Article first published as ARROW Review Season 3 Episode 5 The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak on Seat42F.
Still, overall, good job.
ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.
This
week’s installment of the CW’s ARROW, “The Secret Origin of Felicity
Smoak,” finally reveals a bit of Felicity’s (Emily Bett Rickards)
backstory as a mistake from her past threatens the city. We also meet
her mom, Donna (Charlotte Ross, NYPD Blue), who is visiting town in the
present day, shedding light on why Felicity is the way she is. It’s an
enjoyable look at a character finally getting her due.
I
often find ARROW spends too much time on its lead. Oliver (Stephen
Amell) may be the title character, but the frequent glimpses of him
during his missing five years have become stale and forced. It is an
essential part of the series’ structure, but it doesn’t have to be.
Giving others, such as Felicity, a turn with the focus makes for
something fresh and welcome. I wish ARROW would do more episodes like
this one, which, while not serving the greater mythology all that much,
is one of the most enjoyable of the season so far.
The
hour begins with three training montages of various combat techniques,
then flips over to Felicity, doing a few sit-ups in her apartment. This
is designed to display the contrast between the show’s many warriors and
its ‘normal’ person, an effective way to highlight how different
Felicity is. She’s part of the team, yes, but she’s not a part the same
way as anyone else, giving her unique value that cannot be overlooked.
That
commentary would be enough, but her morning quickly morphs into
laugh-out-loud comedy as her boss, Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), bursts in
to find her in a rather embarrassing state of early-morning-mess. Then,
Felicity’s mother shows up out of the blue, meeting Ray and generally
adding to the chaos. It’s hilarious and a good way to use Felicity, who
is much more than comic relief, but can clearly be that, too.
From
there, “The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak” takes a turn into a more
dramatic arena. We see Felicity during her goth / hacktavist phase in
college, hanging out with her boyfriend, Cooper (Nolan Gerard Funk,
Glee), and his roommate, Myron (Matthew McLellan, Tied). This is a
rather tragic tale, Cooper ending up in jail and presumably killing
himself, which leads Felicity to clean up and go straight, becoming who
she is. Which is a kickass, strong woman who can take care of herself
when captured by the not-dead Cooper, who is using Felicity’s
custom-made virus against the city.
It’s
hard to imagine the Felicity of season one disarming Cooper and
knocking him on the ground, indicating there has continued to be
transformation past the college days, Felicity’s personality not fully
decided in the flashbacks. She has benefitted from working for Team
Arrow as much as Team Arrow has benefitted from her skills. She has
really come into her own, and while I don’t see her going superhero
anytime soon, she’s an independent lady who deserves attention and
respect.
Bringing Donna into the
episode further deepens our understanding of Felicity. Donna can’t see
herself in her daughter, and it’s true, there are many differences. But
Felicity loves her mother and does get something from her, a revelation
Felicity relays to Donna in an emotional scene. All around, excellent
episode for the character of Felicity.
While
Felicity is the main meat of the episode, there are other subplots.
Oliver moves in with Thea (Willa Holland), making steps towards
repairing their sibling bond, though Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman)
doesn’t seem happy about it, likely not wanting Thea to rely on anyone
but him. Laurel (Katie Cassidy) struggles with her anger issues and
finally talks to Ted (J.R. Ramirez) about what’s bugging her, so she may
finally begin to heal as Ted helps her channel her anger into something
productive. And Roy (Colton Haynes) is revealed to be Sara’s killer.
This
last thing is not straight-forward. The action goes totally against the
person Roy is. Was he being mind-controlled? Are these implanted, false
memories, and he didn’t do it? There are a number of possibilities, but
there is no way Roy knowingly murdered Sara, so that’s an enticing
mystery begging to be solved.
“The
Secret Original of Felicity Smoak” is far from perfect. While the main
plot and subplots are solid, there are flaws in the episode, small ones,
but numerous. Why does Felicity ask her mom where the baby is when she
already sees her mom without the baby prior to that scene? Why is Diggle
back in the field when he said he didn’t want to be? Why is he wearing a
dumb ski mask? Isn’t Ray going to say anything about the number of days
Felicity takes off? There are plenty more things besides these, some
genuine flubs and some just strangeness, but unfortunately, combined
they drag down the quality a little bit on a very entertaining series.
ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.
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