Rachel’s Rambles - 6x01 Fallout
...and we’re back! I’m so excited that after five months of playing the “let’s pretend everyone is dead” game, that we finally have new Arrow on our screens.
I know I’m late to the party this week, so let me dive right in!
The Good
I haven’t had much chance to dive into other people’s reviews of the episode, but from the little I’ve seen on my dashboard, my Twitter TL, and texts from friends seems to indicate that people either were excited by the episode and the direction it set for the season, or disappointed in the episode. I happen to fall into the first category. I thought the episode set up several storylines to help carry us through the first part of the season. It did it a bit clumsily--and I’ll touch on that below--but the foundation is there. And I am excited for new Arrow to be on my screen again.
The biggest storyline/change for the new season: Oliver Queen has been thrust into being a full time a father to William, a kid who wants very little to do with him right now (for some very understandable reasons). I was somebody who was excited to see what Stephen would do with this storyline and was irritated at how it was handed in Season 4, so I was very curious how it would play out this season. And I generally like what was there. I winced every time William rebuffed Oliver, but every time I told my friend I was watching the episode with, “Okay, but I get why he’s reacting like that. But poor Oliver.” I loved Oliver trying to woo him with Rockets tickets. Bringing Raisa back to help out with William. Wanting to try helping William through his nightmare instead of letting Raisa handle it. And then I adored that whole scene at the end, where Oliver came in and told William point blank that he was not going anywhere and like it or not, he was his father. I was already emotional at that point, and then when Oliver asked William to watch the game with him the next night and William accepted? Oliver’s reaction damn near killed me. I am really looking forward to how their relationship develops over the first part of this season.
Let’s talk about Team Arrow for a moment. I love that they’re feeling like a well oiled machine now. We had all the growing pains of the new team last season; they’ve earned their places and it’s fantastic to see them working well together in the field, both in hero suits and out of them. I feel like that is a wonderful payoff from last season, and I’m glad they’re going that route.
Speaking of payoff from previous seasons...Allow me to be emotional for a moment. Oliver Queen has finally learned a lesson that stuck! I was extremely impressed at several Oliver moments that showed his growth from the last five years. One was the moment when he was telling Lance he shouldn’t have hid the facts about shooting Black Siren, and Lance asked him about when he would stop taking on other people’s sins. Oliver actually smiled as he replied “not any time soon”. He’s aware he does it, but he’s doing it not for self flagellation purposes but to start helping out the people around him. That is so refreshing!
Another moment that had me shouting for joy was when Felicity asked him if he wanted to talk about what was going on with William. With no hesitation, he replied yes. What a lovely change from what would have happened before!
While I’m on the topic of Olicity....through the summer, my assumption based on previous years was that by the time season six picked up, Olicity would have gotten back together and possibly be in a down-low marriage or something of that sort. The whole “here’s how their relationship progressed offscreen” thing had already happened three times, after all: Season 2.5 (moving from the “I love you” to “fool Slade” to the full on flirty flirt in 3x01), Season 3.5 (running away together and jumping full bore into a relationship where Oliver was actually going to propose five months into it), and Season 4.5 (going from broken up with lots of issues to the strange tension in 5x01--which thankfully they helped address with 5x20 onscreen). I had resigned myself to it and thought, okay, but at least we’re finally just getting on with their relationship without all the ridiculous reasons why they’re keeping them apart.
I...have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at where they’re actually at right now. They’re rebuilding Olicity onscreen. There’s a semi-logical reason why they’re not further along in their reunion (Oliver working on his relationship with William), but the thing is, you can feel it coming. It’s got a certain inevitability about it. But this time, it’s being done on a very solid foundation. This was demonstrated in the little ways--from Oliver making very clear to Felicity that he was asking her over for dinner because he wanted her company, to Oliver saying yes he wanted to talk to her about the thing that was bothering him, to the end scene when it seemed clear that talking on the phone to each other at night is a very regular thing for them. They’re on the path back, and honestly, it’s not going to take long for it to go to the next level. They’re both ready this time. And I’m 99% sure with Oliver needing to step away from being Green Arrow for a while, that it’ll help Olicity get to that place--because Oliver is going to have time to work on things more with his son, and that’ll propel things along for his relationship with the woman he wants to marry.
A couple more things I loved: Rene being Oliver’s new Chief of Staff and having kick ass speech writing skills. The Rene and Oliver hug (and Oliver getting Rene a second chance with Zoey-- @redpensandgreenarrows, your question to Rick about Zoey at HVFF must have been really hard for him not to answer too much on ;) Loved that Dinah was promoted at SCPD and also loved that her bond with Quentin has strengthened to the point that she’s looking out for him--felt like payoff to him giving her the title Black Canary at the end of season 5. And oh my heart, John stopping to make sure Felicity was okay on the exploding island...gah. Also, David’s reactions this episode are making me practically foam at the mouth for all the juicy Diggle storylines I can feel are on their way shortly.
The Bad
Dear Arrow writers: if you are bringing a kid on board the cast, please spend time with a kid that age so you understand how to write dialogue for said kid. I cringed when I heard it in the trailer and I cringed each time it was said in the episode; “bad man” just really struck out as out of place to me for a kid William’s age to be saying.
After all the official account’s focus on BS leading up to the premiere, I was already done with her storyline before she’d finished one scene. And I was probably one of the few willing to give it a chance. But I really think they could have promoted the episode in a LOT better ways. Par for the course, I know. I have a feeling as the additional villains get added over the next few weeks (like--who was the villain that had the helicopter that picked up BS??), her storyline won’t be that major of a focus anymore and it won’t feel so awkwardly forced as it did this episode.
If they were going to reveal that the majority of the team was A-Okay like five minutes into the episode, was it really necessary to drag out the stupid question of who survived all summer? If you’re going to torture us like that, MAKE IT A BIGGER DEAL ON THE PREMIERE.
I get that Quentin has a legitimate reason for trauma on the island what with shooting someone who looked like his daughter, but can we please show it a different way than him staring at drinks again? Maybe, I don’t know, a short temper, or being more involved in helping Rene get his daughter back. We’ve been here before, and while I’m glad Quentin is getting a storyline too, let’s try being a little more creative with showing his emotional pain.
Thea being in a coma...ugh. I figured it was coming, and I know it’s pretty much because Willa asked for less work this year, but...really? You couldn’t have just nicely sent Thea out of town on a Theroy retreat because she’s sick of being blown up? (Okay, fine, I’ll admit she would have stuck around to get to know her nephew. But again, we’ve been here before...though it’s nice to see Oliver handling it okay-ish.)
STOP BLOWING HOLES IN THE BUNKER. Also, a little explanation on how the hell BS and her minions knew where the bunker was would be nice. You’d think they’d learn someday to up the security on their secret lair. This better be the last time that somebody breaks in this year.
Considering that my friend and I spent a couple of minutes after the episode debating whether or not Nyssa lived, it would have been great if they could have thrown it into the episode. (Conclusion: Yes, she did, because she went with the group to the plane “for shelter” and we’ve seen all the other people that ran that way are all unscathed. Thank you, Stephen Amell, for confirming that Nyssa is alive in an interview.)
I alluded to feeling like the episode was clumsily put together above...and it really was. I felt like the flashbacks were very disjointed and focused on giving the obvious answers to the big puzzle, but at the cost of some great emotional moments, like finding out if all of the team was okay, John’s injury (and how he’s been hiding it), and the pretty obvious Olicity reunion. I’m giving them a temporary pass on this with the possibility that they may do some more flashbacks showing these key moments with corresponding episodes (ie, showing John’s injury as we delve more into his issues, etc). Other clumsy moments including the BS storyline this week (though I did like that a villain was more focused on someone other than Oliver) and how that was woven throughout the episode. And just...pacing was a bit off. But that’s an Arrow problem now and again, and I have faith that it’s not going to be a problem for the whole season.
The Ugly
It grossed me out when that bad guy spit the bomb out of his mouth. Blech.
I get William’s backpack was a connection to his former home of Central City and a little in-universe nod, but am I alone in thinking it’s a little juvenile for his age? Maybe a sleek backpack with a single Flash logo would have made more sense? Am I overthinking this??
I get that Juliana and David have natural actor chemistry, and I get that some people see romantic chemistry (even the friend I was watching with--and she adored Diggle and Lyla but asked me, “Um, is their some kind of romantic thing going on with Digg and Dinah?”). I personally see two people who are cut from the same cloth and get each other and see through each other in ways that other people can’t--and I friendship the hell out of it. But it still makes it a little awkward when yeah, I can admit that they have chemistry. Just...don’t go there, show.
Next Up and Last Thoughts
Back in July, I attended HVFF Nashville and had the best time with the loveliest fandom friends. I also was the first person to ask Stephen Amell a question at his panel. I asked the standard “two truths and a lie” about 6x01. Stephen joked about needing to think about it for a minute since he’s known for giving good answers to that question, then slowly gave out the following responses: “Oliver and Slade have a scene together in the present day; Diggle deploys his gun and it doesn’t work; Thea is in a present day scene where [Oliver and Thea] speak to each other.”
He was so careful with his wording about Diggle and the gun that I was 99% sure that was a truth. At the time, the way he added the words “speak to each other” regarding Oliver and Thea made me suspicious that was the lie. Turns out, I was right on both counts. Yay! (And on a side note, I will never get over the fact that at SDCC Stephen revealed he’d gotten in trouble for answering my question like he did.)
Next up: Diggle is totally taking on the Green Arrow mantle to help out his “best friend” (I loved that he said that in the preview) and Oliver will be dodging questions from the FBI. Fun times! Also, let’s hope that villain #2 shows up...perhaps Michael Emerson with Helix? :)
Share thoughts, comments, etc with me anytime - my inbox is open, and I’m over on Twitter as well!