If stories
are a drug (cause they are) then “Genesis” is my version of crack.
That’s the good kind of drug right? Or is that cocaine? C'mon nobody is
surprised I have very little street drug knowledge. The point is the Arrow
writers are my dealers and I am high as a kite! SO HAPPY!!!!! I am experiencing
narrative giddiness. Yes… that’s a thing.
So… after
all the drug talk is now a good time to talk about all the Jesus symbolism?
Hehehe.
I am so
excited about all the goodness in the episode I barely know where to start.
Let’s dig in…
Olicity
Just
kidding. The answer is always start with Olicity. The writers promised us a new
chapter of Arrow. There’s a big shift coming in the story and I believe there’s
a big shift coming for Olicity.
I’ve been
saying the goal of Season 4 is for Oliver to leave the Island behind in a real
way. Oliver must let go of his darkness
so he can BE the light. Now, I say these things strictly speaking in a
metaphorical way. I take the images Arrow provides, either through dialogue or
physical images, and apply it to the emotional arc they are crafting. That’s
the essence of literary analysis and deconstructing symbolism.
Arrow
typically isn’t subtle in their symbols, but they took it to an entirely new
level in “Genesis.” There is nothing metaphorical about Oliver’s
transition this season. There is nothing symbolic. He is literally becoming the light. Oliver Queen must be light
PERSONIFIED to beat Damien Darhk.
Arrow is
circling back to the tattoo Constantine gave him. Oliver knows this tattoo
contains magic because its magic has protected him against dark magic before.
As fantastical as Oliver’s world is there is still an element of pragmatism to
him. This isn’t The Flash. There is gravity and realness to Arrow that
sometimes sparkly and sunny Flash misses. Barry told Oliver, “My world is
weird than yours.”
Well, Arrow
kicked up the weird in Oliver’s world with magic. He’s been hesitant to explore
ways to beat Darhk outside the power of his team and his skill with a bow. But
Laurel’s death changed all that. Oliver couldn’t save Laurel with the an arrow.
In fact, his arrow killed her. Darhk isn’t Merlyn or Slade or Ra’s Al Ghul.
Oliver isn’t going to beat him with fists. At least… not until he evens the
playing field.
It means
Oliver has to get over his hesitancy is with magic and find a way to harness tattoo’s
power.
Oliver tells the team he’s going to Hub city to learn about magic. Thea
wants to learn too because everyone harbors a wizard fantasy. I harbor wizard
fantasies and I haven’t even read the Harry Potter books yet. (Don’t kill me.
I’m starting them with my daughter this summer). Oliver is very clear that it’s extremely
dangerous and he’s truly not ready to risk those he loves. Totally reasonable
answer, but the real reason is… it’s his show Thea. Oliver gets to magic.
Take a seat honey.
Immediately,
Felicity’s “Spidey Sense” starts tingling. Honest to God her eyes
never left him. Her love for him is absolute and no matter the ocean between
them Oliver’s safety is always Felicity’s top concern.
Felicity
follows him down to wear he sleeps in the Arrow cave (I am not calling it the
bunker). It seems Felicity didn’t know realize this is where Oliver is staying.
She makes a playful remark about him needing a fern and Oliver softly (and a
little sadly) replies
Just twist the dagger why
don’t ya Arrow? BABY FERN I MISS YOU.
All Oliver
has is some clothes and the bed Felicity bought him. We’re back in Season 3
folks.
She immediately asks where all
his stuff is and Oliver matter of factly says…
My immediate thought of course is, “ All he needs is
YOU.”
The truth is
the “stuff” Oliver owns is tied directly to the life he built with
Felicity. His belongings grew as his life with her grew. The two are connected.
Oliver doesn’t want “his stuff” if he doesn’t have her.
He doesn’t
want the physical components of that life if he doesn’t have the emotional.
Maybe the memories are just too painful, but Oliver again is stripping down
just like he was in Season 3.
There’s no more mayoral campaign. No more Felicity. There’s really only The Green Arrow.
If alarm
bells aren’t going off in your head then they should. They are going off in
Oliver’s head. Felicity is concerned about Oliver’s reference to darkness. When
he’s evasive she’s not having it.
So Oliver lays it out for her.
The magic he’s
exploring has some pretty gnarly consequences. Oliver has seen men become
engulfed in the darkness. They become inhuman.
Oliver warns Felicity he might
already be there.
Felicity doesn’t find it humorous, but Oliver isn’t
kidding.
There is no length he won’t go
to protect the people he loves.
If the darkness overwhelms him… then so be
it. If it means stopping Darhk, and avenging Laurel, it’s a consequence Oliver
is willing to pay.
This is not
the Oliver of Season 4. This is not the man we’ve watched so desperately cling
to the light. This is the Oliver of Season 1-3.
Darkness can only be fought with darkness. Yeah, it’s
probably a good idea Felicity tags along.
The key to
this conversation is to show how much of a novice Oliver is about magic. Oliver
truly does not understand how the tattoo Constantine gave him works, but he
will.
In fact,
this isn’t the first time a tattoo has been symbolic of Oliver’s battle with
light and dark. In the premiere, Oliver removed Shado’s tattoo. Oliver carries
a lot of guilt and shame, but I think Shado is his number one with a bullet.
Removing her tattoo was like Oliver letting go of the darkest part of himself.
Oliver
was very clear he didn’t need the tattoo anymore.
His body didn’t need to carry
the mark of his darkest shame. Felicity’s love helped Oliver forgive himself.
Therefore he let a piece of the darkness go.
And now…
we have another tattoo playing a role in Oliver’s battle with light and dark.
Shado’s tattoo represented Oliver’s darkness. So, it stands to reason
Constantine’s tattoo will represent Oliver’s light. I understand Constantine’s
tattoo is essentially neutral, but that’s the point. Oliver’s emotions assigns meaning to the tattoos. Shado’s tattoo was dark because that’s what it
represented to Oliver. When he removed it it represented Oliver’s emotional
transition. It’s the same with Constantine’s tattoos. Oliver’s emotions will
ultimately decide what the tattoo means and what power it has over Oliver. The
choice is his. It’s always been his.
Oliver and
Felicity hit a casino and it brings back so many wonderful memories of their
first undercover job together.
There’s a lightness between them as Felicity
quips her way through a game of 21 as Oliver delights in her humor and skill.
The shaman doesn’t show herself until Felicity extends her a kindness, some
extra poker chips to change her luck.
Esrin
Fortuna is a kick. She can stay. Esrin had a TON of exposition to plow through
(i.e. massive information dump) and everything about her was interesting,
dynamic and funny. There was such rapid fire to her delivery I had to really
focus in. It reminded me of the early days of Felicity when the entire pace of
dialogue shifted when she entered a room. It’s like a shot of adrenaline.
We’ve been
beating our heads against a wall wondering HOW Oliver Queen beats Damien Darhk.
Does he kill him? Should he kill him? I have been ADAMANT that Oliver should
not kill Damien Darhk. We are shifting
into The Green Arrow. This is no longer about Oliver Queen being a hero. This
is about him being a SUPEHERO. He must have a code, absolute tenants he does
not break, especially in the season where he’s becoming a hero in the light.
Especially in the season when he’s becoming The Green Arrow.
But the
question, of course, is what other option does Oliver have? He has to kill
Damien Darhk. Oliver doesn’t have a choice.
Here’s the
problem with “I don’t have a choice.” It’s crap. There’s always a
choice. It doesn’t mean there’s a good choice but there’s always a choice.
Sometimes you are choosing between the lesser of two evils, but the goal is to
always choose the lesser. (If you thinking, “Jen is gonna probably talk
about this again when we get to the Diggle section,” you’d be
right.“)
The spectrum
of "Darhk lives” to “Darhk dies” isn’t the reality of the
landscape we are in. I’ve been harping on the fact that Oliver must find
another way. If neither A or B works… then me must find C. We’ve seen when Oliver
finds this third option (cutting off Malcolm’s hand instead of killing him) and
we’ve seen when Oliver does not (choosing to lie to Felicity).
Oliver has
to find a third option. Oliver must find another way. In the limo, the scene we
expected Olicity to be at their darkest, Felicity echoed this very sentiment.
She reminded Oliver he always finds another way. (And when he doesn’t
everything goes to shit in rapid succession). The limo wasn’t about darkness at
all. It was about hope.
“Genesis”
gave Oliver the path to the third option. Esrin breaks it down for him. The
tattoo is essentially neutral. It’s a conduit to channel magic like Darhk’s totem.
THE PERSON is the X factor. Damien Darhk is evil. His magic is based in darkness.
In fact, his power feeds off darkness.
So, Esrin
tells Oliver he cannot beat Damien Darhk with dark magic. It will only make him
more powerful. The only way to beat Damien is to REPEL his dark magic with
LIGHT magic.
Anyone else
feel like Oliver and Felicity are stuck in an episode of The Secret Circle? No?
Just me. Okay.
This means Oliver cannot kill Darhk. He cannot
even think about killing Darhk.
Hate, vengeance,
fear, anger… those all lead to the darkside. YODA KNOWS WASSUP. Those
emotions will sway the balance inside Oliver’s heart and soul. His magic will
become dark and only make Damien more powerful. Killing is literally Oliver’s downfall this year. If he wants to kill then he
will die and Damien will win. All will be lost.
This is the
essence of a hero’s journey my friends. This is how superheroes are made. Oliver
is standing on the precipice and we’re going to watch him jump, not into
darkness, but into light. Just like Superman, Batman, Luke Skywalker, name any
hero ever, has done.
Before
anyone asks… no, Oliver can’t embrace light magic to repel Darhk’s magic,
beat him and then kill him.
That’s
not how this is going to play. First, it completely defeats the hero’s journey
the writers want Oliver to travel. It’s like The Green Arrow’s superhero code
is being carved in stone and “NO KILLING” is the number one
commandment.
Second,
Oliver’s light magic REPELS Darhk’s. It doesn’t eradicate it. The minute
Oliver’s intentions shift to darkness, Darhk will regain his power again. Imagine
there is a scale between Damien and Oliver. Each opponent is battling to put
more weight on their side. The weight however is THEIR SOULS.
Do you
remember how I always talk about how Arrow is more than a story about a superhero
to me? I always say Arrow is about saving a man’s soul. This season is about
Oliver embracing his salvation.
But he’s not
there yet. There is darkness is Oliver as there is in all of us. He is a human
being. Esrin reveals Oliver’s darkness.
The
flashbacks are everything that makes up Oliver’s pain, guilt, grief and fear.
Oliver is not surprised. He knows where his darkness resides.
Oliver also battles
the Dark Archer, Deathstroke and Darhk. Arrow chooses a villain Oliver has
killed and a villain he has spared. I said Darhk is the culmination of all the
villains Oliver has faced and this scene shows why. Oliver beat those villains
even while holding onto the Island (his pain and darkness). This time Oliver’s
fists won’t be enough. His vengeance won’t be enough. Nor will his mercy.
Oliver must dig deeper and find the core of who he is.
Oliver
loses. The darkness overwhelms him. Esrin says Oliver it’s a lost cause. If he
cannot let go of the darkness, if he cannot let go of the Island, Oliver will
never be able to find his light. Damien will surely beat him.
Oliver and
Felicity hit the bar because damn… it’s time to drink y'all. That was
depressing as fuck. Or is it? Felicity believes Oliver needs a better teacher.
Felicity’s dogged determination is one of the things I love most about her.
But Oliver
knows the problem isn’t the teacher. The problem is him. Felicity thinks Oliver
is throwing himself another pity party, but I truly don’t think he is. What
Esrin is asking him to do is something Oliver doesn’t believe he knows HOW to
do. The only reason Esrin revealed herself was because she saw the light in
FELICITY… not Oliver. Oliver believes when it comes to the two of them, their
ying and yang, Felicity is the light and he is the dark.
I’m going to
stop right here because this is an idea that’s been debated in the Olicity
fandom for YEARS. Many believe Felicity is Oliver’s light. I never have. In
fact, it bothered me when Oliver told Felicity she was his light in his wedding
vows.
It proved to me, once again, Oliver still doesn’t fundamentally
understand WHO he truly is. It’s okay. He’s not ready. We’re not there yet. BUT
WE ARE GETTING SO CLOSE. We’re almost there.
My firm, and
absolute belief, has always been that Oliver
Queen retains his own light. This light survived the Island, but became
buried in all the darkness and pain. But Oliver’s good heart, his good soul, is
present. It’s waiting for Oliver to put it in the driver’s seat PERMANENTLY.
Felicity’s
role has always been to HARNESS Oliver’s light, but she can’t harness what
isn’t there.
The fact Felicity can always harness Oliver’s light means she
didn’t create it. It’s always existed. It’s always been there waiting for
Oliver to come and find it. Felicity’s role in Oliver’s life is to be his
flashlight. Felicity shines a light through the darkness, so Oliver can finally
see the light in his own soul. He can finally see himself clearly. Felicity’s
love, devotion and belief cultivates
Oliver’s light. It’s like Oliver is the sun and Felicity pushes away all the
clouds, so he can shine his brightest. Felicity can this because HER light is
so blindingly clear. It is so brilliant the whole world can see it. Felicity is
like a nova star.
It’s easy to
understand how Oliver has become confused. It’s easy to understand why he
believes Felicity is HIS light. But this scene is so massively important,
because Arrow is signally the shift between Oliver and Felicity.
For four
years, Felicity has harnessed Oliver’s light. For Oliver to become The Green
Arrow, for Oliver to be a superhero, he must figure out a way to HARNESS HIS
OWN LIGHT. Oliver has to recognize its presence. He has to recognize his
goodness isn’t Felicity. IT’S HIM.
It’s what Felicity has always seen in Oliver and why she fell so desperately
and madly in love with him. Oliver may not be able to see his own light, even
now, but Felicity Smoak has ALWAYS seen it. From minute one.
Oliver tells
Felicity he can’t beat the darkness inside of him. In fact, he reminds Felicity
that she said the same.
He will always resort to the island. It’s the reason
she gave the ring back. It’s the reason they aren’t together. But Felicity
immediately walks the statement back.
Arrow has
back pedaled from the two moments where Felicity’s rage and anger were the
strongest, the limo and the break up in 4x16. Instead, they’ve taken those hopeless
moments and are shifting them into hope. Felicity explains she was hurt. Her
pain over Oliver’s betrayal left her completely disillusioned with love, who
they are as a couple and HIM.
But now
Felicity’s attitude is different. She’s not taking back what she said entirely,
but what she is saying is that nobody is perfect. Everyone has faults -
including her. Felicity is recognizing she may have been a little too harsh on Oliver, because she was deeply hurt and angry.
Again, all very human reactions. What’s really important is Felicity still
believes in a person’s ability to change. Felicity
believes in Oliver’s ability to change.
This is not
where she was in 4x15 or 4x16. Felicity lost complete and utter faith that
Oliver could change. In fact, she was certain he never would. But now the spark of belief and hope Felicity always
had in Oliver is coming back to her.
Part of the
fandom’s frustration with the Baby Mama storyline is we don’t know how Oliver
proves himself trustworthy again. How can Felicity trust Oliver will never lie
to her again? How can Felicity trust Oliver won’t isolate himself, resort back
to the Island, and thereby condemn Felicity to her own island? This is
Felicity’s biggest fear with Oliver - that he will abandon her in their
marriage. Just like he did when he lied about William. THIS is the reason
Felicity left him. She fears he will never let the darkness go.
Oliver’s
apologies and beautiful vows proved words will not be enough to fix what he
broke between them. Felicity needs ACTION and not words.
Oliver must
become light personified to beat Darhk. He must defeat his demons. He must
conquer his pain, guilt, anger, grief and loss. OLIVER MUST LET THE ISLAND GO
ONCE AND FOR ALL. That’s the only way he’ll tip the magic scales in his favor
and be able to repel Darhk’s magic.
Do you know
what this means? Arrow is giving Felicity PHYSICAL EVIDENCE of the change in
Oliver. She’s going to watch him physically BECOME LIGHT. Felicity will know, with
absolute certainty, that Oliver left the Island behind and he conquered his
darkness. Otherwise, he won’t be able to wield light magic. Otherwise, he won’t
be able to beat Darhk and save the world.
There’s a
bit more to it than that. Oliver must live his light to beat the darkness. Oliver
has to be the man WE KNOW HE CAN BE. No more lies. No more isolation. He’s must
harness his own light. He must go to live it absolutely as he ramps up to
battle Darhk. Will the tuth encompass that? Yes, I absolutely believe Oliver
will have another opportunity to lie to Felicity. Only this time Oliver will tell
her the truth instead. It’s all part of the building blocks of Oliver harnessing
his own light.
It’s not
enough for Felicity to believe Oliver can do it. OLIVER must believe he can do
it. He’s put to the test. Oliver arrives just in time to save Lyla, but his
mere presence infuriates Damien. He has what he needs from Lyla, so Damien is
going to kill her. JUST. LIKE. LAUREL.
Oliver swore
never again and he meant it, but Darhk immediately overpowers him. Damien
starts sucking the life out of Oliver. He is near death.
Oliver grows
still and quiet. He stops struggling and he closes his eyes.
When they open
they are filled with light.
Damien’s dark magic dissipates from Oliver’s body
and his ashen, crackled face springs back to life. Then Oliver’s light magic
repels Damien.
He did it. Oliver did it. For one brief,
shining, glorious moment (four years in the making) OLIVER QUEEN BECAME THE
LIGHT. Oliver found a way to harness it. He beat back the darkness. Oliver left
the island to save his brother’s wife.
It’s such an
exceptional parallel to last season. Around this time last year, Oliver was
embracing darkness to the fullest to beat Ra’s Al Ghul. He kidnapped Lyla.
Oliver threatened Lyla’s life, and Sara’s. He broke Diggle’s trust. Oliver
showed he was willing to do whatever was necessary to beat Ra’s Al Ghul, even
if those actions were inhuman.
This entire season has been about building
Oliver back from that moment. Instead of fighting the villain with darkness,
Oliver fought him with light and Lyla was the very first person to be saved by
it. It is a full circle moment for Oliver as a man, a hero, a brother and a
friend. Oliver has repaired what he broke.
Oliver is a
little shell shocked by the experience. He can’t really believe he did it.
Felicity immediately senses something is up and Oliver explains what happened. He tells Felicity he was able to repel Darhk’s magic with his own.
Then Oliver
tells Felicity how he did it. He heard
her voice. And Diggles. And Thea’s. And Laurel’s. They were all whispering
to him not to give up and to have hope. If the show had longer than 42 minutes
I feel certain Oliver would have said he heard Tommy, Robert, Moira, Yao Fei,
Aikio, Shado and Maseo’s voices as well.
LOVE. That’s
how Oliver finds his light because LOVE IS LIGHT. Love is the reason we get up
every morning. Love is the reason we keep breathing. Love is the reason we
EXIST. God put us on this earth to love one another.
I know a lot about love. I’ve seen
it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching
your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate… It made me want to
turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind
loves… You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never
find anything more beautiful. (Stardust)
When we love
with all our hearts we become our best self. Love is the antidote to hate,
pain, grief and loss. It is the force that propels our goodness. Love purifies
our hearts and cleanses our souls. We can choose it just like anything else.
The reason
Oliver Queen shuts down isn’t because he doesn’t love. It’s because he loves SO
MUCH. There is no depth to Oliver Queen’s love. It’s his superpower. Oliver has
to embrace it instead of fearing it. Even when it hurts.
What I love
about the moment is that it’s not just Felicity’s voice he heard. It’s everyone
he loves. Oliver hears the voices of his family. Each person has played a
significant and vital role in Oliver Queen’s journey. Each relationship helps
form The Green Arrow.
Oliver heard
Felicity’s voice first because she is the person Oliver loves the most. Oliver
Queen could answer that question in Season 2 because he was FINALLY ready to
let love in.
Once you let love in, real and true love, it creates a domino effect. It’s a flood that cannot be contained. Once you let love in… you can’t shut it out.
.Oliver found the best version of himself in
loving Felicity and by being loved by her. As a result, Oliver is able to love
EVERYONE in his life better and more fully. He’s able to let EVERYONE in, not
just a little, but all the way. This season, we’ve watched Oliver be a better
brother to Thea. We’ve watched Oliver be a better brother and friend to Diggle.
We watched Oliver be a better friend to Laurel.
So how does
Oliver harness his magic? By loving absolutely and without fear. Oliver holds
onto the people he loves with the fierce intensity he once held onto the
darkness. He holds onto their love, their belief, their hope… and it
strengthens him. There’s nothing to fear. Oliver Queen knows he’s no longer
alone. He’s never be alone again. It gives him the courage to leave Island
behind. Oliver closes his eyes and… he jumps. The darkness lifts. What’s left
is love: blinding, overwhelming, brilliant love. It fills his every core. The
essence of Oliver Queen’s soul physically over takes his body.
It’s the
lessen Laurel Lance learned just before she died.
Her final words to Oliver
were ones of forgiveness and love. Once Laurel let the pain, loss, grief and
anger go, she realized love was all that’s left. It’s what her death is suppose
to teach Oliver. Oliver isn’t suppose to avenge Laurel through anger and rage.
He’s suppose to honor her through love and light.
So often I’m
asked whether or not Oliver Queen can be The Green Arrow without Felicity
Smoak. The writers tells us the answer with every step in this journey. It
always comes back to love for Oliver. So, it always comes back to Felicity
Smoak. The two are intricately connected because superheroes represent the best
in humanity and humanity is at our best when we love absolutely. So a superhero MUST have his great love so he can become a superhero.
“Genesis”
is another step in the Olicity rebuild. Will Oliver and Felicity will be
reengaged by the finale? I still believe they will be. “Genesis”
didn’t point to anything else for me, but every new episode is another piece in
the puzzle.
Arrow made
the point of returning to the ring. AGAIN.
Felicity giving Oliver the ring back
was one of his moments of darkness. Arrow refuses to let the ring go as a
symbol of Olicity. They keep integrating it into the narrative structure. Is it
a guarantee of an engagement? Of course not, but if the road this season is for
Oliver to become the light, and giving back the ring is a moment of darkness,
then perhaps… the reengagement can be the solidification of his journey (and
Felicity’s) to the light.
Could Arrow
still swerve? Sure. The final episodes are very important. Miles to go. Could
Felicity lose faith they can be both vigilantes and together? Can Felicity lose
faith that she’s ready for marriage? Sure. Although, with her upbeat attitude
right now Arrow is going to have to through some significant dialogue at me for
me to believe it. But we’ve got plenty of time for Arrow to throw a curve ball.
What I will
say is this. The shift is happening. Oliver is becoming the light. It means he
will be the light for the team, for Star City, for the world and for FELICITY.
It’s time for Oliver to carry that weight on his shoulder. The ying and yang
must shift.
Felicity can’t always be the light and Oliver can’t always be the
dark. There needs to be balance in their
relationship. Whenever Felicity harnessed Oliver’s light it brought him closer
to her. It never drove him away. For me, it still makes narrative sense that
WHEN Oliver Queen becomes the light it won’t drive Felicity away. It will bring
her back.
John and Andy Diggle
John Diggle
was my big question mark as we entered the final episodes of the season. How
deep would Diggle’s spiral go? How dark would Diggle go? Arrow answered the
question in “Genesis.”
Now that we are older, I remember
you. Reaching out to show me all the things that I must do
Now that we are older, I remember
youth, now that we are close to death and close to finding truth
We might fall, we might fall, we
might fall…
Oliver Queen
found the light, but John Diggle became lost in the dark. Tonight, Diggle
killed his brother.
John Diggle, our Yoda - our moral compass - has fallen.
Oliver tells
the team to take the weekend off and John immediately returns to home base, to
Lyla and Sara safe in their mobile ARGUS fortress. Oliver instructed Diggle to stand down. He
doesn’t want to risk anyone’s life until he knows how to beat Darhk. But Andy is out there and it eats away at
Diggle. The rage eats away at Diggle.
On a diaper
run, Diggle picks up Andy on facial recognition and with barely a thought in
his head chases after him. What results is a life and death gun battle. It
doesn’t matter who shot first. What matters is these two brothers are SHOOTING
at each other.
THIS IS ANDY
you guys. The memory of his beloved brother was all that kept Diggle going
sometimes. It was also what tortured Diggle. Andy’s death was the catalyst for
Diggle’s first dark spiral. It’s what destroyed his marriage to Lyla the first
time. And now… it’s happening all over again. Only Diggle doesn’t have the
memory of who Andy was to hold onto anymore. There’s nothing. Andy Diggle will
forever be John’s downfall.
We knew the
torture was coming. We saw it in the preview. In fact, I posted this response
to an ask just hours before the episode.
Nobody
messes with Diggle. The mere idea was enough to invoke my wrath. Andy became
Malcolm Merlyn to me almost instantly. Time to string him up. If Arrow intended
death for Andy I wouldn’t lose sleep over his loss. However, I didn’t want someone
from Team Arrow to take his life. Least of all Diggle.
I didn’t get
my wish. My wish isn’t not about Andy. IT’S ABOUT JOHN. No matter how justified
Diggle is there is a cost to killing his brother. The cost is John’s soul and
it’s too high a price. I love John Diggle too much to ever risk WHO HE IS just
for retribution.
Killing Andy
goes against everything John Diggle believes, so for Arrow had to drive him to
the brink for it to happen. So, the writers gave John every justification in
the world. Andy is culpable in Laurel’s death, a person who was like a sister
to John. For the first time, John really puts into words who Laurel was to him.
It’s not something John was ever able to say to Laurel, but he needs to say the
words now. He needs Lyla to understand, and us to understand, he feels like
he’s choosing beween his brother and his sister. John must choose WHO his
family is.
Andy doesn’t
stop at Laurel. He brutally tortures John, then plants a tracker on Diggle so
he leads HIVE to Lyla and Sara. THEN, Andy attacks the semi-truck safe house
with a rocket launcher. THERE. IS. A. BABY. IN. THERE.
Andy’s niece. JOHN’S
DAUGHTER. There is no soul more innocent on Arrow than Sara. Joss Whedon once explained that Angel killed
Jenny Calendar to show Buffy and the audience that, “Yes, he is that evil
and he must be stopped. Attacking Baby Sara is Arrow’s way of saying,
"Yes, Andy is that evil and he must be stopped.”
Lyla
realizes Damien wants her and she knows why. She tells John to take Sara and
run. If Damien Darhk captures her husband, or worse her baby, Lyla will move
heaven and earth to save them. Even if it meant condemning the world to do it.
John flees
from the moving truck on a motorcycle with Sara strapped to his back. (Parenting
Tip: there is nothing a Baby Bjorn cannot do). Andy gives chase and after
Diggle safely hands Sara off to Aunt Felicity…
he confronts his brother one
final time.
We do find
out why Andy would betray and abandon all his loved ones for Darhk. To Andy,
Damien Darhk is a Messiah, a God. Genesis is salvation and Hive is THE WAY.
Andy even compares Darhk and Jesus Christ.
Yup… he’s that crazy.
Of course,
the flaw in the logic is that Christ came to save and Darhk is here to destroy,
but Andy cannot be reasoned with. He is fanatic. Andy promises that he will
follow Diggle no matter where he goes. John cannot protect his family at all
times. Andy WILL get to Lyla. Andy WILL get to Sara. He swears it. It reminded
me of a scene in the movie Ransom. The Jimmy Shaker, the kidnapper, promises Tom Mullen, the father, that someday
he will return for his son.
“From this day on, any time your
kid leaves this house to go to school, go play, see a friend, to buy a fuckin’
comic book, you’re gonna have to ask yourself: Is today… Jimmy Shaker
day?”
Andy
practically dares John to pull the trigger. He taunts Diggle by saying he
killed men in Afghanistan for strangers, but he doesn’t have the guts to
protect his wife and child.
BOOM. That’s
it. That’s the final push. Diggle snaps and pulls the trigger. Honestly, Andy
was as shocked as me. I truly believe Andy never thought for a minute Diggle would
kill him. It’s why he was viciously attacking him.
It’s a
devastating scene and David Ramsey shifts effortlessly from rage, to shock, to horrified
realization and finally to grief.
It’s easy to
defend Diggle and I certainly won’t kick up a fuss to anyone who does. Even
when Andy Diggle exhibited true evil Diggle STILL believed he could save his
brother. It wasn’t until Andy crossed that final line - threatening Sara and
Lyla- that Diggle crossed HIS final line. John chose. In the end the choice wasn’t
about Laurel. It was about his wife and child. The people Diggle loves the
most. Andy pushed Diggle to the brink and he just… reacted.
We can even
argue that Diggle didn’t have a choice. Andy made it clear he would kill Lyla
and Sara no matter how long it took. The threat of “someday” was
enough reason for John because Andy had proven he was dangerous. If someone was
attacking my husband or child, and their life was in danger, I would kill to
protect them. I pray I’d have the strength to.
But is that what
happened with Andy? In the moment Diggle pulled the trigger, was Andy
physically harming Lyla or Sara? In the moment Diggle pulled the trigger was it
life or death? Were Lyla or Sara fighting for their lives? Was Diggle?
No. Despite
Andy’s threats… they were just threats at the moment. The best example I can
is Slade.
Slade promised to come after Felicity, and all those Oliver loves, no
matter how long it takes. What if Slade threatened Felicity again and Oliver
took out a gun and shot him? Would Oliver be justified? Yes, but justifications
aren’t always enough. Just because you are justified in doing something doesn’t mean you should.
We can say
Diggle didn’t have a choice, but the truth is he did. He didn’t have a good choice, but he did have
a choice. WE ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE.
Diggle lies
to Lyla and tells her Andy went for his gun. It makes it sound like John killed
Andy in self defense. If Andy’s threats were enough to justify killing him then
why did Diggle lie? Wouldn’t that be
enough of a reason for Lyla?
She’s a soldier and Lyla certainly dances in the
moral grey more than John. Not to mention, she offers Diggle absolution and unconditional love, not judgement, when he tells her what happened.
The LIE is significant.
Andy didn’t reach for John’s gun. He didn’t force John to shoot him. Diggle
could have easily brought Andy in, as Lyla instructed. Andy made sure Diggle
had CHOSE to pull the trigger. The fact John lied about the circumstances of
Andy’s death to Lyla means, deep down, he knows he did not choose the lesser of
two evils.
John and
Lyla have been Arrow’s anchor couple for two years. While the audience rides
the Olicity rollercoaster ride, Dyla has been our safe harbor. They are the
beacon of light for who Olicity can become as a couple. They are the success
story.
Or are they?
Lyla warned she lost Diggle to Andy’s death the first time around. It seems a
very real possibility Andy’s second death will be the demise of their marriage
once again. Or at least put the marriage in jeopardy.
John has
fallen into the hole again, but it’s a hole far darker and deeper than Afghanistan
or Andy’s first death ever was. This is a hole John Diggle has absolutely no
idea how to climb out of. Worse, he might take everything he holds most
precious down with him.
This lie is
the first crack in Dyla’s armor. The anchor is being pulled up and Dyla is
setting sail for rocky waters. Season 4 is shifting relationships in many ways
and the anchor couple of Arrow may be one of those shifts. As Oliver and
Felicity reach for the light… Diggle and Lyla begin their spiral into the
dark. Maybe next season, Oliver and Felicity will be the anchor couple the
audience holds onto as we strap in for the Dyla rollercoaster.
Oliver
arrives just moments after Diggle pulled the trigger. Heartbreakingly too late.
We know, with absolute certainty, Oliver Queen could have stayed John Diggle’s
hand. Just as Diggle stayed Oliver’s hand so many times. There was no judgment
from Oliver. Only shock and sorrow.
There’s been many times Oliver killed to protect his loved ones, so he
understands John’s motivations and rage better than anyone.
But Oliver
Queen never killed a family member. Yes, he watched his father commit suicide.
Yes, he watched Slade kill his mother. But Oliver Queen never killed a family
member with his own hands. This is a whole other level. This is a hole not even
Oliver Queen has gone down.
It’s not all
hopeless. Not at all. The shift is coming. Oliver Queen is becoming the light.
It will no longer be John Diggle’s job to be the moral compass. Now it’s
Oliver’s turn. John Diggle won’t be showing Oliver the way. Oliver will take
that weight upon his shoulders. It’s time. John needs Oliver more than he ever.
John needs his brother to sav