Arrow Review: Monument Point (Season 4 Episode 21)

Okay, Arrow, you’ve got my attention. You’ve got my interest too. And, okay, my excitement.

That’s a pretty good combination for the end of the season.

“Monument Point” clicks on all cylinders. The stakes have never been higher, the “original team” has never been more united, and oh, yes, the special guests have never made more sense.

Noah Kuttler is an interesting man. We dislike him on principle, because he hurt Felicity, and she has, for so long, been the voice of the fans on the show. You hurt Felicity, you hurt us.

And yet, nothing is as it seems. Papa Smoak might not be the man Felicity and Donna needed him to be, all those years ago, but he’s not a monster either.

Is that enough? No, not on the long run. But, when the fate of the world is on the line, you take what you can get.

You take the criminal. You take ARGUS. You take Lyla Michaels.

The last is not a hardship, not at all.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, can we make Audrey Marie Anderson a series regular? Or at least a recurring character? I live in constant fear that she’ll get another show and we won’t be able to just have Lyla back when we need her.

Or, when we want her. This, in my case, is always.

Diggle and Lyla have long been presented as somewhat of a possible future for Oliver and Felicity. And yet, the future is not linear. Maybe Oliver and Felicity will get there; maybe they’ll go another road.

The point is that they’ll be together. Just like John and Lyla.

How can I be certain? Well, this is a TV show. Romance sells.

But, also …the writers are leading us to the reconciliation with a firm but gentle hand. First there was Felicity accepting her part of the blame for the breakup. Then, in this episode, there was Oliver accepting his own mistakes, putting them into words.

All that’s left is the actual reunion.

Don’t expect it to come next episode, though. There are still a lot of problems to be solved, starting with the choice Felicity had to make, continuing with the episode-ending cliffhanger and ending with Thea trapped in The Hunger Games style Arena.

Action is the name of the game, at least for now. And I haven’t been as excited for a season-ending development since season 2.

Bring it on, Arrow. We’re ready.

Other things to note:

• Did anyone really care all that much about what happened to Alex? Sure, guy is hot, but he’s not Roy, and I, for one, just can’t get into the ship. He’s a placeholder.
• Having two less people on the field really helps showcase how good Diggle, and especially Oliver, really are at hand-to-hand combat.
• Give me all the Oliver-in-plainclothes missions. All of them.
• Thankfully the explanation for the whole firing Felicity thing was vague, because, as it is, it makes no sense. Imagine if they’d tried to expound.
• May the show take this opportunity to actually explore the ramifications of Felicity’s choice, please. I’m not even asking for a whole season of it, just a few conversations. We deserve that much.
• Flashbacks? What flashbacks?
• Malcolm Merlyn is the actual worst, and as much as I enjoy John Barrowman, at some point, someone has to see that keeping him alive is only going to hurt in the long run, right? Right?
• Visually, SmoaknLance are an older version of Olicity, and I love it.
• But, I’m not so sure I love the whole not signing the affidavit thing. Sometimes this show gets really preachy with some moral choices and yet ignores others, like, you know, killing.
• Why is Donna at the loft? I get that building sets is expensive, but that just …yeah, I can’t wrap my mind around the why. Can’t.
• Is she sleeping in Oliver and Felicity’s bed?
• You know what, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.

What did you think of this episode of Arrow? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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

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