Jessie Robertson reviews the latest episode of Arrow…
All good things to those who use a Lazarus Pit….
Can’t we all just get along? As I wrote last week, the problems between Diggle and Oliver continue to effect their work; now, before any of us complain too much, let’s dial our brains back to a time when we liked things to be drawn out on TV and really move at a realistic pace (which is so un-CW). Diggle has his first lead on his brother’s murder in over 2 years and he acts on it; Oliver is working at the same mystery just from a different angle when he tangles with a new metahuman, Double Down( a man who pulls razor-edged homing cards from his tattoos). Sidenote: Double Down doesn’t feel like a huge threat against Oliver, nor Dahrk, which is why he’s best used when he’s terrorizing defense less scientists here. Alas, once Felicity pulls rank on OTA (original team Arrow) Oliver and Diggle find some common ground (they both like hiding things) and track down Diggle’s lead, Mina Fayed. Unfortunately, she’s already dead and left as a calling card from Dahrk (I think?). Felicity figures out Double Down is heading back to Central City and somehow OTA cuts him off before he can make the city line. Oliver earns back Diggle’s trust by taking a metaphorical “bullet” in the form of a metahuman playing card and all is right with the world. But, let’s analyze here: as often happens in Arrow, there’s multiple meanings to everything story happening; while Restoration may point directly to Sara’s body going into the Pit, Oliver and Diggle (the nucleus of Team Arrow) have to get right and get on the same page. It’s a bit of house cleaning that took the appropriate time to get it right and while it may be a bit cheesy for some how it turned out, I like these two with trust between them. I have a feeling Diggle’s going to get some good material this season.
She’s not the White Canary yet….. With Laurel dragging Thea back to Nanda Parbat, we finally find out specifics about the Pit’s after-effects. It gives you a bloodlust, left impressions from the souls of those who have taken a dip in the Pit and it needs to be quenched every few weeks. I did miss those warm father-daughter talks about murder and slaying that made up a good portion of Season 3 and it’s a fun moment to relive them here; Malcolm feeds 2 of his men to Thea to satiate her bloodlust as any good daddy would do. This also goes to show how differently Malcolm runs his League than Ra’s; 2 girls stroll up with a coffin and it’s all hellos and stay the night instead of locked in a dungeon to be slaughtered after dinner. I wonder what the order of events were here; Was Sara designated for a new show or even a return when she was killed off so strangely at the beginning of last season? Was she brought back because she was a great character fans missed? Or is she just still on the payroll and thrown into the new show so this gimmick was shoe-horned in to make that happen? I’d like to think the 2nd; because Sara was a good character who still seemed to have a lot to explore with, but I guess her time on Arrow will be short-lived post recovery. No Lance this week either and with the few scenes featuring Nyssa, I didn’t miss her much either.
Should we change “Jumping the Shark” to “Felicity shooting an Assault Weapon?” I love Felicity. I think it’s safe to say at this point, most viewers generally enjoy everything she does on the show. She called the shots with Oliver and Diggle tonight and was hilarious trying to explain what an “outside flush” is in poker to Holt; but should she be dropping lumber on bad guys with a laptop and firing off a machine gun? I guess I’m nit-picking but Felicity has so many things she excels at on this show, so to script the action stuff to her in this manner just feels cheap. They’ve done a lot to make her character not just empowered, beautiful and intelligent, but to be able to defend herself and show no fear in the face of death; but she can’t do everything. There are a lot of great characters on the show; let them each have their own moments. Comment below if i’m alone in this one.
8.5/10- Original Team Arrow highlight the episode for me; and I love watching Malcolm and Dahrk chew all the scenery available; solid episode that seems to be building for the next week at a slower pace than the show is accustomed to but I like it
Other Notes:
– I’m a kid from the 80’s so I love the gratuitous sword fight scene between Malcolm and Nyssa.
– I loved the lighting in the scene where Laurel and Nyssa talk over Sara’s coffin; the show doesn’t play around much with lighting and setting but this was good and I’d like to see them try more of it
– And we have T-Spheres! He actually marked them with a T!
– The “Damien Dahrk Dressing Down his failed Henchman of the Week” Scene is quickly becoming my favorite scene of the week
– Did we really need Holt to point out the literal meaning of Felicity’s name that the Season 1 writers planted just for observant fans?
– The Pit is no more; I think that’s a good call- you can’t go to that well once too often or it loses it’s impact.
Jessie Robertson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=m8ExzVWul3I
Originally published October 22, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
