Arrow 513 Septre of the Gun Review

This episode of Arrow was directed by Kristin Windell and written by Marc Guggenheim.  It addressed the issue of gun control. It surprised me a little that Arrow would would pick a topic a little more politcal and related to current issues.  Arrow always seemed a little "other" world to me. That being said, I thought they handled both sides well.  My husband was clearly on the same side as Rene, and I thought that was fun to see.  Usually he doesn't comment much when we watch, but he even thought this was a different area for Arrow. I credit Marc Guggenheim for portraying both sides fairly well. Okay, I got that out of the way, now on to the heart of the characters.

                Rene's origin story was moving and well handled.  I have truly come to like this character.  Rick Gonzalez brings heart and soul into Wild Dog.  He makes us care for Rene and we feel his pain.  I enjoyed this part of Arrow.  The bantering back and forth between Curtis and Rene was good, and  I love how Curtis went the extra mile for Rene and wants to help him get Zoe, his daughter, back. I also like the way Rene works with Quentin Lance. The nicknames Rene gives to people has grown on me, and the way he calls Lance Hoss is fun.  That's part of his character that has grown on me.  There is still more to learn about him, and I look forward to that.  He cares about his daughter, and when he told his wife, "No matter what I've done, I've never done drugs and I've never done it in our baby girl's home."  That line told me there's more to find out about Rene.  How did he get out of  the Glades?  How did he get such a large apartment?  Will we find out in more flashbacks?  What do you think?

                 Thea is back!  The best line tonight came from Thea!  Marc had Thea speak what each Olicity fan is thinking, when she said, "it makes we want to vomit."  I believe she said it twice, and Olicity fans are yelling at the screen, "yes, Thea say it again so Oliver will hear you."  Honestly that line cracked me up, and seeing Oliver's look was priceless.  Did it gag you when Oliver said, "She's someone I'm starting to care for"?  Like Thea we were sitting there repeating Thea's line,  gee Oliver it makes us want to vomit.  HaHa. Really Oliver can be pretty dense sometimes. If Thea can see through Susan, then Oliver should be able to, or at least trust her on that one.  It was good seeing Thea in the lair too.  She's been missed.  And we love the way Oliver protects his sister.

Oliver stopped James Edlund without being the Arrow. Oliver was able to stop him as the Mayor Queen and not as the Green Arrow. This is character growth, my friends.  This is Oliver coming in the light,  He still has trouble recognizing that he has grown.  It took Thea and Lance to help him see he had to try as the mayor and not as the Arrow.  It seemed a little frustrating to see him brooding about how he couldn't help the city, but it didn't last long, and I don't know how you feel, but it seemed to me that it surprised him a little to discover he did it.  He found a different way. I liked Oliver's line when he said, "Everything comes with limitations."  I can't imagine him saying that in season one, can you?  We are seeing the building of  Green Arrow and Oliver Queen as two separate identities.  Something Oliver didn't think he could have in seasons 1-3.

Felicity impressed Oliver with her computer skills. I know that some have been surprised that Marc didn't give Felicity a "voice" about gun control, since she was shot by guns, paralyzed, and suffered  so by gunshots.  I didn't feel that way.  Felicity is in denial about everything.  People with PTSD try to pretend that everything is okay and they escape in ways such as drugs and alcohol .  Felicity's drug has always been her computer hacking.  She gets a high from  it and it hides her pain.  So no, she wouldn't want to talk about it.  She's in escape mode right now.  Did you notice that when Felicity's program was running to find  Edlund's, how Oliver looked at her?  I thought he looked at her with wonder and with concern, as if  he thought, "How did you do  that?"  Also, when she talks to him about why they couldn't find Clayborne's mother, she mentioned the "arrows"  and I could see concern  in his face.  Almost like, what are you doing?  But there was no time to address it.

Since Guggenheim wrote tonight episode, I had hoped that  there would have been some good Olicity moments in it, but  there was the moment at the computer.  The look of  love and concern.  Oliver may say he's starting to care  for what's her name (we all know who I mean)😃 but it is Felicity he loves.  Just waiting for them to get that storyline  going...right?

            Were you surprised to see that Adrian Chase had a wife?  I was a little.  I have wondered if he was the Vigilante, but now I am not so  sure.  One would think his wife would stay  with him in the hospital so he couldn't have left.  What do you think?

Dinah and Diggle have a chemistry together that's hard not to notice. Surely I wasn't the only one to notice it.  Any of you notice it?  Don't get me wrong,  I like Lila, but they had something on screen that just can't be denied.  At first I thought it was like Diggle and Felicity, but this is different, and not the same as with Felicity.  What say you?  I  like the way the work together, and the plus side for showing this  is clearly to remove any doubt that Oliver and Dinah Drake will be an item.  They clearly won't.  Oliver had chemistry with Dinah, but nothing like Diggle, at least that's my take on it.  Don't get angry with me. I am not saying anything against Lila, and we all know they writers won't break up Lila and Diggle, but this chemistry is hard to miss.

This was not my favorite episode.  It was rather blah in my mind.  Action scenes were good, and Oliver's character development moved forward, but what did it contribute to the story moving forward?  Felicity's a little darker, for her, anyway.  But  I am wondering if  there is something I am missing about Adrian Chase.  What do you think.

I am sorry I didn't have  time to put in more pictures.  I have a full day tomorrow, so if I don't put this up tonight it won't get up until Friday or Saturday.  Do you like a lot of pictures?  Please give me your thoughts on that, if you  would, please?