TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 7 Episode 11: Past Sins

Something that Arrow honestly has gotten really good at in recent season is that they know when to focus on the character drama more than the villain drama, and “Past Sins’ did that perfectly with not one, not two, but three different characters. And not exactly the ones you’d expect.

Obviously, the Oliver/Emiko conflict was at the tip of the episode. They actually did a really smart move by limiting her to two scenes, the scene by the grave, and then the ending scene at the station. She had her episode last, now it was Oliver’s turn to further deal with the fallout of his father’s actions.

While I’m sure some will call into question the notion that the bodyguard from the raft had a son and we’re just NOW hearing about it…it honestly did serve its purpose. Both Robert and Oliver made a terrible mistake in their own right, and that needed to be brought to light, and now it did. I liked the very bare bones feel to Sam Hatchet, where his electrical expertise allowed him to make a cool electrical weapon. And if Team Flash has taught us anything, it’s easy to do if you know what you’re doing.

Having Oliver prove his intent and worth to both the SCPD and to Star City as a whole by not only catching Sam alive, but ensuring that the whole city knew the truth was a big step. And Oliver saying he “wasn’t going to lie” anymore is another big step. Because that was him seasons 1-6.

The Laurel storyline was a fun twist, as we not only go to see how she went full dark side, but also, about how her Quentin died. Yes, they went full cliche with the whole “the last thing I said was “i hate you!”” thing but again, it served its purpose. And the growing bond between Laurel and Felicity is actually really fun, and I hope it continues to grow.

Then there was the Suicide Squad…I mean…Ghost Initiative. Seriously, the writers had a lot of fun referencing the Suicide Squad without FULLY saying it. Like your “previous task force” and such. And while I’m sad this isn’t a real thing for now, the team of Diaz, Joe, Cupid and China White was an intriguing one, even if it was only for one episode.

And while I usually find Curtis annoying (though the, “you’re not my type” line was brilliant), I liked his belief that every life is sacred, even criminals. And him pulling the VR trap to trick Diaz into giving him Dante’s number was great. As was his confronting Diggle that he won’t be blindly following orders anymore and that there will “Always be another Dante”. Because he’s right…until the show gets canceled that is. lol

In the end, “Past Sins” did lean heavy into tropes, but the episode (directed for the first time by David Ramsey!) proved that the characters have plenty of emotional stories left to tell. And don’t worry about the action, I’m pretty sure it’s going to pick up next week.