Jim’s Thoughts

Have you ever asked someone how their day was, looked for a quick “good” or “bad,” and then found yourself listening to a long story that keeps getting hung up on minor details that don’t really matter? That’s this week’s Arrow. I tend to subscribe to the adage of not saying anything at all if I can’t say anything nice, but since I have a review to write, that’s not really an option. I’ll at least keep it short.

I’ve made no secret of despising the Olicity angle, and this episode was the Olicity show. Add to that the worst Arrow villain since Count Vertigo, and you’ve got a solid hour of cringeworthy show. The blame for Cupid is partly attributable to the actress. She’s over-the-top, but in the interest of fairness, there’s no good way to deliver bad lines, and she spoke mostly in trite catchphrases and puns, as per the character.

On the other end of the show, Damien Darhk’s trial should have been more interesting, but it wasn’t. Buying into the defense’s position that there was no proof that the defendant was, in fact, Damien Darhk was awfully hard when the judge referred to him as “Mr. Darhk.” When it comes to the defense offering an affidavit from a drug dealer to impugn the credibility of a witness, you can say I’m nitpicking, and you might be right, but when you have the judge refer to someone as “Mr. Darhk” when the entire basis of the hearing hinges on contesting that identity, it’s just sloppy storytelling.

I want to soften this review. I want to point to some positives, but I’m not being dramatic when I tell you I can’t find one. This may be the worst episode of Arrow I can remember.

Kyle’s Take

I had hope at the end of “Broken Hearts” that the Olicity story would find resolution and there was one to an extent. Felicity left Team Arrow, at least for a while, and that’s for the best. That tired story and I needed a break.

Another part of story may have lead us down the path of Damien Darhk owning another identity, but the judge kept calling him “Mr. Darhk,” and he still ended up in prison. We know these charges won’t stick, or Darhk will escape, because he has to be free by the season finale, so all the trial accomplished was suspend Captain Lance, and I’m not invested enough in that character to care. The only thing more dramatic than Cupid’s over-the-top performances has been how much Lance changes his world views each season.

Cupid is stupid. I think I’ve seen that meme on the internet, and it’s right. If you want an Arrow fan to cringe, say the name Cupid. She was as insufferable as ever. The only thing she added was that she forced the Olicity story to go somewhere. I hate the Olicity angle as much as Jim but perhaps this week puts it on ice for a bit. I’ll suffer one painful episode to have an Olicity-ectomy.

“Broken Hearts” is difficult to watch for non-Olicity and Olicity fans alike, but Arrow has written itself into this corner, so there was no way out but a horrific episode. Here’s hoping that Arrow had its Chipotle cleanse and has a better show next week.

Thanks for reading.