Arrow Review: Lost Souls (Season 4 Episode 6)

The latest episode of Arrow, “Lost Souls,” is aptly named, seeing as it really doubled down on the theme of being lost and found.

Most obviously, Ray has been lost for months, trapped in a tater-tot sized body as Felicity so hilariously reminds us.

I do wish we’d had a little more focus on Ray’s rescue in this episode, since it took a bit of a backseat — in both urgency and screen time — to other matters. It’s understandable though, since I assume that focusing too heavily on Ray when he’s about to be sent off to a new spinoff is not the best use of Arrow‘s time. Luckily, our big, bad crime-fighting squad (complete with the newly resurrected Sara Lance) managed to kick butt and deliver him from the evil clutches of Damien Darhk.

Speaking of Sara, she might be back in the land of the living, but she’s not out of the woods yet.

She, too, plays into the ‘lost’ theme of the night, but she’s lost something more valuable than any tech suit or love interest; she’s lost her control. Death and murder has always been a heavy topic for Sara. If you remember her short League of Assassins arc in Season 2, you’ll remember that she nearly committed suicide rather than go back to all the killing. I absolutely adored the subtle way this part of her character is woven back into the narrative as she deals with the Lazarus Pit symptoms.

Naturally, Sara decides that leaving Star City (and all the violent crime fighting that goes with it) is probably best for her right now. She needs to do a bit of soul-searching, if you’ll excuse the super lame pun. Even though Laurel has finally found her sister again, we all know she’s going to lose her to the Legends of Tomorrow spinoff, so Sara’s abrupt exit at the end of the episode doesn’t feel as stunted as it normally would. It’s all going to come together eventually!

Finally, the person most lost in all of this madness turns out to be Felicity.

Felicity: I lost myself in you, but I was never that girl. That girl, who just loses herself in a guy. That is not who I am.

Oliver and Felicity have been pretty copacetic this season, basking in the joy of their unhindered romance. But as we all know, joy must come to and end for the sake of drama on every television show. Luckily, this relationship drama makes complete sense and fits flawlessly into the current Arrow storylines. It’s not just drama for drama’s sake.

Felicity’s discovery that Ray has been alive and calling out to her for help while she’s been enjoying romantic bliss with Oliver provides the perfect catalyst for Olicity’s first big fight. Her insecurity that she’s lost her sense of self and her ability to focus on her own life outside of Oliver is a totally believable concern for Felicity’s character. She did drop everything to take off for parts unknown with Oliver last year. She left her whole life behind. If you want to look deeper, she’s even done it before, when she slowly gave up her normal Queen Consolidated life in favor of being Oliver’s techy sidekick. It’s always scary when you find you’ve given a part of yourself up to someone else.

Don’t get too worried, Olicity shippers. Mama Smoak manages to assuage all of our female independence fears.

Donna: Believe it or not, he’s lost himself in you. And you’ll find yourself in each other.

She reminds us that losing yourself in the person you love isn’t a bad thing. It’s sometimes one of the best things about being in love. You just have to find a way to rediscover a better version of yourself within that relationship.

Other Thoughts:

• “You’re married. He’s straight. You’re married. He’s straight.” — Curtis Holt has officially become my new favorite sidekick.
• Diggle is kind of Olicity’s marriage counselor in this episode, and I kind of love it.
• Mama Smoak and Captain Lance deserve a romance. Like right away.
• What on earth is Damien planning to do with Ray’s nano-tech? Shrink the entire city? Wait a second, that would be awesome and hilarious, please let this be the case.

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Arrow airs Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW.

Lindsay MacDonald

Lindsay is an associate editor for Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer, viewer, and internet addict. Her obsession with TV started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has been going strong ever since; current favorites include Scandal, The 100, The Walking Dead, and Arrow. She considers a perfect Friday night to be a joint-cuddle-session between an adorable puppy dog and her Netflix queue. Follow @lindsayjoane