Arrow season 6, episode 18 recap: The downward spiral

A new episode of Arrow took us on a trip through Oliver’s mind and it was a deeply disturbing journey, to say the least.

For much of Arrow’s sixth season, I’ve wondered what’s been going on inside Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) head. While the character has never been a paragon of good judgment, he’s been acting unnervingly reckless this year. As mayor, he’s put the city at risk by continuing to operate as a vigilante. As a vigilante, he’s become so ridged and relentless, he’s destroyed Team Arrow. And with the violent dissolution of his friendship with Diggle (David Ramsey) last week, it seemed that he might finally be nearing rock bottom.

In this episode, Oliver did indeed reach a breaking point. He effectively ended his political career, damaged his relationship with his wife and son and nearly got himself killed going on a drug-fueled suicide mission. Moreover, Oliver was finally forced to confront his shortcomings by a returning nemesis. Sadly, the insights this episode offered into Oliver’s thought process didn’t accompany a catharsis for the embattled hero. If anything, Oliver’s confrontation with the darker parts of his personality left him in a worse place than before. Consequently, I’m at a loss as to how he and Star City will get through the current crisis.

Arrow — Shane Harvey/The CW; Acquired via CW TV PR /

“I’ve listened to your advice for the last six years. I think I’ve earned a reprieve”

“Fundamentals” began thrillingly; with Oliver, decked out in his classic Hood garb, attacking a SCPD precinct with the clear intent of killing a heavily guarded Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo). The episode then flashed back to two hours prior, with Oliver learning that the City Council planned to impeach him for firing Capt. Hill and D.A later in the day. He was also forced into a conversion with Diggle that went nowhere. Feeling overwhelmed, Oliver lashed out at Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and William (Jack Moore). Compounding matters, Oliver began seeing hallucinations of Prometheus (Josh Segarra) in the Bunker. Oliver tested his blood and learned that he had been dosed with Vertigo by one of his Diaz’s minions.

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While the narrative device of the self-revelatory drug trip is a bit pat, it was very well utilized here. For most of the first act, it seemed as though Oliver was just having an extraordinarily bad day. I was still buying the illusion during Prometheus’ initial attack, even though several subtle clues had been dropped by that point. It’s just that Oliver’s mostly controlled affect and the lack of surreal imagery didn’t indicate something was wrong right away. Director Ben Bray deserves credit for revealing Oliver’s altered mental status so subtly.

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It was also fantastic to see Josh Segarra’s Prometheus again. He’s my favorite Arrow antagonist and in a season that’s been all about the slow burn, a jolt of his rabid intensity was very welcome. Plus, his role as an evil Jiminy Cricket made a lot of sense. Last season, Prometheus succeeded in breaking Queen, both mentally and physically.

And since his return from Lian Yu, Oliver hasn’t had much time to heal. In fact, I think you can connect a lot of Oliver’s missteps this season to his not processing what Prometheus did to him. He’s been driven by an intense desire to control everything, a condition that was likely brought about by how powerless Prometheus made him feel. I didn’t make the connection before now because Oliver had seemed so solid on the surface. But as this episode showed, he is still very much out of control.

Arrow — Shane Harvey/The CW; Acquired via CW TV PR /

“The real me, is standing right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Despite his condition, Oliver made his way to the City Council meeting where he rambled incoherently until Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) invented an excuse for him to bow out. He then put on his old Arrow gear and commenced the attack we saw in the opening. Thankfully, Felicity intercepted him moments before he walked into an ambush. While recovering back at the Bunker, Oliver learned that he was being impeached. In response, Oliver told Felicity that he had to go back to operating alone. The episode ended with Diaz telling Black Siren (Katie Cassidy) that with Queen out of office, Star City was now “open for business.”

While I enjoyed the bulk of this journey into Oliver’s psyche, I was disappointed with the outcome. Throughout the episode, Prometheus told Oliver his emotional attachments had undermined his effectiveness as a hero. Then we saw Oliver reembrace that destructive lie and nearly die because of it. However, he ended the episode asserting that he could only take down Diaz by doing it alone. That development suggests that he missed the point of his entire head trip. And also the preceding five seasons of the show. The fact of the matter is Oliver has always needed help taking out his Big Bads. His denial of that reality is a disheartening regression.

Next: Arrow season 6, episode 17 recap: Dispute between brothers

I was hoping that “Fundamentals” would mark the end of Oliver’s downward spiral arc. But we don’t seem to be there yet. I think this is due in large part due to Felicity. While her loyalty is commendable, her continued support is just enabling his self-destructiveness at this point. Oliver’s drug-induced vision of Felicity was actually more responsible than the real person. Even without vertigo in his system, Oliver’s been doing things that have put her and William’s lives at risk. And since this week’s journey into his subconscious didn’t wake Oliver up, I’m worried that the only thing that will is a death in the family.

Arrow airs on The CW Thursdays at 9 pm.

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