‘Arrow’ episode 15 review: Dodger, Colton Haynes, and a glam Felicity Smoak
There are times during the second half of “Arrow” this season that we have grown frustrated, mostly because we’re desperate to see the show take a little bit more of a serialized turn from these villain-of-the-week storylines, in particular now that we know so many of the characters well. Luckily, “Dodger” did at least present a few interesting twists and turns from the past few weeks, as it tried to push forward some romantic storylines while also giving us a new look to Felicity Smoak, and also the first appearance of Colton Haynes as Roy, a young thief that we are probably going to be seeing much more of.
Probably the most interesting debate for us to have here is simply whether or not we really needed to see Diggle try to romance his late brother’s wife, even though everyone knew that it was coming from a mile away. There is so much history there that it was obvious that things would be awkward, and there is a part of us that wished that the show decided to never really go there with the characters. You can have a show with great male / female dynamics without romance involved; just see Carrie and Saul on “Homeland” for an example of this.
As for Oliver’s own romance, it was nice to see Janina Gavankar back as the vice cop who has a history with Mr. Queen, and there is a little bit of chemistry there. Of course, this does not stop us at all from the fact that we are still actively shipping Oliver and Felicity to end up together even more so than him and Laurel; not only does she already know about his secret, but she challenges him ethically and serves as a strategic partner.
The Dodger storyline in some ways felt insignificant amidst the other plotlines for the week, and this may be a product of us seeing so many villain stories play out already. What was more interesting was seeing China White return in the closing seconds, as Moira Queen hired her to do some very dirty work.
What was your overall take on “Dodger”? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and you can check out another “Arrow” episode review over at the link here.
Photo: The CW