We never do find out if they named the dog Indiana, but Oliver and Company discover their inner Indiana Jones as he hunts for information that can tell him the character of Mar-Novu. It is an extended family affair as the familial relationships Arrow has forged over the past seven seasons begging to come together and connect in some ludicrously great ways.
1. Brothers & Sisters
“Leap of Faith” directed by the Black Canary herself Katie Cassidy and written by Emilio Ortega Aldrich & Elizabeth Kim is the most complete episode in season 8 thus far. It did pretty much everything you’d want out of a episode of serialized television by finally giving us an A-B-C plot structure that mirrored one another to explore a motif: sibling relationships, that also happened to feature Ninja, Indiana Jones-esque adventure, Spy Stuff, and a Dark Future. This episode had pretty much everything.
Our main thread features Oliver’s quest to dig up info on Mar-Novu and his trustworthiness. There is some irony to seeing the character who for seasons was defined by a code of silence, even to his own teammates, and an expectation of loyalty justified through narcissism questioning the will of that cosmic being. He’s going to need some info from very old groups which means a return to Arrow playing with the League of Assassins. He comes looking for his ex-wife Nyssa, but finds his sister, Thea, instead as she continues her shadow war on the Thanatos Guild with a few bumps and bruises. The main thread of “Leap of Faith” isn’t to far off of past Ollie-Thea adventures like S03 “The Return,” just with more ninjas and finding their inner Doctor Jones. It also allows for the writers to give viewers one final statement on the sibling relationship between Ollie and Thea and show how much the latter has grown, and stayed the same in some cases, while Ollie tries to prepare her fo this eventual demise.
This reunion is completed by the presence of Lexa Doig as Talia al Ghul, who continues to be a delightful mixture of posh and Daddy Issues. The legacies of her father and the Queen family continue to live on in their children, one group has just been better at defanging the toxicity those legacies bring. Talia, unlike her unseen sister Nyssa, is still committed to her father’s view of the League and with it his approval. Leading to some entirely in character betrayals and forgiveness.
This sibling adventure is contrasted in the year 2040 with William and Mia, as the latter tries to unknowingly act like her Father and protect William at all costs and be just as stubborn. The motif is further augmented with the adventure Lyla and Diggle have as they go on a rescue operation.
While it feels like Arrow is still lacking a workable operational theme beyond a knowing reflexivity (which is more an aesthetic than theme), “Leap of Faith” is an overall strong episode of television that continues to move people where they need to be. Hopefully they’ll all be ready when they get there.
2. Mr & Mrs. Michael-Diggle
With Task Force X, rightly, out of commission it has meant the loss of an under appreciated aspect of Arrow: getting Diggle and Layla outta Team Arrow business and going of being spies. Diggle looks good in a suit. Lyla looks good in a dress. In a DCWverse of all these spin offs how these two didn’t get a spy themed Suicide Squad accented mini-series is a missed opportunity. While it was the C-plot, making it a Spy themed adventure allowed for lots of easy use of generic signifiers without having to go out and really do a lot of stuff. The whole thing looks like it was shot in a Toronto area mansion in the best way. All the while modifying the episodes core motif of Brothers and Sisters to look at relationships as support structures in general.
They also defied expectations, with the Hawke family kidnapped and the knowledge of what eventually becomes of young Conner it seemed pre-ordained that this would be the moment he was adopted into their family. Nope, Conner gets to keep his biological mother for now and that’s a good thing.
Continued below3. Star City 2040: Brother and Bad Plans
Katherine McNamara really has stubborn first 3 seasons Ollie down. Mia has her Father’s determination and willingness to sacrifice her body to see something done, but it is always someone else paying that price on this show and these kinds of narrative. In this case Zoe of 2040, which explains why Andrea Sixtos was always listed as just a recurring presence and not a regular like the rest of New New Team Arrow. With what happens in the stinger, it makes the moment all the more heartbreaking for Rene.
Arrow also seems to be setting up a redux of Diggle family fratricide as JJ and Conner appear on a collision course. Hopefully Dad will be there to intervene and maybe redeem his son and future self.
After a couple of episodes of segregation, it will be interesting to see how this team up across time plays out and the show fully leans into its parental status. Gotta admit twenty somethings teaming up with their parents in the past and how that goes is some enticing comic book style melodrama.
4. Family Reunion, Comic Book Style
I love superhero stories, it cann allow for sudden nonchalant reveals/justifications such as Thea reading Arabic. There are times that they can be a convoluted impenetrable mess that confuses concepts of “continuity” for actual narrative, but creative teams also see how to use that convoluted mess of soap opera macguffins and genre playthings to make for moments that can only really happen in the melodrama of a superhero narrative. At its heart Arrow has been an extended family melodrama that happened to feature vigilantes, ninjas, and now a godly cosmic being. Those latter bits allow for a very impactful and exciting moment: Oliver gets to meet his children! I’d assumed such a meeting would happen during COIE, but we’ll be getting it n the next episode! Arrow, and especially Batwoman, continue prove that adage about not “what” but “when” something happens being the key to audience surprise.
On the reflexive level, “Leap of Faith” director Katie Cassidy staged the stinger for last nights episode in the same manner of Ollie meeting his Mother from the start of the series, or well this season – comics! Except the roles are reversed now Ollie is the parent seeing the children he thought he’d never see again much less meet. It makes the absence of Felicity feel all the greater. It seems Mor-Novu continues to play his Dumbledore like games of putting Oliver in the right time and place to die and prepare to make that choice, in his own way.
5. A League of Heroes
With the “Legion of Superheroes” coming back into the fold of DC comics, they have been a concept in the back of my mind for a while. The DCWverse has already done the Legion on Supergirl, but that was Earth-Supergirl. When Thea mentioned that the world needs a League of Heroes I immediately thought of the Legion. If during COIE there is an off hand reference to a League transforming into a Legion, that would be cool and fitting for the overall redemptive/reclaimative motif embedded in Earth-Arrow.
