‘Arrow’ episode 20 review: Everyone runs from Oliver Queen
There are some moments of “Arrow” that occasionally cross the line into “ridiculously frustrating” territory, whether it be how Laurel Lance is able to constantly pay for repairs on her place, that Thea Queen is okay with her boyfriend having an obsession with a guy in a hood, or the sole fact that Laurel had yet to figure out who the archer really is.
However, we’re able to forget about some of these problems courtesy of what the show does well, as this week was more evidence that Oliver’s world is falling apart. We already saw how his secret cost him a close friendship with Tommy, and he now has an even greater reason to resent the Hood. Thanks to his own fears about Laurel being safe and him having to keep a massive secret from her, Tommy pulled the plug on the relationship. It’s quite a watershed moment for the character, since it was clear in his face that he didn’t really want to do it.
Meanwhile, Oliver’s own attempts to protect Laurel played a role in all this. Tommy knew that he would never measure up to the Hood if she ever learned the truth, and he made the clear move to protect her this week over his own partner-in-do-goodery in Diggle. Thanks to that, Diggle is now seemingly off Team Green for a while, and now Oliver is left with a woman in Felicity who, while awesome, does not seem remotely prepared to start punching people in the face. The question clearly now becomes whether or not he could win, and if not, it becomes a very lonely season the rest of the way.
In case you are wondering why we’re not bringing up the island storyline more, the reason is simple: We still don’t love it. While we understand the purpose of a few shockers here and there, there’s a part of us that just wants to say that it doesn’t matter what happened out there. Oliver came back awesome after going through horrible stuff. That’s really all we’ve needed, safe for his father’s list, which could be explained another way.
What did you think about Wednesday night’s “Arrow” episode, and is there any way in your mind that you see Oliver gaining some of these people’s trust again? Just to give you a taste of what Felicity will be doing on the show next week, take a look at the link here.
Photo: The CW