Jessie Robertson reviews the twenty-second episode of Arrow season 5…
Wait a minute….Chase was playing Team Arrow….again?…..
Adrian Chase is quite the enigma this season; he’s constantly been one step ahead of Team Arrow at every turn, which has made for a deliciously fun cat and mouse game; this week , those stakes were upped even higher as members of the team have turned up missing in succession, one by one. Oliver gets wise to this and tries to hide Thea and Lance in an ARGUS safe house, but unsuccessfully as Evelyn and Black Siren do Chase’s dirty work from behind bars. Next, Oliver decides Felicity and John need to leave the state and get as far away as possible; but not before it appears Talia al Ghul and her minions have taken them hostage. And what is all this playing at? Where is this story going where the villain has been twelve steps ahead of Oliver at every turn? What does this say about him as a hero? All valid questions. Where the answers lie? Within the team. Oliver said the strength is within the team. But, therein lies a story element not yet touched on this season; if your team fails every single time at bat, you’re a losing team. Even with Chase in jail, and the team celebrating a victory, Oliver can’t settle down. Why? Because they’ve lost every single time against Chase. Adrian Chase may have been written too well and too strong this season; but, the bad guy has to win right before the end to set up the final encounter. Star City should thank its lord above this season’s finale battle won’t take place on its streets like previous seasons.
Oliver’s birthday party was great; a moment of levity in an otherwise serious show. Curtis being tossed and Oliver looking forward to buying socks this summer are both great moments where even in its most serious hours, the DCEU can take notes from DC Tv and the Arrowverse. Snippets of things to come are peppered in such as Oliver and Felicity saying “one step at a time,” Curtis building a prototype sonic doohickey that will allow Dinah to ignore sonic suppression devices, and the return of Black Siren, and her relationship with Lance. These are all Season 6 notes that were just tucked in for future use and I loved it. Things like this are the reason Arrow had the better written show above Flash this season; strong overall concepts continually being hammered home, continuing premise, and toning down the crazy. The Flash can only do that so much for a show about subsonic speed and time travel, but Arrow has found a new lease on life with this almost season long thriller serial killer mystery show.
Chase’s endgame: draw Oliver out and confront him on Lian Yu, the birthplace of his violent beginnings. With Chase recruiting Evelyn, Siren and his former teacher Talia, Oliver recruits a notably more deadly cadre of compadres, Merlyn, Nyssa (Talia’s sister, who from her sideways glare, isn’t a big fan), and DUH DUH DUMMMMM: Slade Wilson, bitches! Quick question: if Talia and Chase know everything about Oliver, why would they let him recruit that deadly asset, who’s in a prison cell on Lian Yu to his side first? Also, have we seen Talia’s face lately? Is Merlyn double-crossing Oliver? He can save Thea and still accomplish whatever the hell he’s trying to do. All good questions leading into a very exciting finale.
9/10- desperate Oliver is a dangerous one and Chase’s gleeful smile as carnage and chaos reigned around him was Joker-esque
Other Notes:
– does Slade get a supply drop like in Lost to eat and do basic hygiene?
– Oliver’s exchange to Chase about William was an emotion we haven’t seen from him before: I think William figures into Arrow next season and Oliver makes a bigger effort to be part of his life.
– Are Rene and Dinah taken hostage? I would think Siren v. Dinah would be a showdown that has to be filmed;
– Also, it was announced that Katie Cassidy has signed onto to be a season 6 regular; could we see a softer side of the Siren?
– Curtis continues to be a delight; mentioning his T-spheres to Oliver and this weird exchange had me stifling laughter:
Curtis: Anyone ever tell you, you suck at life?”
Chase: “No. Do you want to be the first?”
Curtis: sour face
Jessie Robertson
Originally published May 18, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
