#arrow 1x20

Merlance and Lauriver

At this point in the first season, you have probably formed an opinion on this love triangle.  You are either Merlance, Lauriver, a plague on both their houses, or just don’t give a crap. All choices are valid. Everyone knows where I stand.

What I think we can agree on is this love triangle is toxic. Toxicity, I feel, that is being driven largely by Oliver Queen. But we’ll get to that in a minute.  First, we need to discuss the choice Oliver makes.

Laurel is representing the Moore family and suing Edward Rasmus, an investment broker, for stealing their life savings. Rasmus hires Gunn from Angel (that’s what I’m calling him. I know his character has a name, but I don’t care) to kill the parents, but their son Taylor manages to escape. We don’t actually see how Taylor escaped. It looks he jumped out a twelve story window, but whatever.

Laurel volunteers to be the child’s temporary guardian, so Taylor stays at her apartment with Tommy. This leads to a beautiful Merlance moment and one of my all-time favorite Tommy scenes in the series. Little Taylor is grieving the loss of both his parents, so Tommy offers him some advice.  

Source: @bifelicitys

Colin Donnell’s delivery in this scene is just the right mix of sadness and loving comfort. We can see the kind of father Tommy would be and it’s a beautiful sight to behold. If Laurel Lance is not in love with Tommy Merlyn already then she certainly falls in love with him in this moment.

I wish we could just leave them here forever. Safe in the cocoon of their stable, loving, and supportive relationship.

But we can’t because of Oliver.

Tommy and Laurel have lost one crucial aspect of their relationship because of Oliver - honesty. They are both lying. Laurel has failed to tell Tommy that she’s been having “friendly” lunches with Oliver (re: see last episodes “I don’t want to be on an island anymore” speech).  And Tommy is keeping the biggest secret of all – he knows Oliver is the vigilante.

Source: @htbthomas

Gunn storms Laurel’s apartment to finish the job on Taylor. Tommy throws himself over Taylor’s body and I friggin swooned. Someone woman needs to give this man a baby! The daddy hotness is too much to take.

Laurel shows some impressive “daughter of a cop” moves when she breaks out the shot gun.

Unfortunately, she didn’t keep more than one bullet in the chamber. Why she didn’t check the gun the minute she got home I will never understand. I swear, this woman sometimes.

Of course, Oliver is there in the shadows as The Hood to rescue Laurel, Tommy and Taylor. Now that Tommy knows Laurel and Taylor are targets, he advises Quentin they should stay at the Queen mansion. They have wall to wall security and more importantly The Hood lives there.

Tommy: We both only want is best for Laurel. And right now that is to stay close to the Oliver. Trust me.

However, the first thing Oliver does when they arrive is leave to help Diggle track down Floyd Lawton, which infuriates Tommy.

Tommy: You are the reason why we’re here and trust me that wasn’t easy to admit.

Oliver assures Tommy the bodyguards at the Queen mansion will be more than sufficient to protect them, but when push comes to shove, he abandons his promise to Diggle to stop Rasmus. This didn’t stop Gunn from going after Taylor again at the Queen mansion. The bodyguards ended up being worthless and a hoodless Oliver Queen had to kill Gunn with a fire poker.

Was Oliver needed at the mansion to save everyone’s lives? YES. But that went down after the Lawton sting operation. Did stopping Rasmus in any way deter Gunn from going after Taylor again? No. Gunn kills anyone who has seen his face – including Rasmus. Oliver couldn’t have known that though. I’m not denying Oliver is juggling a lot of balls this episode. He has some tough choices to make, but the problem is he’s not being honest about the reasons behind those choices.

Felicity:  Couldn’t you be friends with someone less complicated than your ex-girlfriend who is your ex-best friend’s current girlfriend?

It’s a lightly made comment about Oliver’s relationships outside of the bunker, but Felicity’s gentle jab packs a big punch of truth. The more Oliver says Laurel is just a friend the less anyone believes him. It’s crap. Oliver clearly has more than friendly feelings towards Laurel and he does absolutely nothing to conceal them. In fact, he’s pretty damn brazen about it.

Let’s talk the lunches. It ultimately is canceled because of Laurel’s meetings with the Moores, so Oliver meets them when he arrives at CNRI. But he comes back to Laurel’s office after they are murdered to see if there’s anything he can do.

Initially, Tommy tells Oliver his help is not required and a phone call to check on Laurel would’ve been more than sufficient. He didn’t need to stop by in person. Tommy is being very territorial and rightfully so. The vibe ain’t vibing. Then Oliver casually not so casually tells Tommy about the lunches with Laurel – which she has failed to share with her boyfriend. 

Why is Laurel lying to Tommy? A lie of omission is still a lie. If she is truly “just friends” with Oliver then there’s no reason to hide the lunches from Tommy. Laurel has yet to truly articulate how she feels for Oliver, but this lie is not good. An emotional affair is just as hurtful and wrong as a physical one. Some even consider it worse, but make no mistake, an emotional affair is cheating.

As for Oliver, his feelings are plain as day. He has kept Laurel on an emotional hook for the entire season. He continually reinserts himself into her life, particularly at the moments when she’s trying her best to move on.

There was a respectful distance between the two and then Oliver decides Laurel is the person he wants to reconnect with. Why not Tommy? Their friendship could use a lot of damage control. What about Thea? Oliver can’t take her to Big Belly Burger or his mother or Diggle? There is an ample list of people Oliver can open up to if he so chooses. But instead he chooses Laurel – a choice that, as Felicity states, is complicated and wildly inappropriate.

Oliver also uses the vigilante shtick to emotionally manipulate Laurel. He can’t be honest about who he is or what he feels for her, so instead he uses The Hood to be her knight in shining armor.

Source: @htbthomas

When Laurel finds out it’s The Vigilante who saved them, Oliver notices the soft smile playing on her lips and he’s extremely pleased - almost smug. He’s used the hood to stay close to Laurel all season long. She’s hemmed and hawed about whether or not The Vigilante is a good guy, but it seems she’s solidly pro hood at the moment.

Oliver: He’s lucky to have you in his life. I know the feeling.

This conversation takes place about twenty feet from the bedroom Laurel is staying in with HER BOYFRIEND who is supposed to be Oliver’s best friend.  He gently touches her arm, they hug and Oliver presses Laurel’s head to his chest, all while Tommy is listening. The way Oliver speaks to Laurel, the way he touches her, is anything but ok.

Source: @htbthomas

One of the fatal flaws of Lauriver is the writers tell rather than show. I’m a little unclear what “change” Laurel is referring to in Oliver because we don’t get scenes of them discussing anything REAL. So, we’re just supposed to accept through the course of the season Laurel has seen change in Oliver Queen.

But she doesn’t qualify what that change is. Is he more selfless? Is Oliver more communicative? Is he more honest? I don’t know what that word means to Laurel. The last time we saw Oliver and Laurel interacting on a personal level was at least 1x09 or 1x10 and those scenes were really about Laurel finally moving on with Tommy.

SO. WHY. DOESN’T. OLIVER. LET. HER. MOVE. ON????????????!!!!

Oliver is desperate for Laurel’s forgiveness. He’s so desperate for it that he uses The Hood as a way to prove he’s a different person now and to develop a relationship with Laurel he cannot otherwise have as Oliver Queen. As The Hood, there is no Sara. As The Hood, there is no betrayal. As The Hood, he can rebuild trust and find a way to stay in Laurel’s life. As The Hood, he can be the hero. If Oliver can fix things with Laurel it’s like the last five years never happened. Oliver may have a mission to save the city, but what he’s really chasing is absolution.

I’m going to harp on this until I am blue in the face and I’m nowhere near done discussing it in these final three episodes. Nothing has truly changed between Laurel and Oliver. He was lying to her five years ago and he’s lying to her now. Love based on deception isn’t love. There can be no absolution without honest confession.

Tommy: You still love her, don’t you?

Source: mymarsrevolution

This is a popular line used in Olicity fanvids, but it’s not about Felicity. It’s about Laurel. This discussion about Laurel between Oliver and Tommy is so patronizing. It’s like Laurel is a toy they are arguing over.  The men get to decide who gets to “keep” her. The men decide what information she needs and who she really belongs with. This choice is neither Oliver nor Tommy’s to make. Laurel deserves the full truth and to decide for herself if she wants to be with either of them.

Source: @bj-hunnicutts

But what Oliver says is so toxically self serving it makes my blood boil. He’s inserted himself as The Hood in Laurel’s life as a sexy, leather clad, dangerous, bow & arrow wielding, romance novel, shadow figure who heroically saves her life again and again (because women hate guys like that). Oliver develops an emotional attachment between Laurel and The Hood to keep his hooks in her just enough to muddy the waters with Tommy.

Now he’s reinserting himself into her life as Oliver Queen, but just as a “friend” while carrying on an emotional affair with her. He has ZERO intention of ever being honest or having a real relationship with her. Oliver dresses it up as heroic selflessness, but if he was really being selfless – he would leave her alone completely. Oliver doesn’t want to be with Laurel, but he doesn’t want her to move on from him either. It’s selfish.

Oliver isn’t the only one lying to Laurel. Tommy is too, but we know why. Oliver’s secret is not his to tell, but there’s another reason he finally admits to in “Home Invasion.”

Source: @htbthomas

Is Tommy right about Laurel choosing Oliver? Yeah, probably. I believed that when I first watched Season 1 and I still believe it now. If she was fully committed to Tommy then The Hood couldn’t have any effect on her. If Laurel was fully committed to Tommy, then Oliver would truly be just a friend. She would tell Tommy about the lunches. Or she would say it’s not appropriate and she cannot be the shoulder Oliver cries on.

Instead, Laurel tethers herself to both The Hood and Oliver in a way that grazes the line between friends and more than friends. Those lines should always be clear if you are in a committed relationship. She is being unfair to Tommy.

But again, Laurel isn’t dealing with all the information. So, there’s only so much I fault her at this point. What Oliver is doing is very manipulative and it shows, quite frankly, that when it comes to Laurel – he hasn’t changed much. It doesn’t endear Laurel to me that she can’t see Tommy is the perfect man for her, but at this point in the season I am laying the blame for this toxic cycle more at Oliver’s feet than hers.

Unfortunately, Tommy makes the biggest mistake of his life and breaks up with Laurel. I understand why. Tommy has some self respect and knows there’s something going on between Laurel and Oliver. Tommy knows he’s competing with a mythic romance novel like persona and he feels he doesn’t measure up in comparison, which is the real reason he leaves. He’s wrong in every way possible. You don’t need to dress up in a hood and save the city to be a good man.

Tommy: I guess I haven’t changed as much as we all thought then.

He can barely get the words out as he ends their relationship. Laurel is understandably shocked and confused. This seems to be a 180 degree turn from where they were just a day ago. To say this breakup was abrupt would be an understatement.

The saddest part is Tommy truly has changed. He should stay and fight for Laurel because what they have is real and worth saving. They’ve made their own history, one that doesn’t have anything to do with Oliver Queen. (Are you feeling the Joey & Pacey versus Dawson parallel?)

But Tommy is right about something. Laurel and Oliver need to deal with their baggage, so she can find always with the right man - the man who wants a future with her and not the man trying to erase the past.

Oliver and Diggle

If Arrow is pushing us to root for a Laurel and Oliver reunion, they are doing a spectacularly bad job at it. Oliver has promised Diggle he will help kill Floyd Lawton, but in the end he abandons John and Deadshot gets away. Diggle feels betrayed primarily because well… Oliver betrayed him. 

Diggle: I needed you there, man.

The choice between Lawton and Rasmus was a simple one. Deadshot was the bigger threat and the harder target to capture. Oliver can be pretty mechanical when it comes to making these types of choices, so it was surprising when he chose the corrupt investment broker over the assassin.

Four ARGUS agents died trying to capture Lawton. It really didn’t need to be a choice for Oliver. Why couldn’t Felicity call in a tip to Detective Lance and let Starling PD arrest Rasmus?

Source: bj-hunnicutts-blog

Because then The Hood couldn’t be the hero for Laurel. Oliver got to strut into the mansion and announce Rasmus was arrested, there was no longer a threat to the boy or Laurel, and The Hood was the man who saved the day. The pleased little smile on Laurel’s face, this latest rescue more proof that The Hood was a good man who cared for her, was Oliver’s reward. He scored points with Laurel. Oliver may not be cashing them in, but he’s collecting points all the same.

This does not make his actions completely altruistic, which is why Diggle is angry. John knows Oliver was trying to look good in front of Laurel and he put that desire before his friendship with John. Proving to Laurel that he’s a changed man is just as much a part of Oliver’s mission as The List. He broke his promise to John.  Oliver didn’t help Diggle complete his mission to avenge his brother. Instead, Oliver continued to pursue his own.

 Source: bj-hunnicutts-blog

If Oliver choosing Laurel is a good thing then why is there all this collateral damage around him?  Tommy, Diggle, Lyla, ARGUS agents, even Felicity, have been hurt by this choice.

Oliver: Something to say, Felicity? Felicity: Nothing you want to hear.

This is not an accident on the writers’ part. They could’ve easily shown the scenario I posed about (re: Felicity tipping off Quentin) or Diggle understanding and supporting Oliver choosing Laurel. It didn’t have to play out like this. Remember they are the ones crafting the story here. It’s their choice.

They are doing this for a REASON. Oliver did not make the right decision in “Home Invasion.” The writers are not saying Oliver and Laurel should be together and the rest of the world be damned. Quite the opposite.

Relationships cannot exist in a bubble. Just because you love someone doesn’t give you the right to hurt people in the name of that love. We can become blind to other people's feelings and consumed by our emotions for one singular person, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.

Spike: Trust is for old marrieds, Buffy. Great love is wild and passionate and dangerous. It burns and consumes.

Buffy: Until there's nothing left. Love like that doesn't last.

Not a BTVS fan? Let’s try The Vampire Diaries:

Damon: I thought you broke my heart so I ripped open Aaron’s neck that is how much control you have over me.

Elena: And I'm still here, that's how much control you have over me.

Damon: Listen to us. This is toxic. We are in a toxic relationship, Elena.

Oliver isn’t consumed by love for Laurel, but he is consumed by regret. Guilt can be just as powerful emotion as love. We know Oliver hasn’t always chosen Laurel – hell we saw it in the freaking flashback this episode.

Oliver kisses Shado as she tries to teach him to be an archer. He’s been away from Laurel (AND SARA) for few weeks (months?) and he’s already kissing someone else. These are not the actions of a man deeply in love.

Oliver: There’s someone. And it’s a mile past complicated, but I can’t.

Shado: Does she know how much you love her?

Oliver: I suspect right now she doesn’t. But as soon as I’m home, she will.

The Arrow writers either have a very wacked perspective on what love, fidelity and devotion mean or they are trying to make a point. Oliver didn’t choose Laurel in the past and it led to some disastrous consequences.

But Oliver choosing Laurel in the present has also led to some disastrous consequences. So maybe, just maybe, Oliver and Laurel isn’t a good thing. True love wouldn’t leave this much human wreckage in its wake. Maybe this isn’t the “always” Oliver should be pursuing. 

Diggle: The only thing that will stop me from going out that door is an arrow.

And they are using John Diggle, the man guiding Oliver on his path to righteousness, to make that point.

Stray Thoughts

HE LOOKS. You cannot beat the Stemily chemistry. These scenes are gold.

YASSS Diggle shirtless. There needs to be more Diggle shirtless.

Lyla is pissed John didn’t tell her Deadshot killed his brother. She’s going to arrest him if he continues to get in the way. Hmm… handcuffs. Has potential. *evil cackle*

Tommy also lied to Laurel about Oliver being cool with him leaving the club for a job with his dad. It’s like watching these two swirl down a toilet bowl honestly.

Oliver in a towel is always welcomed no matter how ticked off I am at him.

“I can’t explain it but it feels like my life is connected to his.” Roy and Thea are united in the hunt for The Hood. Finally these two get a storyline I care about.

The badge was a fake. This is actually a really good safety tip. Should I know what a valid badge number looks like? Feel like I should know that.

“I’m feeling like it might be time for you to move.” Preach.  Does Laurel have insurance? Who pays to fix her apartment all the time? I think she’s needed a new couch like three times already.

Lyla’s code name is Harbringer. Hello comics!

Lawton doesn’t kill Diggle because he hasn’t been paid to? That is convenient, isn’t it? Come on show. Do better with valid reasons for getting characters out of jams when Oliver isn’t available.

Are we going to talk about WHY a world class assassin was hired to kill John’s brother? I feel like there’s major backstory there.

Where is Shado getting all the arrows?

“I liked who my son was when he was around you.” If Moira Queen is pro Lauriver then that’s all the proof I need to swear off that relationship. The evil spirits are coming to get me. No thanks.

Oliver has killed 26 people (that the cops know about) since returning home. Yeesh. That’s a lot.

Can you really break off a doorknob to keep someone from entering the room?

“No, Ollie is still out there!” Oh honestly Tommy, just let her go. Maybe a bullet will snap some sense into her.

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 1x20!!!

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