Arrow returns after the fun crossover event last week.  What will the the mid-season finale have in store? Are we really getting another wedding episode?  Read on the find out:

(Photo Courtesy of The CW.)

Another Wedding — Wow, that was quick.  It only took one week to plan a ceremony, and invite everyone.  They must have extremely clear schedules.  If you thought The CW had met their wedding quota with the crossover event beginning and ending with a wedding, you were wrong.  Tonight’s episode started with the wedding ceremony.  More of the Iris/Felicity push.  Anyways, Felicity’s parents are there (is her father still wanted?).  Thea went from coma to wheelchair bound to dancing at the ceremony within weeks.  Must be the Lazarus Pit…There is, however, a  touching moment with Lance as he gives Oliver the watch his father gave him on his wedding day because he doesn’t have anyone to give it to, nor does Oliver have a parent to give him a gift.  The focus shifts to an awkward situation between Felicity’s mom, dad, and Lance that really comes to nothing.

(Photo Courtesy of The CW.)

A House Divided — I could have done without the wedding ceremony, but it did bring the news that a witness has come forward to testify that Oliver is the Green Arrow.  Not only is that bad for Oliver, but the individual is said to be a member of the team!  This could be good,  I like the civil war idea, but I am more excited because I hope it splits the team so Oliver goes back to working fairly solo.  They do at least admit that this is a recycled story seeing as Evelyn Sharp did it last season.  Curtis seems a bit jaded in his drunken stupor while asking Rene if he feels life would be better without Team Arrow. Meanwhile, Dinah meets with her former partner, Vince/Vigilante as they disagree on their allegiances.  Could this lead to Dinah being the mole? Oliver seems to think so as they find surveillance footage of her speaking with Vigilante.  I did like the interactions between Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity.  The Arrowcave didn’t seem as crowded as it has been, which made it reflective of the early seasons.  As the team returns from stealing an amplifier in order for Cayden James to return the captured Lance, Dinah comes to the base with confusion as to why she wasn’t called into the field.  Oliver tells her that not only she, but Curtis and Rene, have been monitored in order to find the mole.  They assume it is Dinah due to her sneaking to see Vince, but the bomb is dropped when…Rene admits to being the leak! It appears that Agent Watson came to Rene knowing that he was Wild Dog, and if he did not testify, she would make it certain that he would never see his daughter again.  Even though Rene realizes the error of his ways, Curtis, Dinah, and Rene all meet and agree that they should not have been spied on.  Oliver realizes that Rene put his daughter first as he would his son, so he calls on the whole team to go into the field.  After such a quick reunion, Rene and Curtis disobey Oliver’s orders again.  Cayden knows the amplifier has been tampered with and orders his men to kill the Green Arrow.  Dinah is the only one there to back him up.  Oliver expresses to Rene that he just ruined his second chance and that he is kicked off the team.  Dinah immediately follows as she doesn’t believe in Oliver anymore. Finally, Curtis decides to leave because the team spied on him, so he doesn’t feel he can trust them.

(Photo Courtesy of The CW.)

Black Siren’s Story — Cayden James wants Lance as leverage. He sends Black Siren out to capture him as she knocks out both Thea and Lance.  Cayden wanted Lance as bait so that Oliver would get him an amplifier.  As a prisoner, Lance has a slight heart-to-heart with Black Siren, learning that her father died when she was 13.  This moment of vulnerability leads to her whispering to Lance to run, as they are being tracked.  Did Lance’s compassion soften Black Siren?

A League of their Own — Arrow looks to start their own Injustice League.  As Cayden is the mastermind, his original plan for bringing back Black Siren is revealed.  He knew she would be able to access to team’s bunker, and she was able to plant a monitor.  He knew this could lead to eventually breaking the team apart over a span of time so that their energy was focused elsewhere and he could form his own team comprised of: Black Siren, Dragon, Vigilante, and Anatoly.  They are apparently teaming up because Oliver has wronged them all in some way, once again carrying on the same idea of from last season.  The idea could be good, but the “I hate Oliver for what he did” idea has been done and is becoming the new “I want to destroy the city” plan.  The team also seems a bit odd.  We have only seen Dragon briefly this season, Black Siren and Cayden are…meh, Vigilante seems forced into the team, and Anatoly is quite random.  It is a bit of a hodge podge, but maybe it will turn out fine.

What did you think of the mid-season finale?  Does it leave you wanting more, or wanting a change?  Are you glad the team has disbanded, or do you think it merely happened just for them to join back together? Leave your thoughts in the usual spot, and thanks for reading!

Arrow returns Thursday, January 18 at 9 p.m. on The CW.

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