Arrow Review: Divided (Season 6 Episode 10)

After a (seemingly) long hiatus Arrow returns with Arrow Season 6 episode 10, “Divided.” As the Team Arrow fracture deepens, and Original Team Arrow faces off against Cayden and his crew.

While the episode brings back some aspects that have been sorely missed, it feels like it comes at the expense of some consistency in the newbies’ actions and decisions.

Original Team Arrow’s return to form from the beginning to the end of the episode was a lot of fun to watch.

Oliver: This started with you, with me, and with Felicity. Whatever comes our way, we can handle. I believe that.

With Oliver back in the suit and Diggle unable to get back out in the field, the field to control center ratio is a little off but provides the trio with a chance try out a new dynamic that offers space for a few jokes and conversations between Diggle and Felicity, as well as the return of Oliver and Diggle’s heart-to-hearts. All of these things highlight how much the team has grown.

Oliver’s unwavering faith in his core team and what they can accomplish is sweet and is backed up by their actions and the years of work they put into their relationship to make it what it is today.

Then there are the newbies, who frustratingly spend most of the hour stewing in their self-righteousness despite their occasional brief moments of clarity when it comes to their issues with what Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle decided to do.

There are moments when it feels like Rene is so close to really understanding why OTA did what they did and understanding that fault lies on both sides only to be pulled back by his anger or something that Dinah and Curtis said.

Dinah’s decisions when it comes to dealing with Vince show how quick to anger they are in the face of being told news they don’t want to hear. It’s reminiscent of Oliver’s earlier years in how he dealt with things,  and it’s what made some of the actions the newbies take understandable at times. It’s not enough to not make their choices frustrating bordering on childish, though.

It’s in those moments you see the difference in years and life experiences between both teams.

OTA has had years to work through their issues of trust, decision-making, and all-around team building. The newbies haven’t been around long enough, and their decision to just walk away from the team despite Oliver’s apology and offer to start over with a blank slate (hello, character growth!) is proof of how far they still have to go. It’s clear that the newbies still have a lot of growing up to do with the way they handled both encounters with OTA.

While the team is dealing with the fracture, Lance’s increasingly stagnating story continues.

It’s understandable that he is still trying to come to terms with a doppelgänger who has his daughter’s face (who is NOT his dead daughter, by the way), but it feels like this has gone on for too long, and the advice he is being given is terrible.

Thea’s initial piece of advice was best when she suggested that he think about his other daughter, Sara, when making decisions that could get him killed. But like she was back in Arrow Season 4 with the secret about William, Thea eventually becomes the writers’ spokesperson with a justification for this attempted redemption arc.

I’m not buying it.

Even with some of its unevenness in character, the winter premiere offers an hour’s worth of OTA getting back in the groove which makes “Divided” work but probably not for the reasons the writers intended as the division further grows, and the sides have been (probably) unevenly chosen.

A Few Stray Observations

• Though the episode was low on overt married Olicity moments, we do get a moment in the bunker as Felicity quotes her mom’s favorite movie, Bull Durham, and Oliver finishes it. It’s sweet, subtle, and heart eyes-inducing.

• Diggle getting the chip implanted in his arm and handling the gun that Oliver throws his way feels like a good way to end an episode that solidifies that team’s bond.
• Felicity taking on the newbies in the loft is an amazing and appropriate response when dealing with people who do not understand the gravity of a security breach by a madman.

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

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Arrow airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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