There are thousands if not millions of people out there writing blogs about films and television shows, and the difference between them lies in the angle they take in exploring the material. For me, I’ve always been most interested in the choices authors make in order to shape a particular story; in that odd relationship between the text and context of any given narrative, in why certain things happen a certain way.
You’ve probably noticed my frequent use of the terms Doylist and Watsonian, which describe the two ways in which a person can engage with a text: from the point-of-view of a writer (Doylist) or from within the story itself (Watsonian), and I often find myself preferring to use the former technique. I’m less interested in why a character behaves in a certain way as exploring why a writer choses them to act in that way.
And the less you can see the writers’ “fingerprints” in the story, the better its characters will be. I actually think this is illustrated most clearly in the show’s depiction of Laurel and Felicity. It’s pretty clear at this stage that Felicity is a Breakout Character whilst Laurel is The Scrappy. Fandom loves the former and barely tolerates the latter. Why is that?
I’m going to speculate that it’s because Laurel was designed to fulfil a particular narrative purpose, whilst Felicity was an accidental, and therefore totally organic, addition to the show. Felicity is allowed to exist on her own terms, whilst Laurel is continually defined by her role as love interest and distressed damsel.
Granted, this is a bit of a generalization. I neither hate Laurel nor adore Felicity as much as the rest of fandom, and in many ways it’s Laurel who is the more defined character: as a result of being a planned character she has a background and a family, and she’s accorded several subplots (most obviously with her parents and missing sister) that are completely removed from Oliver’s orbit. As of yet, Felicity has not been afforded anything like this. Her impromptu addition to Team Arrow means that she has no pre-established backstory.
But for the same reasons, Felicity has a certain amount of freedom while Laurel is more constrained by plot requirements. In this episode she really only exists as an extension of the male characters. She’s there as a symbol of Oliver’s impending freedom from his responsibilities, as a distressed damsel that Tommy saves in order to prove himself, and as the recipient of a tearful phone-call from her father (the only natural and deserved scene of the three).
And whereas Felicity’s talents as a hacker make her useful to the story on both a Doylist/Watsonian level, the writers have struggled a bit with Laurel’s job as an attorney. Sure it’s introduced a few plot-relevant characters, but for the most part it feels like a short-cut to characterization, a way of telling us she has a social conscience without really showing us. Not helping is the fact that the show is constantly undermining her anyway. Having finished this episode I was frustrated that Laurel was so stupid as to go into the Glades after Oliver tells her not to and to stay there for no discernible reason.
Then I found out that a deleted scene depicted her trying to gather important files together for her clients. It gives her legitimate motivation (though how long does it take to grab a few files and run out again?) that was obliterated in the final cut. Instead she exists in a contrived situation that has her pinned under rubble so that Tommy can first rescue and then die for her.
As it happens, Felicity also does something very stupid in this episode – sitting and crying in the basement when she should have been taking cover – but the strength of her role and her importance in getting the first earthquake device shut down means her character gets a pass.
In short, the writers aren’t overthinking Felicity. There is no predetermined plan. She can evolve naturally and exist on her own terms. Laurel, on the other hand, has to do what the plot requires of her, has to follow the necessities of the relationships she’s been designed for.
Of course, I don’t think this is the only reason why Felicity is so popular. The fact that she’s an attractive-but-not-glamorous twenty-something with an interest in computers and a propensity for Freudian slips means that she’s a perfect model for female viewers to relate to (and no doubt why Oliver/Felicity is such a popular pairing), but I do think all this accounts for the different quality in writing when it comes to the two women.
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Yikes, I’m probably supposed talk about the episode itself at some point, right? The show nicely covers for the two eventualities that have been building for the last twenty-two episodes. They can either have Oliver stop the Undertaking and have a somewhat anti-climactic resolution (there’s nothing hugely exciting about pushing a button on a doomsday device), or they can have him fail to stop it and so deal with the fact that our heroic protagonist couldn't achieve his ultimate goal of protecting Starling City.
Naturally, they come up with a third option. In a twist that would make Ozymandias proud, Merlyn has a second device primed and ready to go. The earthquake still happens; it’s just not as devastating as potentially could have been, though it still comes at a high personal cost.
Yes, Tommy Merlyn falls victim to the best friend cliché – and that’s after avoiding the expected reaction to discovering Oliver was a vigilante (acting angry and confused instead of excited and happy). In retrospect Tommy’s story has been low-key but interesting, filled with irony when you take into account all the secret identities of those surrounding him. Even as Oliver and Laurel were urging Tommy to reconcile with his father, Tommy himself instinctively knew that Malcolm was up to no good, and it was a fantastic use of consistency when Tommy reacts to Malcolm’s unmasking in the exact same way he did to Oliver’s – by pointing a gun at him.
The poor guy’s life has been riddled with betrayal and secrets, but there’s a tragic sense of fulfilment when he saves Laurel from the chaos that his father has created. There was really no escape for him.
Speaking of Merlyn Senior, I can’t say I’ve ever been too compelled by the character or his evil designs on the Glades (basically an amalgamation of Fridged Wife motivation and an evil conspiracy straight out of Batman Begins). Perhaps I’ve just been spoiled by watching the most recent season of The Legend of Korra, but I was hoping for a little bit more depth, or at least mystery, in the season’s Big Bad. Still, John Barrowman’s acting finally impressed me, what with his furious: “they deserve to die!” when Tommy questions him.
Meanwhile, Moira finally comes to the conclusion that people don’t deserve to die just because Malcolm wants them to, and that her own children aren’t particularly impressed with her decision to protect them at the cost of so many others. I’m still a little iffy on how exactly she got roped into this whole debacle, or why she didn’t simply just tip off the police anonymously, but at least she’s finally taking responsibility for her complicity. And nice that she started off her press report with the words: “I have failed this city.”
Finally, Roy and Thea get her own minor subplot, though it’s rather stop-start in regards to Thea racing to Roy’s rescue, only for him to insist that she leave him behind. Despite knocking out a thug with a bottle, she’s undermined just as thoroughly as Laurel is, with Roy ordering her to safety while he goes to help others. I guess we should give him credit for helping people of his own volition (instead of simply doing it to get closer to the vigilante) but it’s a shame Thea couldn’t have been part of it.
And over in the island flashbacks (which never feel particularly important, no matter how hard they try) Oliver, Slade and Shado manage to redirect the missile from a comically close range. Later Oliver comes face to face with Fyres holding Shado hostage (*heavy sigh*) and rejects the possibility of passage off the island in favour of shooting him dead. It’s not a particularly potent moment since Fyres’ offer falls completely flat. We know he can’t be trusted, and we know he’s got no reason to help Oliver.
Still, it was a significant moment in regards to Oliver’s development (his first kill) and I quite enjoy the dynamic between Shado, Slade and Oliver – almost like a precursory version of Oliver, Diggle and Felicity.
Miscellaneous Observations:
Why didn’t Robert tell Oliver about Malcolm and the Undertaking before shooting himself? Come to think of it, shouldn't Malcolm be in Robert’s book? I’m afraid I’ve lost track of what exactly this notebooks was for – it lists corrupts businessmen and the like, and yet Malcolm doesn’t seem to be in it. Was it simply a book of contacts? What exactly was its original purpose? I get the feeling this has been explained, but I've just forgotten how it fits in.
Wow, Slade and Shado sure bounced back quickly from those bullet wounds.
Fyers is dead, which means I don’t have to struggle over the spelling of his name anymore.
Why on earth did Malcolm call Moira to tell her he was accelerating his plans? Even assuming that she was ignorant about his vigilante activities, chances were she’d tell Oliver in order to warn him off. And even if she didn’t, why did she need to know about it anyway?
Nice of the muggers of Rebecca to leave her phone so she could make a final call to her husband. Is there a reason she didn’t call the police instead? Still, I appreciated that they included a call-back to Malcolm closing her clinic and the reasons why.
So glad the Glades had time to make doomsday signs before taking to the streets in a panic. I saw more than one “judgment day” sign being carried around.
Ah, so Oliver’s replacement bow used to belong to Yao Fei. Nice bit of continuity there.
As far as season finales go, Sacrifice was good but not great. It had all the prerequisites of a finale: a mano-a-mano fight between the hero and the antagonist, plenty of emotional beats, enough room for all the main characters to do something significant, a few rousing speeches, a permanent character death, and a shirtless scene. Not quite a cliff-hanger, yet not at all a closed ending, this conclusion bodes well for the next season – which I will get to after a sensible amount of time has passed.
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