Arrow - S5E19 - Dangerous Liaisons

Previously on Arrow, “Disbanded”

‘Dangerous Liaisons’ pitted friend against friend as Felicity and Helix went toe-to-toe with Team Arrow and ARGUS. With Chase in the wind, Felicity struck a deal with Helix to help them free a prisoner in exchange for assistance tracking him down.

The Good

I was pleasantly surprised with the direction that the plot took this episode. This season has spent so long building up Helix as a sinister force that it was honestly a relief when not only did Felicity’s plan work with minimal casualties, but she also got to call out Oliver for not trusting her after five years of her backing his plays. That said, there is no way that freeing that powerful hacker doesn’t come back to haunt them.

With Laurel dead, Sara on another show, and Thea MIA, Felicity has been somewhat lacking in the female friendship department as of late, so it was nice to see her hanging out with her hacker friend all episode.

The Bad

I like Rene. I think he’s a fun character and the most interesting of the new recruits by far. That said, we should not be rooting for him to get back custody of his daughter. For one, he got so drunk when he was minding her that he passed out with the stove on. Even if he has changed a lot since then, the person he has changed into is someone who sneaks out every night to beat up criminals. Not exactly stellar single dad material.

The only thing I could think of as Diggle berated Lila for holding someone prisoner without trial was all the time Andy Diggle spent as a prisoner of Team Arrow. You can only keep your brother in a cage for so long before you lose the right to criticize others for their lack of due process.