- Title: Arrow – Taken
- wiki: link
The abduction of Oliver‘s (Stephen Amell) son William leads to major turmoil for both his mayoral campaign and his personal life. Given his recent struggles against Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), who uses the boy to blackmail Oliver into ending his campaign for mayor, Green Arrow reaches out to a friend who has a bit of magic herself in a mystic amulet capable of temporarily bestowing the power of animals to its wearer. Previously introduced in her own animated web series (which the show has some fun with), Vixen (Megalyn Echikunwoke) is brought to Star City in hopes that her magic might help Oliver put a stop to Darhk’s reign of terror.
Vixen not only helps Team Arrow rescue William but also plays a key role in destroying the source of Darhk’s power leading to his capture. The defeat of the season’s main villain leaves a large hole to fill which apparently will be filled by Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) who once again finds a way to personally profit from Oliver taking down a rival. As for Oliver, his mayoral campaign is over as is his relationship with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) who doesn’t take the news of Oliver’s secret son all that well. But hey, not all news is bad news for the archer’s Girl Friday whose days in a wheelchair are apparently already coming to an end.
In an episode that could have easily been all about it’s guest-star, I hope we haven’t seen the last of Echikunwoke this season, “Taken” actually juggles quite a few stories. The defeat of Darkh so early in the season is a surprise. Malcolm’s return to form suggests he wills step up as H.I.V.E. as a whole will likely be fleshed out a bit more going forward. As for Ollie and Felicity, the choice to split the pair up (along with making Merlyn a primarily villain again) feels like the show is taken a giant step backwards rather than continuing to grow the world. Here’s hoping the pair are able to mend their troubles as easily as Felicity’s spine.
