Arrow S02E14 – Review

By: Wendy Mericle & Beth Schwartz (story)

The Story: Nothing like a tirade against your long-lost sister to ruin a family dinner.

The Review: Apologies for the lateness, but midterm duties called and I had to answer.  You know how it is.  But let’s not waste any more time than we have already.  This week’s episode finally puts a pin in the most troubled part of the show this season: Dinah, burgeoning alcoholic, pill-popper, drama queen, and all-around mess.  It’s not hard to see her trajectory towards rock bottom, but the ETA has been repeatedly delayed by new personal crises.

But then, Arrow has always struggled to find a place for Dinah, established early on as one of its major figures, but quickly overshadowed by the rest of the cast, even, lately, Roy.  At this point, Dinah is in a very risky position for a character in a fictional series: she doesn’t have a clear or secure position in relation to Ollie except as a romantic interest, nor does she have a purpose of her own to pursue.  The closest she came to either of these things was her untimely investigation into Sebastian Blood, which only led her further along her downward spiral.  Frankly, this was all starting to seem dangerously Mandy-esque.*

While this episode doesn’t exactly give Dinah the position or purpose she so desperately needs, at least it’s clear that the worst is over.  She could only wallow in her own misery and begrudge the happiness of others for so long before she became the show’s resident harpy.  Even Ollie is finally driven to call out Dinah’s self-destructive behaviors.  But Dinah hasn’t had several years of surviving various island terrors; she can’t be expected to deal with setbacks as stoically as Ollie, or Sara.

Even so, she can’t continue to lose control and expect to retain her dignity when those who’ve been through worse are moving on with their lives.  Thankfully, she takes major steps to pulling herself out of this mire by making up with Sara, in the process admitting her shortcomings with admirable frankness and pathos.  Between this scene and showing up to Quentin’s A.A. meeting, Dinah has found redemption twice, earning her way back into our sympathy once more.

While the show is busy pulling Dinah out of the mire, it also pushes Felicity out of a small one of her own before she gets in too deep.  Her sudden desire to be more active in the team’s fieldwork is actually an interesting feminist study.  Seemingly content to remain on the support side of things when it was just her and the boys, the entrance of Sara, who can keep up in a fight with Ollie and Diggle, makes her discontented to stay in the sidelines.  Clock King exacerbates her insecurity, his technical prowess proving that she is no longer unequaled in one sphere of power.

As a result, Felicity drifts very close to the jealous cattiness that often plagues female-female relationships when there are men to impress.  Fortunately, her occasional waspish remark is blunted by Sara’s decision to not engage, and she soon receives assurance from Diggle and Ollie that her place on the team is necessary and permanent.  No matter; Felicity finds personal reassurance once she braves the field and receives her own scar, which the episode treats as both a badge of honor and symbol of sacrifice for the work the team does.

With so much of the episode’s focus diverted to Dinah and Felicity’s emotional growth, there’s not much time left to develop Clock King’s character.  While his mathematical genius and stormy temperament prevent him from being flavorless, he never gains an emotional dimension that places him the upper strata of Arrow villains.  The revelation of his sister’s surgical needs feels thin and almost perfunctory; there’s only so much depth of tragedy he can expose in a single outburst.  I’m glad to know Felicity’s exploding-cell-phone trick only knocked him out; the show can stand to use him again, in an even more elaborate act of villainy.

Conclusion: Though the show once again falls a little short in its villain of the week, the strides for two of its principal characters are worthy watching.

Grade: B+

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * West Wing fans may remember Mandy, a regular from the first season whom no one cared for very much and who had nothing to do except when she was in the doghouse for whatever reason.  She was unceremoniously removed from the cast by the second season and never spoken of again.

– Trying to horn in on Ollie, Diggle, and Sara’s discussion of scars, Felicity pipes up enthusiastically, “I have a scar—in my mouth.  I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was sixteen.  Three stitches—they were really badly impacted.”  Oh, Felicity—never, ever leave.

– “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Sin says to Sara.

“Well, you don’t have to find out,” Sara replies.  Oof.  Doesn’t that sound like an ironic death is guaranteed for her?