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‘Arrow’ Recap ‘Irreconcilable Differences’

Mid-Season finales are always the most exciting yet the hardest episodes to watch, because that means our favorite shows will be going on a brief hiatus, and we will have to wait out that cliff hanger to see where our heroes stand – sadly.

This midseason episode of Arrow, titled ‘Irreconcilable Differences’ was the absolute perfect mid-season finale, and I have to say it has probably been the best one to date!

The episode opened up with Oliver and Felicity’s wedding reception, an incredibly sweet and tear-jerking event. They way that Felicity and Oliver looked at each other was absolutely beautiful. Stephen Amell and Emily Bett deliver their respective roles perfectly.

Arrow
Image: The CW

During the reception, we welcomed back Donna Smoak and even Felicity’s father, The Calculator. Also, Oliver and Felicity’s neighbors from Ivy Town – which capped the episode off perfectly. While the reception consisted of much laughter, dancing, speeches and love… there was a moment that caused it to come crashing down like dominos.

While mid dance with Donna, Quentin Lance received a phone call from Oliver’s lawyer. After taking the call, he headed over to Oliver with some terrible news. The person who was feeding information to the FBI about Oliver being the Green Arrow was a witness… and they were on Team Arrow.

Down in the bunker, Oliver and Felicity met with Diggle and informed Diggle of the news. Diggle insisted that it had to have been a mistake, as they all had Oliver’s backs. Felicity informed them in light of the recent event, she was going to track Rene, Curtis and Dinah.

Following the wedding, Rene walked Curtis back to his apartment. Curtis then asked Rene if he ever wondered what life would be like without Team Arrow – if he agreed that it would be easier. Rene stated that he had, in fact, thought about it.

While Rene took care of Curtis, Dinah left the wedding reception where she met up with Vince in the alleyway. He told Dinah that he always has and always would care for her, and that the difference between him and Oliver is that he isn’t lying about who he is.

After walking Thea back to her apartment, both Quentin and Thea found themselves facing off against Black Siren. Although this time instead of wearing fishnets and knee high boots, she wore the black jacket similar to the one that Sara had given Laurel when Sara left to go back to Lian Yu with Nyssa.

Arrow
Image: The CW

At the Arrow Cave, Felicity pulled up a feed of Dinah talking to Vince aka Vigilante on a camera. Diggle insisted that Dinah was clean, as she supported him through his injury. During their discussion, Thea walked in and saying that Black Siren kidnapped Lance. When Felicity asked how Thea was alive, she stated it was because Black Siren needed a messenger. Right as Thea handed Oliver the phone, it rang. Cayden James spoke up, telling Oliver that unless Oliver broke in and steals the aluminum amplifier from ARGUS, Quentin will die.

The Team headed out to ARGUS, without Dinah. The good news was, they were able to seize the device without ARGUS getting a dime on what they were going. The bad news, they were giving Cayden James exactly what he wanted. Oliver asked Curtis if he could someone reconfigure the device so that it would stop working. They would merely Cayden the device in exchange for Quentin and by the time Cayden realized it wasn’t working, they would already be gone. During their group discussion, Dinah entered and asked if they had just gotten back from the field and if they had, why she wasn’t called?

Oliver confronted her, saying he knew about her secret meetings with Vigilante and that she could not be trusted. He then told everyone that he knew someone from the team was feeding information to the FBI and they were planning on testifying against him in court. Curtis stepped in, saying that it could have been any one of them. Oliver told Dinah that she was the only one who didn’t ‘check out’, and everyone else was good. Curtis suddenly realized that it was original team arrow against the newbies. Rene then stood up and announced that the team needed to stop blaming Dinah, because he was the one who was the traitor and was going to testify against him.

Arrow
Image: The CW

Rene told Oliver that Agent Watson approached him and told him that she had proof that he was Wild Dog and unless he testified, she was going to make it so that he could never see Zoe again. Oliver, angered, told Rene to get out.

Elsewhere, Black Siren had a conversation with Quentin. He asked her if when she looked at him, if she saw her father. Black Siren replied, no, saying that her father died when she was thirteen. He died in a head on car collision with a drunk driver while picking up her birthday cake. Quentin told her he used to pick up Laurel’s cake every year on her birthday, a cake with yellow frosting. Black Siren then stated ‘From Carly’s’. The two of them made eye contact, each with a tear or two in their eyes. During their somber moment, Cayden James entered and told her that if Green Arrow didn’t come through on the deal then her orders were to kill Quentin.

Rene, Dinah and Curtis all sat together eating lunch. Dinah told Rene that he was in an impossible position, and that she understood where he was coming from. Curtis mentioned that he couldn’t help but notice that the team was divided – Original Team Arrow versus’ the newbies.

Back at the Arrow Cave, Oliver met with Speedy. She broke through his rough barrier, and told him that Rene loves the team but he also loves his daughter. He should be more understanding of the situation and should give him a chance. Diggle entered, informing Oliver that it was almost nightfall. Oliver called for the team to assemble – the entire team.

Arrow
Image: The CW

The Team gathered outside the building, in which Oliver gave a speech saying that Quentin was the mission and that they needed to put their differences aside and work together to save Quentin. Curtis, Rene, and Dinah stood a distance away and were the eyes and ears. Oliver headed in to make the exchange, only to find Cayden with a group of thugs. Oliver demanded to speak to Quentin, to know that he was alive.

Rene grew frustrated of waiting around, so he and Curtis abandoned their post to go get in the fight. After speaking with Quentin on the radio, Oliver asked for his release. Cayden denied Oliver’s request, saying that he knew the nano aluminum amplifier was sabotaged. He radioed for Black Siren to kill Quentin, and for his henchmen to kill Oliver. A fight broke out, to which Dinah backed up Oliver but Rene and Curtis were nowhere to be found. When Oliver radio’d and asked where they were Rene responded with ‘we don’t got time for that’ as he and Curtis stumbled upon Black Siren and Quentin. She heard them coming in, and used her sonic scream to get both her and Lance out.

After getting away from all the henchmen, Black Siren cut Lance’s zip ties and told him to run. Oliver ran over, just in time to see Black Siren releasing Quentin before disappearing into the night. Finally, after a good minute or two, the rest of the team arrived.

They arrived back at the bunker, and Oliver immediately questioned Rene and Curtis about their whereabouts. Rene admitted that it was his decision to move out, and to go rescue Lance. Oliver then told Rene that was his second chance, and that he was officially off the team. After Rene walked out, Dinah came forward and told Oliver that to be a team they needed to believe and trust in each other and she no longer trusted him. She then left.

Later on that night, Dinah headed out to meet with Vince. He asked her why she wanted to meet with him, and she told him it was because she needed a friend.

The next morning while Oliver and the rest of the team planned on how to stop Cayden James, Curtis entered. He told Felicity that he would still be a part of their startup but he was also leaving the team.

The episode ended with Cayden and Black Siren joined by his minions, talking about how Team Arrow was splitting apart and how things were falling exactly into place. Just when you thought it was over, he was then joined by Anatoly, Vince, and Richard Drogon.

Arrow will return on January 18th, 2018.

 

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