- Title: Arrow – Beacon of Hope
- wiki: link
Brie Larvan (Emily Kinney), the crazy scientist with a swarm of robotic bees, crosses over from The Flash in order to steal a valuable piece of technology from Palmer Technologies. Holding the entire building hostage, Larvan hopes to force Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) to turn over herself and the experimental technology that allowed to regain the use of her legs. Locked out of her computer network and trapped in her office with her mother (Charlotte Ross) Thea (Willa Holland), Felicity and her friends will need help to make it out alive.
Given both Team Arrow’s reliance on Felicity’s skills and her recent break-up with Oliver (Stephen Amell), “Beacon of Hope” offers a stand-in for her on the team when Curtis (Echo Kellum) finds the Arrow Cave. Of course Oliver has to be a complete dick to the man before excepting Curtis’ help (and unbridled enthusiasm), but eventually Curtis proves to be invaluable in rescuing Felicity and the rest of the hostages. Curtis’ involvement with the team in this episode is the only good thing to come out of the fallout of the break-up so far.
Despite not being a meta-human, Larson feels more at home on The Flash than Arrow. Still, her appearance here is a success and I wonder how many villains may make a similar transition between shows. The bees themselves worked well, although I thought it a bit awkward when they became a solid soldier rather than just a swarm in the shape of a man (which made more sense and was more visually interesting). Introduced originally in “All Star Team Up,” an episode in which Felicity guest-starred, the villain discovers that the head of Palmer Technologies was the hacker that helped send her to jail, raising the stakes in the episode’s final few moments.
