'Arrow' Recap: A Death Few Will Mourn

Robert Chan
·Writer
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Warning: This recap for the “A.W.O.L.” episode of Arrow contains spoilers.

It looks like the Diggle family has gained a brother and lost a… what would you call Amanda Waller? A nemesis? A frenemy? Just another Boss from Hell? Whatever she was, she is no more — a victim of a hostile takeover by yet another secret criminal organization.

The Plot

Lyla and Diggle are dragged into a conflict between A.R.G.U.S. and Shadowspire, a criminal organization with military ties. While Diggle talks to Andy, who worked with Shadowspire in Afghanistan, Felicity talks to herself in the form of a pain med-induced hallucination of Goth Felicity, who preys on her self-doubt.

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While Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Speedy are sent on a wild goose chase to protect railguns, Shadowspire invades A.R.G.U.S. in search of something called Rubicon, which Amanda Waller dies trying to protect. Andy turns on his brother who is trying to protect Lyla, but that turns out to be a ruse, and he saves Diggle’s life. Team Arrow saves the day, and Andy is released from prison and cautiously welcomed into the Diggle home.

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The Flashback

This is the first time this season we’ve seen a non-Oliver flashback, but if you thought you’d get a week away from Baron Reiter, guess again. This week is devoted to Andy and John’s time in Afghanistan as soldiers. They run into Shadowspire who appear to be skimming money, but their leader — revealed to be Reiter — show’s Andy the map of Lian Yu. Was Rubicon a MacGuffin? Or is it tied into H.I.V.E.’s plan as well?

Na-Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na-Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye

Love her or hate her, you have to admit that Amanda Waller was committed to her principles right up until the end. The decisions she made undoubtedly saved more lives than they took. That being said, she’s been a pain in the ass for Oliver and Team Arrow for years, and like Felicity, most of us will probably remember “that time that she tried to take down the city with a drone strike? Good times.” Does this mean the end of A.R.G.U.S., or will Lyla take Waller’s place and put a kinder, gentler face of the secretive organization?

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“I Was Gonna Go With Oracle…”

How do we feel about Felicity’s new code name? Overwatch is the name of a space station in the comic book version of Earth-2, but it’s more likely a reference to showrunner Marc Guggenheim’s novel of the same name.

And what did Ollie mean when he said the name’s been taken? Does the Arrowverse have a version of the Barbara Gordon Oracle that we haven’t met yet? Or do they also have a database company there that he’s afraid of getting sued by?

Related: John Barrowman on Bringing ‘The Dark Archer’ to Life On Screen and On the Page

Felicity’s Struggle

By the end of the episode, it’s clear that she has defeated her insecurities in the form of a hallucination of her younger, angrier self. For a moment there, though, it seemed like New Felicity versus Old Felicity might not just be a one-off. Would that be such a bad thing?

The sunniness of Emily Bett Rickards’s performance is integral to the success of Arrow — the perfect counterpoint to Stephen Amell’s brooding — but what if Oliver’s determination to stand in the light meant Felicity retreating into the shadows?

Inside Comics Moment

Shadowspire in the comics is led by Baron Blitzkrieg, a former Nazi supersoldier who found a second calling as a supplier for South American drug cartels. Although he uses the alias Baron Reiter, there don’t appear to be plans to turn Jimmy Akingbola’s character on the show into a German officer anytime soon.

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.