My Name is Emiko Queen: Arrow 710 Review

                    For me the episode was rather ho-hum and a bit of a let down.  I suppose after waiting a long time for the return of Arrow and especially after the Elseworlds episode,  anticipation grew high for viewers.  From reading posts it seems the majority felt a let down.  Many felt that Oliver and Felicity were sidelined.  It's my understanding that Stephen had been filming the crossover, so perhaps there was little time for him to have a full leading role.  I feel the major reason for this episode was to set up the rest of the season.  Let's dig in.

                    Oliver and Felicity: Oliver now works with SCPD, which has to be a  whole new dynamic for  him.  He's  tasked with finding the  new Green  Arrow.  He's provided  a blood  sample  and so he brings it home to Felicity.  I loved  Felicity's reaction, "Some  men  bring flowers  home to their wife, but mine brings  me a blood sample." That was  so cute, and it shows  our  couple  in  a good spot.  Felicity has worked  on a new security  system, and of course it would include  the  ability  to check DNA. :)
Of course this foreshadowed  what we saw in the flashforward, but more  on  that later. 

Felicity finds out that the DNA marker shows the  new Green  Arrow is  a  woman, and  then she finds there  is a  match.  The NGA is Oliver's sister.  This sends  Oliver into a tailspin, and Felicity is right there  with him to help.  We see a change in Oliver. In the past he  would have hid himself  away as the Green Arrow while he sorted  things out.  This time he allows Felicity to help him.  She knows the Queens and  so she know that Robert always  left a paper trail, and  so they together  think perhaps Moria kept Robert's  papers.  Okay so it seemed  a bit strange that after 7 years, they discover (easily by the way) that Moria had a storage facility with, of course, Robert's belongings.  They  begin to go through the boxes and  first Felicity finds some  of  Oliver's "baby" drawings, and  that moment was  so cute and sweet. Then Oliver finds a letter from Robert to Walter Steele.  Robert tells  him about his  daughter Emiko and the her mother,Kazumi Hadachi, and that he loved them.  The next question  that comes up is why didn't Walter take care of them?  Why were Emiko and Kazumi  left alone in the Glades?  Of course the answer has to be Moria. My  guess is that Moria found out about it, and made Robert leave them and have no contact with them.  She couldn't have the truth known by anyone, for it might jeopardize Queen industries and  her own children.  Moria never liked truth being known did she?  She kept the truth  about Oliver's baby hidden  away.  She  kept the truth hidden away from Thea and Oliver about Thea's father.  She played God with her family's lives.  Then it begs the question, why didn't Walter follow through?  She could have convinced Walter not to, or perhaps she told him that the Emiko and  Kazumi died  in the Undertaking.  That  wouldn't have surprised  me either.

Oliver feels betrayed.  He wanted to right his  Father's wrongs, but for seven  years he's had  a sister  alone and totally  wronged by both his father and his mother.  He  feels a burden and  a sadness.  Then Felicity tells Oliver that she isn't a psychiatrist or anything but his sister dressed as the Green  Arrow is certainly a cry for help, and  Oliver decided to go and find his sister.  Felicity will always be beside Oliver helping him.  She understands everything about Oliver.

 Emiko Queen: The major players tonight were Emiko Queen and Rene Ramierz.  Emiko gets wounded and turns to Rene .  She reveals her past to him.  She lived in the Glades. Now, this says something for Robert.  He had a family in the Glades, and yet he joined with Malcolm to destroy it, at least in the beginning? Yeah, I know Malcolm held the death of that man  over his head, but still, it says a lot about his character.  Even though he wanted to stop Malcolm and tried, it still doesen't excuse his behavior.  Her mother  died and Emiko wants revenge on her mother's killer.  Again we see the little books of names.  How many of these did Robert leave behind?  Does her list seem different, or did she take up where Oliver left off?   She clearly knows how to fight.  That's why I thought China White could have been her mother, because she could have taught her.  So how did Emiko learn?  I guess these are things we shall find out in the future. 

Emiko has trust issues, but she allows Rene in, and I think we will more in the future about this.  Emiko has been forgotten and alone  for a long time. I'm thinking resentment built up in her, and after Oliver's being sent to prison, she came out as the Green Arrow.  She helped Oliver's friends and she is fighting crime. I wonder if before Robert left on the boat, did he go  to Emiko and tell her to write his wrongs just as he told Oliver?  Emiko wants to do  what is right, at least it seems that way to me.  We  know she's resentful of Oliver when  Rene tells her she can't do it alone, and that Oliver learned this she says, "I'm not Oliver Queen!"  Who wouldn't be resentful?  She knew her father, so I think he went over there more than even Moria knew.  I think at the end, she was  surprised to see Oliver there at their father's grave.  Will Oliver be her light?

      Rene and the Flashforwards:  Rene is mayor of the Glades!  Did you notice how bright and  shiny the Glades looked?  It's all clean and  very  safe thanks the Archer Program.  Now here I think that both Oliver and Felicity are involved, and found this to be a bit exciting.   Rene mentions the security system that keeps the Glades safe from those in Star City that want to destroy it.  We know Felicity is building her security system, the result of all she went through  when Oliver was in prison.  Somehow I think both Oliver and Felicity are involved  with this. Zoe needs access to the Archer Program, but he refuses to give it to  her, and  she tells him  that Felicity is dead, he seems genuinely surprised.  He then mentions this to a man  who comes to see  him (sorry  I forgot  to get his name) and the man says Felicity was becoming a liability, and they had to do  it.  Whoever these people are they  didn't confide anything to Rene, so he may  not be high up in the chain of command.  They may be using him.  Then when Dinah goes to see Rene to get the Archer Program, she reminds him of the Mark of Four, and here we learn who are all a part of the Mark of Four: Diggle, Dinah, Rene, Oliver, and Felicity!  Oliver would only have chosen those he truly trusted, so I am thinking we can trust Rene.  Either Rene, Felicity, and  Oliver are all in on what Rene is doing, or he didn't, but will end up helping William, Dinah, and  Roy.  Notice who is not on the list?  Curtis, didn't make it.  What does that mean?  Does he die?

          Lyla and John:  Looks like John Diggle started the Ghost Protocol (aka Suicide Squad) and it upset Lya. He overstepped his bounds a bit, and she came back with "And here I thought I was the one in danger of being Amanda Waller." That had to cut, and I can't say as I blame her.  Is anyone liking, the  way they are shaping John's character?  I rather miss the OTA aspect, and I think we will get there, but I think ARGUS will the way they end  up  getting there.  Something's going there, and I think the death of Kazumi is somehow going to play into all of this. 

Final thoughts :

• Stephen Amell needs to learn how to pronounce Emiko's name. :)
• Felicity's company will probably be dealing with Security Systems
• Rene was the one who actually helped Felicity while Oliver was in prison.  He cares for her and Oliver would  never have made him  part of the Mark of Four if he didn't trust  him.
• Looking forward  to seeing more about the Archer Program
• Mark of Four: its' significant that Curtis is not a part of it, and it's important that Rene is.
• Did you notice that Emiko's place red?  It looked a little purple once, but it also looked slightly red.  I'm thinking Emiko will become the Red Arrow, no way will she be the Green Arrow forever.
• All in the future is not as it seems with Rene.
• Don't worry, Oliver and  Felicity won't be sidelined. I think the reason it appeared to be was twofold: To give Stephen a break because of the crossover filming, and I also think the focus on Emiko and Rene helped to set up what will go on in the future. So though it seemed a bit ho hum to me, it will prove to be an important episode.