Arrow 6x14 "Collision Course" - Not quite the Civil War we were expecting, or looking for

"Collision Course" has a fairly straightforward story but it ends up being a rather weak episode of Arrow. It's not because everyone ends up chasing a false lead, because there is some merit to that if executed properly. Much of the episode centers around everyone hunting down Black Siren thinking she's the cause of, and solution to Star City's financial woes. The inciting incident is an interesting one that carries forward the stories preceding it, but the execution and ramifications are a little lacking at the end of the hour. 

It's an interesting choice to have Black Siren have little to no real ties or evidence to the stolen money, and that she is the only real lead anyone has to go on. A lot of the big movements are tied to Oliver and Dinah, both of whom have their reasons for tackling Black Siren. If the episode is attempting to ape Civil War in some fashion, Oliver and Quentin are the Steve Rogers to Earth-2 Laurel's Bucky, while Dinah is Tony Stark, and I guess Zemo would be Cayden James, in some sense of the analogy. But either way, Laurel is the actor that pits the teams against each other. Oliver is more concerned with using Laurel as a way to get the money back for Star City but holding out some hope she's not as much of a villain everyone thinks she is (and can be trusted), while Dinah is purely out for the sake of vengeance, in the guise of civic duty.

Quentin, in the meanwhile is wholly consumed by his attempt to reform Black Siren into some semblance of his Laurel. In a way it's almost as if it's some kind of new addiction for him, consuming his every action. There is some moment of clarity where he pulls back and grants Earth-2 Laurel her own sense of self-determination. By the episode's end, she has escaped and everyone finally learns she was never any use to save the city, and only for their souls; Quentin wants to see the good in someone like Black Siren, because for him, she is her daughter in many ways but the circumstances she was given, and wants to help her into better ones. The final scene of the episode seemed to signal that Black Siren wants to become Laurel Lance, or at least embrace the identity, though having it cap off the episode seems like a poor choice as it frames the decision as an act of malicious deception instead of someone trying to live up to a better version of themselves. I could be wrong, though, but the direction of it feels more the former than any latter.

Since the start of the Team Arrow split, the show has placed Oliver and Dinah on diametrically opposite ends, and continues into "Collision Course". The main conflict lies between them and how they want to deal with Black Siren. Oliver is somewhat boxed in thinking he can trust Black Siren through Quentin, and the need to recover the extorted city funds. Meanwhile, Dinah is on the warpath and out for vengeance (which I found relatively dull up until the actual confrontation in the woods). There's a lot of talk about lines being crossed by both teams as they try to jockey over one another to find Black Siren first, and plenty of venom between Oliver and Dinah. There's the impression given by the episode that this episode is where there will be no reconciliation between the teams, and no future where both of them will ever work together (or as they claim, even against one another). That will remain to be seen.

The main problem is though both teams try to claim the moral high-ground in their back-and-forth distrust tug-of-war, the show seems to falter when it shows Dinah on her quest to avenge Vincent. There's not much change besides an extra scene or two where she's particularly violent, though she does seem more intent on doing harm and angrier overall. It's not until Dinah has Laurel in her grasp in the woods that either the writing or performance seem to deliver on what the show has been telling us about Dinah. Otherwise it never feels like this need consumes her or bothers her teammates that much except for the odd reminder she's out for revenge. Compare this to Quentin, though he feels unhinged, feels like he has some emotional stake in trying to convince Black Siren she can be a better person. None of the teammates really stand out in the whole split, though both Diggle and Curtis both express some kind of remorse or concern that their feud is going down a dangerous path - though at the end Curtis finds himself with some more resolve that he's joined the right team. Rene has been somewhat relegated to punching bag for Oliver since the reveal that he was the traitor, though it's really just trotted out as an excuse to get everyone angry when no one wants to fix the situation but continues to work with Rene. 

Overall, "Collision Course" feels like a concept that was undercooked - the infighting amongst Star City's vigilante's over Black Siren. New Team Arrow felt like they were saddled with being the antagonist in this episode since they had a smaller stake in Laurel, with much of it tied to Dinah's revenge whereas Oliver and Quentin maintained a stronger connection to Black Siren by the simple fact of the show's history and probably rapport between the actors. By the end of it though, it seems fairly clear that Oliver has gotten Black Siren/Laurel out of his system (and by some extension of it, probably Quentin), though the episode doesn't particularly move anyone else forward, especially on New Team Arrow, anywhere or help to define them stronger. It's perfectly fine for a show to put its heroes on the backfoot, but after "Collision Course", not much was really accomplished from a character standpoint to really feel like it was worth the runtime.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Really odd direction in a few spots in this episode, for instance, having Dinah, Rene and Curtis investigate the alleyway in costume, whereas Oliver, Diggle and Felicity came dressed in civvies, or the scene where Dinah crushes the bug after the car chase - or trying to have New Team Arrow tail Oliver and company and immediately get made (because there were no other cars).
• Thea and Quentin's little quest to help Black Siren is at an end, so I am somewhat curious what the show will want to do with them, if they want to do anything with them at all. Willa Holland seems a bit wasted, especially if she doesn't want to wear the costume regularly with the rest of the team now, and the mayoral politics of the show is really just background dressing more than anything. (I mean, Roy is coming back and Thea is in costume next week, but what about after that?)