'Arrow' Recap: Felicity's Mom Returns, Oliver Turns Himself In
Warning: This recap contains storyline and character spoilers from this week’s episode of Arrow.
Captain Lance’s grief has turned into serious trouble for Team Arrow. It looks like nothing short of a full confession from Ra’s al Ghul will turn things around… and you don’t get to be 160 years old by confessing.
The Plot
The aftermath of the attack on the Mayor’s office from last week sends Ray to the hospital and Captain Lance on the warpath to catch the Arrow. A blood clot threatens Ray’s life, but Felicity smuggles in some of his experimental nanotech that repairs the damage.
Meanwhile, Ra’s al Ghul sets up a trap for the police to catch Oliver and, when that fails, reveals his identity to Lance. Once it’s announced on TV, Oliver stops running and turns himself in. On the way to prison, Roy intercepts the police van, claiming that he is the real Arrow.
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The Flashback
It turns out that Shado is not Shado, but Mei, Shado’s twin sister. She helps Oliver and Akio escape, but upon seeing Oliver’s tattoo (identical to Shado’s), she calls the police.
Instead of police, though, gunmen come to kill them all; they’re saved by the reappearance of Maseo and Tatsu. Mei has been searching for her sister for the last three years, and Oliver is able to give her peace of mind by letting her know her father and sister are dead.
Special Guest: Felicity’s Mom
Since things are so dark, what with Oliver in jail and Ray in the hospital, this is a fine time for a little comic relief from Donna Smoak. Her over-the-top cougar antics are guaranteed to flap the otherwise unflappable Felicity, while at the same time being able to dole out some motherly advice when necessary (i.e. breaking the law to save Ray, running out of the room when he tells Felicity he loves her).
Related: The ‘Flash’/’Arrow’ Spinoff: Everything We Know So Far
On Twins
Too comic book-y? Or just comic book-y enough? Credulity is already strained when Oliver runs across Shado’s only family member in the middle of one of the most densely populated areas in the world. On the other hand, maybe that’s how Team Arrow gets out of this bind with the police. It was Oliver’s evil twin! You’ll be able to tell them apart because mirror universe Oliver has a goatee.
Hospital Jell-O
One of the reasons why this show is so successful is the romantic component; it adds emotional depth that’s otherwise missing in shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Constantine (RIP). Is the Ray/Felicity pairing working for you? It’s a nice reversal to have her chased, rather than her chasing like in the first two seasons — but is it as compelling as Olicity? Have any fans who were heavily invested in shipping Oliver and Felicity coming around?
Hey…
Why don’t they have stun arrows? They’ve got net arrows, flashbang arrows, syringe arrows, and apparently there’s that one arrow they shot in this episde whose sole purpose is to shoot sparks that make cops stop their cars. Hell, they even have an arrow for hacking into computers. Wouldn’t a taser arrow be a lot safer than shooting all those cops in the leg? Roy calls them flesh wounds, but that’s not an un-serious injury, as Ray’s blood clot clearly shows.
What do you think? When next we see Oliver, it will be the Flash/Arrow crossover show, which inexplicably will only be on The Flash and not across both shows like last time. Will a superhero team-up be the answer to everybody’s problems? Is Ray’s nanotech going to come up later? Because that seems like a pretty big deal. Think Donna should be brought on to add a little sass to Team Arrow? Let us know in the comments below.
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
