Arrow S06E11 Review: Heel Face Turn

Arrow, Season 6, Episode 11: We Fall

This is a... predictable episode of Arrow, so to speak. Arrow's perhaps gone into one of the least interesting of the CW shows, which is why it's the one that I'm the least caught-up with, for the simple reason that it's so... dreary. And considering that it stars Michael Emerson as a villain, and that every single member of the main cast are great actors, it ends up speaking to the lack of fun that Arrow's had in this season that it sometimes feels like a chore watching the episodes. Of course, there are some 'oh noes conflict' moments in Arrow that are blatantly foreshadowed, causes the audience to roll their eyes, and it just goes on and on forever. Like the newbies splitting off from Team Arrow to form the Outsiders, a plot decision that really feels forced. Or John Diggle taking over from Green Arrow only for the hood to revert back to Oliver within a month. 

And this time around, the 'oh noes conflict' bit comes from the fact that finally William realizes that Oliver's been going around behind his back with the hood and quiver, risking his life, and all his "oh no I'm so out of practice that I can't shoot a can with a toy bow" is just bullshit. Again, the whole concept of William being worried for his father is believable, but definitely not a welcome factor in a show whose entire point is to see Oliver Queen go around shooting fools with arrows. And thankfully, the conflict for this is resolved in one episode instead of dragging it on and on... and it's done with Felicity showing William the good his father's doing. Even if that scene of "yeah, I'm cool. Besides, I have Felicity now" feels hilariously cold and out of place. The setup to this scene is great -- between Oliver's rescue of William and Felicity's well-acted speech to the kid, but the resolution? Yeah, not quite done that well. 

And speaking of out of place... the fact that Cayden James is taking over Star City's electrical system and the internet and all that jazz is as horrifying as it should be. But having Frank Pike, an admittedly minor character -- but still a character -- killed off by an elevator? And then brushed off as a joke? Or having an extended sequence with a random councilman having his car toilet-papered and then killing him off? It feels haphazardly put together. 

The Outsiders (which is what the splinter group is calling themselves) working out their little drama bits are neatly done, but at the same time, their waffling on whether to include Team Arrow in their endeavours, or scenes like Mr. Terrific snarking about Oliver's usage of the word 'us' as a stealth insult and all that end up feeling somewhat out of place. Plus, we get a pretty neat action sequence with Dinah's canary cry stopping a train, and the combined forces of Team Arrow and the Outsiders stopping Mr. Sheck and Vigilante's attempt to kill civilians is pretty cool. 

Oh, and Vigilante's the linchpin of everything, because apparently he tries to drag the Outsiders to a tete-a-tete, as he tells them that he's apparently an undercover agent, and he just happens to never mention this to anyone before. Vigilante's original character is meant to be more of an anti-hero instead of a villain, so the comic book fan in me is happy to see him be restored to what he really should be intended to be... but at the same time, the character of Vigilante has been so problematic that he's so shrouded in mystery and ambiguity thanks to how the show's been handling him that you could reveal pretty much anything and it'd make as much sense. Vigilante ends up shooting Mr. Sheck on the back during the climactic scene, though, which is probably a pretty big showing of where he stands at the end of the day. Overall, though, despite some pretty neat moments, still a pretty inconsistent and dour episode of Arrow. 

DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• Poor, poor Frank Pike bite the dust. He was last seen last season, attacked by Prometheus and left in a coma after the assault. 
• The splinter team have decided upon calling themselves the Outsiders, after the DC comics superhero team initially created by Batman after splintering off the Justice League of America, forming it with lesser-known heroes like Black Lightning, Metamorpho, and then-new characters Katana, Halo and Geo-Force. Black Canary implies that the Outsiders are a comic book in Arrow, which it also is in Black Lightning, the maybe-takes-place-in-the-same-universe-but-we-don't-wanna-commit-either-way cousin show to Arrow. 
• Cayden James uses "Ben" as his fake name. Ben, of course, being Michael Emerson's amazing character from Lost.