With "Reversal", this current stretch of Arrow has now moved into fairly familiar territory as it begins the Cayden James story arc in earnest. It's familiar as it evokes some of the tropes that fans had bemoaned and expressed strong dislike for even as the show executed other aspects to more praise. Much of it lies firmly in the realm of 1) relationship drama as a byproduct of the Oliver-Felicity relationship, and 2) placing Felicity as an active protagonist - or rather active and necessary - especially by means of having her to be the team member to square off against another hacker-like antagonist. I would argue that although the execution to these aspects has never been Arrow's stronger suits, "Reversal" proves that the matter is all in the execution, and not the simple inclusion of those tropes.
Unlike previous attempts for Felicity to square off simply against a hacker or a firewall, Cayden James works almost as a worthy and equally capable antagonist. For those unfamiliar with Michael Emerson's body of work in the last few years, he played Harold Finch in Person of Interest, essentially mastering the art of playing against a computer screen in most of his scenes and playing a hacker that had a stronger grasp on his humanity. Cayden James feels almost like a dark mirror for Person of Interest's Harold Finch, as Emerson channels that strong intensity that fans might recognize more in Lost's Benjamin Linus. As "Reversal" communicates, Cayden James is no simple obstacle that is immediately trounced by Felicity, meaning he will return in future episodes to further his plan. The fact that his ploy to lure Team Arrow into The Vault was simply so he could have Felicity enact his plans for him (and thus remain hidden) proves that like Adrian Chase of the previous season, Cayden James is making moves behind the scene that will hopefully culminate in a fruitful and interesting climax for Team Arrow to try to overcome.
Although "Reversal" trades in some Oliver-Felicity relationship strife, it appears as fairly benign and overcome with little melodrama. Since much of it involves Alena and Helix from the last season, Felicity eventually takes it on as a personal crusade. As the title of the episode implies, much of the actions that Felicity is chastised for in "Reversal" are the same things that much of Oliver's behaviours and actions in seasons three and four are repeated. By the end of the episode, the couple manage to learn from the perspective of their past mistakes. It is an interesting aspect of the show to (temporarily) remove Oliver from much of the active plot. He acts more like a recurring side character at this point while the show focuses on the rest of the ensemble, and because of his level of disconnect, he is allowed to dispense wisdom that other characters usually heap upon him; it almost provides a certain clarity for Oliver Queen to be removed from the Green Arrow. Though Oliver is slightly more active in this episode by acting essentially as Overwatch, throughout the episode Oliver is played with a certain energy and anxiousness that makes it feel like he can't divorce himself from his vigilante life.
If "Reversal" is any indication for the trajectory of the season, it feels as though Arrow will present a stronger showing and execution for some of the more maligned aspects of the show.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
- Thoroughly love Katie Cassidy's Black Siren as it gives her much more exciting material to work with. I understand the constraints back in the earlier seasons but even when she was made Black Canary, she felt underused.
- No, seriously, the scene where she confronts the victim in the parking lot and muses over her shoes is hilariously evil villain-y but is played to perfection.
- Many other unintentionally funny moments like Wild Dog's comments made the episode seem awkwardly like a comedy.
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