Arrow: Draw Back Your Bow Recap – Cupid, Olicity, and The Atom

Draw Back Your Bow Recap

While the search for Sara’s killer takes a backseat this week, the building romance between Oliver and Felicity is back in full force. In “Draw Back Your Bow,” love is in the air, and sometimes that isn’t such a good thing…

Hong Kong

When Maseo goes missing from a mission, Tatsu and Oliver attempt to track him down and see if he needs saving. In the process, the chilly Tatsu and Oliver bond a little, Tatsu even saving Oliver in their little investigative side plot. Tatsu (who somehow becomes Katana) reveals some mad skills, making the flashback finally interesting! The two come to believe that Maseo was killed, only to arrive home and find him sitting with his son. Turns out he was in lockdown the whole time. Now that Tatsu is warming towards Oliver (he even doing his own laundry), I’m intrigued to see how this story plays out. Being that she is extremely devoted to her husband, I don’t think it will become romantic, or one could hope at least.

Cupid

When Cupid, also known as Carrie Cutter, leaves a dead body as a gift for the Arrow, Oliver Queen spends the majority of the episode attempting to take her down. But Cupid isn’t the typical villain Oliver faces on a daily basis. No, Cupid (after Carrie was rescued by him during the Mirakuru invasion months back) is bonkers in love with him. Obsessed with the Arrow, Oliver arrives at her fanatical shrine, where she confesses that she will kill for him over the phone.

A new criminal victim held hostage, Cupid teases Oliver to come and find them in time. With Felicity, Roy, and Diggle’s help, Oliver tracks Cupid down at Sherwood Florist no less. But instead of taking her down, she takes down Roy and escapes. What’s next for Oliver? Why visit her therapist of course! It seems Carrie has quite the disorder, fixating on one person at a time…

Meanwhile, Carrie was doing some tracking and more killing of her own in order to find the place the Arrow would most likely be: Thea’s Club. To get her away from his sister and everyone inside, Oliver meets Cupid at “their” place, the place he saved her. A little off his game, knowing that Felicity is on a work date with Ray and that she’s moving on with her life, Oliver fights without much heart (their fight a little on the lame side if I’m being honest), and gets handcuffed to a train track. If Carrie can’t have him, then no one will.

Thankfully, Oliver breaks his fingers (or was it hand?) to get out of the handcuffs, saving both he and the mentally ill Carrie in time. But this isn’t the end for Carrie, as they hand her over to Waller and her suicide squad.

Ray, Olicity, and Standout Romantic Moment of the Week

After Felicity walks in on Ray doing the salmon ladder and whispering that she “has a type” (but really, don’t we all?), he asks her out on a work date.

He even bought her a couture dress for the occasion, and who can turn that down? He really knows how to wine and dine a girl…In the meantime, Oliver sees Felicity in a news conference next to Ray Palmer. Clearly, he’s disturbed that he’s starting to lose the woman he loves. Diggle asks Oliver if he’s okay, but for now Oliver refuses to talk about his feelings.

Felicity tells Oliver about her work date, asking for the night off. Oliver, more upset than he’s willing to say, just tells her to “do what she wants.” The two share looks, both not speaking what they are feeling. If only Oliver didn’t have his stupid rules about being alone!!!

Diggle, being the ever so observant mediator as usual, visits Felicity at work to tell her how Oliver is feeling, warning her that the Palmer thing is messing with Oliver’s head. Felicity just tells Diggle that Oliver needs to be the one to say something and I couldn’t agree more wholeheartedly. If Oliver wants to be with her, then he needs to step up his game. Diggle even confronts Oliver about it, Oliver finally confessing that it bothers him she’s out with Ray, that she’s moving on with her life, but he made a decision and he just wants her to be happy. Wise with his words, Diggle tells Oliver that if that were true, than Oliver would be with Felicity. That’s what would make her happy. Good advice Diggle!

While attempting to take down Cupid and what ultimately turns Cupid against Oliver, Oliver makes a martyr’s speech that Felicity is meant to hear:

Oliver: I understand that you’re hurting. And I know what it’s like to want someone…

…but not be able to be with them. How you wish things can be different, but they can’t. I can’t be with you. I can’t be with anyone. I have to be alone.

Felicity leaves after this declaration of feelings that can’t be acted on, leading to the standout romantic moment of the week. After Oliver returns home, Diggle has one more heart to heart with Oliver about Felicity:

Diggle: Listen, Oliver… Felicity heard what you said to Cutter. About being alone. If her reaction was any indication, she does not want to be. You got to tell her how you feel before it’s too late.

This time, Oliver takes the advice and acts upon it, but for the moment, it does seem too late. Back at now Palmer Industries, Ray thanks Felicity for what she said at dinner (about making the world a better place) because it worked; they made the deal about the mines. But with Felicity working her magic, the same magic that made Oliver want to be a better man, Ray can’t help but notice her, the woman who also believes in him. As Ray takes off that 10 million dollar necklace, he admits that she’s different from anyone he’s ever met, that she deserves all those nice things “and more.” Ray follows that with a kiss, a nice kiss too, Felicity responding back after Oliver’s “I need to be alone” speech.

Unfortunately, in that moment, Oliver arrives to presumably fight for Felicity before it was too late. He sees the kiss and takes off.

Poor Oliver, but at least this seems like one step forward in the ever building romance between Oliver and Felicity. Oliver doesn’t take it well at all. When he returns to the foundry, he even knocks a few trinkets off a desk in a rage, telling Roy he’s not okay. Neither one okay, they take Diggle up on his offer to have dinner with him and Lyla.

After the kiss and after Oliver takes off, Ray apologizes, saying he meant to keep the night platonic, and walks away.  At the end of the episode, we finally have a reveal as to just what Ray is up to as well, why he wanted to buy the mines. It seems something in there is helping him build a suit, an ATOM suit. And on that note, I cannot wait to see Ray become the Atom!

Thea and the DJ

In a sub plot about as interesting as it sounds, Thea is hiring DJs for her club when she crosses paths with the arrogant DJ, Chase. She doesn’t hire him because he doesn’t even audition. When her hired DJ can’t get anyone dancing, however, Chase comes in to save the day, even ending the night with a kiss. Hopefully, there’s more than meets the eye with Chase because right now I just don’t care…I hope Thea’s story focuses more on Daddy Merlyn than anything else because more Malcolm is always welcome in my book.

Favorite Quote

Carrie’s Therapist: If you’ll permit a professional observation… you could use a little therapy yourself.

Oliver: What gives you that impression?

Therapist: You mean, apart from the mask and the Robin Hood costume?

Thoughts and Questions

Do you think Oliver will tell Felicity he saw her with Ray? Will this set them back more or do you think Oliver is ready to fight for her?

While I’ve read online mumblings about Felicity’s materialism and blah, blah, blah, I ask what woman wouldn’t feel like a princess after Ray’s wining and dining courting. He is a billionaire after all, so gestures like these aren’t that odd. Felicity has never acted like a shallow girl obsessed with possessions. She spends almost every waking moment of her time helping people. Who can blame her for enjoying a few minutes of pampering? Seriously though, it’s not even the gifts that draw Felicity to Ray, as he spends most of his time talking about saving the city and the people who live there. She does have a type and that type is a hero.

I loved Carrie’s therapist and the actresses’ dry delivery of lines? Can she come back please? Loved her!

Cliffhanger in hand, anyone else super excited for the Arrow/Flash crossover?? I know I am.

What did you think of “Draw Back your Bow?” Sound off in the comments…

Stay tuned for in a couple weeks when I recap “The Brave and the Bold.”

Photo Credits: CW

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