Fallout Arrow 601 Review

Arrow started out with action and kept it up throughout the whole episode. We had no Oliver voice-over, so are they over?  Will there be a voice-over next week now that we know who survived and who didn't?  Do they even need one now?  I rather missed hearing Oliver say he had to be something else!  How about you? Let's get started.

Diggle and Felicity will always be friends.  He will not leave her behind.  I loved this moment with them. But it caused him to be hurt.  Diggle suffers, I think not only from the "secret" wound, but from PTSD.  I felt his pain when his hand shook as he pointed his gun.  As we found out, he didn't even shoot it.  Dinah knows and tried to talk to Diggle about it.  Felicity and Oliver know something is not right too.  Diggle's story is going to unfold at least in the first half of the season.  I think it is time he that we get to see his story fleshed out.  There's much we don't know about Diggle.  We know bits and pieces, but this season I think we shall find out more.  I heard that we shall get to meet one of his parents, his mother I think.  This will be good since Family is the theme of this season.

      Rene.  Last season Rene grew on me. I came to like him and we could see his character grow. That's what I love about Arrow.  We see character growth.  I know it annoys people to hear him call Felicity "Blondie" or Lance or Oliver "Hoss", but that's his character.  He's unlike the others in so many ways.  I  held my breath when he was hurt.  When Oliver gave him the papers for a new court hearing for his daughter, it showed so much of Oliver's growth.  He's reaching out to others.  A year ago, he didn't want a team, and now he's going to beyond the mark to help a team member. Oliver knows how important a parent is to a child.  Even though Zoe has a new family, she always wanted her father. He also knows how much a father needs his child.  Oliver knows what it's like to be removed from his child, and so he encourages Rene to try.  And that hug that Rene gave Oliver touched a chord in my heart as well, and it added a bit of humor, because Oliver doesn't like hugs.  I smiled.  Did you?

Lance, Dinah, and Laurel.  Dinah knew right where Quentin was.  She acted like not only a friend but a daughter to him, and got him to leave the bar without taking a drink.  Lance feels guilt over what he had done to the doppelganger Laurel.  Frankly I don't like this whole part of the story.  Do we need another Laurel?  Katie Cassidy plays her part well enough, but I don't feel the need for her in the story, and don't get me started on the whole redemption story-line they say they plan. I hope we find that the family for Lance will be Dinah becoming a daughter to him. I think doppelganger Laurel has hurt Lance in many ways, and she plays on that.  Even his real Laurel hurt him in ways too. I am so over L. L.   I get so annoyed when Black Siren comes on the screen.  Sorry, but it's too much BS.  (yes,  pun intended).  The idea that Black Siren is bad because Lance tried to shoot her, seriously?  I loved the scenes with Black Siren and her nemesis, Black Canary, because Black Canary wins hands down. Who helped Black Siren on Lian Yu?  That will be a mystery to solve.  Are you curious?  Do you have any ideas?

My friend, Nichole, noticed the  tension between Dinah and Diggle.  Did you notice it?  Frankly, I overlooked  it, because I have read that showrunners are not going in that direction, so I attributed it  at first to  their close friendship, and also I think  Dinah  has  gone  through what Diggle now is.  I think she recognizes the the symptoms, because after she  lost her partner and the love of her life, she went through something like this.  Maybe I am wrong.  Did  you notice what Nicole noticed?  Let me know so I can keep watching for this.

             Curtis.  I found Curtis annoying last season, but he didn't annoy me so much tonight. I think his T spheres made an interesting save.  Although, what will be they be  like in the hands of Black Siren and her "boss".  I don't think she's acting alone, do you?

Thea.  As I said in my review the last episode in season Five, I thought Thea might die or be wounded, especially if Samantha was hurt, because Thea was close behind running towards where the first explosions were.  Oliver's tears broke my heart, because he must have thought, "not again".  At least we she's not dead. She is in  some kind of coma, so hopefully she will be come back.  I am wondering if this will make Roy return.  He may be the catalyst to bring Thea around? Often the voice of a loved one can help revive a person.

Oliver and William.  I didn't want Samantha to die, because I don't think I was ready to see Oliver parent a pre-teen child.  However, I think it was a good move on the part of the writers.  Oliver has grown as person, and what better way to show it than by his being a father. There were so many good lines with William.  William thinks Oliver is the bad man of his dreams.  This is totally understandable.  He's confused to find out that Oliver is his father, and that his mother is dead in a way because of Oliver.  So when William calls him "Oliver" and not Dad, and you could see the pain on Oliver's face, it was totally real and understandable.   Oliver's lines to his son, were special too, "You don't have to like me for me to take of you, and "I'm  gonna be there for you whether you want to or not.  I'm never ever walking away from you." Those came from the heart, and at last William responded, by his willingness to see a baseball game with Oliver.  Yes!  Oliver has grown. Last year Oliver sent William away, and now he's raising his son.

Thoughts on William:  My friend, Nicole, brought out an interesting point.  Did you notice William's backpack was the Flash?  This works  if he is nine or ten, but William, according to the showrunners and Stephen  Amell, said that in the show William is 12.  I teach twelve year old children, and none of them have "character" backpacks.  Also, the language William uses was not what a twelve year old would  use. It was more in line with a younger  child, especially in the scene with Oliver when  he  is talking about the "bad man" of his dreams.  It lacked  some  realism from those of us  who  are around children.  If you follow my  blog, then you know the actor that plays William, Jack Moore,  is 14 in  real  life.  Thank's  Nicole for bringing this to my  attention.

       Oliver and Felicity:  No kisses, but the looks that each gave the other spoke volumes.  When Felicity came in with food for everyone, wasn't it cute how everyone left, and Felicity said, "They aren't very subtle."  She even had food for William.  Oliver wanted her to come and join them, but Felicity want to wait and not push herself onto William. He needs time, and she understand that, so she says, "Not tonight, another night." Then Oliver said, "Promise". Felicity, "Promise."  Olicity fans can be so happy.  Then later, as Oliver leaves Williams room, he calls Felicity, but she calls him first, and in that voice he only  uses for her,  he says, "I was just going to call you,"  He needs to share the moment he had with William with the one he loves, Felicity.

Arrow ended with a shocker, didn't it?  Oliver exposed as Arrow.  Wonder who's behind that? What do you think?

Odds and Ends:      Raisa will be an asset.  She understands what Oliver was like as a child and will be a help to him, and later to Felicity when she had her children.

Slade Wilson:  When he shows up in Thea's room, I wasn't sure what Oliver was thinking, but I think there is part of Oliver that is cautious with him.  I did like his line when he tells Oliver that there is a fine line to walk in being the man everyone needs to to be and the father your sons needs you to  be.  He's walking in two worlds that may collide. Interesting line that I think will be a key to some future events.

Felicity's clothes were so beautiful.  The black dress was cute and her hair lovely. I know this should be part of a review, but thought I would toss it out there.  Also Felicity mentioned her Mom, so perhaps we can see Donna again?

I had trouble getting images tonight, and the hour is late so I hope you all forgive me.