ARROW Season 4 Episode 10 Review: Blood Debts - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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ARROW Season 4 Episode 10 Review: Blood Debts

Margot Hitchcock returns with her review of the Arrow midseason premiere.


Alright, Arrow fans. It's certainly been a while since we've seen our favorite prime-time vigilante squad, so let's hop to it.

Let's start with the ending. (Oh, the irony.)

Did anyone really think Felicity was gonna die? Like, in your heart of hearts?

Felicity Smoak is a total knockdown badass. She would NOT go down without one ridiculously killer fight. High-speed chase scene? Not her style. (Also, pretty sure it wouldn't take 4 months for her to die from a gunshot wound. Just a guess.) Lastly, props to Emily for her beautiful acting in that limo scene. Whoever does end up dying, Felicity's emotional investment is giving me all the feels.


Felicity's unfortunate situation does offer us one shining silver lining. Without everything going totally bonkers, we would never have had a chance to see good ole' Oli again. And by that I mean the Oliver that started it all: angsty, slightly crazy, super intense & never apologetic. Best of all, deeply vengeful (I still didn't get my salmon ladder though . So props to the writers for showing us that while Oliver has worked hard to become a new man, old habits die hard particularly in a crisis situation.

Side note: I feel like the moment Felicity asked if he had gone over the edge,Oliver's mind went something like this:

 “Well ...”

Good thing our struggling hero has his pal Obi-Wan sorry, I mean, Spartan to help redirect him. But seriously, does anyone else feel like John always plays the older, wiser role model? He's probably my age (take your guess on that one) but because he's been in the Army, seen things & actually dealt with his issues in a reasonable way (aka he didn't turn into a Paleo/CrossFit junkie then start a city-wide mission to avenge the death of his father & bring down corrupt businessmen), John became a grown-up. But I digress. Mostly, we're all lucky Oliver has a pretty awesome best pal who calls him on his issues, but in a kind way. (Not that we can say the same for Diggle's treatment of Andy.)

Sorry, man.
Maybe if you'd just be cool about all this & snap out of your disillusioned whining about how terrible the world is?

Speaking of whining, here's a multiple choice question for you. Due to an extremely well done mid-season trailer, Margot spent the better part of the episode freaking out about whether which of the following would occur?
  • a) Lonnie Machin would try to kiss Thea I mean, bae be loving some Thea.
  • b) Felicity would be able to walk again (I'm sure someone from The Flash can help us out here).
  • c) Where was Damien Darhk the whole episode? Really? 5 minutes at the end? (I mean, yeah, this is partially correct, but remember, these standardized tests always require the best answer.)
OR
  • d) WHERE ARE ROY AND KATANA????
Excuse me Did I get carried away?

First of all, I knew Roy was coming back a few months ago thanks to this lovely Internet gem.


But I didn't know when, so after seeing the aforementioned trailer (seriously, it's really good. That's why I'm linking it TWICE in one article. Even if you've seen it already, watch it again. It's suspenseful, quirky, and fantastic) I thought it would be relatively soon. So the episode was kind of like this for me:
Thea: Let's go on a date, Alex Davis.”
Margot (out loud, to her TV): Yes this guy is crazy cool. But what if Roy just shows up while you guys are together?? Not good, Thea. Not good.
---
Thea: Ah no! Anarky is really creeping on me & a much better fighter apparently than we all thought!”
Margot (out loud, to her TV): Yes this guy is crazy cool. But what if Roy just shows up while you guys are together??  Good, Thea. Very good.
Then, to really top it off, about 10 minutes into writing this article, I saw that someone posted this a few days ago.


I am a little disappointed to say the least. But, fellow nerd ladies, have no fear. Arsenal will be here to steal our hearts away yet again just in time for Valentine's Day. That still leaves Katana though. And while I always appreciate a good-looking hooded guy, Katana has been one I've been looking forward to meeting again for quite some time. So come on, CW!


Overall, most of the time, I enjoyed this episode. It didn't flow as smoothly as I'd hoped, but it does a great job of (1) showing off Amell's artistic diversity as an actor & (2) building the hype for the rest of the season. While Anarky was kind of a strange villain to throw in after such a huge throw down by Damien in the mid-season finale, I love his character & the Joker-esque uncertainty he brings to the game. Lonnie will definitely come in handy for either or both parties over the rest of the season.

I'm also glad they didn't try humanizing Damien Darhk too much with this episode. Yes, it's always great to have a well-rounded character by threatening someone's family, but Damien's cold & precise attitude towards the rest of the world is what makes him entertaining. If we give him access to feeling too much, he loses his edge.

In the meantime, while we wait for next week's episode, let's watch this on repeat until Thursday @ 8 pm EST. Go, Legends!



Margot is a huge supporter of all things relating to "nerd culture," in particular those involving superheroes and Disney. She loves books, movies, music and working out, and currently lives in Athens, GA, with her rabbit, Gigi.

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