Arrow 612 All for Nothing Review
I have mixed feelings about this episode. The writers carried the story forward, and we learn that there's an even bigger mole within James's organization. However, the Newbies are becoming tiring. I care less about Rene and Curtis than I ever have. Then there is the building to the Black Siren redemption that the writers promised they would explore. Suffice it to say this episode will not remain on my top ten list of best episodes.
Olicity: I know that we cannot expect to have an Olicity centric episode each week, that would not even be realistic. I do enjoy the moments the writers give us of this husband and wife team. It's the little things that sweeten the scenes. Oliver comes in looking worried, and Felicity says, "I love that face, but it's a worried face." Then they hug, and sway back and forth in that hug. It's a small moment, but it reveals their love and their support. They've had to put their honeymoon on hold to stop Cayden James, but they don't stop thinking about it. Felicity asks, "Are we going to have a honeymoon?" Oliver replies in the affirmative, "Aruba". Hopefully we will get to see their honeymoon in Aruba, wouldn't that be fun? We had other such moments in this episode, such as Felicity entering the Helix bunker of the Newbies, and touching Oliver's arm gently and he quickly turns toward her. These soft moments between them speak loudly of their love and trust.
Oliver: Oliver shows a lot of growth. I liked his talk with Vincent Sobel. He tells him that he can't trust him yet the way the others do, but he understands that what Vincent tells him is true. To save the City, Vincent has to do what he's about to do. When he talks with Dinah after Vincent's death, he doesn't take the blame like the old Oliver would. He admits to Dinah he's not there to apologize, and that Vincent knew what he was getting into as any police officer knows. Oliver's character has grown. I am thinking the real test for Oliver will be when Felicity's life lies in the balance, as I believe the story will lead in that direction. Will he still have that same self-control?
The Flashbacks: Flashbacks of Dinah Drake and Vincent Sobel wasted time. We already had most of those scenes in season 5. Did we really need that again? Perhaps the writers thought knowing more about Vincent would cause us to feel his death more keenly. I found them redundant. I'm wanting to to see more of John Diggle's background. It had been hinted during the summer hiatus that we might find out more about Diggle's mother. That would certainly interest me more. These flashbacks fell flat and seemed disconnected from the story line in the episode.
The Newbies: Curtis and Rene: This viewer had enough of Rene and Curtis in this episode. They so annoyed me that at this point they could be written out of the show and tears would not be shed at their parting. Rene's comment in the bunker was the last straw for me. He said, "I'm getting PTSD from being here." Really? He has a problem being there? Oliver trained him, helped him to grow, showed him a different way to overcome some of his anger issues. Oliver helped him to get his daughter back, and got him a job that would help to get her back. He turned on Oliver without once ever going to Oliver to say, "Hey, if I don't turn state's evidence I'll lose my daughter, what can I do?" It wouldn't have been that hard to do, but no, he quickly turned on him, and he's the one who suffers? Curtis is tiring too. He turns to Oliver and Felicity to leave with Dinah and says, "He going with family?" Who took him in? Felicity did everything for him, and she even allows him to be a part of her company, yet Dinah and Rene are Family? After all they've been through together. They seem more like spoiled babies. With Alena there, do they need Curtis? Couldn't Alena do what Curtis has done, and do it without whining? Are the writers making these two so obnoxious that when they repent, it will be easier to accept? I am not so sure. I feel bad too, because I saw in Rene a lot of potential. Part of me still hopes that Rene at least will come to his senses before this is all over. I see more potential for him than I do for Curtis.
The Newbies, Dinah: Of the three newbies, Dinah garners more sympathy from the viewer. She finally had Vincent back. They worked together, and they seemed to move toward a future together. Her anger stems from real hurt at seeing Vincent die a second time. When she talks to Oliver, it's hurt that speaks, so I had more sympathy with her. The viewer understands her pain. I wondered why she didn't use her canary cry to stop BS and James,but then I realized that the beam across her chest would not allow for enough air to get out to cry. I wondered it the Newbies had just done what Oliver said and all of them go after the bomb, then get Vincent that perhaps he might have lived. The bomb was lost because the team was fractured. Each team working separately, has cost them a lot. When will they finally start working together? The Newbies will have to grow up first.
Black Siren: I'm sorry this Black Siren story line is simply BS. I don't buy any of it. Did Lance love Laurel at the expense of his other daughter? He does have a daughter who is alive, but he seems to have forgotten that. Lance's fixation with BS annoys this viewer. I guess I can sympathize a little if I found someone that looked exactly like my loved one, it might be tempting to transfer the one person for the other. But they aren't the same person at all. They have different backgrounds, different goals, and different upbringings that shaped who they are. Does the viewer think that the slight pause and look on her face was doubt over the veracity of killing Vincent? Did you feel the sorrow or pity? I for one did not. There is a huge part of me that hopes Dinah does indeed kill the Black Siren. But if the redemption of BS is truly to take place, then she won't do it.
Other thoughts: I liked Alena, she worked well with the team. I did wondered why Felicity on her own couldn't have found out what Alena did, because Alena recruited Felicity because she was the best. If she replaced Curtis, I wouldn't be sorry.
The show's title "All For Nothing" seemed appropriate, it appeared at first that Vincent died all for nothing, but he didn't because now we know there is someone perhaps within James's organization that is actually pulling the strings and manipulating James to go after Oliver. A mole in the organization that's not Vincent? Or is someone outside James's organization itself working to bring Oliver down? Who could it be? Could it be Anatoly? Could it even be Amanda Watson herself?
We know that William lives with Raisa and his PlayStation 4 in an Argus safe house. Let's hope James does't know this.
Olicity: I know that we cannot expect to have an Olicity centric episode each week, that would not even be realistic. I do enjoy the moments the writers give us of this husband and wife team. It's the little things that sweeten the scenes. Oliver comes in looking worried, and Felicity says, "I love that face, but it's a worried face." Then they hug, and sway back and forth in that hug. It's a small moment, but it reveals their love and their support. They've had to put their honeymoon on hold to stop Cayden James, but they don't stop thinking about it. Felicity asks, "Are we going to have a honeymoon?" Oliver replies in the affirmative, "Aruba". Hopefully we will get to see their honeymoon in Aruba, wouldn't that be fun? We had other such moments in this episode, such as Felicity entering the Helix bunker of the Newbies, and touching Oliver's arm gently and he quickly turns toward her. These soft moments between them speak loudly of their love and trust. Oliver: Oliver shows a lot of growth. I liked his talk with Vincent Sobel. He tells him that he can't trust him yet the way the others do, but he understands that what Vincent tells him is true. To save the City, Vincent has to do what he's about to do. When he talks with Dinah after Vincent's death, he doesn't take the blame like the old Oliver would. He admits to Dinah he's not there to apologize, and that Vincent knew what he was getting into as any police officer knows. Oliver's character has grown. I am thinking the real test for Oliver will be when Felicity's life lies in the balance, as I believe the story will lead in that direction. Will he still have that same self-control?The Flashbacks: Flashbacks of Dinah Drake and Vincent Sobel wasted time. We already had most of those scenes in season 5. Did we really need that again? Perhaps the writers thought knowing more about Vincent would cause us to feel his death more keenly. I found them redundant. I'm wanting to to see more of John Diggle's background. It had been hinted during the summer hiatus that we might find out more about Diggle's mother. That would certainly interest me more. These flashbacks fell flat and seemed disconnected from the story line in the episode.
The Newbies: Curtis and Rene: This viewer had enough of Rene and Curtis in this episode. They so annoyed me that at this point they could be written out of the show and tears would not be shed at their parting. Rene's comment in the bunker was the last straw for me. He said, "I'm getting PTSD from being here." Really? He has a problem being there? Oliver trained him, helped him to grow, showed him a different way to overcome some of his anger issues. Oliver helped him to get his daughter back, and got him a job that would help to get her back. He turned on Oliver without once ever going to Oliver to say, "Hey, if I don't turn state's evidence I'll lose my daughter, what can I do?" It wouldn't have been that hard to do, but no, he quickly turned on him, and he's the one who suffers? Curtis is tiring too. He turns to Oliver and Felicity to leave with Dinah and says, "He going with family?" Who took him in? Felicity did everything for him, and she even allows him to be a part of her company, yet Dinah and Rene are Family? After all they've been through together. They seem more like spoiled babies. With Alena there, do they need Curtis? Couldn't Alena do what Curtis has done, and do it without whining? Are the writers making these two so obnoxious that when they repent, it will be easier to accept? I am not so sure. I feel bad too, because I saw in Rene a lot of potential. Part of me still hopes that Rene at least will come to his senses before this is all over. I see more potential for him than I do for Curtis. The Newbies, Dinah: Of the three newbies, Dinah garners more sympathy from the viewer. She finally had Vincent back. They worked together, and they seemed to move toward a future together. Her anger stems from real hurt at seeing Vincent die a second time. When she talks to Oliver, it's hurt that speaks, so I had more sympathy with her. The viewer understands her pain. I wondered why she didn't use her canary cry to stop BS and James,but then I realized that the beam across her chest would not allow for enough air to get out to cry. I wondered it the Newbies had just done what Oliver said and all of them go after the bomb, then get Vincent that perhaps he might have lived. The bomb was lost because the team was fractured. Each team working separately, has cost them a lot. When will they finally start working together? The Newbies will have to grow up first. Black Siren: I'm sorry this Black Siren story line is simply BS. I don't buy any of it. Did Lance love Laurel at the expense of his other daughter? He does have a daughter who is alive, but he seems to have forgotten that. Lance's fixation with BS annoys this viewer. I guess I can sympathize a little if I found someone that looked exactly like my loved one, it might be tempting to transfer the one person for the other. But they aren't the same person at all. They have different backgrounds, different goals, and different upbringings that shaped who they are. Does the viewer think that the slight pause and look on her face was doubt over the veracity of killing Vincent? Did you feel the sorrow or pity? I for one did not. There is a huge part of me that hopes Dinah does indeed kill the Black Siren. But if the redemption of BS is truly to take place, then she won't do it.Other thoughts: I liked Alena, she worked well with the team. I did wondered why Felicity on her own couldn't have found out what Alena did, because Alena recruited Felicity because she was the best. If she replaced Curtis, I wouldn't be sorry.
The show's title "All For Nothing" seemed appropriate, it appeared at first that Vincent died all for nothing, but he didn't because now we know there is someone perhaps within James's organization that is actually pulling the strings and manipulating James to go after Oliver. A mole in the organization that's not Vincent? Or is someone outside James's organization itself working to bring Oliver down? Who could it be? Could it be Anatoly? Could it even be Amanda Watson herself?
We know that William lives with Raisa and his PlayStation 4 in an Argus safe house. Let's hope James does't know this.
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