Arrow Arrow Season 4 Episode 10: "Blood Debts"

[Mike Murdock]

THE AFTERMATH — Oliver (Stephen Amell) must deal with the devastating consequences of Darhk’s (guest star Neal McDonough) last attack. Seeking revenge, Oliver goes on a brutal manhunt looking for Dahrk. Jesse Warn directed the episode written by Oscar Balderrama & Sarah Tarkoff (#410). Original airdate 1/20/2016.

Seriously, how did nobody start a thread yet?

ETA: I guess I can't add a poll after the fact. Sorry about that.

 

[Batsfan1]

Am I the only one thinking that Oliver has crossed the line into being kind of a villain at this point?

God bless you all! God bless everyone!

 

[regnak]

Ok that last scene 99% confirms Diggle in the grave.

 

[Mike Murdock]

I don't think he crossed any line he hadn't crossed in the first season. I think he made a dumb play (although not dumber than some of the stupidity last season).

I'm surprised with the ending that they would reveal at least a character it wasn't in the grave (Ollie and Barry aside, obviously).

 

[Primal Slayer]

Overall, I enjoyed it. Was surprised by how much Laurel had to do lol. Her finding out about Q/D was awkward but nice to know she has his back in finding love. If she isn't the one in the grave, they really need to stop this whole "Laurel is last to find out" shtick they have going on since S1. Laurels/Olivers temporary difference in "justice" could've been such a good storyline to play out for about 2 episodes but oh well.

I really wish they would learn that they can split up the team and send them on different missions instead of everyone tagging along all the time. It would've been real easy to have Oliver/John focus mainly on DD while Laurel/Speedy deal with Anarky.

Speedy/Anarky storyline was good, though I would love it if he would've stalked her for a hot minute and get a creepy storyline out of that. But it was good to finally get away from so many Ghosts.

The flashbacks as usual, I wish they weren't there and that we just kept to the present to explore more of all the storylines going on.

Felicity being completely paralyzed is just stupid, unnecessary drama and I rather they just have her in recovery and it take like 3 episodes for her to recover.

All these New Gods references, wonder if they will go full throttle and actually introduce some of em.

And now everyone can rejoice that Felicity isn't in the grave and we can continue on with the annoying "Laurel is dead! Thea is dead! Quentin is dead!"

 

[Batsfan1]

I don't think he crossed any line he hadn't crossed in the first season. I think he made a dumb play (although not dumber than some of the stupidity last season).

I'm surprised with the ending that they would reveal at least a character it wasn't in the grave (Ollie and Barry aside, obviously).

He released a dangerous psychopath from jail and let him run free. To call it dumb is an understatement.

God bless you! God bless everyone!

 

[O'Haire]

Oliver and Felicity being that angry and upset really makes me think it's Diggle. Which was my prediction from the beginning. From the start it was those three. So for one of the original Team Arrow members to go, that would be a gigantic blow to the team.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I doubt it's Diggle, they aren't going to get rid of their only black guy and have the team down another male. I think the writers would have her react that way to any of the team dying. Even though they have done nothing to strengthen her relationships with Thea/Laurel, those are suppose to be her friends. Though it could easily be Donna in the grave.

 

[SpideyVille]

I still think it's Lance.

 

[DeadFan]

I think the writers would have her react that way to any of the team dying. .

Yeah hard to go by Felicity's reaction. When Laurel brought dead Sara to the Arrowcave, Felicity was the one wailing all over the place while Laurel and Oliver were less demonstrative, even though they were closer to Sara. Felicity just gets more emotional about everything.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Felicity being completely paralyzed is just stupid, unnecessary drama and I rather they just have her in recovery and it take like 3 episodes for her to recover.

I thought it was handled well, although presumably with more to come. I just find it odd that they just announced she's NOT Oracle while making her closer than ever to Oracle.

 

[vantheman77]

The ending was likely their way of toying with those who hated the Oliver and Felicity's relationship. Oliver almost became a villain tonight.

Dinah Laurel was great in this one and has a strong sense of justice. She is showing why she will be a future member of the Justice League.

As for the grave, it's either Diggle's or Detective Lance's.

 

[JJmelo]

Definitely tough to figure out who is in the grave now. Before this I would have bet everything on it being Felicity. I'd say it's one of the Lances or Felicity's mom at this point. My reasoning doesn't go far beyond the fact that I don't like Laurel or Felicity's mom lol. Captain Lance would have enough weight behind it to make it an emotional death but still not impact the show enough to change it considerably.

Aside from that, I thought the episode was pretty great. I love how Dark let Oliver go for a while. He is by far the most compelling bad guy the show has ever had.

Full review if people care to read more of my ramblings
http://otlnews.net/2016/01/20/arrow-review-ep-10-blood-debts/

 

[Herolee10]

Am I the only one that thought tonight's episode came off bad in so many ways?

For starters, the whole choreography and setup for when Team Arrow had infiltrated Anarchy's house felt very sloppy. Aside from Speedy's one on one fight with Anarchy in the forest, every action scene felt sloppy.

There was a lot of inconsistency with how characters were acting in tonight's episode as well. I feel like a College Student could have wrote a better episode.

And the writers need to get their heads out of their asses and finally make up their mind on what to do with Laurel's canary cry because it's been so freaking inconsistent during its entire tenure on this show.

Laurel's canary cry has only been effective a few times. The rest of the time it comes off as completely useless, accomplishing very little in any fight that it's brought in. Hell, Sara's Sonic Devices were more effective than this.

Also, the flashbacks are really getting annoying now. They serve no purpose at all, unless you count saving the writers the time from actually creating a longer and better story in the present day.

And my God, I wish the writers would stop pandering to Felicity's crazy ass fans. I get it that everyone should be sad about her situation but do they constantly need to have the characters mention on how Felicity is a better person than most of them?

 

[Primal Slayer]

They really do need to get that Canary Cry together or at least address it in show somehow. Don't see why Laurel wouldn't have it on when taking on enemies.

 

[DigificWriter]

I'm rather disappointed in the Arrow writers right now, because they just wasted a whole bunch of setup for absolutely no reason. Every single sign they'd been dropping for the past half-season was pointing towards Felicity being the one in that grave, and then they went and pissed it all away (and I say this as a HUGE Felicity fan, BTW).

Up until they just revealed that everything they'd been hinting at was a huge waste of time, I was rather enjoying the episode, which makes their ridiculous 'bait and switch' decision (which is a tactic they'd never before resorted to, and which just feels cheap as a result) all the more hard to process.

 

[vantheman77]

Am I the only one that thought tonight's episode came off bad in so many ways?

For starters, the whole choreography and setup for when Team Arrow had infiltrated Anarchy's house felt very sloppy. Aside from Speedy's one on one fight with Anarchy in the forest, every action scene felt sloppy.

There was a lot of inconsistency with how characters were acting in tonight's episode as well. I feel like a College Student could have wrote a better episode.

And the writers need to get their heads out of their asses and finally make up their mind on what to do with Laurel's canary cry because it's been so freaking inconsistent during its entire tenure on this show.

Laurel's canary cry has only been effective a few times. The rest of the time it comes off as completely useless, accomplishing very little in any fight that it's brought in. Hell, Sara's Sonic Devices were more effective than this.

Also, the flashbacks are really getting annoying now. They serve no purpose at all, unless you count saving the writers the time from actually creating a longer and better story in the present day.

And my God, I wish the writers would stop pandering to Felicity's crazy ass fans. I get it that everyone should be sad about her situation but do they constantly need to have the characters mention on how Felicity is a better person than most of them?

You're not the only one as this was not a good start. I don't think they are putting their best effort into it, along with the Flash due to launching Legends of Tomorrow.

 

[Paradox1]

It was a good episode for me lots of interesting developments. I thought it was a good Thea episode. As far as Felicity I rather they'd kill her than put her in a wheel chair. It's a game changer for her character and Olicity. The way Dig talked about Andy prior to this season I thought he was a Saint. I love Thea and Laurel relationship they seem to be more than sisters than her and Sara.

 

[Boy Scout]

The episode was fine. I just feel like I've seen Oliver make the same stupid ass decisions year after year. It's starting to get old, and after last season, it's no longer entertaining. The flashbacks are way too short and have so far been disappointingly forgettable. They aren't nearly as engaging as they used to be.

I won't deny that this season is a huge step up from season three, and the episodes we've gotten so far have been enjoyable on their own merits, but I'm starting to think that the series peaked in season two.

 

[regnak]

Just had a thought: Suppose the Felicity in the back of the limo was a hallucination by a mad with grief Oliver? It would be brilliant! Oh wait Arrow writers ... 1% chance if you want to be generous.

 

[Seb]

I had one major thought during the ending scene. Have they confirmed that there is definitely someone in the grave? Because I had the thought that, since we are so magic heavy this season, it could be a zombified someone or someones. It seems like a stretch, but I do wonder if they'd choose to do that instead of killing someone off. [EDIT: the point being that someone had come out of the grave rather than going in]

Otherwise, I felt middling about the episode. Arrow continues to sit in that position where it's not my favourite show but it's still enjoyable enough that I don't feel I've wasted an hour of my life. I don't exactly look forward to it, but I do watch it when it comes out (the fact that it is my only Wednesday show does give it some extra leeway).

 

[Herolee10]

The episode was fine. I just feel like I've seen Oliver make the same stupid ass decisions year after year. It's starting to get old, and after last season, it's no longer entertaining. The flashbacks are way too short and have so far been disappointingly forgettable. They aren't nearly as engaging as they used to be.

I won't deny that this season is a huge step up from season three, and the episodes we've gotten so far have been enjoyable on their own merits, but I'm starting to think that the series peaked in season two.

Oliver's basically going through the same arc that he had last year where he's struggling on whether he should embrace his darkness in order to defeat his enemy.

And another thing that I found odd was how Damien didn't have some HIVE agents/security guards watching over his family. This is the guy that was so paranoid and calculative that he gave Ra's Al Ghul a hard time but he can't counter with the likes of someone like Anarchy?

 

[Herolee10]

They really do need to get that Canary Cry together or at least address it in show somehow. Don't see why Laurel wouldn't have it on when taking on enemies.

Off the top of my head, these are the times where Laurel's Canary Cry was ineffective:

1. When Laurel confronted Oliver who was about to kill Nyssa. All it did was just stall him from delivering a fatal blow to her. Shooting Oliver with a Tranquilizer dart would have been smarter and more effective.

2. Final fight against Vandal Savage. She comes out of the car and uses the cry but it has NO Effect on Vandal whatsoever.

3. Confrontation with corrupted Anti-Vigilante Force. Granted, she did turn the tables around the second time, but the first time still counts.

 

[Boy Scout]

Speaking of Anarky: 1) there is literally no way he should've been able to fight Oliver and Thea to a standstill. 2) I give the actor an A for effort, but his attempts at playing crazy are underwhelming.

 

[Herolee10]

Speaking of Anarky: 1) there is literally no way he should've been able to fight Oliver and Thea to a standstill. 2) I give the actor an A for effort, but his attempts at playing crazy are underwhelming.

Anarky must have one kickass instructor if he's able to fight evenly with two individuals who were trained in combat by: The Current and Former Ra's Al Ghuls' and Slade Wilson.