Arrow Review: Honor Thy Fathers (Season 5 Episode 21)

It’s always bad when things go exactly right on Episode 21 of a 23 Episode season.

Always, always.

Arrow Season 5 Episode 21, “Honor Thy Fathers,” ties everything up in a neat little bow, gives us an emotional glimpse at how Oliver and Thea attempt to reconcile the mistakes of their parents with the love they felt for them and exploits the team and the interpersonal relationships in ways Season 5 hasn’t done as much as it should have.

It all feels like a trap – but an enjoyable one at that.

Possibly because the show gives us not just Diggle and Felicity speaking like actual friends (hallelujah), but it continues the Olicity interactions in a way that makes it seem like the writers actually remember what happened last episode (hallelujah), and, it also gives Oliver and Diggle a chance to be the team of two they once were, even for a while (hallelujah).

Almost like this show is ready to go back to what works, to the reasons we invested on it in the first place.

Just last week – when faced with this same situation, a better episode than most of what we’ve seen in Season 5 and a promise to rebuild, I advised caution. The show has burned us before. In this episode, however, almost as if the show is speaking directly to the fans, the message revolves around letting go of the past.

From Felicity, who categorically states that her life is better because Oliver decided to become the Green Arrow and whose steadfast belief in Oliver’s  – not just goodness, but in his ability to move past the man his father was, pushes him back into the suit; to Oliver and then Thea’s subsequent realization that they need to start living for themselves, and not for their parents,  this whole episode felt like a plea, not just for the characters, but the fans.

Give us another chance. Let bygones be bygones.

Let’s start anew.

Narratively, the message works. Oliver needs to let go of the past – and only Felicity could point him in the right direction. Thea needs to let go of the past – and only Oliver could point her in the right direction.

For us, however, the message is a little more muddled. TV is an investment, you see. We invest our time, our energy and our emotions into these people, and though they’re not real, in a way, we feel like they are.

More importantly, it feels like they’re our friends.

And, as such, we have a vested interest in seeing them evolve, in knowing that they’re on the right path, that they’re happy, that their jobs are going fine, that they’ve found the love of their life and have settled down.

We care.

But we only care about the people we know, not the pod-people we’ve been forced to watch this season. And that’s been our biggest gripe. Not the plots, not even the relationships, but that the characters we’d known for four seasons would never act like they acted this year.

They seem to be back now, but we’re not sure. It’s only been like three episodes. So, even if we want to let go of the past, fact is, we can’t.

Not yet.

But hey – at least now there’s a possibility one day we could. That’s a lot more than you had going for you five episodes ago, Arrow.

Other things to note:

• A judge granted re-trials on ALL the cases? In the same day? Did all the hearings take place at the same time too? I get you’re going for the dramatic, Arrow, but even were I not a lawyer, I’d know that this is unbelievable at best, ridiculous at worst.
• These cops, who don’t know Oliver is the Green Arrow, should just tackle him to the ground and prevent him from doing stupid things. They’re there to PROTECT HIM.
• Who the hell carried that package to Oliver’s office? The Hulk?
• “If Felicity Smoak can’t find them, I feel better about Chase not being able to.” Just another instance where this show makes NO sense. How did Chase find them and Felicity can’t?
• Shoulder touches again! Felicity reacting! Wow, times have changed.
• THEA!
• Also – if you weren’t with Roy, that was just wasted time. WASTED TIME. At least, if you’re gonna write her off for a few episodes, have the decency to send her on an imagined rendezvous with Roy, Arrow.
• I love the our father thing that’s going on in the Oliver/Thea conversation. Yes, let’s erase Malcolm Merlyn from the conversation, please. Robert Queen is Thea’s father.
• Maybe it’s a sign of how much I enjoy Paul Blackthorne, but I’m actually liking this Wild Dog/Lance thing.
• Meh, the Deathstroke mask. Meh, an answer about the wig that, surprisingly, no one noticed was fake. Meh bad guy is back again. Meh, the island.
• I appreciate the whole thing with Chase being 10 steps ahead, but he often looks like 100 steps ahead and everyone just keeps playing the game the way he wants them to. A little unpredictability wouldn’t hurt.
• I like Flashbacks! Anatoly. Can we keep him?
• “Ollie, you have a habit of giving orders and just assuming that they’re agreements.” Truer words were never spoken.
• Rene, you selfish SOB.
• Is the TV in front of Chase’s invisible cell the new form of torture?
• Also, he has William, right?

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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