Arrow S04 E04: Beyond Redemption

Pre-season publicity talked about Rutina Wesley of "True Blood" coming to "Arrow." The character she would supposedly be playing would be Liza Warner - Lady Cop.

Lady Cop was one of a number of unique ideas showcased in a DC Comic called First Issue Special. Warlord was launched out of the book, but many of the characters - Starman, Codename: Assassin, Atlas, Manhunter, and Lady Cop - would languish in limbo for decades before being used again. After Liza Warner's first appearance as Lady Cop in 1975, she next appeared a chief of police in All-New Atom in 2006.

And now here in "Arrow." Based on her actions here in the opening, she might want to change her name from Lady Cop to Cop Killer.

Elsewhere, Oliver has announced his intention to run for mayor to Team Arrow, despite my argument against it in my review for "The Candidate," and they're not impressed either. His campaign headquarters will be the same as Sebastian Blood's office, and that's where the other surprise comes in. Oliver has, with the help of Cisco and S.T.A.R. Labs over at "The Flash," built a new Arrowcave in Brother Blood's old lair.

Curtis is still in the dark as to who the Green Arrow is and so he takes a guess - is it Neal Adams in data processing? Is Neal Adams the Green Arrow? Um no, but he is one of the comic book character's best artists. Curtis is coming off more as a cool version of Moss from "The IT Crowd" than Mr. Terrific. And speaking of Mr. T., am I the only one noticing how close Diggle's outfit is to his, without the Fair Play logos, of course?

Felicity and Curtis have also discovered some sort of signal coming from 'the late' Ray Palmer's phone. Now we know he's not dead and just trying to get their attention from sub-atomic size, but they don't. He might also be responsible for the new Arrowcave's power glitches as well.

Speaking of things we already know but they don't, Laurel is studying bad idea theater again, and tells Papa Lance about Sara. And of course, just to show that terrible judgment runs in the Lance blood, Quentin goes to Damien Darhk for help. Seemingly helpful and commiserating, Darhk tells him if it was his daughter, he'd put her down. Of course, later in the episode, he just can't do it.

Lance and Oliver's little meetings are becoming more and more frequent. I keep waiting for old Quentin to throw his hands up in the air and just arrest him. It's really odd that these two have such a contentious relationship when they're on the same dude, while over on "The Flash," archenemies Captain Cold and Flash are almost a bromance. Strange contrast.

When Oliver learns that Quentin has been working with Darhk, it sarks a fire beneath the next meeting between the two. We find exactly how Oliver does look to the elder Lance as a father figure, and how the whole mayoral deal, and possibly the whole change from Arrow to Green Arrow were all about him. Quentin is not a good daddy, perhaps another reason that he is the one in that grave at the end of the season's first episode. Throw in the fact that Oliver showed him the new Arrowcave, and Quentin practically has a target on his back.

This episode also features the return of the real star of "Arrow," Stephen Amell's bare chest as he dies the salmon ladder. Even though I'm straight, I had hoped these aspects would return to the series. I do kind of miss the tattoos however. And I'm waiting for the storyline that both requires, and mentions that he kept, the Bravta tattoo.

In the end, this episode spins on two radically different points. One, that Oliver actually is going to run for mayor, and two, that somehow Lady Cop is the villain of the episode. I didn't really like that last part. Maybe she was misguided, and we did see some interesting tech like the canary cry canceler (I hate the new cry however) and the arrow deflecting gauntlets, but Liza Warner super-villain did not sit well with me.

The stinger at the end shows that Sara has broken free, but that's cool because next week, John Constantine returns to television. I cannot wait!

Arrow S02 E22: "Streets of Fire"

Now the first thing I think of when I hear the words "Streets of Fire," the title of this week's episode of "Arrow," I think of that less than satisfactory musical by Walter Hill from the early 1980s. Hopefully this will wipe that image from my mind.

When last we left Team Arrow, Brother Blood's Mirakuru army was on the rampage in Starling City. Diggle was about to get his ass handed to him by Isabel/Ravager, Arrow and Laurel were trapped underground, Thea was in danger, Quentin was in danger, and Felicity was taking a call... but I'm sure in danger as well. We pick up moments after we left off.

The cliffhangers are handled better than they have been recently. It's good to see the good guys on top of their game for once. I like seeing resourceful heroes. There is a great moment when Kate Spencer confronts Sebastian Blood about the chaos in the city, and the fanboy in me just wanted her to take matters into her own hands and change into Manhunter. But that ain't gonna happen. Apparently there is a limit to heroes in Starling City, and it's not cool, not cool at all.

And then there's the return of John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn, coming to Thea's rescue in full Dark Archer regalia. He claims he heard about Moira's death and returned to make sure his daughter was all right. Canary is also back, seemingly for the same reasons, but no, it's more like she needed to confess to her sister.

Felicity's phone call panned out however. Vibe and Killer Frost, ahem, I mean Cisco and Caitlin over at S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City have come up with a cure for Mirakuru. It just has to be retrieved, unfortunately Slade knows all about it. The team is intercepted en route with Slade's forces closing in. The episode is actually very much like the end of the first season, with the city in ruins and the cast dispersed.

We also see pieces of the puzzle finally coming together in this episode. We see the beginning of a trust between the Arrow and the police. Quentin's words about masks tearing up the city, and needing a mask to put a stop to it ring in a new era. On Flashback Island, we see the bond of trust made between Oliver and Anatoly, who in the comics becomes the KGBeast, cementing his connection to the Russian mob.

And now for the bad stuff. Sebastian Blood, becoming more and more dissatisfied with Slade's plans, devastation of the city, and obsession with the Arrow, betrays his superior. The cure goes from Slade's hands to Blood's to the Arrow's, thanks to Blood, and for that, the Ravager kills him. I'm not a fan of villains killing villains. It takes it out of the hero's hands, making the heroism a little less satisfying. We want to see the hero beat the villain, so let us.

And don't let the hero's kid sister kill the villain either. But we'll see how that works out next week as well. Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S. has blocked all roads and bridges out of Starling City in an effort to keep Slade's army from getting out. She'll level the city at dawn if the Arrow hasn't stopped them. That's the cliffhanger for the season finale, with a nice shout out to the JSA's Monument Point thrown in just for good measure. See you next week.

Arrow S02 E21: "City of Blood"

We open on tragedy - the funeral of Moira Queen and the swearing in of Sebastian Blood as mayor of Starling City. And Oliver is missing.

The feeling at the wake is pretty much as expected. Thea hates Oliver, is feeling guilty over her Mom's death, and in general tired of secrets. And really who can blame her? Felicity and Diggle are surprised by the appearance of Isabel who has ominous words for them, threats really. Isn't she supposed to be dead? I kept waiting for one of them to verbalized it but it never came. At least not right away.

Oliver is not the only one in the wind. Sara has also drifted off the radar, and of course being the target of a manhunt, Slade Wilson is similarly missing. He does call Blood to congratulate him on becoming mayor however.

Speaking of Blood, Laurel and her dad plant a bug in his office and find he wrote a condolence press release the day before Moira was killed. All well and good, but isn't a red flashing bug the wrong thing to use on a stealth mission? There are also blinking explosive charges later. Why does it have to blink? Are we that dumb we won't know it's working unless it blinks?

After the weekly reminder that the Flash is coming, Diggle takes Felicity to see Amanda Waller in hopes she'll help them find Oliver. She does. He's in his lair. His other lair. Yep, there's a backup Arrowcave. There they find Oliver, depressed and obsessed. He has decided to surrender to Slade and let him kill him. I guess someone has hit rock bottom.

And of course, Team Arrow is going to need a second Arrowcave because Isabel is evicting Thea from Verdant, as the club is owned by Queen Consolidated. And as we know, Verdant is on top of the not-so-secret Arrowcave. This may be permanent as the producers have promised a few changes of venue for the third season.

When Laurel joins Team Arrow, all the pieces come together. She connects the dots for Oliver regarding Blood and Wilson. It re-energizes Oliver and he goes to meet with Sebastian Blood in a public restaurant. The subtle menace between these two actors, Stephen Amell and Kevin Alejandro, is power and heat - great scene with all the cards on the table.

As the episode closes, Blood's army is on the loose, and things look very dark for Team Arrow and Starling City. With only two episodes left in the season, next time we have Diggle vs. Ravager, the return of Malcolm Merlyn, Arrow and Laurel buried alive, Quentin and Thea under attack by Blood's Mirakuru minions, and Felicity gets a call from Vibe. All this and more, next week.

Arrow S01 E18: "Deathstroke"

We pick up right where we left off last week. After Roy broke up badly with her, Thea is picked up by Slade. He's thoughtful and comforting until the car reaches a bad part of town, when he screams at her to get out. She runs away down an alley, right into the arms of Brother Blood.

Yeah, forgot about him, didn't you? That's kind of the theme of this episode, it's old home week. Not only is Brother Blood back, but so is his secret identity Sebastian Blood Aand his run for office. Summer Glau also rears her head as Isabel Rochev, the mean girl turned executive at Queen Consilidated.

People are calling Thea, but no one seems worried until the mayoral debate is interrupted by a video ransom note of Thea pleading for help. Felicity tracks Slade down where Team Arrow apprehends him, but it all seems too easy. Slade of course walks away, he has an alibi, and he even offers a reward for Thea's return. Something's up.

What's up is that Slade is playing the long game. He's been planning this a long time, and watching Oliver a long time. His kidnapping of Thea forces Roy off of Team Arrow distrusting Oliver. His arrest costs Quentin Lance his job, and gets himself arrested. And Isabel? She was working for Slade all along and now controls Queen Consolidated. Long game, baby.

To ice the cake, Slade is creating a Mirakiru bus load of criminals for Brother Blood to control, he also told Thea that Malcolm Merlin was her father, and as a final salvo in his mind game of suffering - he tells Laurel that Oliver is the Arrow. Boom.

We get some really nice acting moments both with Susanna Thomson's Moira, and with the rest of Team Arrow when Roy revolts. There's also a nice Barry Allen reference from Felicity early in the episode just to let us know that iron is still in the fire.

One can only assume, that next week, things only get worse.

Arrow S02 E13: "Heir to the Demon"

Of all of the big bads currently circling Starling City, there are none as big nor as bad as Ras Al Ghul. The immortal enemy of Batman and the head of the League of Assassins is extremely dangerous. We have yet to see him, but the very mention of his name sent last season's main villain, Malcolm Merlyn, running for his life.

Sara Lance, known as The Canary, was trained by the League of Assassins, and after being pursued to Starling City, she left, hoping to lead her assailants away from her family. At the end of the last episode, she appeared to have returned, and based on the title of tonight's episode, she appears to have brought her enemies home.

We open this episode with the daughter of the demon, well, one of them at least, arriving at a Starling City airport and deftly taking down Homeland Security. This is Nyssa Raatko, lesser known than Talia, but very much still the daughter of Ras Al Ghul, and very dangerous herself. It would seem she's on Sara's trail. When they meet, they kiss. Soooo not what any of us suspected.

From their conversation, Nyssa saved Sara when she was shipwrecked, trained her, and they had a relationship. What is it with daughters of the demon and superheroes? When Sara won't return to the League, Nyssa decides to teach her a lesson. She kidnaps her mom, Alex (Riversong) Kingston, who's visiting supposedly overdosed Laurel. Turns out Nyssa poisoned Laurel too, talk about psycho ex-girlfriends.

The chase after Nyssa with Arrow and Canary following on an 'arrowcycle' might be one of the best fanboy superhero moments so far. Shamefully it was brief. I want more Arrow and Canary. Masked vigilantes in costumes pursuing dastardly villains is what we're here for. And the arrow duel between Arrow and Nyssa? Awesome. More please. As it looks like our black Canary will be staying, let's hope we'll get it.

Instead of Flashback Island this week, we're flashing back with Sara to when Oliver was seeing both Lance sisters. We are witness to Quentin and Laurel hearing the news about the Queen's Gambit being lost at sea. We watch the family collapse, first in the past, and then in the present day. Laurel blames everything on Sara, and she's not really completely wrong either.

Soap opera continues as Moira launches her mayoral campaign against Blood. Felicity finds out Thea is Malcolm's daughter and Moira shushes her like the villain she is. She even pulls the same stunt with Blood himself, before alienating Oliver. Yep, if I was a Starling City voter, I'd be leaning toward Blood.

And when are they going to let Diggle do something other than stand around? They even took his girlfriend away so he doesn't even have a subplot any more. The one real regret I have about this otherwise excellent episode is that Felicity and Oliver's talk about his mom happens off screen. Such a wasted opportunity.



Next: The Clock King!

Arrow S02 E11: "Blind Spot"

While various big bads are circling Starling City, Laurel has made it her mission to expose Sebastian Blood for the villain he is. She knows that he killed both his parents now and may be gunning for her. She goes to Arrow for help, who's aligned himself with Blood while at the same time hunting the man in the skull mask - no knowing they are one in the same.

One very cool side effect is Arrow and Laurel's excellent adventure to steal a file from the city hall archives. This is an awesome action sequence I'd like to see more of. It not only showed that not all of Starling City's police are inept, but also that Arrow can outthink as well as outfight them when needed. It kinda puts Starling's cops a notch up on Gotham's in my book.

When Laurel gets a bit too close to finding out the truth about Blood, Slade intervenes and forces Blood's hand. Suddenly she is set up and arrested by Blood's plant in the police. It's too easy because Laurel's been using illegal drugs and copping her dad's prescript painkillers as well. The chick is wrecked, and easy to frame, as well as hard to believe about Blood. Score one for the bad guys.

Going for that second score, Blood then kidnaps Laurel under Oliver's nose to lead the Arrow into a trap. At last! Arrow vs. Brother Blood, even the closed captioning acknowledges the villain's true name. He gives a nice rationale for the mask, and exhibits some very Batman-like disappearing techniques, but still, Arrow and Laurel manage to take down... the wrong guy.

Brother Blood is revealed to be Officer Daily, Blood's plant on the police force. This cleverly covers Blood's ass as well as shaking Laurel's drug addled resolve. More importantly, it gets her fired from the DA's office. It's a ruse that makes sense, which makes it even more dangerous. Blood is still on the loose, and unsuspected.

Roy spills the beans to Sin about his newfound powers from the Mirakiru, and proposes he become a living target to find the bad guys in Starling City. And even though telling one gal and not the other puts a bit of a romantic split in the Speedy Gang, Sin and Roy set out after the Starling City Slasher.

It seems that with great power comes greater anger management. Roy uses his superhuman strength and lack of control to put the perp in the hospital. He's remorseful but the rest of the Speedy Gang is worried.

On Flashback Island, Oliver and Sara have a bit of a heart to heart chat that doesn't shed a very nice light on Laurel. It's suggested the rivalry between the Lance sisters may go a bit deeper than previously thought. Oliver, especially pre-island Oliver, wasn't that much of a prize, was he? Of course, to punctuate the evening's conversation, Sara slips away in the night.

Seems her loyalties lie more with Ivo than with Oliver. She takes the walkie talkie and immediately calls her old boss. And it also seems like Ivo may have been more old flame than old boss. Either way, let's just say it's going to be a bad break up.

In the Easter egg department, it's mentioned that Sebastian Blood lived in the Zandia Orphanage, Zandia being Brother Blood's land of origin and nation under his religious thumb in the New Teen Titans comics.

Speaking of old NTT villains, at the end of this episode we get our first look at the present day Slade as Deathstroke in costume. Not too shabby. I have to say I prefer the island mask as it has more of the comics look as opposed to this hockey goalie vibe, but still, it's Deathstroke, finally.

Arrow S02 E10: "Blast Radius"

"Arrow" is back after its holiday hiatus. There is still no date for the pilot for "The Flash" to air but there's buzz of still another DC Comics character joining "Arrow" on the CW, Hourman, which may also tie directly into this series. Of course "Gotham" on Fox and "Constantine" on NBC probably won't be connected, but it seems like DC is taking over TV.

Meanwhile in Starling City, things are much the same as they were a few weeks ago. When we last tuned in, things were kinda turned up to eleven. Brother Blood was was out to make an army of super soldiers. He had injected Roy Harper with Mirakuru. Barry Allen was hit by a 'flash' of lightning after a particle accelerator explosion in Central City. And Cyrus Gold, not yet Solomon Grundy, was changing in his own way by getting his head splashed with green chemicals.

In the past, we witnessed Ivo killing Shado, and Slade brought back to life by Mirakuru. Finally we learn that Slade, in the present day, is the cause of all Oliver's problems. Caught up? If not, you can read my previous reviews of "Arrow" here. But now, we're back.

We open on Arrow taking out a drug dealer to find out who the man in the skull mask is. Oliver is scared, scared of what the bad guy will do with the Mirakuru. Felicity is not there, she's with the five weeks comatose Barry temporarily, which means Diggle has to tap keys and make magic. Felicity makes it look easy. And have I mentioned how much better our hero looks in a mask?

Laurel continues to investigate Blood, as he continues to run for mayor with Oliver's support. Laurel investigates by playing passive romantic interest to Blood, and asking occasional probing questions. It's awkward and we can see the man behind the curtain at times. It seems especially fake and manipulative when Blood tells her about his parents. I know that these two can act, but they don't show it here. More believable is when Laurel confronts Blood's 'aunt' and finds out what really happened to his parents.

In the midst of all this, there is an explosive arsonist, a military trained mad bomber that calls himself Shrapnel. Now in the comics, Shrapnel, principally an enemy of the Doom Patrol, although he has fought a plethora of heroes including Superman, Cyborg, and the Outsiders, is something completely different. He's a metahuman made of shattered metal who can explode himself at will the reform. Yeah, he's a deadly piece of super powered weirdness and evil. In "Arrow" however, Shrapnel is just a clever mad bomber.

Even though the relationship works in a simultaneously friendly and hostile atmosphere, I am loving the work dynamic between Arrow and Quentin Lance, refreshingly so anti-Batman/Gordon. Paul Blackthorne doesn't get to do much this episode but his chemistry with Stephen Amell's Arrow is tops.

As we watch Roy, and Thea, discover his new abilities via Mirakuru, in flashback we watch Slade struggle mentally with its effects as Ivo hunts our three heroes if the past. Neither Barry Allen nor Cyrus Gold appear in this episode, their shadows hang heavy in the plot. Too bad we know it will be some time before we have a resolutionary flash in at least one of those subplots.



The threat of Brother Blood is getting bigger, but it appears we may get a taste of Deathstroke in the present day finally next week. Can't wait.

Arrow S01 E09: "Three Ghosts"

This is it, the mid-season finale episode of "Arrow," and with a title like "Three Ghosts" so close to Christmas, it would seem that someone's life is going to change drastically. The pre-episode hype verifies that this one is definitely a game changer, and further speculation indicates that not everyone makes it through alive.

We begin moments after the end of our last episode as Central City CSI intern Barry Allen has been recruited by the Arrow team to save Oliver from an unknown drug he was injected with after getting his ass handed to him by the not-yet-Solomon-Grundy Cyrus Gold. Barry gets right to work. Rat poison sure has some interesting uses, doesn't it? Oliver is none too happy Barry knows his secret when he wakes up.

As anticipated, it's Christmas in the Queen mansion, but no party after Moira's disastrous 'coming out' event recently. Instead we have Roy, Thea, and Sin playing Scooby Gang (let's call them the Speedy Gang), and Oliver hallucinating Shado in the present. Well, there's one ghost perhaps. I have to wonder if Oliver actually woke up, or he's dreaming this while under the effects of the mystery drug.

Shado warns Oliver to put down the bow, take off her father's hood, and stop fighting - or everyone he loves will die. Even though Thea questions Oliver on who he's talking to, indicating there was no one there, we jump back to flashback island. Apparently, after obtaining the super-soldier serum, Ivo gave Oliver a choice - he could kill Shado or Sara or both. I think we know who he chose. Or do we? Ultimately he doesn't choose, and Shado dies at Ivo's hand.

This is just another example of what "Arrow" does best, the unexpected. One epic fail of "Smallville" is that while you had Easter eggs, you also knew essentially how the chips would fall. Here you don't. Does this mean Shado won't come back? No, not necessarily. Does it mean we'll never see Connor Hawke (in the comics, the grown son of Oliver and Shado, and the second Green Arrow)? Not necessarily either. Hell, we have both Speedies, yet haven't seen Speedy yet.

Speaking of the Speedy Gang, while watching, I finally remembered where I know Sin from. She's Bex Taylor-Klaus, the best thing about the last season of "The Killing," and pretty much the only reason to have watched. I like her, and hope we see a lot more of her.

In this episode there is a lot of naming names. For the first time on screen we hear that Oliver prefers the codename Arrow over The Hood or 'the vigilante.' Cyrus Gold's name as well as Solomon Grundy's are also checked. And even fanboy Barry gets to roll off a litany of Arrow's rogues gallery. Barry also indirectly references the potential Iris West by saying he has experience with someone who doesn't see him as he really is.

Brother Blood sics Cyrus Gold on the Starling City police. It's a trap set up by Blood and his plant in the department. In the middle of the episode as I watch Gold beating on Lance, I wonder if this might be the death rumored. As much as I would miss Paul Blackthorne, it would give Laurel a bit more angst, and almost seem fitting - after all, it would be a doomed Earth-Two character taken out by a major Earth-Two villain (Larry Lance and Solomon Grundy).

Oliver's second ghost is Slade Wilson, who shows up in the Arrowcave where the two fight, smashing everything except miraculously the blood test Barry is running. The results? Oliver is clean. If he's hallucinating, it's in his head, not in his blood. Hmmm... we did always know he was a sociopath, maybe Oliver is a psychopath too.

The Christmas theme seemed a bit forced at times, almost shoehorned in to coincide with the time the episode would air, and the three ghost vibe. I was pulled out of the story when Barry asks Felicity her plans for Christmas and she answers "Lighting my menorah." Any other year this would have been fine, and might give the episode a timeless quality in rerun syndication, but this year Hanukkah came at Thanksgiving. Tiny nit, and maybe time moves differently in the "Arrow" universe, but it knocked me off kilter.

Oliver's third ghost is Tommy, telling him he's not going to die, that he's going to fight. He's telling him what he's going to do. The tumblers click into place. If Tommy is the ghost of the future, and Shado perhaps represents sins of the past, does that put Slade in the present? Does that mean Deathstroke is alive in the present?

Tommy's appearance occurs after Roy is kidnapped and injected with serum by Brother Blood. When Arrow arrives there's a rematch with Gold, in which the villain gets doused with chemicals in derivative Two-Face style. Props to the "Arrow" folks for being unpredictable, but come on, I think we all wanted to see him thrown in a swamp not turned into yet another Batman reference.

The end of the episode is one of beginnings. It seems I was right on target (sorry, Arrow pun) with Slade Wilson. He's alive, and looking much more like his comics counterpart. And he's running Brother Blood. Looks like these Teen Titans villains stick together. And Barry left Oliver a present, finally a mask.

And Barry? He went home to Central City just in time (so unlike him) to see the particle accelerator blow up. Seconds afterward he's struck by lightning in his lab with a plethora of chemicals splashing on him. Sound familiar? Yeah, we've just seen the origin of the Flash. And was that Linda Park on the TV reporting the particle accelerator story?

There's no solid date for when the Flash pilot airs or when the series begins as of yet. They are apparently still casting for Iris West and someone referred to as Detective West, so it's a ways off. "Arrow" however returns on January 15th. See you in the New Year.

Arrow S02 E06: "Keep Your Enemies Closer"

At last, we're going to find out where Oliver got his Russian mob cred, and where he got that Bratva tattoo, as the crew takes a trip to Russia. Almost sounds like an "I Love Lucy" episode, doesn't it? Just not as funny.

In our opening sequence, after some Lucy style secret identity shenanigans with Summer Glau's Isabel Rochev, Arrow and his sidekick, um, snitch, um, sidekick, Roy Harper bust up some counterfeiters in short order. In the midst of it, and here's where it gets good, Diggle gets kidnapped.

Diggle gets kidnapped by dudes namedropping Task Force X, the Suicide Squad's official codename, and answering to Mockingbird, who gave orders to the Secret Six in the comics. When he comes to, he is confronted by, da da da dum, a very svelte looking Amanda Waller, played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who you might remember as Naevia from "Spartacus," which also starred our Deathstroke, Manu Bennett.

Waller, who Diggle identifies as being with ARGUS, tells him that Lyla has vanished after following up some leads in Russia. Specifically Lyla was tracking Deadshot for Diggle. Waller, who also knows what Diggle and Oliver Queen do with their nights, wants Lyla extracted. So much for sightseeing in Russia, it sounds like it's all business.

Back on flashback island, or more accurately, the Amazo boat, Professor Ivo interrogates Oliver with Sarah present. It seems that the island was where a Japanese World War II secret super soldier formula is, and Ivo's looking for it. The formula, that gifts super strength and enhanced regeneration, is called Mirakuru - miracle.

Or is that Miraclo? With the recent announcement of an Hourman series possibly in development, I can't help but wonder if The Flash isn't the only back door pilot being prepped here... For those who don't know your Golden Age comic lore, Miraclo is the drug that Hourman takes to gain super strength, super stamina, and yes, even regenerative abilities for one hour.

Dylan Neal's dad next door portrayal of Anthony Ivo is extremely creepy when you think about this guy was up to in the comics, and what he's probably up to here. There is just this very scary chord of quiet menace in his performance. Factoid: Neal played a character ironically linked to Amanda Waller back on the CW's "Smallville." And could the sadistic Captain of the Amazo… be the future Amazo??

Back in the present, Wendy and Marvin, ahem, I mean Isabel insists on tagging along to Russia with the Arrowcave trio. It's like a sitcom setup almost, and infuriating. They have to avoid Isabel while trying to find Lyla and Deadshot. Let me tell you, this does not make Summer Glau any more likable or tolerable. She is even less likable drunk, and downright hatable as a one night stand.

We do get the goods on how Oliver is a Bratva captain. Anatoli Knyazev, known as the KGBeast in the comics, was his prison mate on the Amazo boat. Oliver saved his life, and was rewarded with tattoo and rank. Anatoli helps them find Lyla and Deadshot, beginning Diggle's brief prison movie inside the show. In the end, everyone gets saved, but Diggle can't kill Deadshot.

However Diggle does learn who hired Deadshot to kill his brother. In a reveal that may bring some loose ends full circle to a knot, Deadshot says he was hired by H.I.V.E. Not in the comics, but in the "Teen Titans" cartoon, the H.I.V.E. was run by a guy called Brother Blood. Da da dum.

On the subplot track, Jean Loring makes her third appearance as Moira Queen's attorney. This is the first time however I was aware of her name. This is Jean Loring?? I was very surprised. Teryl Rothery is a beautiful but older woman, but based on the character's previous mention ('Ray and Jean'), I would have assumed she was younger, much younger, a contemporary, a peer, of Laurel and Oliver. Let's just hope she's not being paid in white dwarfs or black diamonds...

The Blood Rush mini-adventure starring Felicity and Roy, and sponsored by Bose, is dumb. There I said it. It's out of continuity, confusing, and dumb. Just give the actors more screen time in the real show and give the audience a real Bose commercial. Otherwise, this is a waste of time.

Speaking of dumb and waste of time, it seems that Felicity is being groomed for the role of Oliver's romantic interest, or worse than that, his fawning crush. She tells him he deserves better, regarding Isabel. I'd like to tell the producers that Felicity deserves better than this kind of crap. Come on. Make Felicity a strong female character on television, not another one of Oliver's failed attempts at a relationship.


Next week: The return of (The) Count (and) Vertigo!

Arrow S02 E04: "Crucible"

My mantra in the review of last week's episode was Who is the Black Canary? and now we know. For those of you who already know or figured it out on your own, you'll just have to wait a couple paragraphs, and for those who don't, you'll have to sizzle too. I'll get to it. All that said, I enjoy a little mystery surprise, and "Arrow" gave us a nice one to ponder last week.

Our opening has Oliver and Sebastian Blood parrying once again verbally. I know it's leading up to Oliver running for mayor just like in the comics, and I know that Sebastian is Brother Blood, but I'm just not finding this storyline all that exciting. Oh, we might get references to great inspiring dialogue by Denny O'Neil or Elliot S! Maggin about 'what one man can do,' but on the other hand, I highly doubt that Sebastian is going to pull out the prayer shawl of Jesus or call upon Trigon.

Meanwhile Felicity figures out that the Black Canary (though not yet named so) is following Laurel, not Oliver. Knowing this, our hero ambushes and unmasks her. It's the late Sara Lance, who supposedly died in the shipwreck that stranded Oliver on the island. At least it's a Lance in the leather, oh, and she knows Oliver is The Hood.

Cue painful memory music, and island flashback, it turns out Oliver knew she wasn't dead. On board the Amazo (the boat, not the one man Justice League), he encounters a Russian man in the next cell - will the Bat-connections never end? - it's the KGBeast. I guess we know where Oliver got the tattoo and Russian mob contacts now. And Sara is there too, but not in the way we expect...

Meanwhile a new villain has arisen from the ashes and wreckage of The Glades, a man who ironically calls himself The Mayor, a merciless sociopath who is carving out a territory and a reputation in the city. He's played by an actor I like a bit named Cle Bennett. The Mayor is running guns in Starling City. It seems like even after The Undertaking, Starling City is getting its groove back.

Diggle meets with Lyla of A.R.G.U.S. again regarding Deadshot. Summer Glau continues not to impress. I love her, but I just don't find her believable in this role. I just don't buy it. Laurel is drinking a bit and gets stopped by the cops. It seems that being demoted to beat cop has humbled Quentin Lance as he's now trying to make amends with The Hood and Oliver both. I have the feeling this is an interim episode, just moving the pieces around the board for the big strike.

After a heart to heart chat between Oliver and Blood that invokes the title of the episode, The Mayor attacks a Cash for Guns rally. Our hero saves Blood, but Sin is caught in the crossfire. As you might imagine, this launches both our ersatz Green Arrow and Black Canary at the same target. Yeah, fangasm, baby. Best parts of the clash are tied, when the two trade weapons, and when The Hood deflects a rocket with an arrow.

In the odds and ends department, we had a Jack Kirby shout out, as Marvel's King Kirby did a brief but brilliant stint on Green Arrow in the 1950s. On the bad side, I cringed at the continuity of Black Canary having black eye make up when her mask is on, yet it disappears when the mask comes off. Uncool.

In the end, we see The Mayor bound, but not by the police. He's needle injected with some sort of drug by a man in a weird mask. Remember what I said about the ability of this show to surprise? Yeah, baby, Brother Blood is here, and is that venom?

Next: The League of Assassins!