Hello, everyone! This is lilfresh back with another Arrow review, let us do this thing.
THE RECAP:
Forgive me, loyal readers (however few of you there are (if there are any at all)), I'm going to keep this recap much shorter than usual. There are two reasons for that: first, I have a lot of other stuff going on blah blah blah, and second, I actually don't have a lot to talk about with this one. The bulk of the episode mostly just focused on Oliver finding out and dealing with stuff we already knew about (Blood working with Slade, Laurel knowing his secret, etc...).
Did...did Laurel just...do something helpful?? Nope. No, I can't believe it. I WON'T!
But that doesn't mean it was a bad episode. On the contrary, I actually thought that this was the most well-done episode since the midseason finale. The drama material was strong...for the most part (*cough* Laurel *cough*), and when there was action, it was top-notch.
Stephen Amell did a great job portraying the completely beaten Oliver Queen. You really believe that this guy has lost everything and has nothing else to live for. Although...now that I think about it, I really don't know if Ollie is the kind of hero to believe Slade would totally stop his 5-year master plan just because Oliver gives himself up. Of course, I'm no Green Arrow efficianado or anything, so maybe he is. Anyways, he was awesome as usual.
I think the only really big problem in the structure for this episode is that it clearly feels like a set-up for the next two. Yes, I know that's what it's supposed to be, but that doesn't mean that the back portion of this episode didn't suffer a bit for it. The end kind of just came out of nowhere, like, "Look! Very beginning of a big fight! BOOM! Arrow logo! Hope that was enough! See you all next week!"
"Actually show you the end of the fight? Pffffttt..." - Arrow writers
On the island, some stuff with a torpedo happened and the preacher guy had cancer and he sacrificed himself. It was pretty good. The End.
THE GOOD:
+ Pretty much everything.
+ That Diggle and Felicity interrogation. One of the best scenes of the season.
+ Thea wasn't annoying for once!
+ Laurel wasn't useless!
+ Roy was asleep the whole time! (I'm sorry. I used to really like him, but with the mirakuru he's just a tad incredibly annoying. Hopefully he gets better somehow.)
THE BAD:
- Some of Laurel's important lines came out very stilted and awkward.
- Abrupt ending.
- Needs more Slade.
THE UGLY:
- Isabel's mask was just awful. Thankfully, at least judging from next week's preview, she doesn't look like she'll be wearing it that much. She probably looked in a mirror and was like, "What the...I'd rather have the entire world know who I am than wear this stupid thing again." I'll give the showrunners a pass as it's really their first time majorly messing up a costume, but man was it bad.
Ewww...
RANDOM MUSINGS:
- Merlyn is back next week? Niiiiiiiiiiice.
- Can't wait for the next two episodes. Everything looks like it's coming to a head nicely, and I hope the writers can pull all of their numerous plot lines together at least reasonably well.
Overall, I award this episode a
9.5 out of
10!
What did you think of the episode? Discuss in the comments below! As always, I'm lilfresh, and this is now my favorite article on CBM.com!