Arrow 4.09 “Dark Waters”

It’s the holidays in Star City and Damian Darhk just made the Green Arrow’s naughty list big time and Arrow fans were left with the WTH!? moment to end all WTH!? moments at the end of the last episode before the Winter break.

Before we get to the scene that had me picking me jaw up off the floor, let me just say that this season of Arrow has been a marked improvement over Season Three. The new tone with Ollie becoming the Green Arrow has been good for this series and that is just one of the thing that has helped right this show. I think the producers still have a ways to go to make Arrow truly great again, but episodes like “Dark Waters” do help.

This installment begins when a clean-up effort at Star City Bay, organized by Ollie’s mayoral campaign, is attacked by a gun-packing drone. Thankfully no one is killed in the attack, but Ollie and his team know this has H.I.V.E. written all over it since Darhk (Neal McDonough) had warned the good Mr. Queen to back off from his efforts to clean up the bay. The big question is why? What secret does the bay hold that Darhk will target civilians to keep it? Feeling he has to take desperate action in these desperate times, Ollie outs Darhk and H.I.V.E. as the forces behind Star City’s recent setbacks. With his name and face put out there for the world to see, Darhk   ups the ante and targets Ollie’s holiday party and takes Felicity, Thea and Diggle hostage.

With some help from Malcolm, and one of H.I.V.E.’s  secured, satellite phones, Ollie contacts Darhk and offers himself in exchange for his friends. Once he is Darhk’s prisoner, Ollie leans that H.I.V.E. has been developing an algae that is key to a project that the criminal organization has cooking.  Ollie then watches as one of Darhk’s men happily marches into gas chamber and allows himself to be killed. Darhk then reveals that he has no plans to release Felicity and the others, but instead he has decided to kill them.

A timely arrival by the Black Canary and Green Arrow (Malcolm in disguise) saves the day. Together, Ollie and Malcom tackle Darhk and Malcolm appears to take him out with an exploding arrow. But bad guys don’t go down so easy and Darhk makes it out alive. A short time later, at a tree lighting ceremony that is meant to reaffirm that Oliver Queen will not back down from any threats thrown at him, Ollie publically proposes to Felicity and they leave, happy to be with one another and planning their lives together.

And that is when the surprise of the episode hits like a punch to the stomach.

As Ollie and Felicity drive off, they are attacked by Darhk’s ghosts and their limo is riddled with bullets. Ollie is able to get them away, but not before Felicity is wounded. Like I said, it is a WTH!? moment to end all WTH!? moments. After this, if I was Damian Darhk, I wouldn’t be so much worried about finding a lump of coal in my stocking, but rather a certain Emerald Archer’s foot up my rear.

Seeing as it is the holidays, it wouldn’t be the same without family. Quite a few things come to a head in this episode regarding relatives, like Laurel finding out that her father has been working with Darhk and then learning that Ollie knew about this alliance. Meanwhile, Diggle is still dealing with his brother, Andy (Eugene Byrd), and the fact that he has been alive all this time and in the service of H.I.V.E. Diggle is also coming to grip with the fact that his brother wasn’t quite the man he thought he was.

On the more light-hearted side of things, Felicity is dealing with a visit from her mother (Charlotte Ross) and while going through decorations, Donna finds the ring that Oliver had bought for Felicity and this is what brings about the whole proposal at the end of the show. The biggest shock for Felicity though is when she learns her mother is dating Captain Lance.

Hmmm. Charlotte Ross and Kaley Cuoco.

Paul Blackthorne must have a thing for blondes. Seriously, I am curious to see where this relationship is headed. Ross is always fun to watch and her Donna is a trip.

Like I said, all in all, this is a pretty strong episode and it sure does have some twists and turns to it. And again, that ending. Holy. Schnikes. There is a lot to like, but a few things to gripe about. For one, McDonough’s Darhk really ran the gauntlet from serious threat to really badly written bad guy in this episode. I love a good one liner as much as the next fella, but some of his wisecracks made even me groan. Also, I know the flashback for this season will tie-into the main story arc eventually, but they can be a drag sometimes. Thankfully they are kept to a minimum this time around as Ollie goes back the sunken Amazo to get the detailed maps that Dr. Ivo had made of the island to try and find Ryder’s ultimate target.

So, all said, this is one gift to the fans worth keeping and I give “Dark Waters” a solid 3.5.