Geekscape Recaps: ‘Arrow’ – Genesis

Tonight’s episode of Arrow moved us one step closer to a final resolution between Damien Darhk and Team Arrow. While the episode seemed to move alone steadily, it was nice not having to flashback to Lian-Yu. Also, it would be nice to at least see Oliver talk to Constantine once in a while!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead! 

The Diggles

After many years of searching for the man who killed his little brother, John Diggle came to the realization that he had to do it himself. It was the right choice, especially after Andy kept coming at Diggle and threatening his family. Still, it’s probably going to be a little difficult if this whole event ever comes up in conversation with Diggle’s nephew.

Arrow 420 Diggles

The death of Andy signifies Diggle’s transformation. This was also marked by the contrasting views Lyla had when Diggle came back injured from his encounter with Andy. Diggle came close to reverting back to his own self by putting himself in danger without thinking of any repercussions that may follow his death. However, by the end of the episode, it was clear Diggle has changed for the better.

Magic 101

This episode also saw Oliver attempting to learn magic to combat Darhk’s abilities. During his training session, Oliver fought Deathstroke, Darhk, and other past enemies from Lian-Yu. This was a pretty cool segment, and it was nice seeing the Deathstroke suit dusted off.

Arrow 420 Mt

During this training session, we also learned that the reason why Darhk chose Star City as his base of operations was because of the existence of a magical “nexus”, similar to the one found on Lian-Yu. It’s assumed that this is where Darhk gets his powers, using that totem to channel his magical abilities. By the end of the episode, we found that two can play that game:

 

Thea

After taking some time off from the team while Oliver left to Hub City, Thea found herself in a bad situation in which she was drugged and kidnapped to a shelter under Star City. The shelter is of course operated by HIVE, and we’ve seen a glimpse of this place earlier this season. The dome is powered and its air is filtered by plants. HIVE was obviously thinking long term here, as they should be.

Arrow 420

As for Oliver’s ex-political advisor, he’s clearly under the control of HIVE, presumably not by choice. He mentioned that he was taking “vitamins” given to him by Ruvé Adams, Darhk’s wife. Of course, we know that this pills are used to take control of people, turning them into agents of HIVE. We saw this happen to Andy Diggle, and there’s no word yet on if the effects can be reversed.

Genesis

Finally, we caught wind of Darhk’s endgame. It’s assumed that Darhk plans on nuking the world and rebuilding his own in the future. His endgame is peculiar because it affects the entire world. You would think that Vandal Savage would have something to say about this.

Arrow 420 Darhk

If you remember more than a few weeks back, Damien Darhk appeared in a Legends of Tomorrow episode. In it, Darhk was seen trying to buy nuclear weapons. It’s clear now that nuking the planet has been in Darhk’s head for a few decades, if not longer. His yearn to control the planet also falls in line with his teachings within the League of Assassins, and it’s also probably what got him cast out of the league entirely, paving way to the Ra’s Al Ghul we saw last season.

Hub City

Lastly, but certainly not least, I wanted to expand a little on Hub City. The city is patrolled by The Question. Question is an expert martial artist, vigilante, sometimes conspiracy theorist, and a master detective. If he looks familiar to you, much of his persona was borrowed to create Rorschach of Watchmen.

Arrow Question

The city also pays homage to Ted Kord, also known as the Blue Beetle. Kord Industries has also been featured repeatedly on Arrow.

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7cTJ3EeFGc