S07.E17: Inheritance

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

LAUREL TEAMS UP WITH OLIVER — Laurel (Katie Cassidy) learns about some damaging information that affects Emiko (Sea Shimooka). Always looking to protect his sister, Oliver (Stephen Amell) invites Laurel to help investigate, which makes Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) happy as her friend is now working with the team. However, when things go awry, Felicity is forced to make a choice between the team and Laurel. Patia Prouty directed the episode written by Sarah Tarkhoff & Elizabeth Kim (#717). Original airdate 3/25/2019.
 

[insomniadreams88]

Wasn't impressed.

Wish we'd gotten more Oliver/Felicity, but I did enjoy the Oliver/Diggle and Felicity/Alena scenes. 

So Emiko's all evil and actually the leader of the Ninth Circle? Okay, fine. Just don't care.

As for the whole Laurel/Black Siren mess, it's just stupid, mainly because they rushed her "redemption arc" and write it as utterly ridiculous when anyone brings up her past. Also, her murderous past is now apparently just Vince, not the years she spent as a villain, on this Earth and Earth-2. It's stupid. I don't hate her this season, but it's still stupid.

The only thing I'll say about the Queen's Gambit thing is to repeat what I wrote in the live thread: That invoice at the end made me LOL

Oh, and please let it continue to be obvious Felicity is pregnant around those who don't know because I love when Rene looks stupid. (Dinah, too.) 

ETA: I don't know what episode that description is for, but it wasn't this one.

Edited March 26, 2019 by insomniadreams88

[KenyaJ]

The hilarity of that false episode description (🔝) is way more entertaining than that episode was.

[Morrigan2575]

The thing about Big Bads is they need to be good/charismatic actors and characters. Dante makes for a good Big Bad, Emiko and SS's crap acting does not. This show followed a crap Big Bad (Diaz) with a great Big Bad (Dante - we thought) to pull an M Knight Twist and make Emiko (boring character, bad actor) the Big Bad. Waste of Adrian Paul IMO.

Is Emily older or younger? She looks way younger than Oliver but, she seemed very close in age when the Gambit webt down.

So now we're getting connections to the 2040 storyline. 9th Circle steels/corrupts Archer which leads to Vigilante's being outlaws? I feel like this storyline is

step 1 - take Archer

step 2 -  ???

Step 3 - 2040!

Edited March 26, 2019 by Morrigan2575

[Primal Slayer]

This was a bit of a hot mess with the plot line, especially in terms of Laurel [shocker]. She starts out intertwined with Emiko, steers Oliver in the right direction, and then goes off into a separate storyline about how she's roughing up criminals to get them to confess....after the last time we spent any sort of real time with her she was happy trying to play it straight just to end the episode outed as a possible criminal with a photo of her and Diaz since Emiko was secretly watching her? It all felt so forced and not set up properly. Which is so Arrow and is so Arrow when it comes to a Laurel Lance.

So Emiko is almost the same age as Oliver? Been in the bad guy/vigilante business longer then Oliver? I don't know why all of these flashbacks werent included in "My Name is Emiko Queen"  and just have this episode deal with her showing her true colors. 

[tennisgurl]

So one of Oliver's relatives is a part of a creepy criminal conspiracy?!? Wow, how deeply shocking that is!

Poor Oliver just so wants someone in his family not to be sketchy...

[BkWurm1]

Mixed feelings on the episode.  I like the end twist with Emiko full on evil (I think, it might change, who knows) and maybe now that she is evil I'll find her more interesting.  Adrian Paul is still great and he and the kid version of Emiko were a lot of fun.  

The episode description, except for the first line, didn't happen like at all. So what the hell?  Lol.  

Dinah and Laurel were really dull but it's fun that Laurel has been outed.  About time.  I'm not even rooting for her to stay evil but it was absurd no one knew about her being a bad guy after working for Zoom, Chase, James, AND Diaz.

Alena was fun to see but not much involved in anything.  Why was Felicity looking for DNA she didn't have?  Emiko? 

I was very worried they were going to retcon Malcolm blowing up the Gambit but I'm perfectly good with him just using the 9th Circle to make it happen.  Their invoice to him was hilariously bad at first glance but in looking again, there seemed to be a small copy of a normal one in the right hand corner.  Which was also funny that the evil organization sent out invoices.  

I liked this episdoe more than a lot of the ones right after Oliver got out of jail.  Keeping Oliver FAR away from the station is WONDERFULLY refreshing.  It felt like a real episode of Arrow.  Not the most stand out but not bad in my books.  

[jay741982]

God I hate Emiko. What a fucking bitch. ITS NOT OLIVERS FAULT ROBERT SUCKED. I was gonna comment how Dante had Swagger and More Menace than The Last Big Bad Diaz but NOPE HOLD ON We have Arrows First Female Big Bad Oliver's POS Half Sister Emiko. Hope Emiko dies at the end of the season

[Lantern7]

Interesting episode. Sadly,the next episode will air in four weeks' time, and I'll probably forget about 90 percent of what I've learned.

Yes, Emiko Queen is evil . . . or at least against her half-brother. She is the head of the Ninth Circle. And she blew up the Queen's Gambit, which . . . huh? I get the motivation, but I feel we're getting fed too much too quickly. Also, I kind of want Sara to find out, because Ollie wasn't the only one whose life changed

Does Rene have a thing for Emiko? Meh either way.

Weird to finally realize Dante is played by Adrian Paul and not hear his Highlander-based accent. To be honest, beheadings might work on Arrow, even if they take their example from the TV series (off-camera, Paul screaming as his victim's "quickening" repeatedly aps him, etc.)

Laurel's been killing people. *sigh* Once again: every version of her is a pain in the ass. I'm glad Dinah has decided to declare war against her.

Emiko Queen: Fuck it, she's not Ricardo Diaz. Isn't that enough?

ETA: And, apparently, I am unable to count weeks properly. Thanks @Morrigan2575!

Edited March 26, 2019 by Lantern7

[Primal Slayer]

I'm not sure why they didn't have Laurel try to warn Oliver and company about Emiko, them not believe her, and Emiko/co. doing something that forces her to give into her Black Siren ways to get things done. Have Emiko play with Olivers feelings to turn the team against Laurel.

[Morrigan2575]

2 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Sadly,the next episode will air in four weeks' time, and I'll probably forget about 90 percent of what I've learned

2 week break, no Arrow on 4/1 or 4/8 back on 4/15

[apinknightmare]

I'm sad that our first female big bad sucks, and that because she's a Queen we're going to have to deal with eons of Oliver being an idiot about it. 

That's all I can muster up the will to say about it.

[BkWurm1]

It does change the dynamic of what we thought Emiko and Oliver's relationship was now knowing that Emiko was very close in age to Oliver.  I thought she was Thea's age.  I can get her growing up and resenting and hating Oliver, the chosen child, all her life.  She gave her dad one last chance to do right by her and he rejected everything she had to offer all because it might step on the legacy he wanted for Oliver -- who never wanted it and yeah, lost it pretty quickly.  Is it fair to blame Oliver at all?  No but fairness has so little to do with any of it.  

That said, there are some major plot holes here.  Like why wait 7 years after Oliver showed up to enact revenge?  Is she blaming Oliver for her mom's death somehow?  It feels really random.  Oliver was in jail and at the time didn't seem likely to come out.  Why dress in green leather?  

[thuganomics85]

Wait, so Emiko isn't just flat-out bad now, but she has somehow become in charge of the Ninth Circle, even over her own mentor?  I guess the organization must have felt like they were in a rut, and needed new blood, because that seems to be a strange revelation.  I mean, I'm fine with Emiko being bad since I do think Sea Shimooka fares better when she's being a villain, but possibly reducing Adrian Paul into a glorifying henchman role going forward isn't very satisfying.  Respect the Highlander!

While Emiko is obviously a jerk for taking everything out on poor Oliver who had nothing to do with what happened to her, Robert really was just a crappy person, huh?  Even if he didn't want to be there for his daughter and her mother, I simply can not believe that he couldn't have found some way to secretly fund money to them, if he had wanted to.  Dude was a straight-up asshole and a horrible father to all of his kids.

Making Emiko and the Ninth Gate also responsible for the Queen Gambit's "accident" (with Malcolm still being the mastermind, at least) was a bit much, but if nothing else, I loved seeing the photo of Fratty Oliver again!

Loved seeing Alena and Kacey Rohl again!

Diggle, my man, I'm glad your mostly back to normal, but maybe next time you see Dante, you should simply shoot him and not scream "Dante!" like an idiot.

Rene totally does have a flat-out crush on Emiko.  If this all ends with Emiko flipping back to good, I can totally see the show having him be the catalyst for it, instead of Oliver.

Man, all of the Dinah/Laurel stuff was dumb and dull.  Laurel tries to be good (again), but then lets some punk almost make her lose her cool after he mocks Quentin's death (again, not your real father, "Laurel"), and then he dies, which leads to Dinah thinking she's back to her old ways.  And now that Emiko has exposed that Laurel used to work with Diaz, this is likely leading for her to revert back to her old self.  What a lovely waste of time!

At least I got to watch it live tonight.  Plus, Legends of Tomorrow is returning next week!!

[BunsenBurner]

Did I hear this correctly? when Arrow returns on April 15 it goes back to the 9 pm EST slot?  This ridiculous. 

[BkWurm1]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Laurel's been killing people. *sigh* Once again: every version of her is a pain in the ass. I'm glad Dinah has decided to declare war against her.

Was she though?  I honestly couldn't tell if I was supposed to believe her or not.  I leaned toward it was a coincidence and then I thought she'd been set up by Emiko but maybe Emiko only released the pic?  I honestly couldn't tell.  

 

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

Making Emiko and the Ninth Gate also responsible for the Queen Gambit's "accident" (with Malcolm still being the mastermind, at least) was a bit much, but if nothing else, I loved seeing the photo of Fratty Oliver again!

Worked for me since I think ARGUS said being an evil broker/facilitator was pretty much what Dante did.  It's one of those coincidences that ARrowverse likes to pull but as long as the story from season one didn't change, I'm fine with Emiko now leading the group that planted and supplied the explosives.  

[apinknightmare]

If she hates Robert so much and had a hand in his death, WHY does she hang out at his grave so often? Girl, see a therapist.

[Trisha]

I swear, Arrow is the only show that can have an episode which feels simultaneously like filler AND too rushed. It was boring (which I don’t think I would have minded as much in any other season but we have so few eps left now), but despite it feeling slow it also weirdly squeezed in a ton of plot involving Emiko. Looking back, what strange pacing. She’s been around long enough for them to have planted some seeds or at least had her bond with Oliver more so that her betrayal and unmasking would have had a bigger impact. But as it was, it just felt crammed into one episode and therefore rushed. And they are likely dropping it altogether next episode to focus on BS. Such bad plotting, show.

25 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Alena was fun to see but not much involved in anything.  Why was Felicity looking for DNA she didn't have?  Emiko? 

I didn’t get who she was referring to either. At the end Oliver and Dig talked about Felicity looking for Emiko, and then it showed Alena and her discussing how to find someone without DNA — but we already know Felicity has Emiko’s. That’s how she first told Oliver that the new vigilante running around town was his sister.

22 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Laurel's been killing people. *sigh* Once again: every version of her is a pain in the ass. I'm glad Dinah has decided to declare war against her

BS didn’t kill him. Emiko said she did it and set BS up for the fall. 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Trisha

[Primal Slayer]

1 minute ago, Trisha said:

BS didn’t kill him. Emiko said she did it and set BS up for the fall. 

See this should've been a Cat/Mouse type episode between Emiko and Laurel. 

[mxc90]

I was more impressed the woman was able to take a chop to the throat, talk afterwards and survive the C4 blast!

Not too long ago, Laurel was being praised for being this great DA. Now we learn she has been bending the rules and the press has a picture of her with Diaz. 

Laurel doesn't own any shirts that could cover the wound on her arm (so Oliver wouldn't ask questions)?

Computers will never replace people says Felicity. I will keep that in mind.

Oliver and Rene should form a support group to help with their Emiko trust issue.

Now Emiko was responsible for sinking the Queens Gambit!? This is too much! How old was she then?

Should Fecility trust Alena?

How would Archer help with crowd control?

[tennisgurl]

Emiko being the Big Bad is a mixed bad. Its at least kind of interesting that she is going to be full on evil and not just morally ambiguous or a henchwoman, but it also means apparently taking Dante, who seems like such a cool villain, and making him a glorified sidekick. What a waste of a perfectly good Highlander!

I just have a lot of questions about Emikos backstory now. How did she usurp her mentor and become leader of the Ninth Circle? Apparently she is still on good terms with him, did he just give the position to her because he wanted to take some extra time with his golf game? Did her mom actually just die? Why would she be living in some crappy apartment in the Glades if her daughter is a supervillain? Were they estranged because mom didnt approve of her villainy? Why is she choosing now to do all of this?

Alright at first I thought they were saying that Emiko was the one who took down the Queens Gambit, but it looks like Malcolm contracted them out, and she was just happy to take the job. Really, while Robert did die, the people who probably suffered most from that were Oliver and Sara, who were basically collateral damage due to Roberts shady dealing in his personal and professional life. Them and the crew and staff and such. 

God, Robert really was a dick, huh? He couldn't have just spotted her some money for her new business? I mean, Emiko sucks for blaming Oliver at all for this, as it isnt his fault at all, but Robert really was just such a crappy father. To all of his kids. 

Not much Olicity this week, but they had some cute moments, like when Oliver was upset about Emiko and Felicity told him he could take a minute. I mean, yeah, take several minutes, Oliver. At least he got to get some cooking in before shit went down. I always love when Oliver gets to cook, he just always looks so happy and relaxed, and its so adorably domestic. 

Liked the conversation between John and Oliver about their respective evil siblings. See, theres the Diggle I know and love, not that pod person awful friend we were stuck with for awhile!

So Black Siren got outed as a criminal. I mean, oh no! And after she stopped murdering random people for a whole three months!

[BkWurm1]

49 minutes ago, Trisha said:

I swear, Arrow is the only show that can have an episode which feels simultaneously like filler AND too rushed. It was boring (which I don’t think I would have minded as much in any other season but we have so few eps left now), but despite it feeling slow it also weirdly squeezed in a ton of plot involving Emiko. Looking back, what strange pacing. She’s been around long enough for them to have planted some seeds or at least had her bond with Oliver more so that her betrayal and unmasking would have had a bigger impact. But as it was, it just felt crammed into one episode and therefore rushed. And they are likely dropping it altogether next episode to focus on BS. Such bad plotting, show.

I didn’t get who she was referring to either. At the end Oliver and Dig talked about Felicity looking for Emiko, and then it showed Alena and her discussing how to find someone without DNA — but we already know Felicity has Emiko’s. That’s how she first told Oliver that the new vigilante running around town was his sister.

BS didn’t kill him. Emiko said she did it and set BS up for the fall. 

That's right.  Kind of forgot that.  Then who is she looking for????? Did the writer maybe forget too?

 

47 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

See this should've been a Cat/Mouse type episode between Emiko and Laurel. 

They could have played with who was evil vs who was good a lot more but the Laurel stuff was only there to set up her next episode.  

I think over all, Emiko and her arc was not well paced this season but it is interesting that the new big bad has been here from the start.  

 

They never explained why she dropped dressing up like the Green Arrow.  Also never explained WHY she dressed up as the Green Arrow.  I wonder if they know.

[apinknightmare]

13 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Emiko being the Big Bad is a mixed bad. Its at least kind of interesting that she is going to be full on evil and not just morally ambiguous or a henchwoman, but it also means apparently taking Dante, who seems like such a cool villain, and making him a glorified sidekick. What a waste of a perfectly good Highlander!

I think she thinks she's the leader. I'm guessing we're gonna get some kind of reveal that Dante's been playing her and she's not actually in charge, betrayal betrayal, second guessing her evilness, a 15 minute reckoning with her life, her choices, then she goes to Oliver to...I don't even know what. It seems like the Ninth Circle or an offshoot of it is operating in the future so it doesn't seem like Oliver defeats them (unless there's some kind of trick, and the future has been a simulation or some other stupid thing that I will - at this point - gladly accept despite its idiocy).

[JamieLynn832002]

1 minute ago, BkWurm1 said:

They never explained why she dropped dressing up like the Green Arrow.  Also never explained WHY she dressed up as the Green Arrow.  I wonder if they know.

I assumed it was supposed to be to get close to Oliver or get his attention, like Felicity mentoned earlier, but she started it while he was in prison indefinitely and his wife and child were in hiding outside of Star City so it doesn't really make sense. Maybe there was a plan to frame him for something like she did Laurel? Although, again, he was in prison so stupid plan (also she has a very different build but that never mattered when Roy or Dig wore the suits so clearly green leather renders the citizens of SC unable to differeniate height, build or race)

[statsgirl]

Maybe it was the start of her plan to get revenge on Oliver. She's already faking being BS to kill Hernandez.

I have to give them props for showing us that Emiko is smart enough to be the Big Bad (e.g. coming up with a business plan to show Robert, figuring out that they could use Archer) instead of just telling us as the did with Diaz.

Now I'm wondering if the Ninth Circle is going to copy Archer and turn it into Galaxy and that's why Felicity feels responsible for all the bad things in the future.

51 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Is Emily older or younger? She looks way younger than Oliver but, she seemed very close in age when the Gambit went down.

I figure it's those Asian genes.

Emiko had to have been at least 18 if not in her 20s with an MBA when she showed her business plan to Robert. Oliver was 22 or younger at the time because she would have need time to get the job to blow up Robert after he turned her down.

37 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

That said, there are some major plot holes here.  Like why wait 7 years after Oliver showed up to enact revenge?  Is she blaming Oliver for her mom's death somehow?  It feels really random.  Oliver was in jail and at the time didn't seem likely to come out.  Why dress in green leather?  

That really is a big hole. Maybe she didn't know that Oliver was the Green Arrow till he outed himself at the end of last season. Up till then, he was having his own problems trying to keep QC going and later failing as mayor. I'm fanwanking that until he was successful, she didn't prioritize hurting him.

On the other hand, if she is a big shot in the Ninth Circle, why didn't she pay to put her mother in a better apartment as she moved up?  If this show were well-written, the "I have to get revenge on the guy who killed my mother in her substandard apartment" would be a pity story for Oliver.

[Mellowyellow]

4 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

They never explained why she dropped dressing up like the Green Arrow.  Also never explained WHY she dressed up as the Green Arrow.  I wonder if they know.

I don't think they care. I bet they patted themselves on the back for the Emiko reveal and called it a day. 

***

Not only do I have to put up with terrible acting from the Emiko actress, we don't even get Ben Lewis's amusing tweets this week. 

[BkWurm1]

14 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Emiko had to have been at least 18 if not in her 20s with an MBA when she showed her business plan to Robert. Oliver was 22 or younger at the time because she would have need time to get the job to blow up Robert after he turned her down.

Emiko knew that when Robert got on the boat to China it would blow up.  That's the "gift" Dante gave her before she met with Robert.  She could have warned him but he shut her out again and so she let him die, thus making her choice. (Which could be later used to spin as guilt that was fueling her staying in the evil org that she could dump last minute to save her brother. Hard to know)

  I do think she has to be much closer to Oliver's age than we previously realized though.  

Edited March 26, 2019 by BkWurm1

[Mellowyellow]

EBR is really pretty in this. Love the longer hair with the waves through it 

KC has nice arms and is looking really fit

I didn't mind Dinah or BS as much because they are less sour when someone more sour eclipses them

Good explanation of why Felicity doesnt need to go to SC in the future by bringing Alena in.

That's all I've got for this ep!

I didn't get a cute Olicty scene or even a cute BS/Felicity scene. Nope just lots and lots of sour petulant lady!

[Primal Slayer]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

Emiko had to have been at least 18 if not in her 20s with an MBA when she showed her business plan to Robert. Oliver was 22 or younger at the time because she would have need time to get the job to blow up Robert after he turned her down.

Did you already forget about Curtis and his thousand degrees and Olympics

[Featherhat]

7 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

Did you already forget about Curtis and his thousand degrees and Olympics

Heh. A TV trope isn't it? people in their early-mid 20s having thousands of accomplishments that take years by nature, even if you are a genius. 

So let me get this straight, Robert Queen wouldn't fund his own daughter even discreet seed money for her business plan but will raise some one who he knows is Malcolm's bio daughter as his own and never throw it back in Moira's face? I mean kudos to him for loving Thea but he was awful to the other kids. Lax with douchebag Ollie until he put the guilt of the world on him and abandoning Emiko to becoming a supervillain. 

[Cthulhudrew]

In spite of all the plot holes*, I still found this to be the most entertaining episode in weeks.

*I mean, really. This whole "evil Emiko" thing seems like they just came up with it around mid-season. It doesn't really jibe with her "New Green Arrow"ing of the first half of the season.

The one thing that would really make this "twist" awesome is if WH comes back and Thea ends up kicking Emiko's behind, right before she chastises Oliver for being such a naive simp.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Cthulhudrew

[Soulfire]

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Bonus:

 

 

From here.

[BkWurm1]

So when we first heard about Emiko, Oliver and Felicity found a letter from Robert to Walter talking about the secret daughter his wife made him cut ties to.  And I blamed Moira and thought Robert was weak.  I still think Robert was weak and Moira covering up her existence after he died was cold but in how Robert phrased things to Emiko's mother in the first flashback, I now think that Moira was merely demanding a divorce if he didn't stop seeing them. 

I blame Robert way more for agreeing to her terms than Moira for making such a crazy demand.  I mean, she probably was ready for a divorce so what did it matter what she demanded?  

And this is why I do think it was just Divorce Moira was threatening him with. Emiko overhears her father saying that if he let them stay in their apartment (presumably meaning he's covering the costs and paying for Emiko's private school) Moira "will take everything, my company, my money, my children."  But he doesn't mention his freedom or any kind of risk of jail so I don't think she was threatening him with blackmail of a legal kind.  So that leaves divorce.  He'd lose his kids maybe not through the courts but in their hearts if they found out about his secret family.  The rest he'd be risking but he wouldn't lose it all, that's hyperbole.  It's Queen Consolidated and the Queen mansion.  He'd get taken to the cleaners in divorce court but he would by no means be bankrupt.  

So that letter to Walter saying he had a daughter that his wife made him cut all ties to.  That's Robert rewriting history to absolve himself of blame.  He CHOSE to cut ties rather than risk a divorce.  He turned the woman he was supposed to love and his child he'd even helped raise all her life out on the streets to secure his money and and position in the city.  What a cowardly rat. 

I'd like to have thought that accidentally killing that councilman and realizing what Malcolm had in store for the Glades would have been enough for him to grow up and face his "mistakes" but after all that stuff he STILL refused to give his daughter a dime even for a project he seemed to believe in all because "business" was for Oliver and that was HIS legacy.  So that letter he left for Walter to take care of his daughter, what a load of garbage that was.  He wasn't willing to give her a dime while he was alive.  There was no change of heart or even a wish to make it up to her or he'd have funded her proposal or at least tried to find someone who would.  Instead he patted her on the head, said "aren't you clever" basically and then went on his merry way.  

They all would have been better off if he'd ran off with Isabel.  Then he could have abandoned all of them and Emiko wouldn't see any reason to blame Oliver.  

If you can't tell, I've been stewing about this all evening, lol.  It came to a head when I realized in a fan fic I'd previously written (but not finished) a scene with Moira saying what a good man at heart he was and such a devoted father.  Ha!  What a crock.  Time for a rewrite.  

Edited March 26, 2019 by BkWurm1

[somewhereelse]

Holy shit I can't believe I created an account just to complain about this episode. Not the hastily patched together plot but the fact that even an episode of Maury has more defensible sperm donors.

First of all, Dig, this is not an equivalent situation to Andy who by what little I remember just got tired of you being a perfect, overachieving do-gooder (I love when you're like that; never change; pod!Dig is the worst) and trying to mold him in your image (even though I think John is supposed to be younger). Emiko was full-on abandoned as a child by her shitty father and forced to live a life of squalor (squalor? at the very least, not nearly as well off) while he paraded his picture perfect family around in the lap of luxury.

Now my main gripe: do the Arrow writers just not care that Robert Queen is the most privileged, rich, white deadbeat father to ever deadbeat? Seriously. He lets one mistress in on the secret that his daughter isn't his biological daughter. He neglects and pressures his son to the point of him being raised an entitled, spoiled douchebag, despises that about him, then guilts him into cleaning up the genocidal plot he aided. He abandons his other mistress and secret daughter because his wife is "forcing" him to. (Look, I've no doubt Moira was a cutthroat society queen as we've seen, but at the very most, it would have been a contentious divorce. Murder was apparently more Robert's deal.) Then, not only does he abandon them, but he rubs it in secret daughter's face that the shitshow, waste of oxygen son is the golden child and refuses to monetarily support her because what if people find out she's his daughter? Like what's supposed to stop her from getting a DNA test and blasting him in the press? His A+ parenting thus far? 

Even if Moira hadn't forced Robert's hand or whatever and Walter went on to support them, the damage was already done. It's not like Robert gave two shits about them when he was alive, why would it matter what he did in death? What's that saying about how money given to charity while in good health is worth infinite times as much and money given in death is worth nothing at the gates of heaven? This is my vindictive, female in a traditionally patriarchal family side showing, but I'd have let his deadbeat ass explode/drown, too.

And yeah I get that none of that is actually Oliver's fault, but trust me none of that matters when you're being ignored, neglected, mistreated, and, in this case, straight up abandoned by your own family based on the super scientific and logical rationale of genitals. And, yes, also social dynamics, appearances, etc., but Robert's failing to stand up to those things probably just fed Emiko's resentment in the long run.

Also this entire situation makes Robert's acceptance of Thea way less honorable and more quid pro quo. He doesn't expose Moira's affair/secret child, and she doesn't expose his.

Edited March 26, 2019 by somewhereelse

[Mellowyellow]

@somewhereelse are you the person that writes fan fic?

Cuz that's one good thing to come out of this ep if you are!

[Cthulhudrew]

So, ending reveal about Emiko notwithstanding, was anyone other than me- knowing what Team Arrow knew up to that point about Emiko (her "not really with them" sob story)- wondering why Oliver and the gang weren't a bit bothered by the fact that one of the security guards at the uranium storage place was shot dead with an arrow? And the only other person with a bow to be seen was Emiko?

[AnimeMania]

If I was Emiko, I would have sold everything in the apartment, there was probably enough rich people "stuff" in there are a normal person to live comfortably for several years. Emiko was out "Oliver Twisting" the next day. 

[bijoux]

I get that Robert was a shit father, but Emiko has clearly been off her rocker to sign off on killing him. Go after his damn money and reputation and ruin him and his first family that way. Not to mention that while she couldn't know about Oliver and Sara being on board, she absolutely had to have been aware there would be other people there, Robert sure as hell wouldn't have steered a vessel that size over that distance alone. So cool on knowingly killing the ship crew. 

[somewhereelse]

@Mellowyellow Indeed 🙂

@Bijou With the exception of early objections (Dig, Felicity, Laurel, Lance, etc.) that morphed into grudging acceptance, pretty much everyone on this show has been a-okay with collateral damage kills. Even though the camera work makes me unclear when someone is supposed to be dead versus "incapacitated" most of the time, I don't think that's a fair indicator of sanity in the Arrowverse (not to say that Emiko is sane).

[Morrigan2575]

8 hours ago, Trisha said:

BS didn’t kill him. Emiko said she did it and set BS up for the fall. 

Did she actually say she killed that guy? I thought she was just talking about releasing the images of BS/Diaz from last season?

[cambridgeguy]

I wonder if the Ninth Circle and League of Assassins get together and compare their plans for world domination, mook dress code, etc. 

I know there's still a decent chance Dante is playing Emiko but if not then Arrow hasn't learned its lesson about how you should choose the better actor as the main villain. 

[Mellowyellow]

3 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

I know there's still a decent chance Dante is playing Emiko but if not then Arrow hasn't learned its lesson about how you should choose the better actor as the main villain. 

Omg I just realised they continued with the Diaz theme of the temporary villain (ME in S6) being the better actor and the main villain being a bit of a snooze.

She is not as bad as 3D though. At least she isn't trying to 3D print anything or running around with a turtle shell strapped to her back while ranting like a maniac! 

[ladylaw99]

My mom said I could write this review on my way to school because she was soooo bored she fell asleep.

I have to say I was bored too.  I had predicted that Emiko was the big bad.  I like the fact that it is a woman but wished Emiko had more charisma.  Dante just has something about him that I find more menacing.

John Diggle is back.  Thank God.  May he never leave again.

Robert Queen was a (insert any word that I am not allow to type or say 🙂 )!!  

Highlight for me was trying to keep my mom awake during this episode, that's how bored even I was. 😞

[Sunshine]

Emiko in the Green Arrow suit might have been them trying to sell the show without SA.  It didn’t work so they just changed the story to make her the big bad and changed her suit.  Perhaps she managed to pass her mentor in rank because she is a Queen?  It would explain both William and Mia needing to be kept safe if the Ninth Circle carries over into S8. Emiko being involved might also explain Rene’s role in the future.

[Trisha]

2 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Did she actually say she killed that guy? I thought she was just talking about releasing the images of BS/Diaz from last season?

Yeah, Emiko tells Laurel she “knocked off that Halcone” and also leaked the photo. 

[Morrigan2575]

30 minutes ago, Trisha said:

Yeah, Emiko tells Laurel she “knocked off that Halcone” and also leaked the photo. 

Thanks, I totally missed that

[Writing Wrongs]

13 hours ago, mxc90 said:

I was more impressed the woman was able to take a chop to the throat, talk afterwards and survive the C4 blast!

LOL

[bijoux]

I think I identified where Chico thinks this happened in the episode. 

when things go awry, Felicity is forced to make a choice between the team and Laurel.

Rene doubts whether they should take Laurel at her word that Emiko (can these people decide how that name is pronounced, please!) killed Diaz, and Felicity responds that Laurel has changed a lot. It's a gripping 10 seconds 

[insomniadreams88]

6 minutes ago, bijoux said:

Rene doubts whether they should take Laurel at her word that Emiko (can these people decide how that name is pronounced, please!) killed Diaz, and Felicity responds that Laurel has changed a lot. It's a gripping 10 seconds 

You know what's sad about that scene? Felicity says Laurel has been a good friend to her, and Laurel actually has this season, but Rene and Dinah haven't and that still hasn't been addressed. 

[Quark]

Good episode, even if the twist at the end was quite baffling. Brave choice making an actress with limited experience the Big Bad, unless there is more too it. Poor Oliver can't catch a break, but it looks like Arrow has come full circle (pardon the pun) with family betrayal, which is clever I think.

How hard is it to make costumes look different? I don't there is any difference between the Ninth Circle costumes and League of Assassins attire.

Is it me or has the background music been strange the last few episodes as well? It's been a bit much, if that makes sense.

Whatever happened to the Longbow Hunters? Are we ever going to see them again?

Nice to have a break from the complete mess that is the flash forwards.

Nice to see Elena again (I think that's her name).

Laurel scenes were great. Looking forward to next episode.