Next of Kin Arrow 603 Review
Tonight's episode had a lot in it, and so there's much to talk about. This episode had many highs, and for me a couple of low moments, let's just start with the best, and leave the rest for last, shall we?
Olicity: Finally the fans of Olicity got so much goodness tonight. I enjoyed Felicity's babbling whenever Oliver came around to talk to her. They know each other so well. We all know that Felicity knows Oliver so well, especially when Oliver came to talk to her about William, and she said, "You said, relax, stop worrying, didn't you?" Then Oliver said, "How did you know?" And Felicity tells that she knows him. I loved that moment, because it was real. However, I think Oliver knows her very well too. Remember when she's eating chips for breakfast? Oliver brings her a Big Belly Burger. Cute, even if it was a bribe to get her help with William's test.
Did you notice Felicity's look when Oliver asked her to help William? It meant so much to her. Especially when he said, "You make things so simple. You always have." How sweet was that. Not just sweet, but it had tenderness. When Felicity is helping William and she's working with him, and I forget the comment William made, but it was about Oliver and school, and Felicity says, Oliver didn't live in the real world. Oliver's looking in on this and you can see the love on his face for those two people. That scene was my favorite. It's the quiet love that catches the heart.
I also enjoyed Felicity trying to think of a name for her company. Bit by Bit, she said, Oliver said something cute back that was funny. I wanted Oliver to say, "Smoak Tech", didn't you?
It was fun watching Felicity teach William. He responds to Felicity's personality, who wouldn't? William, like his Father, is Smoked! William wants Felicity to tutor him. Felicity agree's if it's okay with his father, and of course Oliver says yes. When Felicity has to rush out for a call to the bunker, William says, "She's pretty cool." Oliver with that look and voice he only has for Felicity says, "She is. I found it especially poignant that William is the catalyst for Oliver and Felicity's reunion. I think some folks feared he might tear them apart, thinking William wouldn't accept Felicity. So it I enjoyed this moment. I think Felicity's past is one reason they connected, but more on that in another post. Do you remember when Oliver told Samantha how kind Felicity was? She could have been in William's life sooner,but the time wasn't right.
That clinched it for Oliver. William passes his test and he goes to Felicity with a present. It is a key to his apartment. It is then that we learn during that 5 months they agreed that would take it slow to give William time to adjust. Oliver feels the time is now right. They give that special kiss and the camera pans away as Oliver and Felicity cement their love. I'm old-fashioned and I thought it good that the camera did not follow them.
Oliver and William: One thing I love about Arrow is that they tend to keep in character throughout the seasons. Not every show does that. In season 4 we learned that Oliver can cook. Remember when he made omelets for Felicity. Also, remember when Oliver said he made eggs in a crock-pot? ( I even have a blog post on here about Oliver's Crock-pot eggs.) Tonight he made eggs for William, and William seemed to enjoy that. I loved that kitchen, and it was a kitchen that I think Oliver would love, but I digress. William has moments where he responds to Oliver because he can relate. Perhaps Samantha made eggs for his breakfast, and so having Oliver do it means a lot to him. There were other moments as with the math test that he shuts Oliver out. This is all real and to be expected. William has gone through much and of course it would take time. Even children can have PTSD, or moments like that. Not saying William has that, but I'm saying the boy walked through fire with a crazed killer who blew up an entire island and ultimately killed his mother, so it would make sense if he suffers moments of stress.
Oliver and Diggle: Diggle needed to hear about all that Oliver had learned from him. It was Diggle's faith in Oliver that caused Oliver to become the Green Arrow. He tells Dig, "You can be a better hero than I ever was." I think that's because Diggle is Oliver's hero. I think that's how Oliver thinks about him. One of the spoilers that I wrote about was that John Diggle would do something that could cause Oliver to be very disappointed in Diggle. Other folks thought that John would have an affair with Dinah, but now tonight we found out just want that disappointment would be. Were you surprised as I to find out what John has done to himself to remove the tremors? When Felicity and Curtis created the gun that shoots arrows, I thought how could he shoot that when can't shoot a gun? At first I thought it was a flaw in the writing, but then at the end, and we saw John injecting some drug, I was caught off guard. This begins John's story and even back story.
The Team: As I followed Twitter I saw so many comments by folks who were angry with Dinah and Rene for their reactions to John. I wasn't. I thought it was real. John hesitated,so what were they to do. Oliver made split second decisions and the team followed. John's hesitation could have injured them or lead to their deaths, so the anger and frustration they felt seemed real and right to me. You can like someone, but not agree with what they do. I didn't see a flaw in that.
The Foes: Onyx was quite the foe, but the most formidable foe is Samanda Watson. Agent Watson is out to get the team, I think and not just Oliver. Did you see Felicity on her board? But her target now is John Diggle. Mayor Queen got the vote against the vigilante's turned around so that the whole city would have to decide, it made Watson look even closer at the team. I think they will be in Agent Watson's cross-hairs for the rest of the season.
In the new voice-over, Oliver tells us that someone else has to be the Green Arrow. What do you think will be one to bring him back? I think it will be William, or Felicity, especially if Felicity get's caught in Samanda Watson's web.
My Low Points: I felt John's indecision was out of character for a military man who was trained in special ops. This frankly bothered me. Special ops trained men make split second decisions routinely without hesitation. I just didn't buy that scene. Maybe after seeing the end where Diggle injects the drug, I could see the drugs influencing the decision making process. That part of the story wasn't plausible to me.
The second low point was William's needing help with quadratic equations. Please, writers make up your mind how old William is. I teach and most children don't learn quadratic equations until the 8th or 9th grades. In some schools they start that in the 8th grade, but William isn't in the 8th grade, because last week we learned he was bullied by one of the "big boys" in 8th grade. I guess he was probably in 6th grade maybe 7th. I found that bothered me. Minor point, though, but I wish the writers would do a better job with William. I don't feel that his age is fleshed out yet.
Olicity: Finally the fans of Olicity got so much goodness tonight. I enjoyed Felicity's babbling whenever Oliver came around to talk to her. They know each other so well. We all know that Felicity knows Oliver so well, especially when Oliver came to talk to her about William, and she said, "You said, relax, stop worrying, didn't you?" Then Oliver said, "How did you know?" And Felicity tells that she knows him. I loved that moment, because it was real. However, I think Oliver knows her very well too. Remember when she's eating chips for breakfast? Oliver brings her a Big Belly Burger. Cute, even if it was a bribe to get her help with William's test.Did you notice Felicity's look when Oliver asked her to help William? It meant so much to her. Especially when he said, "You make things so simple. You always have." How sweet was that. Not just sweet, but it had tenderness. When Felicity is helping William and she's working with him, and I forget the comment William made, but it was about Oliver and school, and Felicity says, Oliver didn't live in the real world. Oliver's looking in on this and you can see the love on his face for those two people. That scene was my favorite. It's the quiet love that catches the heart.
I also enjoyed Felicity trying to think of a name for her company. Bit by Bit, she said, Oliver said something cute back that was funny. I wanted Oliver to say, "Smoak Tech", didn't you?
It was fun watching Felicity teach William. He responds to Felicity's personality, who wouldn't? William, like his Father, is Smoked! William wants Felicity to tutor him. Felicity agree's if it's okay with his father, and of course Oliver says yes. When Felicity has to rush out for a call to the bunker, William says, "She's pretty cool." Oliver with that look and voice he only has for Felicity says, "She is. I found it especially poignant that William is the catalyst for Oliver and Felicity's reunion. I think some folks feared he might tear them apart, thinking William wouldn't accept Felicity. So it I enjoyed this moment. I think Felicity's past is one reason they connected, but more on that in another post. Do you remember when Oliver told Samantha how kind Felicity was? She could have been in William's life sooner,but the time wasn't right.
That clinched it for Oliver. William passes his test and he goes to Felicity with a present. It is a key to his apartment. It is then that we learn during that 5 months they agreed that would take it slow to give William time to adjust. Oliver feels the time is now right. They give that special kiss and the camera pans away as Oliver and Felicity cement their love. I'm old-fashioned and I thought it good that the camera did not follow them.Oliver and William: One thing I love about Arrow is that they tend to keep in character throughout the seasons. Not every show does that. In season 4 we learned that Oliver can cook. Remember when he made omelets for Felicity. Also, remember when Oliver said he made eggs in a crock-pot? ( I even have a blog post on here about Oliver's Crock-pot eggs.) Tonight he made eggs for William, and William seemed to enjoy that. I loved that kitchen, and it was a kitchen that I think Oliver would love, but I digress. William has moments where he responds to Oliver because he can relate. Perhaps Samantha made eggs for his breakfast, and so having Oliver do it means a lot to him. There were other moments as with the math test that he shuts Oliver out. This is all real and to be expected. William has gone through much and of course it would take time. Even children can have PTSD, or moments like that. Not saying William has that, but I'm saying the boy walked through fire with a crazed killer who blew up an entire island and ultimately killed his mother, so it would make sense if he suffers moments of stress.
Oliver and Diggle: Diggle needed to hear about all that Oliver had learned from him. It was Diggle's faith in Oliver that caused Oliver to become the Green Arrow. He tells Dig, "You can be a better hero than I ever was." I think that's because Diggle is Oliver's hero. I think that's how Oliver thinks about him. One of the spoilers that I wrote about was that John Diggle would do something that could cause Oliver to be very disappointed in Diggle. Other folks thought that John would have an affair with Dinah, but now tonight we found out just want that disappointment would be. Were you surprised as I to find out what John has done to himself to remove the tremors? When Felicity and Curtis created the gun that shoots arrows, I thought how could he shoot that when can't shoot a gun? At first I thought it was a flaw in the writing, but then at the end, and we saw John injecting some drug, I was caught off guard. This begins John's story and even back story.In the new voice-over, Oliver tells us that someone else has to be the Green Arrow. What do you think will be one to bring him back? I think it will be William, or Felicity, especially if Felicity get's caught in Samanda Watson's web.
My Low Points: I felt John's indecision was out of character for a military man who was trained in special ops. This frankly bothered me. Special ops trained men make split second decisions routinely without hesitation. I just didn't buy that scene. Maybe after seeing the end where Diggle injects the drug, I could see the drugs influencing the decision making process. That part of the story wasn't plausible to me.
The second low point was William's needing help with quadratic equations. Please, writers make up your mind how old William is. I teach and most children don't learn quadratic equations until the 8th or 9th grades. In some schools they start that in the 8th grade, but William isn't in the 8th grade, because last week we learned he was bullied by one of the "big boys" in 8th grade. I guess he was probably in 6th grade maybe 7th. I found that bothered me. Minor point, though, but I wish the writers would do a better job with William. I don't feel that his age is fleshed out yet.
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