Tribute Arrow 602 Review

Overwatch

      Arrow starts off with the traditional voice over that we didn't have last week, followed by new title card. Instead of just the Arrow, we now have a symbol for each member of Team Arrow.  There  is bird for Dinah (BC), a dog for Rene (Wild Dog), a T for Curtis (Mr. Terrific), a technological eye for  Felicity (Overwatch) and a helmet for Diggle (Spartan).  It was unexpected and also a great idea.  It's no longer Oliver  working alone, but everyone working together as a Team.  It's part of the growth of the show. Oliver no longer needs to be alone.  So, here are my  thoughts on tonight's episode.

         John and Dinah:  Dinah finally found out the John's injuries are serious.  He has shrapnel wounds that caused nerve damage.  I thought their scenes were intense, but also, I felt a sense of relief, because frankly, it seemed in 601, that John and Dinah were attracted to each other, and I like Lyla.  Tonight, I didn't get that so much.  Dinah needs someone  in the field  that she can count on, and she knows John needs to tell Oliver and the others. John has the soldier mentality you push through the pain.  You fight on and never give up.   I think Dinah is a good friend.  He did show in one fight scene what he can  do without a gun, but when  he doesn't tell  Oliver  and he agrees to be the Green Arrow for Oliver, I felt frustrated.  John will do anything for his brother. He's totally loyal to him, but John has a son too.  He's putting his life in danger and his son could be without a father. Diggle does have Lyla to parent their son.  I'm thinking, well, Oliver could marry Felicity and then William would have a parent, but Felicity and  William have not met have they? So they have no bond, but it would be a solution.  One point to bring out that I found a problem with.  John is loyal  to  Oliver.  Oliver is his brother, but John is  also a soldier, and  he brought that  out that a solider fights through. However, a soldier thinks  of  his brothers in arms, and would he really go into battle when  he knew he couldn't defend his brothers?  I see that the writers want  Oliver to struggle with identity now that he has a son, but it  seems that we've gone down that road before.  Minor point, but I've been around the military most of life, so it gave me pause. 

Diggle as the Green Arrow: How will the team react with Diggle out there as the Green Arrow?  Can Diggle  really be the Green Arrow in the same way  Oliver is?  They will have to adjust because John has a different personality from Oliver. How will Lyla react?  Will Agent Watson be following him, and will Watson get in touch with Argus?  

         Anatoly:  I used to like Anatoly and the friendship he  had with Oliver, but that has disappeared.  Oliver asks him what has happened to him, and he tells Oliver, "I'm a good man."  Then then goes on  to tell Oliver that he's a good man because he didn't hurt William.  In that scene, David Nykl, played the part so coldly and chillingly.  He knows Oliver won't kill him, but this viewer finds herself thinking take that arrow and get rid  of a threat to your son.  Oliver will face Anatoly again.  The pain etched on Oliver's face revealed how much he cared for Anatoly, and yet he was tempted to do what Anatoly  knew he would not do, well acted by Stephen Amell.  We will see more of Anatoly.  However, before he left he revealed that he was not the one who released the photo.

           Curtis and Felicity:  I've written before that Curtis gets on my nerves, but tonight I actually enjoyed his scenes with Felicity.  I loved this dialogue: Curtis "For mere mortals we're Mr. Terrific and Overwatch.  Felicity: Overwatch and Mr. Terrific."  I enjoyed the conversation on how they each earned money.  Finally we hear that Felicity wants to open her own Tech company with Curtis.  I hope it will be Smoak Technology.  If Curtis is a partner  will they call it something else?One of my favorite scenes tonight was Felicity sitting in Oliver's Mayoral chair the other team members around her, but she's in the center and her face bright, maybe it was just the lighting, but she was the center and heart of the team.  Felicity has a lightness to her.  Have you noticed?  It's not just the clothes she's wearing, but the light around her face. She is happy. She is ready to have her own company.  She had mended things with Oliver and they are in a good place.  Now if we could just see them together. :) 

     Oliver and Rene:  I enjoy Rene.  His character grew on my last year and nothing has changed that.  Oliver and Rene as two Dads talking and sharing added a new dimension to both men.  Sometimes you can't tell your children the truth, and so Rene said that he told his daughter she came from a cloud. Cute, but Rene also hoped his wife set Zoe straight.  I didn't care for the writing when Oliver said, "I've never lied to my son before."  He's only  been a dad for five months.  Not sure I cared for that line.  I guess he doesn't have to worry about telling him about Santa Claus, because William is too old for that.  It was also good  to see Rene in the field as Wild Dog with his new suit.  I didn't mention that last time.  

      Oliver and William:  Oliver as a Dad adds  new depth to Oliver.  When Oliver picks Willlam up and the boy has a shiner.  What did you think of Oliver's advice?  Pick the biggest boy and walk up to him, don't say anything and hit him in the nose.  I remember my dad telling one of my brother's to do the same thing.  I smiled at that.   He's thinking always of how things will affect his son.  One of my favorite lines was when William said to Oliver, "Raisa said you have a hard time admitting when you're wrong."  Raisa knows a character trait of Oliver that we thought he had  as  a  result of Island, but tonight I  see that Oliver has always had a difficult time admitting that he's wrong.  Interesting point, I thought.  Oliver wants to be a better father than his father was to him.  At the heart of things for Oliver he doesn't want to be alone.  No matter how many times he pushed people away because he didn't want to hurt them, he never wanted to be alone.  He recognized in William that William is afraid Oliver will not come back and he will be alone.  That broke my heart.  William  and Oliver play a video game, and now we can see that the relationship between them can grow.   Did you notice William hitting the Flash backpack?  He was angry at superheros.  Did you catch what Oliver said, "Be careful, a close friend of mine gave you that."  Last week I had suspected that perhaps his mom had given him that backpack.  So, now do you suppose that Felicity gave Oliver that to give to him?

Odds and Ends:  FBI agent Samanda Watson, played by Sydelle Noel, will stop at nothing to prove that Oliver is the Green Arrow.  He has quite a nemesis in her.  I have trouble with the whole FBI thing, because surely by now, especially after last year's crossover, that the FBI would certainly know who the Green Arrow is unless Argus has somehow kept that from them. What say you? Also, could Susan William's have released the photo?

Have you thought about the title of tonight episode, Tribute?  Based on the title I viewed the episode expecting a tribute to Samantha, a kind of memorial for William. But I kept going back to scripture:"Render tribute to whom tribute is due" (Romans 13:7) and I think it revolves around  Anatoly and Oliver.  Anatoly felt that Oliver had cheated him and was not honorable to him, when Oliver stopped  him from taking those drugs back to  Russia, so now he has come to collect his "tribute". I am probably way off here, but that thought crossed my mind.

I still find I have trouble with the writers and how they write for William's character.  William said the boy that hit was  a big boy in the 8th grade.  If Stephen Amell is correct and William is suppose to be 12 in the show, then he would be in 7th grade.  Some of William's dialogue is too young for a 12 year old.  And even if Felicity gave Oliver the backpack to him for his son, it still bother's me.  No wonder he got teased at school.  He is either 9 or 10 or an immature 12 year old.  Sorry, but it bothers me a little bit.  I hope they work on that.

On a lighter note we thankfully had  no BS. (Black Siren)

       Also, it's time we had us some Olicity goodness, and I hear it may come  next week. Let's hope so.