Arrow returns with an all new episode on January 20th, so I thought now was a good time to look back on the terrific fall finale in preparation for where we go from here…
Arrow’s fall finale, “Dark Waters,” was written by the team of Wendy Mericle and Ben Sokolowski and was directed by John Behring. With these three at the helm, I wasn’t surprised that we got such a terrific episode. I really liked the theme of the women – Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) – both stating that they’d let the men in their lives know when they needed protecting. We went from the moment we’ve all been waiting all season for – Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) proposal to Felicity – almost immediately to Felicity possibly dying in Oliver’s arms – cliffhanger much? It was a great way to close out the fall run – is Felicity really the one in the grave from that scene?
The episode opens on mayoral candidate Oliver overseeing people cleaning up the beach. His approval rating is up 10 points. Naturally, the press is there covering the event as are Alex (Parker Young), Thea (Willa Holland), and Diggle (David Ramsey). Laurel and Felicity are with a group of children, one of whom turns out to be a mini-Felicity (Ava Frye). It’s a nice bit of foreshadowing that Oliver saves mini-Felicity from the bullets sprayed by Darhk’s (Neal McDonough) attack drone.
Oliver doesn’t want to talk to the press until the team can get some kind of handle on what Darhk is up to. Diggle agrees to talk to Andy (Eugene Byrd), who they are currently keeping in the cage. Diggle berates his brother for what he put his family through. The only defense that Andy puts up at all is to say that it was HIVE, not him. Diggle says he could understand if Andy had been brainwashed, but the drugs are all out of his system now and he should be able to at least explain. Andy tells him that he did what he had to do. Andy doesn’t deny running drugs. He also tells him that he doesn’t know why Darhk is interested in the Bay. This is a nice storyline for Ramsey, but there is clearly a subtext here. Does anyone doubt for a minute that he was being forced to do these things because of threats to his family? Wake up Diggle!!! I’m hoping there’s more to this story – like Andy is a deep mole for ARGUS or something.
Back at the apartment, Felicity finds Donna (Charlotte Ross) decorating – and making sure that Felicity’s Jewish heritage is represented! I just adore Ross and love how she’s really thrown herself into this part. It’s Donna who insists that the party must go on because they can’t let the terrorists win – just when you think she’s all fluffy blue hat, you discover there’s more to her.
It’s Donna who discovers the ring – and screams! Rickards is also wonderful in this scene – just her face! The two are simply adorable! Of course, Felicity is left to wonder why Oliver has waited to pop the question. But not until after she thinks he’s about to pop “the” question by going down on one knee to ask if they did the right thing…
The right thing he’s asking about is exposing Darhk to the media and painting a target on all their backs. Everyone supports the move, however, and Diggle and Thea insist they can’t throw a grenade and hide or look afraid. The party must go on! Darhk, however, is clearly upset and blows up his television. McDonough is clearly enjoying every moment. Of course, we learn – shockingly! – at the end of the episode that he may have an ulterior motive for wanting to remain anonymous. He actually has a wife (Janet Kidder) and daughter (Tuesday Hoffman)!
As Thea gets ready for the party, Malcolm (John Barrowman) shows up at her apartment to see how she’s feeling. She thinks she may have been cured by whatever Darhk did to her. Malcolm, however, is totally freaked out. He knows it has nothing to do with the Lazarus Pit but is some kind of universal force that he doesn’t understand. Very few things frighten him, but this does! It’s adorable when they pinky swear over her being safe!
The party is yet another chance for us to see the team all dressed up – except for Laurel who is manning the hotline for information on Darhk. We get to meet Curtis’ (Echo Kellum) husband, Paul (Chenier Hundal). Felicity is her utterly adorkable self in meeting him, leading to a description of their engagement proposal – with Paul adding only straight people put the ring in dessert, leading Felicity to realize what she’d missed in that chocolate soufflé.
Felicity runs off to find Oliver only to run into Donna and Lance (Paul Blackthorne)… cuddling?!?! Blackthorne and Ross together are an instant hit for me. So show? Don’t kill Lance OR Donna and make Ross at least recurring – but preferably a regular. I loved Lance and Donna acting like naughty kids and the lipstick on his cheek.
Felicity finds Oliver and then chickens out of confronting him, but he knows her and follows. He tells her that he waited to ask because everything changed that night when they returned to Star City. Felicity insists that she chose him AND this life. And at the end of the day, she’s an integral part of the team and has demonstrated several times that she can take care of herself – and I loved Laurel pointing that out to Oliver.
They are interrupted by Darhk showing up – McDonough once again eating the scenery in the best possible way. After throwing Oliver through a window, he takes Thea, Diggle, and Felicity prisoner. Lance remains neutral in the hopes that he’s maintaining some kind of cover with Darhk. Oliver then heads out as the Green Arrow to beat on a bunch of Ghosts, but he gets no usable intel.
Laurel meets him in the lair and tells him not to go there – where he blames himself for everything. She also tells him that they can all take care of themselves. They’re interrupted when she gets a text about some information on the hotline – it’s that Lance has been seen with Darhk and finally leads to the confrontation between Laurel and Lance. Lance explains it’s not what she thinks and that he started to try to protect her but has been working with Oliver for a while. I was happy to see them finally on the same page.
Oliver calls Lance and Laurel back to the lair and Malcolm shows up to help too. I loved how not happy Lance was to see Malcolm – who then has to disarm Lance. Barrowman is also clearly enjoying this new facet to Malcolm and I love the relish he brings to lines like, “this place is even easier to break into then the last one!” Oliver has decided to turn himself over to Darhk – but of course, they have a plan.
Malcolm refuses to pit the League against HIVE but will help them himself. He’s geo-tagged Oliver, so he knows where he is. Lance is determined to go, but Laurel tells him no. She knows he’s already done things he’ll never forgive himself for. She also tells him that she’ll tell him when she needs protecting – it’s her decision, not his. Malcolm goes in as the Green Arrow.
Darhk is apparently working on a project called Genesis for HIVE. We see him demonstrate a gas chamber with algae they’ve grown in the Bay. When he meets with Oliver, he tells him that humanity needs a re-set or a do-over and that’s what he’s planning. He does let Oliver have time with Felicity. And it’s her turn to tell him that he’s not the boss of her and that she gets to decide if she needs protecting. She also tells him that the whole point of marriage is to get through the hard times together. It doesn’t work if only person is doing all the heavy lifting. Felicity also tells him that she would have said yes.
Darhk, of course, renegs on his deal and is about to gas Diggle, Thea and Felicity in the chamber – telling Oliver that with nothing left to fight for, he’ll be more likely to give up. Naturally, Laurel and Malcolm show up at that moment and the canary scream manages to break the glass on the chamber. Interestingly, it has little to no effect on Darhk or later, his Ghosts. Lance shows up with the cavalry just in time to help with the Ghosts.
Darhk gets Malcolm in a magic strangle hold and Oliver tackles him to break it. Malcolm returns the favor to stop Darhk from beating Oliver and leaves a bunch of bomb arrows which blow up the building. The last shot we have of Darhk is him chanting what seems like a spell of some kind. We see him later taking the HIVE representatives through a corn field that is cleaning the air for them to breath. It appears that the deadly gas hovers above? I’m still a little at sea as to what he’s actually planning. I did love Felicity insisting that Darhk couldn’t be dead because there’d been no body! First rule, right? A character is never dead if there’s no body…
Diggle goes to Andy again to tell him that they are just going to treat him like a Ghost. Andy tells him that he never knew who he was, but when Diggle indicates that he’s done with him, Andy finally has a flash of disappointment cross his face. He’s clearly hiding that secret but wants Diggle to keep ‘digging.’
Meanwhile, Felicity has a surprise for Oliver – that Thea and Laurel are in on. Of course, the tree lighting ceremony ends up being a big surprise for Oliver as he proposes in front of all his friends and the media! I did wonder how there was really no bruising on his face from his recent beating, however. Felicty, of course, says yes again, and the happy couple leave in their limo, only to be set upon by Darhk’s men. I loved the great stunt of jumping the limo out of the ambush. The episode ends with a bloody Felicity in Oliver’s arms.
The flashbacks in this episode, finally start to make a bit of sense in relation to the present day. Oliver enlists Taiana’s (Elysia Rotaru) help to retrieve maps from the sunken ship. Clearly he’s looking for a clue to the mystical object Ryder is after. I’m thinking that this mystical object is going to tie in to Darhk’s own mystical powers. I had a lot of problems with the flashback scenes. How do paper maps not simply dissolve in water? The CGI of Oliver swimming was pretty awful. And I agree with Taiana, you can’t learn to hold your breath that long with an hour’s training – it would take weeks to increase your stamina. As fun as having Oliver say “that’s going to leave a scar” about the shark bite, did we really need him chased by a shark when Conklin (Ryan Robbins) is waiting for him on shore? And how did he get away from the shark?
All in all, however, it was a terrific fall finale. Spoilers are now rampant on the Internet – and this site! Turn back now if you don’t want to know…. But before you go – what did you think of the episode? Favorite scene? Line? Moment? Theories on Darhk? Let me know in the comments below!
It’s pretty clear that Felicity will survive but be in a wheelchair for at least the foreseeable future. Given that she spends much of her time at the computer, this shouldn’t impede her ability in any way to continue to help the team. I like the potential storylines that this development could lead to. My biggest hope is that Oliver’s guilt over this doesn’t destroy their relationship.
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, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. 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.
