter, Laurel. However, Oliver has learned to trust.  He asks  Quentin do you  trust her, and so he's  willing  to trust Quentin.  That's character growth.  Could you see Oliver doing that in season one?

          NTA:  Okay, these petulant bunch of  brats are not in my  mind, New Team Arrow.  I'm  going to call them the Newbies from now on.  Where do I begin with them?

          I will start with Dinah: Dinah's  anger is understandable. She loved Vincent  Sobel. So I can make some allowances for that.  She want to kill the one person who killed the  one she loved.  That's the way she reacted when  she thought Vincent had died the first time.  However, Oliver came  along to teach her a different, better way, and the first time.  Oliver trained her and tried to help her see there was another way to handle things.  He  had to learn it, and he knows how important that is.  Yet now she rejects that?  He's still trying to tell her.  That's why he keeps telling her he will stop  her so that she won't do that again.  Yet it's Curtis  he tells her the  same thing Oliver's been telling her, and she listens to  him?  She lashes out and strikes Quentin?  Quentin  has treated her like his  own daughter,  even encouraging  her to become the Black Canary, and she strikes him down, but somehow she's better  than Oliver?

         Curtis:Curtis had his doubts about what Dinah was doing.  He even tells Rene that he's worried, and Rene says that when they get the money back,  they will deal with Dinah's anger issues.  Yet he is the one who thinks of deliberately hurting John?  If he hurts John, they  will  know where they are, and they know Oliver will fight, because of who he is, he will give BS a chance.  The Newbies all agree to hurt  John. And when  Curtis said, "They've never considered us as equals, " I wanted to scream, Really?  Until Oliver found out that one of them betrayed him, they  were treated as equals.  It took Oliver a while to do  it, and Felicity had to  encourage him, but he did.  He had to train them.  They all except for Curtis, began in a similar way to Oliver,  wanting to get kill to avenge, but it was Oliver,  John, and Felicity who tried to teach them to go a different way.  Or how about his comment, "Look at what we're doing, we're like him."  Really?  Are they really like him?

          Rene: Rene was  for me very annoying,  and that bothers me because I was one of the few that liked him. When he told Oliver that he was not a hero, but a thug, and then brought William  into  it, it angered me.  I know he said that just so he could plant a bug on Oliver, it was still upsetting.  It was Oliver who  gave him a good job, and Oliver who helped him get his daughter back. Yet he turned Oliver in to  Watson just so he wouldn't lose his daughter, and then he didn't have the strength to tell  him face to face what he had done, until he was pressed to do so.  Yet somehow he's a better person than Oliver?  Rene shot at Felicity! What if he had hit her?  Oliver didn't deliberately hurt Rene.  He would never have gone  at Rene  with such force if he hasn't tried to take a shot at Felicity.  Felicity is Oliver's world, what was Rene thinking?  It happened in the course of the fight, that in a way they brought on.  Oliver tried to plead with them not to do this.  I also liked the way  John put Rene in his place.  Rene accuses OTA of a part in Vincent's death, but John's had enough and finally says the truth, "If you'd gone with us Vincent would be still be alive."  His death is on their shoulders too.  Oliver is sorry that Rene is hurt.  But they aren't sorry  that they hurt John.

Now, Dinah and Curtis don't know that it wasn't Oliver who directly hurt Rene.  I am still clinging to some hope that once Rene is able,  he will tell the Newbies that Oliver didn't deliberately hurt him. OTA wasn't afraid to tell each other the truth.  Felicity argued with Oliver multiple times as did John Diggle, and that's how they grew.  The Newbies don't do that. Curtis didn't come out and tell Dinah she was  wrong.  If he had done that in the bunker, would they have even in been in the field fighting with OTA?

It seems the Newbies have crossed the line that they cannot uncross.  Felicity was hurt when Curtis told her that they would never speak again.  So will she have to find a new partner?  I can't believe the  writers will not bring these people back into the fold again.  I know people are tired of them, I certainly am, but this season has been about family, and like it or not this team is family.  Yes, they are like whining, petulant teenagers who haven't got their way in things, but they are family nonetheless. I think that something will happen to bring them back together.  What say you?

       Black Siren:  When she called Lance, "Daddy," did  she seem to smirk?  I thought it was not a genuine emotion. She knows how to push Quentin's buttons. He keeps seeing good in her, but even though she hesitated in killing Vincent, she still killed him.  There may be a part of her that misses her Dad, but she's not Laurel, and my heart goes out to Quentin because it must be hard for him to see someone who looks so much like the daughter he loved.  Like Thea said he see's BS through the eyes of a father.  So what did BS do with money?  Does she have it some place?  My guess, and this is only a guess is that she's working with Diaz and he has the money.  When BS uses her cry and escapes, she didn't turn  to Quentin, she ran.  When she's found she says  she's been  kidnapped 2 years ago, and she thinks, and her  name is Laurel Lance.  Wow, what an ending!  So, did the hit on her head that Dinah gave her make her think  she's earth one's Laurel Lance, or is is this all a part of Diaz's plan?  We know that D.A. Armand works for Diaz and he says he has something that will bury Oliver Queen, does Laurel play a part in that?  Will she convince people that Laurel Lance didn't die, but was kidnapped and Oliver's kept her hidden  away?  I have no clue, but it doesn't sound too good for a redemption of her does it?  Or will she use this to actually help Oliver?

Other thoughts:  The action scenes between the two teams was amazing.

Even though Diaz was not in the episode his influence is felt through the police chief and D.A. Armand whom he has bought off.  He will be a formidable foe, I think.

I have to admit that when Oliver told BS, "I don't want to hear your name or see your face again."  I smiled.  I'm just not wanting to buy into the whole redemption story-line.

One more final thought on the Newbies:  They act like they  are morally superior to OTA, yet are blind to their own faults.  Did anyone else catch that? Also, I think Rene is acting the way he is because of the guilt he has for  turning Oliver over to Watson.  I think when Rene recovers, which I sincerely hope he does, he will realize what's gone on within himself, and this may  be a motivation  for the others to change.  Am I dreaming?