Arrow S05 E14: The Sin-Eater

After some rather unorthodox episodes, it looks as if we might be back in the groove of superhero action again on "Arrow." Coming attractions indicate a trio of terror have escaped from Iron Heights - China White, Cupid, and Lady Cop - and they're coming for our heroes. Not necessarily for revenge, but for profit, they're after Tobias Church's secret stash.

Of course on "Arrow," things are never that easy. First the Prometheus plot is reasserted by the discovery of the villain's mother in Opal City, a step that may lead to learning his true identity. What I don't get is why does Oliver go as the mayor of Star City? Why would the mayor do this himself? Why not the police? Mom refuses to help, maybe she sees how odd the situation is, and/or she's in league with her son.

While I'm digging some of the new tech, like Felicity's data sucker and Green Arrow's Dick Tracy watch, I was disturbed by the violence in this episode. Has Liza Warner really become as evil and bloodthirsty as her two criminal cohorts? As someone who fondly remembers the single Lady Cop comic, this is not cool. And the show that so firmly was anti-violence last episode seems to have forgotten that stance.

Susan Williams meanwhile knows Oliver is Green Arrow. This isn't a Lois Lane thing, as she has undeniable proof. When confronted, Oliver denies it. Thea asks Felicity to frame Susan for plagiarism and discredit her. As expected, it also kinda sours Oliver and Susan's relationship.

Quentin and Green Arrow are no match for the three ladies. As Warner tries to rationalize her move from just rogue cop to sociopathic killer (I'm not buying it either), the police try to apprehend Green Arrow for the murder of Detective Billy Malone. So now Green Arrow is in the same position as the Arrow was, wanted as a cop killer.

I was very impressed with how Oliver confronted the police captain and explained Green Arrow's position. I couldn't feeling proud and thinking that our boy has finally grown up. Then he treats Thea like crap and runs into danger without his team. Sigh. Oliver will never learn, never.

I did like that the captain also suspects that Oliver and Green Arrow are one and the same. I am reminded of a time in the comics that despite the mask and costume, everyone in the city knew Oliver was Green Arrow. It's not rocket science, and his beard was rather unique. Why not try it on TV? It could save Susan's job at the very least.

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 S03 E09: "The Climb"

Finally after seasons of teasing us with the League of Assassins, we get to see The Demon himself, R'as Al Ghul. I love that the previews are visually recalling that first duel between Batman and R'as from the classic 1972 Batman #244. I remember the issue fondly as it was my introduction to R'as, Talia, and the League of Assassins. And of course, the creators of that comic, Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, rebuilt Green Arrow from the ground up around that time as well.

As this is the mid-season finale, and made by the same folks as "The Flash," we should see some resolution and ongoing subplots end or collide. That's how it's been the last two years on "Arrow" and how it was earlier this week on "The Flash." After all, this isn't "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." "Arrow" delivers.

After delivering a 'package' to police headquarters, Arrow is captured by Nyssa and the League of Assassins and given an ultimatum. If you recall, Nyssa and the League had decided it was Malcolm Merlyn who killed Sara, and wanted to take him out. Arrow knew it wasn't him and defended him - to old R'as, this was an act of war, but Nyssa allowed him time to find the real killer. Unfortunately with a week off and a crossover with the Flash, Arrow hasn't had the time.

Nyssa says dad has a new deal. Find the killer in forty-eight hours or the League will start killing citizens of Starling City. This 'cleansing' of the city will be supervised by the assassin called Sarab, who Oliver knows better as Maseo, Katana's husband from Flashback Hong Kong. See what I mean about moving forward? Pay attention, Agents. And speaking of Flashback Hong, we get a bit more on Oliver's first clash with China White and her use of a super virus.

With only so much time, the search for Sara's killer is kicked into overdrive. So much progress is made with a clock ticking, I really can't help but think maybe Team Arrow wasn't really trying all that hard to find her killer before. I know that sounds harsh, but hey, look at the results here. It's more than a little embarrassing when you think about it like that.

Secrets that viewers have known for a while are out in the open to the characters involved. I told you things are moving forward. As it turns out, Sara might have been killed by... da da dum... Thea. Used by Merlyn, she, under his drug induced influence, killed Sara. It's his convoluted (even for a show based on a comic book) plan to get Oliver to fight and kill R'as Al Ghul, thus erasing any debts or bounties - like the one on Merlyn's.

As expected, to protect his sister from R'as, Oliver takes the blame, and challenges The Demon to a duel, a trial by combat - according to R'as, his first in sixty-seven years. At least here, as opposed to the Dark Knight film trilogy, they are acknowledging his immortality. And we also know that R'as will be back. The title of the episode comes from the climb Oliver takes up the mountain to the consecrated area of combat. It's a metaphorical climb similar to the one Bruce Wayne made in The Dark Knight Rises.

And wait, what, did Oliver just tell Felicity he loved her??? But that trick never works…

Just in time for Christmas, the soap opera aspect of the show is back in full force. Ray Palmer is feeling guilty about kissing Felicity because he lost his true love when Deathstroke took over the city last year. Laurel blabs to Thea that Sara is dead. And Mom is back, River Song herself, and she knows something wrong, so Laurel blabs to her too. How the heck is she going to keep her identity a secret when she becomes Black Canary? Loose lips, Laurel, loose lips.

We get other Christmas presents as well. We get to see Katana and China White go at it with swords, and Ray reveals his A.T.O.M. exosuit to Felicity. At first he calls it O.M.A.C., the designation Queen Consolidated gave it, but says he prefers Advanced Technology Operating Mechanism. Bleah. How about atom because he'll be able to get small like an atom? I love how Felicity keeps getting saddled with superhero secrets just like Alfred in the 1966 "Batman" TV series.

The duel ends exactly as one would expect a duel between Green Arrow and R'as Al Ghul to end, with our hero's death. Don't worry, it's not the first time Green Arrow has been dead, nor is it the last. See you in January.

Arrow S02 E02: "Identity"

The winds of change from the last episode sweep in in the first seconds of this one, as Oliver Queen's opening narrative has changed. No longer a killer, striving to be a hero, yet still unnamed, even without a name (Oliver swore off The Hood monicker last time), this is a change for the better.

Our secondary opening has Roy Harper, in his red hoodie, driving a red car (nice, but when's he going to get a red costume and red arrows?), trying to save a FEMA truck from China White. He's really not good at this vigilante stuff, Roy should get a... mentor, or something...

Laurel questions him once he gets hauled to the police station. She seems to have developed her father's fixation on capturing The Hood, at all costs. She also scoffs at Roy's mention of a certain Black Canary-like vigilante. If "Smallville" has taught us fanboys anything, it's that the rules change in the jump from comics to TV. While I doubt it, there is a chance that Laurel Lance is not the Black Canary.

Maybe he's not Brother Blood yet, as I posited last time, but Alderman Sebastian Blood, defender of The Glades, certainly is a thorn in Oliver's side. Perhaps this will lead to our hero running for mayor as he did in the comics?

Green arrows, red arrows, black canaries, and brothers blood, that's all good, but that's not the big comics surprise in this episode. That would be the Bronze Tiger, played by Michael Jai White ("Black Dynamite" and Spawn). Here, he's China White's new partner, but in the comics, he was a member of the League of Assassins, and served in the Suicide Squad, ironically alongside Deadshot and Count Vertigo. More Wolverine than Bronze Tiger, he's still bad ass.

There were many things I didn't like. Laurel is annoying in hunter mode. If she is the Black Canary, I hope she's not mining this personality. Thea is not making a believable grown-up, no matter how adult her dresses are. And I prefer Felicity as nerd girl rather than pretty whiner. Is she shopping at the same fashion designer as Thea?

There was a nice namedrop for writer Jeff Lemire this episode. I also loved the use of the first trick arrows - the electric arrow and the handcuff arrow. Can the Arrowcar and the boxing glove arrow be far behind? Next week, we get the resolution to our juicy cliffhanger, the Dollmaker, and the Canary uncaged...

Arrow: Dead to Rights

Didn't Deadshot take an arrow to the eye rather nastily waaay back in the third episode? Well, he's back. How exactly does one live through something like that anyway?

The episode begins with a bang. Guillermo Barrera, known to comics fans as Nightwing villain, the knife wielding Brutale, shows up in Starling City via helicopter only to be immediately confronted by The Hood. He's got his knives but no costume or bad guy codename. Maybe that's why he lasts less than a minute with our 'hero' before he takes an arrow in the chest.

More scenes with Tommy and Laurel interacting with Oliver and a date, in this case, McKenna - it works out better this time, even though Tommy's dad AKA Merlyn the Magician AKA Captain Jack shows up to spoil the fun. There's also a great bit where Laurel shows McKenna a photo of her sister as a little girl... with a black canary. Other shout outs to the comics this episode include Deadshot living at the Bludhaven apartments, and of course... the first appearance of Riversong herself, Alex Kingston, as Laurel's mom, Dinah Lance.

There are also some nice moments with Oliver and Tommy as they celebrate the latter's birthday at a Chinese restaurant (a front fir the Tongs, but that's beside the point). For once we get a real sense of why they are friends, and also why Tommy always seems to be at the Queens' home. It's all blown to hell when Tommy finds out Oliver's big secret. I really wonder where they're going with this character, is he being groomed to become the next Merlyn the Magician? Or simply a casualty in the war between The Hood and the Dark Archer?

Last episode Moira hired China White to kill Merlyn, and this time, it seems that she's farming that work out to Deadshot. Not dead, but blind, however she provides him with a vision boost eyesight that more properly resembles his comic book appearance. And China White sure can kick ass in an evening gown and heels. Go, Kelly Hu!

Back on the island, Slade and Oliver continue their Odd Couple routine, get a radio working and learn more about Fyers' Odyssey obsession. Next time on "Arrow, " three weeks from now, why does the Huntress return (groan), did Malcolm Merlyn meet Ras al Ghul in Nanda Parbat, and who doesn't know Oliver is the vigilante?

Arrow: Dodger

Lots of stuff going on in this episode, even though it seems a bit like a fill-in issue from the comics. First and foremost there's a new baddie in town, the Dodger, who uses hostages to do his dirty work in robberies. Basically if the hostage doesn't do what he says, he blows their head off by remote control. He also has a nifty taser stick similar to the old TV Green Hornet's Hornet Sting. For the record, Dodger is a minor Green Arrow villain from the comics, notably affiliated with the League of Assassins - the group headed by Ras al Ghul over in the Batman universe.

Also thrown in for good measure is Moira meeting with an old family friend named Frank who I suspect could be China White's father. Whatever the folks on The List are up to, it's coming soon, and the writers have given it a name - The Undertaking. Supposedly, according to Moira at least, it started as a way to help the Glades, the dilapidated area of Starling City where the 'Arrowcave' is.

Then there's also the grumbling fit Felicity has made on the Arrow team. For a temporary member, all she seems to be doing is causing trouble. She not only interferes with tactics in pursuing The List, she makes Diggle ask out his widowed sister-in-law Carly from Big Belly Burger, and Oliver ask out the beautiful Detective McKenna Hall from a few episodes back. Felicity has some kind of pull, eh? Neither date goes very well, sadly, at first at least.

And then, yeah, then there's the kid in the red hood. He steals Thea's purse while she's walking with Laurel. His name? Yeah, you guessed it. Who else would be wearing red in a show about Green Arrow? His name is Roy Harper.

For those who read the comics, Roy Harper was Oliver Queen's ward, Green Arrow's sidekick in red, and the first hero to go by the name Speedy. He later became addicted to heroin, which Black Canary (Laurel in the show) helped him kick. He was later known as Arsenal and then Red Arrow when he took his mentor's place in the Justice League. Just for the record, Green Arrow later trained a second Speedy - her name was Mia Dearborn. "Arrow" has a close counterpart in Oliver's sister Thea Dearborn Queen.

The TV version of Roy Harper survives on petty theft, neglected by his parents. In a switch, mom is addicted to Vertigo, and dad is dead, buried in Norris Cemetery, a nod to Paul Norris, the artist who co-created Speedy back in 1941 with writer Mort Weisinger. Other comics call outs this episode include the corner of Adams and O'Neil, the writer/artist team that brought us the award winning Green Lantern/Green Arrow series in the early 1970s.

Apparently the Starling City Police, except McKenna, but Lance is included, are a lot like the old Philly cops or Gotham's cops. They have lots of ammo and don't give a crap about property damage. When they try to ambush the Dodger, they just open fire on an illegal fence's warehouse like they were in a Rambo movie. Who knows what kind of priceless antiquities were destroyed forever?

Emily Bett Rickards cleans up really nice as Felicity later in the episode when the Dodger turns her into a human bomb. I'd like to see her like this more often. As a bombshell that is, not as a bomb. And as far as bombshells go - our cliffhanger this episode? Moira has hired China White to take out Merlyn. Oh yeah, this is going to be bad... for everyone...