Arrow, “Lost Souls,” was written by the team of Beth Schwartz and Emilio Ortega Aldrich and was directed by Antonio Negret. The episode features the return of two characters – so lost souls in that sense – Ray (Brandon Routh) and Donna Smoak (Charlotte Ross). I was thrilled to see both of them back – though we know that Ray will be moving on soon enough to Legends of Tomorrow. The groundwork laid for him to leave when he says he doesn't want the company back.
In many ways, Sara (Caity Lotz) is also still a lost soul as we see her bloodlust is very much in evidence in the episode as she loses it the same way we’ve been seeing Thea (Willa Holland) lose it. Lance (Paul Blackthorne) uses the damage to Sara’s soul as an excuse to approach Darhk (Neal McDonough) to help with his magic mumbo-jumbo. But most importantly, we see in the flashbacks that Oliver (Stephen Amell) learns from the woman he rescued (Elysia Rotaru) that Reiter (Jimmy Akingbola) has said that he’s healed souls. She also tells Oliver that while she’s never seen him do anything magical or mystical, he is very religious. It seems the flashbacks are now feeding more directly into the present storyline, so hopefully, this will point a way forward for both Thea and Sara.
The main plot involves rescuing Ray, and this necessarily creates problems between Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Oliver. She blames herself for “losing herself” so completely in Oliver that she didn’t pick up on Ray’s cries for help. Donna provides an excellent sounding board for Felicity. She tells her that with real love, you are supposed to lose yourself in the other person because that’s where you’ll find yourself. I loved the scene in which Donna brings Felicity hot milk and reminds her of Felicity missing Space Camp. As it turns out, Donna just couldn’t afford it. She points out that Felicity is not her – Felicity is a successful CEO and Oliver is not her father – he loves Felicity.
Oliver, meanwhile, turns to Diggle (David Ramsey), and it’s wonderful to see the bromance between these two back in full force. Oliver laments the loss of the Russian vodka from the old lair, but Diggle is there to start a new tradition with a bottle of Tennessee Whiskey! I liked that we actually get to see Oliver a little vulnerable, wondering why Felicity chose him over Ray who is smarter and shares more in common with Felicity. Diggle cuts to the heart of the manner by pointing out that in the end, Felicity chose Oliver and that’s all that matters. He tells Oliver that relationships have ups and downs and he should just give it some time and space.
Sara is struggling throughout the episode. When she calls her mother, it’s clear that she didn’t regain all of her memories when she had her soul restored. By the end of the episode, Sara is distraught at being unable to control the bloodlust. She has decided to go to Central City to visit her mother and then possibly travel. And how ironic is that as in
Legends, she’ll be
TIME travelling! Love this little easter egg. I’ll be happy to see more Lotz on this new show, and I’m sure we’ll still see her in crossovers. One of the highlights of this episode was the fantastic fight with Laurel (Katie Cassidy), Thea, and Sara.
The team tracks Ray to Darhk who is holding him captive. Darhk does learn who Felicity is. She says she’s not afraid to be a target, but I’m betting Oliver isn’t going to deal with it well. I loved Ray’s rescue. It was a nice fake out to have Diggle – now given the code name Spartan!! – pretend to be a ghost and pretend-capture Oliver. Holt is really pretty much a member of the team now – and just continues to demonstrate hidden talents – like being an accomplished base jumper!
There were lots of fun moments in this episode. I loved Oliver coming to visit Felicity in the lab and meeting Holt (Echo Kellum), who first remarks on how straight Oliver is and then blocks out half his face with his hand. His verdict? Not the Green Arrow because the jaw isn’t right!!! I loved Felicity exclaiming, “He’s the size of a Tater Tot!” Donna’s destruction of the cordon blue. Oliver unable to resist the emoji with the tear. Oliver telling Ray, “Nice to see you,” and Ray responding, “Nice suit!”
In the flashbacks, Conklin (Ryan Robbins) steps up his efforts to get rid of Oliver. Reiter sends them to the cove to collect the “gift” the ancients tell him in the secret chamber is waiting for him there. Conklin enlists the help of Vlad (Zoran Vukelic) to kill Oliver. When it backfires and Oliver kills Vlad, Conklin is ready to use that against Oliver.
The final scene between Oliver and Felicity somewhat literally puts this fight to bed. Felicity suggests that they clear the air, and she thanks him for helping to save Ray. Oliver apologizes for not being a good listener – is any guy? But Felicity points out that neither of them had good role models for relationships. But Felicity also points out that they’re going to be fine because they’ve found themselves in each other.
Finally, we have the beginning of two possible new romances in the final scenes. Willa takes a chance and asks Alex (Parker Young) out after telling him no at the beginning of the episode. No real surprise that he’s her new love interest, right?
One of my most cherished hopes was to see Donna and Lance become a couple – and that looks like the writers may have heard my wishes!! I can only imagine these two together! I can’t wait to see many, many scenes between these two! So neither of them better end up in that stupid grave…. Clearly Blackthorne and Ross have terrific chemistry and the two characters are sure to work off of each other in interesting ways. I loved that they came together over small talk about their daughters – not to mention that we see Lance is back on the club soda!
What did you think of the episode? Favorite scene? Line? Couple? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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| Here's a fun little continuity gaff. Notice in above shot, Felicity wearing those incredible heels. In the next shot, we see that Emily is more comfortable on set... |
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
