Arrow (TV Series) Blood Debts (2016) User Reviews

"The World Needs a Reset"

[ThomasDrufke · 8/10 · 20 January 2016]

Well, I think this episode settles what we all pretty much believed, Felicity is not the one in the grave. I have plenty of opinions on who is in the grave, but I was glad to see it wasn't Felicity, especially because Flash is also hinting at removing Barry's best love interest in the show as well. While the episodes after the mid-season finale have never been good, this one broke that mold a bit and I think was the best 10th episode of either Flash or Arrow.

Other than Damien Darhk's brief appearances, Anarky was the chosen villain of the week as he came back for revenge against Darhk and his men. I have to be honest, I totally forgot he even made an appearance earlier this season, that's how forgettable he was. But tonight was a bit different. He was nowhere near as comic-booky or off-putting as someone like Vertigo, but at the same time, his abilities were misleading. The fact that he found Darhk way before Oliver could felt strange and so did the fact that he was actually handling himself surprisingly well in combat with the entire Team Arrow. Really?

On the Team Arrow side of things, it was nice to see Diggle's confrontations with his brother turn out to have some implications because that side story in general has been really weak. I also really enjoyed the inner conflict the team went through with Laurel and Oliver sharing some great character moments. It was one of the few times Laurel actually had a point when she called out Oliver for freeing Anarky, only to be shutdown when Oliver brought up her mistake of letting Sara out on the streets.

Speaking of Oliver having some issues with making the right decisions, I loved seeing the season 1 Oliver of interrogating and beating the crap out of every goon he comes across, even if it did feel a lot like Batman. Of course, this was a direct result of Oliver putting off visiting Felicity in the hospital. When he finally did, we got some great Olicity moments. I feel they are tackling the Felicity character right this season and maybe her being "paralyzed" is the right way to go to change up the dynamic of the show.

The actual confrontation with Oliver and Darhk was awesome but I did have one issue. Why did Darhk decide to fistfight Green Arrow for a few blows before finally using his magic to put a few Arrows in Oliver? I still feel like we need some more explaining and background with his abilities and his overall plan, Genesis. Speaking of those powers, the tattoo Oliver has in the flashbacks seemed to come in handy although, again, I could really care less about anything involving the flashbacks right now. The whipping didn't really seem necessary.

Finally, I guess I should talk about the grave. Although we don't see Diggle or Thea or Laurel in the car with Oliver and Felicity at the end, I don't think any of them are dying, though it would be pretty ballsy. To me, it's still Quentin, it's always been Quentin. Him or maybe even Felicity's mother, though I think she would have been crying a little more at the end. For now, fans can put to rest that it's definitely not Felicity.

+Laurel & Oliver conflict

+Back to good old vigilante Oliver

+Diggle and his bro share a nice moment

+Olicity moments

-Darhk going easy on Oliver

-Anarky upstaging Green Arrow

8.4/10

Who is in the grave?

Quentin - 60% chance

Donna Smoak - 15% chance

Thea - 12.5% chance

Diggle - 12.5% chance

Arrow - S04E10 Blood Debts

[j_forbesy · 7/10 · 27 January 2016]

Similarly to The Flash, episode 10 of Arrow season 4 was by no way a standout episode but acted as a great reintroduction to season 4. This episode played it quiet safe.

Blood Debts takes place straight after the events of episode 9, following the events that take place after the attack on Oliver and Felicity. With Felicity in hospital, Oliver goes on the offensive trying to track down Dark. This side of Oliver we haven't seen since season 1. This reckless Oliver however gets nowhere. This sequence really acted as an introduction back into the action and brutality Arrow can present.

A big plot point of this episode was the Anarchy story line. I didn't really enjoy Anarchy as a character but I felt what his story line brought to the overall story was good. Through this story line we were able to see the human side of Dark. After Team Arrow rescue Dark's family from Anarchy, Dark really shows some humanity by giving Oliver a cool off period in respect to what he has done for his family. Each week Dark is becoming more and more human and I find myself enjoying his screen presents more than ever.

Another key point that really interested me episode was the sequence between Diggle and his brother. After saying in my mid season review, this scene took this relationship in the right direction. Without Anthony helping Team Arrow I feel as though he is a fairly useless character. Now with this roll, it gives him a big purpose during this season.

The last major thing that I loved in this episode was the flash forward scene that takes place at the end. A scene is shown of Oliver leaving the grave of the mystery character and enters a limo, who we find Felicity sitting in it. She appears extremely upset, perhaps more than she would for some other characters. Felicity then uses the line, 'You have to kill him' showing how deep her sadness is.

This scene presents 3 key things that we can use to predict the future of the show. The first of course is Felicity being alive. This obviously rules her out of being the one in the grave but it does however give us a look into how they may reveal who is in the grave. Over the next few weeks we may slowly see more and more character alive until we are down to one who is evidently going to end up in the grave. The second main point I noticed was that Oliver was in a limo. Since the early seasons, we have not seen Oliver travel in a limo until recently when he decides to run for mayor. This scene maybe suggests that Oliver was successful in his campaign and is indeed mayor of Star City. The last main key thing I noticed in this scene is a big one. When we see Felicity she is missing one key item, her ring. This strongly suggests that Oliver and her are broken up when this time period takes place. The reason to why they could be apart during this period could be a number of things. My guess is that Oliver's son is going to make an appearance and similarly to the cross over episode, will cause the couple to have a fight.

Overall, while it was not a stand out episode of the season, I enjoyed having Arrow back on the screen. I really think it was a good start to the second half of the season and it will continue on for here.

7/10 - See more reviews at https://thenotsonerdynerd.wordpress.com/

Out for Blood!!!!

[JKHarrington2-696-679597 · 10/10 · 10 February 2016]

What's not to love about this episode? After weeks of waiting to find out what happened to Felicity Smoak, Blood Debts came roaring back with the answer. We finally learn Felicity Smoak's fate after the brutal assault on the limo she and Oliver Queen were riding in. It's hard and shocking, but Felicity is doing an amazing job of holding it together. Oliver, on the other hand? Not so much. Poor guy's on a rampage for justice. Or vengeance. It all depends on how you look at it. It feels like Anarky is being brought in to replace the always crazy Count Vertigo to me. Not sure how I feel about the weird stalkery/romance thing they were trying to force there with him and Thea. But it was awesome to see Oliver's harder, warrior side return and be reminded (after multiple episodes of him barely being able to take down one person along) that he actually IS a force to be reckoned with. I loved all the moments Oliver and Felicity shared and the sweet resolution to her missing engagement ring made me teary-eyed. I just wish the show had lingered a bit more on them to let those emotional moments breathe a bit. They felt a bit rushed. But still. Amazing episode!