Arrow: “A.W.O.L.” Review

“The Taliban’s not ready for the Diggle brothers.”

It’s tradition for Arrow to take a little break once or twice a season and put the Diggle family in the spotlight. More often than not that also involves bringing Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad into the picture as well. There was no Squad this week, but plenty of John, Andy, Lyla and Waller as they dealt with the growing threat of Shadowspire. Even with that shift in focus, this episode never really felt like a side-story or a pointless detour. It was a definite step up from last week’s disappointing outing.

This week’s Diggle storyline came at an opportune time, as John just recently got through to his captive brother and began the slow healing process. This week’s conflict put that fragile brotherly bond to the test as Shadowspire invaded A.R.G.U.S. headquarters and Lyla’s life was (once again) put in danger.

David Ramsey rarely fails to rise to the challenge when his character given a starring role on this show, and this week was no exception. His desperation was palpable as John battled against all odds to protect his family. The cold interaction between John and Waller was also a treat to watch. But in many ways this was really Eugene Byrd’s week to shine. Up till now we’ve mainly seen Andy as the surly, close-mouthed captive. Last week’s episode was really the first time Andy was allowed to come out of his shell at all. This time around, Byrd was able to explore the full range of emotions Andy feels for his older brother – that mix of desperate longing to live up to John’s expectations and the anger at being judged for his past mistakes. If nothing else, this episode suggested that Andy could wind up being a valuable addition to the show. There’s certainly a lot more room for Diggle family drama as Andy adjusts to life as a normal human being again.

Sidebar – I loved that Andy was referred to as “the little Diggle.” Can that be his superhero code name when he and “Spartan” go into the field together?

The A.R.G.U.S. conflict was noteworthy for several reasons, not least of which being the introduction of Shadowspire as a player in Season 4’s ongoing conflict. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want anything to distract from the feud between Team Arrow and Damien Darhk. Last week’s Ollie/Darhk fight already suggested the villain will be off the table for a bit. However, it’s nice to see some connections forming between the flashback storyline and the present. Even though this week’s flashbacks shifted focus to John and Andy’s tour in “The ‘Stan,” we got another glimpse of Baron Reiter and learned how he arrived on the island in the first place. It seems Reiter and his mysterious hunt for magical artifacts will have some bearing on the present. Though whether Reiter and Shadowspire will turn out to be allies to Darhk or rivals remains to be seen. The latter option might prove to be more interesting.

Amanda Waller’s last ride?

There was also the fact that Amanda Waller seemingly met her end this week. It’s tough to take that scene at face value because of the unceremonious way she was shot and the fact that Waller always has wheels turning within wheels. Maybe she has the DC Universe equivalent of Life Model Decoys at her disposal? My concern, if Waller is indeed dead, is that she was killed off not because it was the best possible storytelling avenue, but because it was mandated from on high. Arrow has already pretty much let the Suicide Squad drop off the face of the earth. It’s easy to picture Waller being taken out of play so as not to conflict with the upcoming Suicide Squad movie. Because how could viewers possibly comprehend the idea of two versions of the same characters existing simultaneously? It’s not as if Flash deals with that subject every single week.

Whatever the motivations for killing off Waller, there is intriguing new potential as far as Lyla’s role on the show. This episode was great about subtly exploring the relationship between Lyla and her former boss, showing that Waller, despite her cold facade, still trusted and cared for Lyla in a way she did almost no one else on the planet. Trusted her enough to stealthily hand over a flash drive full of sensitive data. I have to wonder just what Waller intended with that move. Obviously she’s hoping the Diggles will carry on the fight against Shadowspire through nontraditional channels. But could she have been passing the torch to Lyla in the same way Nick Fury left S.H.I.E.L.D. in Agent Coulson’s care? That could be a really fun change for Lyla and a way for her to also become a much more integral player on the show.

Felicity was the other main focus this week, as she recovered from her injuries and adjusted to life in a wheelchair. Naturally, the challenge was more psychological than physical. It’s not easy to play the super-competent tech genius when you’re still getting over be shot by a gang of terrorists. That psychological struggle manifested itself in the form of the ghost of Felicity’s angry Goth hacker past returning to haunt her. That twist was a little too silly on the nose for my tastes. But if nothing else, it allowed Emily Bett Rickards to flex her acting chops and play two distinctly different versions of the same character. That’s usually Stephen Amell’s territory, but she rose to the challenge well enough. The scene where she broke down and starting shouting at her ghost while a befuddled Ollie looked on was one of the stronger moments of the evening.

Ultimately, Felicity put herself back in the game. And she even got her own code name finally. Apparently “Overwatch” was a fan suggestion, and it has a nice ring to it. Not only is Felicity not the Flash/Arrow version of Oracle, Ollie even referenced the fact that Oracle exists in this universe. It’s a little weird that this universe would have two nerdy, attractive, wheelchair-bound women who moonlight as tech support for a team of costumed vigilantes. But any chance the show can find to reference the Batman franchise is usually worth taking.

Even more than in “The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak,” it’s hard to ignore just how much Goth Felicity seems to be modeled after Death from the Sandman comics. Between the black ensemble and the ankh pendant, she’s one eye tattoo away from being cosplay-ready. I have to imagine this is an intentional homage. I half expected this episode to reveal that the Felicity ghost wasn’t a figment of her painkiller-addled imagination, but actually Death herself come to impart some valuable life wisdom. Hey, if John Constantine can show up, why not the rest of DC’s Vertigo universe?

One final thought – this episode included a neat callback to the recent Flash crossover when Ollie told Felicity about Barry’s recent time-travel excursion. This is especially intriguing in light of last night’s Flash episode, which dealt pretty heavily with time travel and the ramifications of mucking with the timestream. Ollie is terrified that Felicity’s injuries might be the result of the timestream fighting back against t interference. And is he necessarily wrong? There’s a growing sense that The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow are slowly building towards a larger time travel-focused conflict. Maybe one of these days, Barry Allen or Rip Hunter will damage the timeline beyond repair, sparking some sort of ongoing Flashpoint-style status quo for all three shows. That’s an exciting thought.