Arrow S06 E07: Thanksgiving

In the lull between the two-part Deathstroke backdoor pilot and the big crossover this year (Barry and Iris’ wedding/Crisis on Earth-X) we’re getting a quiet little holiday episode.  And if you believe that, I bet you’ll also believe Oliver won’t be suiting up as the Green Arrow again.  Villains are on the march this Thanksgiving, and only Team Arrow can stop them. 

As we open on Oliver doing charity work and opening ground on the new police headquarters, and of course as always dodging claims that he is actually the Green Arrow.  Before the real action starts, I am stunned that reporters are still pulling at the secret identity thread.  Has no one noticed the juicier stories of the on again/off again girlfriend, the suddenly appearing son, and a sister in a coma?  Seems to me there are other stories to report. 

Regardless the ceremony is broken by the very public arrest by FBI agent Samanda Watson for his crimes as the Green Arrow. She seems to have it all worked out, including that John Diggle is now the Green Arrow and Roy Harper was The Hood, all under Oliver’s directives.  From the previews and the opening sequences, it’s all too easy to see what will happen here. Multiple attacks by villains, principally Cayden James and the Black Siren, will convince Watson that the Green Arrow is needed. 

With Oliver under heavy watch and Diggle’s drug problems blowing up in everyone’s face, this is not a good Thanksgiving.  Felicity is feeling left out as it’s Curtis that put their company’s prototype in Diggle’s system.  It would seem that Felicity only has leadership skills when the writers want her to. We do see an intriguing consistency with Oliver however, he’s a better leader out of costume than in costume.  Does the Green Arrow costume itself lower the wearer’s IQ?

We get some interesting name drops and returns this episode.  Jean Loring, who in the comics was Ray Palmer’s wife and later Eclipso, is Oliver’s lawyer once again.  The Sunderland Corporation is one of the places raided by the Black Siren.  Sunderland in the comics is a typical evil corporation with ties to Lex Luthor, Doctor Moon, and the Floronic Man that has run afoul of the Swamp Thing on several occasions, among others. 

And then there’s Billy Joel, what the hell was that about?  We also got a few moments with poor forgotten Thea who miraculously woke up in time for the ending of the episode.  The whole plan of the villains was to get a one on one conversation between Cayden James and Oliver, to let him know this vendetta was for his son Owen, and to get video footage to sway the vigilante vote. 

As always, like a tradition, the pre-crossover episode has represented a temporary tying of loose ends, a leveling of the field, and this year is no different.  I just wish it was.  This show is always better when it’s not predictable.

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.

Next: Crisis on Earth-X!

Arrow S06 E04: Reversal

With the help of performance enhancing drugs John Diggle is in the Green Arrow gear while Oliver spends time with his son and hides from the FBI investigating the possibility that he is Green Arrow.  How long can this ruse be kept up as the Black Siren attacks again, and the looming threat of the return of Cayden James?  We’ll see in this episode of “Arrow.”

I have to wonder what the endgame is with Black Siren.  What did the showrunners really have in mind when they killed Katie Cassidy’s version of the Black Canary?  Was it always planned she would come back as a villain?  Did the actress herself want this?  This is episode four of the sixth season and I think Black Siren has had as much screen time if not more than some of the regulars.  Is she the new Malcolm Merlyn?  The bad guy who’s always there in the background? 

We open on a date night with Oliver and Felicity, the former really taking advantage of his free time to spend with his son.  The date feels like at best foreplay and at worst to show the role reversal (like the episode title) between Oliver and Felicity when she gets called to Team Arrow and he doesn’t.  One wonders how long Oliver can put up with this.  Will it take John crashing and burning?  I hope not. 

Here’s the gist, the guy who’s ordering the Black Siren around is Cayden James, the super hacker I predicted would be this season’s big bad, and he’s now in the villain game.  Enter Alena, the hacktivist from Helix who groomed Felicity last season.  She of course shows up in Felicity’s apartment looking for help against James.  Apparently his time in ARGUS’ custody turns him into a master villain and he’s planning on wiping out 4% of the world’s population.  And in case you think that’s not a lot - it’s 300 million people.  What else can Felicity do?

Reversal is indeed the name of the game.  Oliver interferes with Felicity and Alena’s mission to find a tech dealer named Amnesiac, just like old times, but in this case Felicity is the hero and Oliver the one who needs to stay safe, of course on the other hand, if Felicity, playing very much the Oliver role, had shared resources and knowledge with Team Arrow, neither would be flying blind against their foes. 

Arclight seems to be the name of Cayden James’ plan to take down the internet.  The conceit is that there’s a vault that physically holds the internet.  No, seriously.  That’s where the final fight, physical and cyberspatial, takes place, with surprisingly Oliver in the Overwatch position.  I wonder if the FBI is watching.  With the internet saved, James’ plan, still vague, seems a bit clearer.  He only wanted Felicity to take down the firewall so he could upload something sinister.  Riiiight. 

I love that Curtis is an Olicity shipper, and also the Corto Maltese name drop.  I have to say that John looks very awkward carrying the crossbow weapon, but it’s a little better on his back.  We saw neither William nor Samanda this episode despite their presence leaning heavily on events here.  We also get a name a mission statement for Felicity and Curtis’ startup - Helix Dynamics.  How long before they start creating metahumans? 

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.

Next: Deathstroke returns in the aptly titled “Deathstroke Returns!”

Arrow S06 E01: Fallout

If I’m being honest, which I always am, it was hard to concentrate on anything happening in the first few minutes of this sixth season opening episode of “Arrow” because I was too busy taking attendance.  After the way the island of Lian Yu, which I nicknamed Flashback Island after its use for that titular plot device, blew up with the entire cast, sans Oliver, on it, what else could I do?  I hated that cliffhanger when it aired, and hate it just as much now. 

Again, I was happy as I counted them off - Green Arrow, Spartan, Wild Dog (in a slick red and black outfit, counter to last season’s look and his costume in the comics), Mr. Terrific, and Overwatch - all taking down a criminal terrorist named Alex Faust (any relation to Felix? With John Constantine in the Arrowverse, so is sorcerer Felix Faust).  It was a little disappointing that Felicity was only there as tentative romantic interest for Oliver, and to hand out Big Belly Burger to the men. 

We are shown the caption tag ‘five months later,’ which in itself in interesting.  Over on “The Flash,” Central City has been ill-protected since Barry Allen entered the Speed Force, and we’re uncertain what the status quo is in Star City only a few minutes into the episode.  It would seem to me that the gaps between seasons on both shows might actually be more interesting than the pick-up almost a year later. 

Nevertheless time has moved on.  Oliver is struggling to raise his son William without a mother, indicating that she probably did not survive Lian Yu; Oliver and Felicity seem to still have a tenuous relationship, and she may or not still be a part of Team Arrow; and Rene is apparently rocking a suit and writing speeches for Oliver.  We also meet a new(?) character, Raisa, who helped raise Oliver and is now doing the same for William.

If you listen close to Team Arrow’s conversation after they nab Faust, you’ll know that Dinah also survived, we finally see her a couple scenes later interrogating the psycho villain.  We also find that Quentin is still with us (did anyone die in the island?) playing mind games with his own perceived guilt and alcoholism.  When Dinah goes to help him through it, Faust helps break himself out with another Lian Yu survivor, and his boss, the Black Siren.  She and her goons blow the hell out of the police station, all before we see the opening title card. 

When Team Archer regroups, the reveal of Black Siren is a surprise as they all thought she died on Lian Yu.  Quentin seems to think she went to the police station looking for him.  We get a great little street fight between Team Arrow and the bad guys, with Canary against Siren.  Wild Dog is injured when Spartan hesitates.  And the whole fight has weird aerial cinematography as if shot from one of the T-Spheres.  I did not like it. 

Oliver was missing for five years, and with “Arrow” having run five seasons, the flashbacks have come full circle.  So now it seems the flashbacks will work on the five months since the cliffhanger, letting us know what happened in that time frame.  It’s not a matter of who didn’t make it, but how they did or didn’t.  Every moment of this episode shows us someone else alive, either seeing them or mentioning them.  Add Deathstroke and Nyssa to that list.  Would Talia, Captain Boomerang, Merlyn, Speedy, and William’s mother be the only ones who didn’t make it?  Or not.  We’ll see. 

The soap opera kicks in heavy with Quentin’s guilt coming from him trying to kill Black Siren on the island.  And William knows his dad is the Green Arrow, and blames him for his mom’s death.  Just like he was boyfriend of the year, it looks like he’ll be father of the year too.  Throw in John’s problem as a subplot too, and that’s at least enough to start the season.  At least William and Oliver get a little closer at the end, but the latest cliffhanger should undo that...

In the meantime, it turns out the Black Siren’s real target is the Bunker, or as I like to call it, the Arrowcave.  The question is, was she trying to blow the place up, or something else maybe?  Was she trying to steal something?  In multiple epilogues we find Thea in a coma; Deathstroke and Wild Dog both benefiting from Oliver helping them be better fathers; and John not using his gun because of seemingly PTS from shrapnel received on the island.  And then there’s the TV news stinger revealing that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow...

This episode was good, but affected negatively by the last season end, its piecemeal vibe, and almost immediate dive into soap opera and subplot.  It’s just too soon. 

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.

Next: “Tribute!”

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.