Arrow Review: Dark Waters (Season 4 Episode 9)

It’s always hard coming back from a huge event like a crossover episode, but Arrow managed to hold its own with “Dark Waters” for the most part.

In an effort to remind us that Oliver is still running for mayor, Team Arrow heads down to the bay for a holiday cleanup. If you think back to Oliver’s first meeting with Damien Darhk (when he was not under a hood that is), you’ll recall that Darhk told Oliver to leave the bay alone. In retaliation for not heeding his threats, Darhk sends a drone to attack all the lovely volunteers — and some pretty adorable kids — who turn up for Oliver’s little service event.

Meanwhile, Mama Smoak is back, apparently quite content to stick around Star City for now. She conveniently finds Oliver’s engagement ring hidden among the Christmas decorations and promptly screams her head off.

Part of the reason Donna Smoak makes such a wonderful addition to this cast is that she brings a real light and happiness into the Arrow family. She’s a funny, upbeat, and slightly silly character, who fits in perfectly with the lighter tone that Season 4 has taken on. Not to mention, it’s nice for Felicity to have someone to bounce her ideas and worries off of. Felicity and Laurel’s friendship never quite reached the stage where it would be normal to see them having a girl’s night together, which is a real shame. At least this way, Felicity can have some girl time with her mother.

As for the kidnapping portion of the night, I have to say that it was unfortunately the weakest part of the episode (not counting the flashbacks because no one ever counts the flashbacks).

The suspense of having three of our main characters in danger is all well and good, especially because it makes Oliver’s desperation more believable. Unfortunately, sending those characters off screen for such an extended period of time didn’t sit well with me at all. Were they just sitting around in Damien’s cells all day? Why didn’t they try to plan an escape? This is Team Arrow we’re talking about!

In an already packed episode, it’s pretty easy to answer these questions. There was simply no time to show any of that.

What would have been an otherwise trite kidnapping subplot was saved by two things: Olicity and Malcolm Merlyn.

The proposal drama between Oliver and Felicity is another “relationship bump” that feels natural, mature, and organic. Felicity handles her confusion about the delayed proposal with the perfect mix of understanding and disappointment, as well as a hefty amount of sass. Olicity fans are never happier than when Felicity is putting Oliver in his place, which she did with snark and style. She reminds him yet again that she chose to be with him, and she chose the life they lead. He’s not the boss of her, so he can’t and shouldn’t feel responsible for putting her life in danger. She did that all on her own, thank you very much!

Malcolm finally comes face to face with Damien Darhk, masquerading as the Green Arrow no less. For a minute there, it seemed like Malcolm would be the one ending up in a grave, but thankfully he manages to tag-team with Oliver to blow up Damien’s death factory.

Now let’s talk about that proposal.

The Chekov’s Gun from the premiere finally goes off, when Oliver gets down on one knee in a romantic — and very public — proposal. It’s romantic, it’s touching, it’s everything Olicity fans were hoping for. Unfortunately, excitement and joy quickly turns to anguish, when their limo is shot up minutes later. Is Felicity dead?!

Probably not, seeing as Emily Bett Rickards has been on set filming for the past month, well after her apparent “death.” Still, I’m going to have to scrap “Little Drummer Boy” from my Christmas playlist this year, thanks to the trauma of that scene.

Other Thoughts:

• Mama Smoak and Capt. Lance are officially a thing. Well done, fans!
• Random off-screen shark attack? Cool story, bro.
• Damien Darhk is a dad? Whaaaat?
• An underground cornfield to supply oxygen… seems like a doomsday bunker to me.

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Arrow airs Wednesdays on the CW at 8/7c.

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