Powered By Olicity, "Underneath" Is One of Arrow's Best Episodes of the Season

THE FLASHBACKS

The flashbacks were actually where Olicity was at its best: fun, sexy, and not at all awkward around one another, even though they weren't actually a couple.

In the current day, they were less charming, but the parallels drawn between what was going on in the present and what had gone on in the past informed the narrative in a way that Arrow does at its best, but has rarely done in the last couple of seasons, as the flashbacks have had their own ongoing storylines going on and don't touch on the present-day stuff as much as they had in seasons 2 and 3.

It also gave us back a version of Curtis that you could really get behind: this season, everything has been so dark that his role as comic relief has stuck out like a sore thumb, and with Felicity spending less time with Oliver, his role as "backup Overwatch" has been less useful since we've had the A-list Overwatch on the front lines most of the time.

That reminds us...

ROLE PLAYING

Everyone seemed to have found their best selves this episode.

Curtis and Team Arrow were working together as a well-oiled machine to save Felicity and Oliver; Dinah was providing a necessary sounding board to all involved (hey, not everyone gets to do something exciting in an episode that centered largely around Team Arrow huddled around a laptop); ARGUS stepped in for the save, using Team Arrow tech (Curtis's T-Spheres).

Oliver refused to give up on Felicity, who refused to give up on Oliver, and all the while, it felt like even the frustrating and despiriting feud between Dig and Lyla was something that was providing fuel for the plot.

Everyone who appeared onscreen had something to do, and while this episode may have focused primarily on Oliver and Felicity, it did move the larger plot along in a couple of big ways, it provided some solid character development for both of the two big "couples," and teased progression for the City Hall subplot.

CONCLUSION

We got some great stunts from the team behind Oliver and Felicity, a tantalizing cliffhanger, and a lot of great character development.

Arrow is at its best when the plot is driven by the characters instead of the other way around, when the flashbacks play into the A plot in a meaningful way, and when Oliver and Felicity are their best selves, bringing out the best in the team they inspire, rather than creating unnecessary conflict within the ranks.

All of that came out in spades in "Underneath," and whether or not you ship Olicity, this episode was one of the stronger ones we've had this season...even without spending much time on the Prometheus plot.