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#SmoaknLance is hot ‘n heavy!
Remember when these two cuties met in a bar back in 4×06? They’ve apparently done more than just share drinks. According to Mama Smoak herself, Quentin is her boyfriend. Felicity’s discovery of them getting cozy at holiday party makes her want to scrub out her eyes with bleach but I can’t help but think the two of them together are ADORABLE.
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And, if something were to happen in the months to come to turn Quentin’s life upside down, it’d be nice for him to have Donna there to comfort him, right? I’m just saying.
Damien is losing his patience
First Oliver has this bay cleanup thing going on which goes directly against Darhk’s warnings against messing with the bay. When the drone strike doesn’t cause Oliver to back down but rather to out Darhk’s identity to the media, Damien has had it. He’s done being a nice guy. I just am trying to think of when this man was ever a nice guy. He crashes the holiday party, shoots a bunch of guards (which I thought was super rude) and kidnaps Thea, Felicity and Diggle.
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When Malcolm Merlyn disguised as the Green Arrow and Laurel as Black Canary arrive to save them from a gas chamber (with an assist from Oliver, who is able to maintain his civilian identity), Damien likes this even less. He loses it for a moment, punching Oliver like a man possessed before Malcolm shoots an arrow into him. Darhk doesn’t die in an explosion, which probably shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point.
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He also apparently has a lot of corn underground?
Then he has his Ghosts shoot up Oliver and Felicity’s limo while he enjoys Christmas with what looks like his family. His family? Oh, things are going to get real later on this season, aren’t they? This man has something to lose.
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Lance dynamics
Laurel finds out that Quentin has been working with Damien and he explains why he did it to begin with (to save her) and how he’s now helping Oliver by playing double agent. Laurel doesn’t seem to think much of this development but she is surprisingly chill about it, considering. Is the Lance drama finally over for good?
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Later, the two share an emotional scene where Quentin tells her he doesn’t know what he’d do if anything happened to her. He then corrects himself; he knows what he would do and it wouldn’t be pretty. Personally, I’m intrigued and I want to know what he’ll do now.
Olicity making and breaking hearts
This episode belonged to Oliver and Felicity and their relationship. From Donna Smoak discovering the engagement ring back at the loft while decorating, to Felicity confronting Oliver about the ring and why he hasn’t asked her in three months, to their emotional discussion in the cell Darhk is keeping her in, these two made my heart go pitter-pat. Felicity tells him that marriage is about getting through troubles together and that she thinks they’re more than capable of that. She’s in this with him, 100% and it’s her decision what level of danger she’s subjected to.
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It’s the adult and honest relationship that I’ve always admired between the two of them. While Oliver’s lie from last week’s crossover is still hanging over us, this whole exchange, the discussion of marriage, gave me hope that the mature relationship I’ve been enjoying is still very much there and in play. This relationship will be challenged in the months ahead, I have no doubt, but the basis is strong. These two and their love can save puppies and cure cancer. I’m sure of it.
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Oliver proposes later on, depositing an enormous diamond ring on her finger and the two look like they’ve never been happier in their lives. That happy is shattered, of course, moments later when the limo they’re riding in is shot up by Damien’s Ghosts. Oliver steers them to safety after the driver is killed but while he’s doing that, Felicity is shot. We close out on a scene of Oliver cradling Felicity’s blood soaked body in the middle of the street.
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Yep, that’s exactly how one expects Arrow‘s mid-season finale to go, isn’t it? Now we get to sit and stew on that for five weeks. Happy Holidays, everyone!
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Other Notable Moments:
- Felicity’s “mini her” at the Save the Bay event was absolutely adorable and I actually enjoyed Laurel pointing it out. I enjoyed Oliver saving mini Felicity by covering her with his body even more. A+ foreshadowing there, show!
- Malcolm wearing the Green Arrow costume. This delighted me more than I expected it would. He kicks ass! And it’s clear he cares not just for Thea, but for Oliver too.
- Felicity’s babbling when meeting Curtis’ husband was so dang cute I think I got a cavity. Her realizing that Oliver had meant to propose to her via souffle three months before gave me life.
- No, but really, what’s with the corn?
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- That is one HELL of a ring. Yow.
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- Felicity’s continued insistence at calling it a “holiday party” instead of a “Christmas party” was delightful. The show doesn’t often remind us of her heritage, but they never miss an opportunity at Christmas time and the little Jewish touches with the decorations weren’t unappreciated.
- Felicity kicking ass in a cocktail dress and high heels, though.
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- That said, Damien using a gas chamber and even mentioning the Nazi’s while presenting it to Oliver was particularly ghoulish. We get it, Arrow, he’s a bad guy. (A trigger warning for some viewers might not have been remiss.)
- Laurel was actually useful in this episode, supportive of Oliver and of his relationship with Felicity and combined with Lance’s foreboding comments about something happening to her, I have to move her up in my Death Poll.
- Limo makeouts, though. Am I right?
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- I can never listen to “The Little Drummer Boy” again without sobbing. Merry Christmas to you too, Arrow.
