Arrow: Broken Hearts (Season 4, Episode 16)
“You’re looking a little more grim than usual.” – Quentin
Just like The Flash, Arrow made its return after many weeks of being absent from television but unlike The Flash I wasn’t that excited about this episode.
To recap: Oliver and Felicity are broken up after Felicity discovered that Oliver had hidden a child from her but Felicity is still a member of Team Arrow. Cupid made a return and after losing Deadshot (who I guess she was deeply in love with?) she has made it her mission to kill all of the happy couples in Star City. Damien Darhk stood on trial and Detective Lance incriminated himself in his attempt to help with the conviction of Darhk.
Cupid is one of the most memorable villains from past seasons and it was nice to see her again and heart-broken, no less. As one of the most campy villains in the show, she’s probably more suited for Central City if it weren’t for the fact that she skewered people on arrows. Nonetheless she was my favourite part of this episode and the fight scene between her, Diggle and Thea at the end was a real highlight.
Most superheroes don’t work with their ex-girlfriends and there’s a reason for that: it’s not fun. It wasn’t fun for Oliver and it really wasn’t fun for me watching it. At first, Felicity’s asides were amusing but as the show went on I was audibly sighing. With all of the heartbreak, did anybody else think that this would have made a perfect Valentine’s Day episode?
We had more flashbacks of Oliver doing… you know what? I’m not entirely sure what Oliver was doing anymore. The flashbacks were a great asset to the show in the first couple of seasons but now I’m bored of them. They feel like a very weak distraction from the actual plot and I’m struggling to see how they can even be relevant at this point. I’m assuming that the magical force that Oliver was dealing with in the past will have something to do with Darhk but it’s taking a very long time to get there.
Damien Darhk’s preliminary trial took place this episode and it was fine. This isn’t a courtroom drama so I’m not going to hold it against a very high standard but I’m at a loss to see why it was necessary other than to maybe give Laurel something to do.
Overall, I wasn’t astounded by this episode but Cupid made it enjoyable for me. Obviously the big news is that Olicity is no more but this show has a real problem with permanence. Remember when Thea was dead? Diggle couldn’t forgive Oliver? Felicity couldn’t walk? Odds are Felicity and Oliver will be back together by the end of the season.
What did you think of the episode? Is there hope for Olicity? Is Damien Darhk actually going to go to prison? Let me know in the comments.
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