Arrow Rewatch 2018 1x18 Salvation
During this rewatch, I've been waiting to see if my opinion on an episode would change or not. If, knowing what we know 5 years later, would have an overwhelming impact on how I view the show. It finally happened.
- love Felicity just blatantly staring at Oliver hanging off the ceiling in all his shirtless glory. Then checking him out when he jumps down. The little gulp she does is hilarious. Same, Felicity. Same.
- Oliver is totally loving the attention. No one can tell me otherwise. The reason he never trains shirtless around the others nowadays is coz only his wife gets to see the goods lol.
- him asking if she's alright crossing Nicholl off the list...his voice softens again. I don't think he even realises how much her opinion means to him at this point, but he learnt his lesson from 1x15.
- 'Coz typically, they don't show my level of restraint.' Um...stop doing that thing with your voice, Oliver. And the leaning in thing...
- Diggle is such a good friend to Oliver. He recognises that Oliver has been all business lately, and insists on taking him to dinner.
- during the bbb scene, Oliver reiterates how going it alone is the way to do things. That the life he is leading doesn't allow for relationships. Diggle, of course, tries to reason with him. He talks about how bleak that life will be.
- 'you've been home for 8 months, Oliver. I don't think you've left that island yet.'
- 'Oliver, no offense, but do I tell you how to sharpen your arrows?' Love sassy Felicity.
- It's weird seeing the old Sara.
- love the whole scene where Oliver's going through the building searching for the guy. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Looks badass.
- I never noticed before, but when Oliver jumps the fence, you can see the subway sign behind him. A nice touch for later in the episode when they figure it all out.
- Poor Felicity. She takes seeing that guy dying so hard. I just wanted to give her a hug.
- I really wish this Quentin was around to tell season 6 Quentin what a fool he was being about evil Laurel.
- I don't know whether to feel bad or mad at Dinah. That's some heavy shit.
- OTA Teamwork for the win! This is what I wanted in S6, to see OTA flourishing like the well oiled machine they are. Oh well.
- love seeing Shado kicking ass.
- that scene where Roy tells 'The Saviour' just to kill him. That no one would miss him, really got to me this time around. I was tearing up. Oliver telling 'The Saviour' that if he kills him, Roy will never get the chance to change...Oliver is Roy's salvation. The newbies really gave me a whole new appreciation for Roy. I'm glad he's back next season.
- 'A red-eye to Central City. Should be home in a flash.' Nicely done writers lol.
- 'I don't wanna be on an island anymore.' Call back to Dig's line earlier.
- Moira proving once again that she really will do anything to protect her family.
- Felicity is so cute with her babbling. Oliver sees through it though.
- the Undertaking is connected to the Glades.
This scene is just so beautiful. Look at him trying to console her. This moment and what comes after, bumps this episode up to a 5 star rating for me upon this rewatch. I had to rewind this scene 3 times to bask in the beauty and the implications.
I never saw it before, but now, knowing what I know happens, this scene sets up so much of their relationship and I didn't even know it. I also firmly believe that the writers were already writing towards Olicity at this point.
Earlier we see Oliver telling Dig that it's better for him to be alone. He even lists all of his failed relationships; Helena, McKenna, Laurel, and Sara. Dig tries to persuade him otherwise. We then get the scene where Felicity echos Oliverâs pov by saying, 'Maybe it is better being alone. I'm not seeing anyone currently, but if I were, I don't know how I'd tell them about today.'
Her words effect Oliver. He doesn't like that she's feeling this way.
Diggle's talk about how bleak life will be for Oliver is evidenced when he goes up against 'The Saviour'. He gets a glimpse as to the extremes of what being alone would drive him to. He then sees Roy and Thea reuniting and you can see how visibly affected Oliver is by all of this. He asks Laurel to dinner saying he doesn't want to be on an island anymore. He asks her because he still has her on a pedestal. He's still looking at the life he threw away with her as the ultimate goal. However, I find it truly fascinating that in the next scene, you see him just staring at Felicity. He's so emotionally drained by the events of the episode, but the conversation he and Felicity had is still running through his mind. He notes her efforts to joke about it, to mask her feelings with humour, and he sees through it.
'Psst...by the way, if you ever need to tell someone about your day...you can tell me.'
The stare, the soft voice, the way he looks at her, the shoulder touch, her whispered 'thanks.' Not to mention the music...
This episode is basically telling us that on the surface, Oliver wants Laurel. Or he thinks he does. But deep down, he's going to realise that he wants Felicity to be the one he tells about his day. He wants that seemingly unattainable happy and fullfiled life. Felicity is his salvation.
@blondeeoneexox @hope-for-olicity @memcjo @allimariexf