Arrow - Draw Back Your Bow - Review - "Flarrow is coming!"

Arrow, “Draw Back Your Bow,” was written by the team of Wendy Mericle and Beth Schwartz and directed by Rob Hardy. What follows is a nice re-cappy review to get everyone ready for #Flarrow - the first Flash/Arrow crossover. "Draw Back Your Bow" introduced a new villain – Cupid – played by Amy Gumenick. As with most villains, she was another one and done… but as we learn at the end of the episode, we may yet see her turn up with the Suicide Squad! I think Gumenick did a terrific job, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in the future. The episode featured a couple of great fight sequences – and isn’t it a testament to this show that that’s pretty much a given? In keeping with the villain at the center of the action, the episode really did focus on matters of the heart.

Carrie Cutter (Cupid – Gumenick) was saved by the Arrow (Stephen Amell) during the major battle with Slade (Manu Bennett). We see a flashback to them stopping so the Arrow can save her from some of Slade’s soldiers. I had to ask myself why stop for her? Was this the only person they saw who needed saving on the way to the bridge? If not, did they stop for others? And if they did, how did they ever get to the bridge? We’ll just assume that was the only altercation they passed… regardless, a stalker was born.

I did like that they built her backstory to make her transition to super-villain somewhat credible – she was the first woman on the police SWAT team – so she had skills. And nobody had skills to rival the mirakuru soldiers, so easy to see her as a victim there. I also really liked that under pressure, she wasn’t a very good shot – Oliver easily dodges her arrow and then shoots her bow out of her hand in the final confrontation. I also liked that she actually used one of her former CIs (confidential informant in Police-speak) Kirby Bates (Daniel Boileau) to track the Arrow to his likely lair. I also liked that said CI was also bemused that no one else had thought to use the triangulation trick to find it. Of course, Oliver doesn’t always leave from the lair to go to a crime scene… but as time goes on, especially with him having no job, and he was living there for quite a while, the percentages would still lead to that spot… perhaps I’m over-thinking…

It was interesting seeing the Arrow go to see Cutter’s psychiatrist, Dr Pressnall (Jill Teed). I thought she gave up on the patient confidentiality a little too quickly, however. Though I did like the nice dodge of I can’t talk about her but I can diagnose her for you – how is that any different? Regardless, her diagnosis IS telling: attachment disorder – you push everyone away and fixate on a single person. Sound like anyone else we know? She also suggests that Oliver’s mask and Robin Hood costume make him a good candidate for therapy… It’s nice to see Oliver actually pull more people closer to him by the end of the episode, however.

The final fight between the Arrow and Cupid is pretty spectacular. I’ve seen Gumenick do some fighting on Supernatural, so I was excited to see what they might have her do here. Unfortunately, it seemed like the entire fight was done by a stunt double – possibly Caity Lotz’s stunt double in a red wig now. I expect it’s safer not to have guest stars in the mix with this experienced team, but I do hope that if Gumenick is in it for the long haul on the Suicide Squad that they’ll put her in some training and we’ll get to see what she can do.

I liked that her police training came in again and as they rolled on the tracks, she manages to handcuff the Arrow to the track. She’s crazy enough to be happy to commit murder/suicide and therefore be with him in eternity. In a cringe-inducing move, Oliver dislocates his own thumb to get loose and save the both of them. And again in true crazy-stalker fashion, this only solidifies in Cutter’s mind that the Arrow really loves her.

I did think it interesting that Oliver makes the decision to send her to the Suicide Squad rather than Iron Heights, which he says isn’t right for her. Does he relate to her? He tells Diggle (David Ramsey) that at least there she has the potential to do some good. After all, she was a cop at first and she did want to help the Arrow – even if it was more that she wanted to kill than save. Diggle tells Oliver that Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) said that “Cutter’s even nuttier than the last woman they had in the Suicide Squad.” Clearly, she was referring to Harley Quinn, who we’ve only had glimpses of. The past tense makes me think that we aren’t going to get more than the brief glimpses we’ve had of her. Did she manage to escape? Did they deem her too dangerous? Could they not get permission to use her? At least we can look forward, hopefully, to more Cupid.

Both Oliver and Roy (Colton Haynes) are distracted throughout the episode. Roy is still torn up about his killing the police officer while under the mirakuru’s influence. Oliver tries to get him to talk, and I liked that even though Roy insisted he was fine and didn’t want to talk, he did at least thank Oliver for making the attempt. I really liked that when Oliver returns to the foundry upset, Roy immediately comes to ask him if he’s ok and Oliver honestly says not really. This prompts Roy to admit that he’s not ok either. Instead of simply commiserating with each other, Oliver takes them both for a family dinner at Diggle and Lyla’s. In fact, this dovetails nicely with the Hong Kong flashbacks in the episode.

The flashbacks also concern love – the love of Maseo (Karl Yune) and Tatsu (Rila Fukushima). We see that Tatsu really wants Oliver gone – and really, he’s a terrible houseguest if he can’t even do his own laundry! I thought his embarrassment over not knowing how to do it was hilarious. They have to work together, however, when Maseo is overdue from returning on his mission to the docks. I loved then arguing over who should go – “You’re just a saleswife” – “You’re just a billionaire who doesn’t know how to use laundry machine!” Appearances, as we well know, are deceiving.

        We learn that Maseo and Tatsu are hiding from powerful people in Japan who they crossed in some way. We also finally get to see Fukushima in action. This was a terrific fight scene as she takes out the guys beating on Oliver. It was also a nice moment when they return to the apartment and find Maseo alive with their son. Oliver’s own isolation from the family unit is underscored. He knows he’s not a part of their unit – though he has won Tatsu over somewhat, and he leaves them alone. This is the nice contrast to the scene in the present in which Lyla welcomes both Oliver and Roy into the house.

Oliver’s present day distraction is over Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). He keeps protesting that he’s not bothered by her spending more time with Ray (Brandon Routh), but Diggle knows him too well. When Diggle can’t get Oliver to talk, he goes to Felicity. Both Ramsey and Rickards are fabulous in this scene. Diggle tells her that Oliver is tied up in knots over her dinner with Ray. Felicity tells Diggle that there is no thing with her and Ray, but if there were, Oliver needs to come and talk to her himself.

        Diggle is easily the most perceptive of the bunch! He points out that Oliver never wants to talk about his feelings and he also points out that the dinner does not seem platonic – and he’s basing that on only having seen the couture dress at that point! Felicity insists that Oliver made his own choice, and Diggle replies that they both know it was the wrong one – but Felicity still needs to hear Oliver say that.

In a sense, she does hear him confirm his decision when they are overhearing the confrontation between Cupid and Arrow. Oliver says “I know what it’s like to want someone but not be able to be with them though you wish things could be different.” There’s a terrific shot of Rickard’s reacting to Oliver’s statement. And as an aside? Kudos to the makeup department for the nicely subtle makeup Felicity wears to her date with Palmer – it reminds us of a more vulnerable Felicity. Diggle tells Oliver about Felicity’s reaction to the statement and warns him that Felicity isn’t going to wait forever, she doesn’t want to be alone. He urges Oliver to tell her how he feels before it’s too late. Oliver actually takes Diggle’s advice, but of course, he arrives just in time to see Ray and Felicity kissing.

Ray seems to be taking everything from Oliver. He’s taken his company and his girl. In this episode, he also takes the salmon ladder! Although, we only see him jump one rung… still, I’m off the opinion that only Oliver and Sara should be allowed to do it… Ray also takes Oliver’s tag line! He tells the press conference that “We are all working very hard to SAVE OUR CITY, but to do so Queen Consolidated NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING ELSE!” And he then renames the company Palmer Technologies. He’s also made Felicity his Vice President of Technology – a bit step up from IT girl!

Ray asks Felicity to accompany him to a “work” dinner to save him from boredom, but he sends very mixed signals by buying her a couture dress – though remember how much he spent to hire her! – and then a $10 million necklace. The dinner itself does appear to be all business. Oliver is clearly mad when she tells him she’s not available to work for him that night, but she does help Diggle via phone too. We finally get to see a bit more of Routh in this episode. He’s his usual slightly distracted and bumbling genius for a lot of it, but at the dinner there’s a great reaction shot of him as Felicity sells Ray to Mr Gardner (Fred Henderson) to get him to sell his mine to Ray: “He’s not interested in making money. He’s interested in making the world a better place. If he wants your mine, he’s going to put it to the kind of use that’ll make you proud.” Making the world a better place could also apply to Oliver. Felicity remarks that “she has a type” when she sees the salmon ladder, and while that’s true (don’t we all!), her type is much deeper than mere physical attributes.

In typical Felicity fashion, she thinks she’s ruined the deal, but Ray comes to thank her for winning Gardner over. Ray has clearly fallen for her and kisses her only to pull back and apologize, saying he’d meant to keep it platonic. He sees the same special qualities in her that Oliver does – and just like Oliver he pulls back AND we see that he has a secret too. The final scene with Palmer reveals that he wanted the mine to extract dwarf star alloy and he’s building an Atom Exo-suit. The new Palmer logo is a hint that Ray Palmer is the Atom!

The final “love” plotline seems to involve the new love interest for Thea (Willa Holland). I have to say that this storyline really felt pretty weak in comparison to the main plot. Mainly, I found Chase (Austin Butler) and irredeemable ass. His trying to dismiss all the other DJs is both arrogant and stupid. While Thea might be hiring a “signature” DJ for the club, she’s still going to need a list of backups and in the end, Chase himself says he isn’t going to work every night. I liked Thea telling him that she doesn’t need anyone looking after her, but then she really gets run over by him. I hope that they don’t go to a jealous Roy plotline here…

What did you think of the episode? What was your favorite fight scene from the episode? Did you like Cupid? Looking forward to her joining the Suicide Squad? Do you think Ray will ultimately be a good guy or a bad guy? Is there hope for Oliver and Felicity? The final scene introduced the new villain Boomerang – aka George Harkness (Nick Tarabay), any thoughts on what he might be up to? And are you ready for this week's crossover with The Flash? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.