Arrow S05 E22: Missing

With Prometheus behind bars, one might assume that Oliver can have a happy birthday.  Felicity throws him a surprise party, and instead Oliver throws Curtis over his shoulder.  I like Curtis growing out of his awkward personality, but dislike his growing into an annoying class clown who won't shut up.  Quentin is late and Rene is missing.  That last thing is not good.

After the party that Dinah is also late for, Curtis drops by her place to find it broken into.  While on the phone with Felicity, he too vanishes.  Someone is taking down Team Arrow one by one.  Paranoid Oliver immediately suspects Chase.  And yeah, it is him, manipulating others from inside.  Talia and Black Siren are also out there hunting Oliver and company. 

The confrontation between Black Siren and Quentin is the one we've all been waiting for since she was staying on our Earth, but shouldn't her reaction to seeing him been just as shocking as he seeing her?  We get it later, but I would have liked it earlier.  I did like that Quentin was able to figure out and accept the multiverse concept a lot easier than some pre-Crisis DC writers, which is how it should be.  Come on, guys, it's not that hard. 

I liked that it's Malcolm Merlin that finally centers Oliver, even though a dozen other things should have done it already.  Although other than Thea I have to wonder what his motive might be.  When she is safe, will he turn?  Oliver also calls on Nyssa to counter her sister for a showdown on Flashback Island. And one other. 

The weirdness of the reforming Olicity or calling in foes as friends is nowhere near as weird as Kovar being back from the dead on Flashback Island.  He injects Oliver with a drug that makes him relive every pain he's ever had.  Yeah, torture might have been better.  The drug is also a hallucinogenic, which provides for interesting flashbacks. 

How does Oliver keep getting into ARGUS to purposefully brutalize Chase?  Is everyone there okay with this?  And how is it Chase seems to be able to shave in his prison, even getting the sides of his head?  Is someone slipping him a razor? Oliver is free and still always has a half-beard.  By the way, did anyone else notice that Kovar, Artemis, and Prometheus all use the same tranq darts?  Was the anti-Arrow tranq dart company having a sale? 

Everyone, except for apparently William, Lyla, Rene, and the conveniently forgotten Roy, are on Lian Yu.  And Oliver, along with Nyssa and Merlin, is on his way there for a showdown with Prometheus, whose entourage includes Back Siren, Artemis, Talia, and the League of Assassins.  But Oliver has one more player to recruit, Deathstroke. 

Maybe one other too, if the writers remember Captain Boomerang is there too.  And hey, where was the ARGUS staff in charge of the feeding and care of these two baddies?  I guess we'll find out next time.

Next: "Liam Yu" the season finale!

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Arrow S04 E18: Eleven-Fifty-Nine

So unfortunately we find out who's in the grave this episode and it's not pretty, and it's also not anyone I guessed. However, if one watches this episode carefully, it's pretty heavily telegraphed for good or ill. I hate losing this character, especially considering how long it took for me to warm to her...

Meanwhile, I have to apologize, folks, because I've been remiss in my reviews here. Apparently we have seen the idol beneath Flashback Island before. It's the same one that Damien Darhk has been drawing power from, the Khushu idol, as identified by Vixen. I loved, when Oliver went to tell the rest of the team about it - "there's something I haven't been honest with you about" - Thea answered, "Shocker!" Will Oliver ever learn?

And then there's the Diggle brothers comedy hour. Andy blabs the whole evil plan to John. I don't know whether he's the worst double agent in the world or the best. Either way he's either leading Team Arrow into a trap or being led into one himself. He most definitely was a diversion so Merlyn could steal the idol. Anyone else notice that Laurel and Thea seem to be sharing the sarcastic lines Felicity usually says? Our favorite blond hacker is missed.

So Oliver had a serious write-in vote even though he pulled out of the race? So does this mean if Ruve Adams comes to a tragic end, Oliver might still be installed as mayor? In the meantime, the mean lady wants Laurel to be her district attorney. An interesting offer accompanied by ominous almost Prokofievian Peter and the Wolf rift. Perhaps there's a reason Laurel is getting so much screen time lately?

When Merlyn brings the idol to Darhk in Iron Heights, the villain gives a bit of background on the relic, noting it/they were forged by the Homo Magi. They are a race of hidden magic using humans from which the powers of Zatara and Zatanna come. Does this Easter egg mean we might have a possible Zatanna appearance coming? I hope so, but the problem at hand is that the idol is useless with a missing piece, a piece Team Arrow is still holding.

Speaking of the Team, while Oliver tries his best to break them up, once again over trust with Diggle, there's something else going on here. Katie Cassidy's Laurel is getting a lot of attention. She's being offered a dream job, kicking ass with Thea, having heart to hearts with her father and with Oliver. This is more screen time than she's had all year. Something must be up.

This is unusual on "Arrow." There have been entire episodes where she's done or said very little, and a few where she was missing altogether. And considering that in the comics Black Canary is the most important character in the Green Arrow mythos next to Green Arrow, this just isn't right.

Maybe the showrunners just don't know what to do with Black Canary. As we learned from DC Comics themselves in their Crisis on Infinite Earths, what do you do with characters you don't know what to do with? Simple. You kill them. Yeah, just the opposite of what I have always believed - there are no bad characters, only bad writers.

Meanwhile at Iron Heights, Darhk, with a little help from his creepy colleague Murmur, is planning a coup, an uprising, a bloodbath born of chaos to power the idol. And it's into this inferno that Team Arrow goes, including the Black Canary. After a gauntlet of Murmur, Merlyn, dozens of escaped convicts, and yes, even Andy Diggle, Team Arrow fights its way to Darhk who now has the completed Khushu idol and his full power back again.

After tossing our heroes around for a bit, Darhk focuses on the Black Canary. He monologues about how he always keeps his word, and that he swore he would do something if Quentin Lance turned on him. He keeps his promise and plunges an arrow into the heroine. At first, later at the hospital, she seems to be fine, but after a suspicious moment alone with Oliver… she seizes and passes. I wonder though… what went on between Oliver and laurel in that last moment we weren't privy to? A drug to imitate death? A dark secret? Or just a red herring? I'm sure we will find out sooner or later…

Time of death: 11:59 PM.

Of course, it has to be considered that Laurel just isn't dead, or dead for good. This is comics after all, and worse (or better?) than that, it's "Arrow," and does anyone really stay dead on this show? There's always the Lazarus Pit, or maybe Team Arrow could rescue John Constantine from 'literal' Hell, and he could help. Or perhaps that Homo Magi name drop is yet another way back from the dead.

We do know that Katie Cassidy will be appearing as the Black Siren on an upcoming episode of "The Flash." One could assume this would be the Earth-Two (or Earth-Three, if you buy into my theory) version of Black Canary. Perhaps she'll move to this Earth. It's not like she would be the first Black Canary to switch Earths, or when you get right down to it, die...

Arrow: Home Invasion

Deadshot has been a growing threat in the world of "Arrow." While a minor Batman villain and Suicide Squad superstar in the comics, here he is a one-eyed super-assassin for hire. His most twisted attribute, besides the weird red eye piece, is his penchant for tattooing the names of his victims on his body.

His biggest claim to infamy on the series is that he killed John Diggle's brother. Diggle is now obsessed, perhaps ever more so than Oliver. Not only is revenge biting his ass, but Diggle's can't really move his relationship with his sister-in-law (his late bro's wife) until Deadshot is dealt with.

We open on Diggle training with Oliver, while Deadshot makes another hit. Felicity has hacked into ARGUS and is tracking Deadshot. I really have to wonder where this is going with ARGUS. Is there a Justice League in Oliver's future? Probably not, as this ARGUS acronym isn't the same as the comics.

Diggle's contact in ARGUS has a little more fire. Named Lyla in the show, she's given the surname Michaels in the Arrow companion comic. Lyla Michaels is the real name of Harbinger, a power player in DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths way back in 1985. Harbinger was missioned with the task of collecting the superheroes who would then save the universe/multiverse. Harbinger is even her codename in the show. What an interesting connection.

The opening shoves a whole lot of plot, subplot, and information into a very short amount of time, so much so, my head began to spin a bit. The current dynamic of Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity is counterpointed by the flashback dynamic of Oliver, Deathstroke, and Shado. We also learn Oliver is lunchdating Laurel even though he's on the outs with Tommy. Bad, Oliver, just the first of many bad decisions this episode.

This is all under eight minutes, before the credit sequence. We are also introduced the main plot/subplot of this episode. Laurel is working with a family who were testifying against a bad man, List-worthy, but surprisingly not on it - it could be his dumb name, Edward Rasmus. His hired killer, Mr. Blank, gets the parents but misses the seven year old son. Laurel takes the kid in. Don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind that most times when you add a kid, you've jumped the shark.

This is all in about ten minutes. The episode hasn't really even started. It doesn't get less complicated as the episode continues. After a few awkward moments between ex-friends Oliver and Tommy, some bonding between Tommy and the kid, and a fairly cool scene where Mr. Blank attacks Laurel, the couple and the kid move in with the Queens to enjoy the heavy security there. I found that puzzling. Besides Diggle, Queen security has seemed extremely lame. Obviously it's The Hood who will protect them, but Quentin Lance shouldn't have agreed to it.

It gets very predictable at this point. There are newborn kittens who knew Oliver will be distracted with Deadshot the next time Mr. Blank attacks, letting everyone down, duh. Or the other way around, although it should have been the former. As one would expect, Oliver makes the bad choice. The worst choice, and we lose Diggle over it. At this point, the only thing that could make this worse would be an appearance by the Huntress.

Speaking of bad choices, on the island, while being trained in archery, Oliver kisses Shado. For comics fans, we know how that works out. The cliffhanger here finally means forward motion on the island at least.

Mr. Blank is an intriguing villain, played by J. August Richards, formerly of "Angel." He reminds me a lot of Chiwetel Ejiofor as The Operative in Serenity. He's very calm, very precise, and likes to make conversation with his prey. He was a very suitable foe for this version of Green Arrow. His clash with Oliver is perhaps one if the best of the series so far.

As if there's not enough going on, Roy Harper, who is apparently dating fellow Speedy, Oliver's sister Thea, is trying to track down The Hood. There is a good scene where finally it's addressed that The Hood is a murderer. Finally. Thea agrees to help Roy find The Hood. More shark jumping in the form of idiotic 1950s secret identity protection? I hope not, cuz that's what breaks up Tommy and Laurel. Worst case scenario - Oliver takes on a teenage sidekick (or two) to replace Diggle. I know it's the natural progression, but damn it, I liked David Ramsey's Diggle a lot.

This was a very uneven episode, save some great character bits, a throwaway Wonder Twins reference, and of course, Mr. Blank. Only three more episodes to go, I wonder how it's going to go...