Spartan: Arrow 719 Review
This episode gave us some backstory on John Diggle. The story gave us interesting insights into John's past, and was perfectly executed by both David Ramsey and Ernie Hudson. I would like to see more of these two on screen. It might have been nice to see them back in season one or two. We also learn more about Felicity's Archer Program, and of course we see everything moving swiftly towards the end of season 7 and then end of Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak. I'm still hoping that she'll guest star at least once in season 8, don't you? Well, let's dig in.
John and General Stewart: John kept a secret from Felicity and Oliver. Did that surprise you? It did me a little bit. Although this story line is very compelling and certainly well acted, it seems like it would have been better served if we had gotten even just a little hint earlier on in the seasons. Even Felicity comments, "We are just finding this out now?" Virgil reappears and although Oliver and John stop him, what he is after causes John to reach out to a army General Stewart. Oliver likes the man right away, I think because he seems very up front and honest, and Oliver respects that. It's clear, however, that what Oliver and John needs, General Stewart does't feel at liberty to give, because it is classified, and he seems by the book. As they are about to leave, the general says he's always available for family. Oliver looks surprised and then the says that he's John's stepfather. Both John and his stepfather are taken hostage, and you can see that John doens't want to see his stepfather tortured, but when John is tortured then his stepfather relents and gives Dante what he wants. Both actors played their parts well. Oliver, Dinah, and Rene finally rescue John and his stepfather, and it's at the bunker that Oliver hands over the classified file that Felicity got on General Stewart, that John realizes that it was acutally his father who had been in the wrong, and General Stewart had saved the team. He lied to to John to protect him. At the end John and his stepfather say goodbye, John asks him why he went on pretending that his father was a hero? His answer, "Every child deserves to think of their father as a hero. Look, you became one!" But John, in a very touching moment says, "If I became a hero, it's all because of you." At that point John realized that all that his stepfather made him go through was to prepare him to be strong, to be a hero. There are good parallels to the future with JJ and Connor, but I will address that later.
I'm wondering if they are going to show more of his stepfather in the next season, and John will become John Diggle Stewart the Green Lantern. It was hinted at in the Crossover and I think we are headed in that direction. There could conceivably be two spin-offs one with the Green Hornet and one with Mia.
Felicity and Alena: I've never trusted Alena. It's not that she's necessarily evil, but that she doesn't have the same moral compass that Felicity has. This was so evident when she worked for Cayden James, because she knew that he had nefarious leanings, but she trusted him anyway. I always thought Felicity was too trusting of her. Alena wants to market the Archer program and she mentions to Felicity that Will Magnus is interested in purchasing Smoak Tech for the Archer program. Will Magnus is focused on robotics engineering. Felicity is at first excited, until Dante steals it. Stewart sends help for Felicity, but not before Dante steals the program. Dante wants the Cygnax X1 to develop biological warfare and use Archer to destroy nations. So Felicity works to try to find a way to override Archer and find Emiko for Oliver. When she finds the location of Emiko and tells Oliver, Felicity realizes that she can't allow the Archer program to exist because if it gets into the hands of the wrong people then it becomes a weapon, so although painfully difficult for her, she destroys it. Later, Alena and Felicity talk and Felicity tells her that she loves Team Arrow and being Overwatch, but she wanted something more where she could make a contribution, and she thought Archer might it. "I need to do something separate that can do good." Then Alena shows her a thumb drive telling her that as Felicity destroyed it, she copied it. But Felicity wants no part of it, she doesn't want to be a part of anything that makes the world a less safe place. Dun Dun Dun! Fast forward to the future where Felicity discovers that the helmet BC gave Mia is her Archer Tech. Alena must have created it and sold it to Magnus for Robotic purposes. She realizes how dangerous it is. She told Alena not to this, and this is what annoys me with the writers. Felicity is smart, and she knew Alena had the drive with the Archer program on it, the Felicity I know, would have taken it from her and destroyed it. What do you think? Alena is no friend to Felicity to be sure.
Felicity wanted to contribute and do something good, but what she doesn't realize is that it is in giving giving herself to be the light and always see the good, that is her contribution. That is what makes her a hero, and that is what can make each one of us heroes in our stories. She gave herself to Oliver, she destroyed the Archer program which she loved and created, because it was used for evil purposes, she gave birth to Mia, who in turn will help save the world. She doesn't need Smoak Tech to be a hero, she is one because of who she is. Well, that's my take away, anyway.
Oliver and Felicity: Some people seems annoyed that Oliver seems distant, and I was at one time in that camp, but I am not anymore. To be fair Oliver has a lot on his mind. His wife is pregnant but can't tell anyone yet, and she out in the field. When Felicity comes back to the bunker with Alena and they are walking and Felicity tells how the army comes in guns blazing, Oliver said, "I'm glad you're alright. You could tell he wanted to say "I'm glad you're both alright!" It was all he could do to contain himself. He had his hands clinched a little. He trusts her. Oliver has come such a long way.We see his growth. Didn't you enjoy watching them work together to find John and his stepfather? They are a team. We didn't get alone time with them, but look how dangerous things have become. I think that's why Stephen Amell comes across as distant on the screen. Star City is not all that's in danger, the whole world seems to be in danger. There isn't a lot of time to rest and be at peace when you're trying to slay the world's dragons. I think all of the Ninth Circle storyline plays into the crossover event for next season. Felicity is always touching Oliver. It's her saftey net and honestly it's his as well. He needs those touches. He reaches out for her too, if you notice.
I don't know that we will get a lot of alone time with them. The Ninth Circle as a whole is more dangerous than any one villain, and so with the Ninth Circle, the baby, and Emiko, he has no time to process much, so they comfort each other in their own special Olicity way, with hand touches, and special looks.
Oliver and Emiko: Well, Oliver told his sister that it was Dante himself who killed her mother, to keep her in control, but even though she killed Dante, it didn't seem to change her thoughts about the Ninth Circle or Oliver. Is she really the big bad? This season is about redemption, and with only three episodes left, will we see it? My guess this will be carried on into the next season, because it looks as though Emiko is behind Oliver and Felicity's trouble in the next episode. Sea Shimooka can certainly handle the physicality of the big bad moments, but I'm not sure her acting is up the that of the likes of Kirk Acevedo even. Oliver still feels obligated to right his father's wrongs so he wants to save Emiko, but he forgets that a person has to want to be saved. Emiko is that there yet, if she ever will be.
Felicity's humor: We had so many sweet Felicity humor moments. Oliver tells her that he needs information on John's stepfather and he tells her it's "Really really classified." and Felicity says, "Really, really classified sounds really fun." Then later when she's talking about Archer and how the evil Ninth Circle wants it, she says, "OMG I'm a mad scientist. Am I mad scientist. Oh no, I'm my Dad." Who didn't enjoy that and have a laugh at that!
Flash Forward: Three things stand out to me in the Flash Forwards;. First, we see Mia and Connor drawing closer together. I thought they were about to kiss. Two, we see Felicity realizing that it was her Archer program that created the helmets that can destroy people. I think they may be the robotic engineering created by Alena with the help of Dr. Will Magnus. But the most interesting thing in the flash forwards are what we learn about JJ Diggle. JJ and Connor were at one time loving brothers, but apparently JJ didn't feel he could live up to his parents standards and rejected his mom and dad and became the leader of the Deathstroke gang. It was an interesting parallel between John and Stewart and John and JJ. Apparently Stewart put a lot of pressure on John and his brother so that they could learn to survive, but each brother went a different way, and have Connor and JJ. I hope we see more of that in the future.
Final Thoughts:
I'm wondering if they are going to show more of his stepfather in the next season, and John will become John Diggle Stewart the Green Lantern. It was hinted at in the Crossover and I think we are headed in that direction. There could conceivably be two spin-offs one with the Green Hornet and one with Mia.
Felicity and Alena: I've never trusted Alena. It's not that she's necessarily evil, but that she doesn't have the same moral compass that Felicity has. This was so evident when she worked for Cayden James, because she knew that he had nefarious leanings, but she trusted him anyway. I always thought Felicity was too trusting of her. Alena wants to market the Archer program and she mentions to Felicity that Will Magnus is interested in purchasing Smoak Tech for the Archer program. Will Magnus is focused on robotics engineering. Felicity is at first excited, until Dante steals it. Stewart sends help for Felicity, but not before Dante steals the program. Dante wants the Cygnax X1 to develop biological warfare and use Archer to destroy nations. So Felicity works to try to find a way to override Archer and find Emiko for Oliver. When she finds the location of Emiko and tells Oliver, Felicity realizes that she can't allow the Archer program to exist because if it gets into the hands of the wrong people then it becomes a weapon, so although painfully difficult for her, she destroys it. Later, Alena and Felicity talk and Felicity tells her that she loves Team Arrow and being Overwatch, but she wanted something more where she could make a contribution, and she thought Archer might it. "I need to do something separate that can do good." Then Alena shows her a thumb drive telling her that as Felicity destroyed it, she copied it. But Felicity wants no part of it, she doesn't want to be a part of anything that makes the world a less safe place. Dun Dun Dun! Fast forward to the future where Felicity discovers that the helmet BC gave Mia is her Archer Tech. Alena must have created it and sold it to Magnus for Robotic purposes. She realizes how dangerous it is. She told Alena not to this, and this is what annoys me with the writers. Felicity is smart, and she knew Alena had the drive with the Archer program on it, the Felicity I know, would have taken it from her and destroyed it. What do you think? Alena is no friend to Felicity to be sure.Felicity wanted to contribute and do something good, but what she doesn't realize is that it is in giving giving herself to be the light and always see the good, that is her contribution. That is what makes her a hero, and that is what can make each one of us heroes in our stories. She gave herself to Oliver, she destroyed the Archer program which she loved and created, because it was used for evil purposes, she gave birth to Mia, who in turn will help save the world. She doesn't need Smoak Tech to be a hero, she is one because of who she is. Well, that's my take away, anyway.
Oliver and Felicity: Some people seems annoyed that Oliver seems distant, and I was at one time in that camp, but I am not anymore. To be fair Oliver has a lot on his mind. His wife is pregnant but can't tell anyone yet, and she out in the field. When Felicity comes back to the bunker with Alena and they are walking and Felicity tells how the army comes in guns blazing, Oliver said, "I'm glad you're alright. You could tell he wanted to say "I'm glad you're both alright!" It was all he could do to contain himself. He had his hands clinched a little. He trusts her. Oliver has come such a long way.We see his growth. Didn't you enjoy watching them work together to find John and his stepfather? They are a team. We didn't get alone time with them, but look how dangerous things have become. I think that's why Stephen Amell comes across as distant on the screen. Star City is not all that's in danger, the whole world seems to be in danger. There isn't a lot of time to rest and be at peace when you're trying to slay the world's dragons. I think all of the Ninth Circle storyline plays into the crossover event for next season. Felicity is always touching Oliver. It's her saftey net and honestly it's his as well. He needs those touches. He reaches out for her too, if you notice.I don't know that we will get a lot of alone time with them. The Ninth Circle as a whole is more dangerous than any one villain, and so with the Ninth Circle, the baby, and Emiko, he has no time to process much, so they comfort each other in their own special Olicity way, with hand touches, and special looks.
Felicity's humor: We had so many sweet Felicity humor moments. Oliver tells her that he needs information on John's stepfather and he tells her it's "Really really classified." and Felicity says, "Really, really classified sounds really fun." Then later when she's talking about Archer and how the evil Ninth Circle wants it, she says, "OMG I'm a mad scientist. Am I mad scientist. Oh no, I'm my Dad." Who didn't enjoy that and have a laugh at that! Flash Forward: Three things stand out to me in the Flash Forwards;. First, we see Mia and Connor drawing closer together. I thought they were about to kiss. Two, we see Felicity realizing that it was her Archer program that created the helmets that can destroy people. I think they may be the robotic engineering created by Alena with the help of Dr. Will Magnus. But the most interesting thing in the flash forwards are what we learn about JJ Diggle. JJ and Connor were at one time loving brothers, but apparently JJ didn't feel he could live up to his parents standards and rejected his mom and dad and became the leader of the Deathstroke gang. It was an interesting parallel between John and Stewart and John and JJ. Apparently Stewart put a lot of pressure on John and his brother so that they could learn to survive, but each brother went a different way, and have Connor and JJ. I hope we see more of that in the future. Final Thoughts:
- I think it would have been more meaningful to have learned even just a little about his stepfather in seasons one or two instead of finding out now.
- Hope we see more of John's Stepfather, and who didn't love when father and son hugged, and then his dad says, "Call your Mother," spoken like a true Dad. I loved it.
- Ernie Hudson nailed his part
- Never trusted Alena and wish Felicity hadn't.
- Felicity wanted to contribute and do something good, she did, she gave herself, and isn't that all anyone can really do?
- I loved it when John's upset with his stepdad, and Felicity tells him, "That's not very fair, John." Felicity always trys to see another side. She's grown too.
- Don't like Emiko, and find myself frustrated that Oliver still has a blind eye where family is concerned. Yet they will probably find a way to redeem her.
- Love the shot of Oliver's arrow destroying Emiko's arrow. Just a really cool shot.
- Hope to see more of JJ
- People need to relax about Felicity. The writers are not going to kill her off. I truly believe they will have Emily back at the very end and we will see them able to be together, save the city, and let their children save the world.
- Not my favorite episode, but a solid one.
Comments
Post a Comment