ARROW: Here's Our Review Of Season 6 Episode 12 'All For Nothing'
This weeks episode proves yet again that while Arrow has interesting characters, the writers do not know how to utilize them the way they deserve.
Let me start off by saying that this was a show I once loved and I would wait each week for a new episode. Season 6 lately has felt disappointing due to a fair bit of issues and the biggest problem this week was that Arrow actually has interesting characters that the writers almost always end up sidelining or killing off. This is my review of "Arrow For Nothing."
The whole way through this episode I hated Dinah and Renee which is surprising for me as I typically hate Curtis as well but this episode actually didn't do much with him and I'm absolutely fine with that. My problem with the show is characters like Dinah and Renee have no real story, the audience have no real reason to care about them and that includes Curtis. This episode just further proves this when Vincent died and we see Dinah dealing with that loss. Seeing her "broken" or "hurt" just didn't do anything for me, and maybe it wasn't supposed to but Dinah has been on Arrow since season 5 and till now I still do not care for her whatsoever. To be honest, a part of me hoped that she would end up dead rather than Vincent as I actually like Vincent more due to the fact that he's somewhat more interesting. Renee was painful to watch whenever he appeared with his childish directed remarks at Oliver.
The episode has Vincent (Vigilante) be put in a situation where Cayden James finds out he was betraying him, the issue with this is it was supposed to feel intense but it didn't. The writers hadn't been developing Vincent's character and for the most part this season portrayed him as a villain so why should I care about him? It's a shame because Vincent is interesting as an overall character and if he were developed a bit more then perhaps I would've felt something when he inevitably died. The writing this season in terms of both story and characters has felt mediocre at the very best. I've seen some people saying they enjoyed this episode and if you did then all the more for you but season 1, 2 and 5 had great stories and characters but season 6 so far does not fall under that list.
Nevertheless, one of the better things about this episode was Black Siren which I didn't really think I'd be saying. I'm enjoying this redemption arc the writers are developing for her, and seeing her interactions with Quentin Lance has been pretty emotional. I loved when Quentin attempts to show Black Siren the footage of Black Canary (Laurel Lance) saving people and being a hero. Katie Cassidy is doing really well in terms of her scenes with Paul Blackthorne, the two work so well together and this episode proved that. I'm also liking Thea's position as almost a daughter to Quentin but I wish they would use Thea more often as she is a great character.
Learning Cayden James has yet another traitor on his team was predictable and I think everyone called it the moment that Ricardo Diaz was announced to be one of the members on Cyden's team. However, it was still exciting to finally see that Cayden isn't really the villain of this season, and while they haven't officially said Ricardo is the other traitor, I think it's safe to bet that it is him. I'm a bit excited about Ricardo stepping up as the main villain because of his history with Green Arrow in the comics but I'm staying cautious as I don't know whether the writers will stuff it up or not. It will be good to see how Cayden deals with Ricardo or how Ricardo will end Cayden.
Overall, I found myself feeling like it was a chore to watch this episode, and maybe I'm being harsh on this episode but I just did not enjoy it. Acting wasn't good, characters felt weak this episode and there wasn't much that I found interesting. Other than the reveal of another traitor this episode and the action scenes featured in this episode, there just wasn't much else. Out of 10 I rated this episode a 6 and honestly I feel like I'm being generous here. What do you think though? Is this episode good or bad in your opinion?