Glenn Walker is a writer who knows pop culture. He loves, hates, and lives pop culture. He knows too freaking much about pop culture, and here's where he talks about it all: movies, music, comics, television, and the rest... Welcome to Hell.
We have a very interesting season finale here, familiar in that it's an army of villains against an army of heroes, but unique in that this time it's happening on Liam Yu, Purgatory, what I have always jokingly called Flashback Island - where this all started, at this point, a decade ago.
That is worth mentioning, because at the start of the sixth season in a few months, it is likely the flashbacks will end, unless they shift to another character. With my guess on next season's big bad, Felicity might easily slip into the flashback character role.
In the bad guys' corner, holding most of Team Arrow hostage, we have the Black Siren, Artemis, Talia Al Ghul, and the League of Assassins under the command of this season's main baddie, Prometheus. Against them, Oliver has gathered Malcolm Merlin and Nyssa Al Ghul, and in the final seconds of the last episode, asked Deathstroke for help.
We open just seconds after that, answering immediately questions I had last time. There is staff, and Oliver is taking Captain Boomerang too. Deathstroke is apparently blaming his evilness and bad blood with Oliver on the mirakuru. Are they planning a Deathstroke spin-off maybe? That's where my head went first. It appears bygones are bygones, both villains are freed, Desthstroke is rearmed, the new team is go.
The first chance he gets, at the first encounter, Digger Harkness switches sides. Slade Wilson turns the tide. No one is happy, least of all Thea, but Malcolm is in charge of getting some of them away while Oliver, Slade, and Nyssa continue the hunt. Another question answered when we're shown Rene is also a prisoner.
This episode has a lot in it, they threw everything and the kitchen sink in this one. It's got double crosses, honor among thieves, and the final flashback fight against Kovar as well. A nice touch was the present day Oliver and company walking past the long dead skeletal Kovar. There's Nyssa vs. Talia, and Black Canary vs. Black Siren, and Oliver vs. Prometheus. With the island rigged to explode if Chase dies, Oliver refuses to kill him, even if he killed his son.
Speaking of explosions, Merlin sacrifices himself on a landmine to save Thea. He takes Harkness with him and it happens offscreen so don't place bets. But that is how this ends, with uncertainty, the ultimate cliffhanger. Oliver saves his son, and Chase shoots himself, just like Oliver's father did in the very first episode. The island blows up, taking the rest of the cast with it. Roll credits.
Yeah, I know, it sucks. Here is what we know about season six however. The entire cast sans John Barrowman (so I guess Merlin did die) returns. The flashback will all involve how and if each character escaped from the island. Not happy. The least satisfactory season finale I've seen in a while. That's "Arrow" for you, a big old sack of suck. I may or may not be back for season six after this ending.
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.
When we last left "Arrow," things were definitely moving in a different direction. Adrian Chase had been revealed as Prometheus, and he had defeated (with Talia's help) Green Arrow and kidnapped him. Now his prisoner, Oliver is at the villain's mercy. We open shortly after we left last time with Chase spouting philosophical nonsense no one understands yet and putting Oliver through the gauntlet of how the Hood killed Chase's father.
While Chase tortures Oliver, the showrunners torture us viewers with the neverending Bratva flashbacks. I sincerely hope there's a point to them, and we get to it soon, because honestly I am sooo tempted to just start fast-forwarding through these things. And then, just as I was about to do that very thing, something grabs my attention.
John Barrowman's Malcolm Merlyn meeting with Dolph Lundgren's Kovar, now that could be interesting, especially in flashback. It's suggested that Merlyn has provided Kovar with a weapon to overthrow the Russian government. With Anatoly, the KGBeast, moving up in Bratva, and the Hood (in Russian, the episode's title, Kapiushon) on his side, there's a good chance that won't happen.
Meanwhile, Chase's sadistic torture of Oliver, to get him to reveal a mysterious secret to him, is very reminiscent of Oliver's own methods in the flashbacks as the early prototypical Hood. It's a bit of a wake up call when Anatoly compares Oliver to Slade Wilson and Anthony Ivo. How's that for a flashback?
Speaking of flashbacks, in the present, before leaving... I guess for work... Chase gives Oliver a present. It's Artemis, Evelyn, and she's been beaten, probably tortured - Chase calls it making her compliant, she's definitely broken. When he returns, one of them had better be dead at the other's hands. If it's Oliver, Evelyn gets to go free.
Although we get a final battle between the Hood and Konstantin Kovar in the past, the memory prompts Oliver to confess the secret that Chase wants. Oliver is a killer, a spree killer, a serial killer (as I noted early on in these reviews myself), not because of a list, or a mission, but because he liked it.
As the ordeal(s) ends, we see the beginning and end of Oliver's Bratva tattoo, and a Green Arrow beaten and shutting it all down. He's been defeated. Meanwhile in the past, Kovar has been resurrected with Merlyn's help, so I'm sure he'll be back in the present (future?). This is a by far darker cliffhanger than we got last time, can they beat it next time?
Surprisingly the showrunners engaged me in the Bratva crap that I had long since gotten tired of. They re-energized not one, not two, but three villains who had lost their edge for the most part. All in all a good episode, can they do it again?
Next: Disbanded!
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.
Since the beginning of this season the theme has been light and darkness, and how Oliver is trying to be 'good.' From becoming the Green Arrow to running for mayor he's always been trying to do the right thing, and sometimes it shows, even as bizarre as this may sound, it can even be seen on Flashback Island. One must wonder what must have happened to him before his rescue that turned him back to the dark side. The question now of course, is he good enough, and in the light enough, to finally defeat Damien Darhk?
The opening salvo in this episode is fast and furious. Darhk attacks Felicity, Curtis, and her mom, Green Arrow and Spartan to the rescue, some nice special effects - we thought we'd lose Donna, but it's not-so-terrific Curtis that takes the brunt. Darhk escapes with the launch codes, seemingly not caring that his EPCOT ark went up in white dwarf star flames last episode.
Things go south swiftly from there. Darhk launches the missiles all over the world, leaving Team Arrow less than two hours to ...try... and save the world. This pronouncement is followed by an act that Darhk probably should have done weeks ago when he first found out who Green Arrow was - a H.I.V.E. attack on the Arrowcave. Even though the attack is repelled, the team sinks further into dismay.
The team however might have been led by Malcolm Merlyn, who then conveniently joins in with Team Arrow. Wtf? Whose side is he on? And why isn't somebody, anybody, on Team Arrow watching him and keeping track?
It's Curtis in the ruins of the Arrowcave that has the answer and gives everyone hope. When he and his boyfriend Paul we're going to leave the city when the terrorist attacks first began, it was the Green Arrow that gave them hope, and by extension Oliver Queen in his run for mayor. If he can raise that hope in the people of Star City, now in a state of panic because on oncoming missiles, well, that's a whole lotta white magic, baby.
On Flashback Island, as a parallel as usual to the present day, Oliver has to kill Taiana to release her from the power of the Khushu Idol. With Reiter also dead, the threat of Shadowspire in the past is over, and Oliver calls the svelte Amanda Waller (good to see her again, even if it is in the past) to rescue the rest of the prisoners. He could go with them, but it looks like next season's Flashback Island may well be in Russia against Kovar. Maybe we'll get more of Oliver's connection with the Bratva.
So while Felicity and company tackle her hacker opposite number and divert all the missiles from their targets, Green Arrow goes to city hall to fight Darhk one last time. This time there's mob rule as the crowd's hope makes Oliver stronger and Darhk weaker. With magic out of the equation, it's a man-to-man street fight, but even without his power, Darhk is still a former member of the League of Assassins.
When H.I.V.E. arrives it becomes a full-on riot. Didn't we see this same fight at the end of last season? Bottom line however, questions of why the H.I.V.E. ghosts with guns didn't just mow the crowd down rather than go hand to hand aside, Green Arrow finally kills Darhk, and exactly how the villain killed Black Canary - arrow to the heart. I'm sure there was a sense of relief and exhaustion throughout the viewership. Finally! And no matter how much I love John Barrowman, where's Merlyn's arrow to the heart??
And then the goodbyes begin. Back at the Arrowcave, first Quentin and Donna, then Thea, and then Diggle, they all leave. They need some time away. As Oliver is signed in as temporary mayor, and he and Felicity stand alone in the wrecked Arrowcave, all I can say is it's going to be a very different dynamic next season...
For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.
In the last episode of "Arrow," the town of Havenrock was nuked in order to save the much more populous city of Monument Point. The unavoidable death toll is in the tens of thousands instead of millions. The disaster has made Damien Darhk near invincible. He's powerful enough to kill Green Arrow and Spartan, but he doesn't, so they will live long enough to die in the armageddon when Darhk gets the rest of the missile codes. Rookie James Bond villain mistake - always kill the heroes, always.
Felicity is taking it hard, and she had a hard choice, she didn't want anyone to die. They're going to need help to keep the codes from Darhk, so she enlists Curtis, who more than a little starstruck by her hacker dad, the Calculator. I loved when he said to Felicity that she now made so much more sense, and also the WarGames reference. Of course, in retaliation Darhk enlists Cooper Seldon from "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" to work the opposing side of the hack. I loved the Eye of Sauron on the screens when Cooper took over the Team Arrow computers.
Meanwhile Thea is being held prisoner by dear old dad Malcolm Merlin inside Darhk's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (yeah, I went there) after Anarky killed her boyfriend, who was not Dr. Davis after all. Anarky, who's hunting Darhk, may actually be more of a monkey wrench in his plans than Team Arrow. I am so sick of deus ex machina in these superhero shows of late, Anarky better not be the one to take out Darhk.
While Felicity is called away to deal with the domestic trainwreck that is her parents, and Green Arrow and Spartan discover Darhk's underground EPCOT, Quentin Lance is alone in the Arrowcave. It's during this time that Sara Lance returns from her time journey with "DC's Legends of Tomorrow." If you watched the season finale the next evening you know what happens when she learns Laurel has been killed. Like on "Doctor Who," Laurel's death is a fixed point in time and cannot be altered. Sara returns to the time stream.
On Flashback Island, Taiana is possessed of the power of Reiter's Khushu Idol, and planning to bring it home to her village to take revenge on the warlord there, a guy named Kovar. Interesting, the only Russian named Kovar in the DC Comics Universe is the superhero Starfire/Red Star, decidedly a good guy last I checked. Unfortunately, Reiter is still alive and isn't letting anyone leave with the idol.
Back at Darhk's Noah's Ark/EPCOT Thea been drugged and wants to kill Oliver. Merlyn steps in and says the most truthful thing that's ever been said in four seasons of this series. Oliver has always had an inability to do what is necessary. What's he going to do? It's already been established he's not going to kill Merlyn. Only John Barrowman. Cold hard truth. And right there, with those words, Merlyn takes the crown as Green Arrow's archenemy.
Inside the Ark, things have gone to hell, for exactly the reasons I had feared. Team Arrow has nothing to do with actively defeating the bad guy, again. While they stopped Darhk from getting the missile codes and foiling his plan, it's Anarky who makes the crushing blow. While the whole ark city is going up in white dwarf star alloy powered flames, little Lonnie Machin kills Ruve Adams.
As you can imagine, Darhk is at the end of his rope. And why he didn't kill Merlyn for his continued failures is beyond me. Malcolm and Oliver are just different sides of the same coin. As Darhk visits Felicity, Curtis, and Donna he promises to bring hell to them.
For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.
Per last episode's cliffhanger, Thea is dying because she won't succumb to the Lazarus Pit's bloodlust hangover. Rather than just calling John Constantine - who saved the similarly afflicted Sara, and thrilled viewers with his appearance - Oliver has, as he always does, decided to do things the hard way. Nyssa has a cure called the Lotus, which she will only surrender if Oliver kills Malcolm Merlin. Tired yet? We haven't even started.
Speaking of Felicity, she has her own problems, and her own subplot this episode. Not only is her estranged father the Calculator, but he confessed to it in order to win her love back. Her mom insists that he can't change, of course conjuring parallels to Oliver, but Felicity wants to try anyway. I was okay with Felicity and dad going for coffee, but I think bringing him to Palmer Tech and letting him see a T-sphere was a bit much. Good thing it was only a test.
Although Oliver tries to negotiate, Nyssa and Malcolm go to war. Again, distance and logistics are a problem. The League of Assassins is headquartered in Pakistan and Star City is on the US west coast, and yet the war is in the streets of Star City? How many times do members of Team Arrow and other cast go back and forth in what seems like no time at all??
Dr. Lamb, the Queen family doctor dating back to the first episode, gets a callback in this one. I did some Google fu thinking the name rang a bell and was maybe some forgotten evil scientist from Green Arrow's past, but he's not. I was however reminded of Green Arrow for Dr. Davis again. Wasn't there a Davis on The List? Could our campaign manager be related?
In the end, the villains were all wrapped up far too nicely and quickly I thought. How long really will the Calculator remain behind bars or the League of Assassins remain disbanded? And there are a hundred different hand jokes, with and without "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" references, that I could make about Malcolm, but I won't. I'm just sad that we're obviously in for more Darhk, the story arc that never ends…
The Calculator is one of my favorite DC Comics super-villains, mostly because his existence runs between the utterly silly to the downright sinister. In any incarnation however, the Calculator is fun. And on television, he may yet be...
In his first appearances in the back-up stories of late 1970s Detective Comics, he wore a costume resembling a calculator and had the uncanny ability to only be beaten by a specific hero once. He fought and was defeated by Green Arrow, the Atom, Black Canary, the Elongated Man, and Hawkman. Once encountered, said heroes could never win again against him. When the storyline moved to the front of the comic, Batman finally found a way to take the Calculator down with those heroes' help.
The Calculator was around for a while after that, eventually fading into obscurity. When he reemerged, he was more in the shadows, and inspired by an urban legend that the super-villain underground had only begun to become aware of - Oracle. The heroes had some off-site source feeding them info and coordinating them. The Calculator became just that for the forces of evil, Oracle's opposite number.
We open this episode at Nanda Parbat, the citadel built into the side of a cliff in Pakistan that serves as the headquarters of the League of Assassins and the current R'as al Ghul, Malcolm Merlin. Don't think for a second I wasn't amused that our break from the-storyline-that-wouldn't-end this season (Damien Darhk) is provided by the-storyline-that-wouldn't-end last season (R'as al Ghul). Note to showrunners, the story arcs on "Arrow" need to be shorter.
I suppose I should have some reaction that Nyssa has escaped and taken over the citadel, but I'll be honest, I've already checked out. And I'm just as uninterested in the Thea subplot. And if John Constantine was able to fix the bloodlust in Sara, why not contact him again regarding Thea? Seriously, if aspirin works on a headache, why would you have to find another solution when a second headache comes along? Call John!
Then there's Roy Harper who's returned to Star City as a tech thief. The two companies he initially steals from have history in the DC Comics Universe, but not from the usual corners that "Arrow" borrows from. AmerTek hounded Steel for years and released the lethal Toastmaster guns on Metropolis. Cadmus is also based in Metropolis, specializing in alien DNA among other things. Roy had been hiding out in Hub City, home of the Question, when the Calculator blackmailed him into committing these thefts.
The Calculator's plan, surprisingly assisted by H.I.V.E., is to use a 'web nuke' to crash Star City, killing thousands. I think that's rather pedestrian and anarchist for a villain with so much potential, despite the lame codename. He is, in the end, more a foe of Felicity than anyone else, which makes the reveal at the end that he's Felicity's dad all the more shocking. So is computer hacking genetic?
Seeing Katana, if only momentarily, was a nice surprise. I hope we get more than that though. And it's always nice to see John Barrowman even if he always seems out of place when he appears. And I can't express how much I hated the dream within a flashback. Darhk's wife running for mayor seems a bit ridiculous to me however. Wasn't her husband outted as a super-villain a few episodes back?
For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.
This is this year's holiday episode of "Arrow," and we open on Oliver Queen hosting a clean up of the bay from all the pollution that's been dumped into it. This is the bay that resident villain Damien Darhk was so worried about.
Seeing a daytime scene on this show is a bit of an oddity, and just feels wrong. Not to worry, the tone at least turns more familiar as H.I.V.E. drones open fire on the eco-activists. The whole pollution angle is a bit nostalgic for old school comic readers in light of the classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics of yesteryear with those heroes' social activism.
In retaliation, following suit with the opening of this episode, Oliver brings the man behind this merciless attack to light. He issues a public challenge on television, revealing that Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. have been behind the 'ghosts' and all the recent chaos and attacks on the city. Darhk did not expect this kind of assault, and notably his H.I.V.E. partners aren't pleased either.
When Darhk goes on a rampage, my question is why the hell isn't Laurel in costume? At least Laurel confronts her father about working for the enemy amidst all the holiday party/engagement ring nonsense. It's about time. Laurel's kind of been the forgotten character on the show for quite some time and it shouldn't be that way. Black Canary is an equal to Green Arrow, not a sidekick or a subordinate.
The rest of the episode is hot mess, a placeholder until you get to the last minute hellish stinger ending. There's a gas chamber death trap with a designer poison called 'the bloom,' Quentin and Felicity's mom hooking up, and a return visit to the Amazo on Flashback Island. We even get John Barrowman as Green Arrow, but that's well worth seeing.
The holiday party finally happens and then another tree lighting, the latter at which Oliver proposes to Felicity. On the drive home, the two are attacked by ghosts, and Felicity is shot apparently dead. Is it she who's in the grave? If there was any suspense at all, it's diffused by coming attractions. She's not gone, yet. Either way, what a crappy way to leave us for the holiday...
For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.
After the seriousness of past seasons, and especially this season so far, the old school scifi horror of Damien Darhk looking in at the shrunken Ray Palmer in a jar might seem childish, but let me assure you this would fit in quite nicely with the Silver Age Atom comics. As a matter of fact, this Doctor Cyclops vibe reminds me of the last couple episodes of "The Flash," because Doctor Light once trapped the Atom in a lightbulb.
Had things stayed in that vein of Silver Age goodness, I think this could have been a good episode. The only time it even came close was when Team Arrow (with two Black Canaries!) raided Kord Industries, but even that fizzled, without even a hint of Blue Beetle-ness. The episode never seems to want to commit.
Even with distractions like some weirdness and bad decisions on Flashback Island and the side plot of Felicity's mom in town - that last almost as bad as the sitcom-iness on "The Flash" last week. In the same vein, it looks like Felicity's mom and Laurel's dad are hooking up. As are Thea and the possible Dr. Davis. Let's not even get into the time wasted on Ollicity this week.
I wanted to like this episode a lot. I had high hopes when Green Arrow and Damien Darhk faced off momentarily, but again no real pay off. Ray is back, Sara is gone, and I was mostly bored. Bring back Constantine, bring back John Barrowman, do something, please.
Next: Pretty much more of the same, it looks like…
As I began watching this episode of "Arrow," I had momentarily forgotten the scenes of next week's episode at the end of the last episode. "Restoration" didn't start with the usual bang. Green Arrow and Diggle were fighting the H.I.V.E.'s ghosts and not getting along as per usual this season. They need to grow up if you ask me. Even in Nanda Parbat, it was business as usual with Nyssa trying to kill John Barrowman's Malcolm Merlin as the new R'as Al Ghul. This was all old territory.
Even when Laurel and Thea arrive at the lair of the League of Assassins with the body of Sara in tow, the situation is neutered. We know Sara is going into the Lazarus Pit and coming back to life because we've seen her in the trailer and other scenes from the upcoming "Legends of Tomorrow." Please don't give pretense to suspense that just doesn't exist, and especially do not prolong it.
Luckily we get something new when Diggle arrives home to find an A.R.G.U.S. agent in his house. He says Lyla hired him to track the folks behind the death of Diggle's brother. The prime suspect is a Mina Fayad, who's just flown in from Markovia to help Damien Darhk with his vigilante problem in Star City. She's brought a recent nasty from the Flash's comics Rogues Gallery named Double Down.
While Diggle tracks Fayad on his own, Green Arrow goes solo against the scary metahuman Double Down. In the comics he was once criminal Jeremy Tell who got mixed up with a cursed deck of cards that bonded to his skin, and later he developed the ability to hurl these razor edged cards at opponents, simultaneously scaring the crap out of them as he peeled them off his skin. This frightening villain was created by writer Geoff Johns as a longtime inmate of Iron Heights, possibly inspired by the Golden Age Flash story, "Deal Me from the Bottom."
The TV version of Double Down is a victim of the particle accelerator explosion in Central City over on "The Flash." Rather than supernatural in origin and visceral in visual, this Double Down's powers are more like turning tattoos into physical objects than peeling off skin. Essentially he's more Tattooed Man than Double Down.
Over and above the Nanda Parbat subplot with its constantly changing Lazarus Pit rules, and the Oliver and Diggle finally working together to find Mina Fayad, or even the mind-numbingly boring Flashback Island stuff, the real action is with Double Down. Felicity, just as Oliver did seasons ago, goes to her employee for help on a case. In this case, she goes to Curtis Holt with one of Double Down's cards.
Not only do we get some intriguing explanations on how Double Down's powers work, we also get a peek at the prototype of what will become Mr. Terrific's T-Spheres. The card however not only leads Double Down to them, but also down to the new Arrowcave. Curtis gets a crash course in his employers secret life, and I absolutely loved when the villain takes him down Elevator Action style. And in a nice change of pace, Felicity fends off the meta.
Over on/at Nanda Parbat - where is this place anyhow? I always had the sense it was in the Himalayas, but in the "Arrow" series, it seems like it's just a few blocks away because it takes no time at all to get there and back. Regardless, Malcolm finally agrees to put Sara in the Lazarus Pit, and she emerges a savage animal. Sigh. Yeah, they are going to prolong this.
I must say this episode was a bit of a refreshing change of pace. Usually the A story with the super-villain is boring on "Arrow," with the gold nuggets coming in the subplots and character bits. Here, I loved the parts with Double Down, and wish there had been more.
And just one more thing. R'as Al Ghul, in this incarnation at least, seems to be one of those guys who never finishes ordering in a restaurant. He keeps adding on to the deal made with Oliver. First Oliver has to take over as the Demon's Head, then he has to train, then he has to kill his friends, then he has marry Nyssa, then he has to destroy his city. It never ends.
At least in the opening scene this episode, yet another titled from a Bruce Springsteen song, Oliver briefly expressed surprise that it was Maseo who brought the Alpha Omega virus to R'as. It wasn't that I thought Oliver's training was slipping, it was the first time it occurred to me he might be playing along and have a plan after all. Was this all a ruse to trick R'as?
As far as the Alpha Omega virus goes, perhaps I was wrong with my Superboy paradox theory. It sure looks like Flashback Hong Kong is getting hosed. Has the show ever mentioned New York or Los Angeles in three seasons? For all we know, they might be gone as well. At least Team Arrow didn't believe it happened either.
Team Arrow is getting along as well as they can. I loved Diggle's plan with the gang and letting Black Canary clean them up with her scream. I'm still iffy on the sound the Canary Cry makes. I have always thought it like a very loud musical note or an ultrasonic tone. This sounds sorta like someone's killing a cat. Still it was sweet seeing Canary fight four guys at once. Diggle on the other hand is still freaked by Oliver's transformation and losing control a bit. If Oliver has a plan, I guess he's kept it to himself.
How the hell does Malcolm Merlyn get from Starling City saying goodbye to Thea in one scene to Nanda Parbat in Tibet in the next?? Did the Flash help him? Either way, I called it, moments before it was revealed, that Oliver was playing opossum. I just can't get it through my head why Oliver would cooperate with Malcolm over Team Arrow.
So Malcolm speeds mysteriously back to Starling to try to convince Team Arrow that Oliver is faking being R'as' heir and has a plan. Naturally they won't believe a liar, sociopath, and super-villain they know - so he brings in a future super-heroine they don't know - Katana. Somehow, her, they believe. How I'm supposed to believe Ferris Air offers such frequent flights to Tibet however...
The mid-episode fight between Team Arrow and the League of Assassins was pretty awesome. I would have liked more of Katana, the Atom, and the Black Canary in a mask, but I got was good. And John Barrowman was in exceptional fighting prime as well as the Magician. Katana's costume, even though it's roughly the New 52 version, looks great. I hope she stays around for a while now that she is finally here.
Meanwhile Thea goes to be with Roy, living undercover as Jason in an auto shop in Monument Point. Is Roy really gone, and will Thea finally become Speedy now? Comics readers might remember Monument Point is a city of secrets that once headquartered the Justice Society of America for a time in their last days. This isn't the only comics reference in this episode. Other than Ferris which has become a mainstay of the Arrowverse, there's also I believe the first mention of Nyssa's last name, Raatko, and dressing her in one of Neal Adams' Talia outfits.
This is quite a cliffhanger ending, both nail-biting and completely diffused as well. I mean, come on, they're not going to kill off 90% of the cast. I suspect Katana inoculated everyone before they got to Nanda Parbat. The real cliffhanger, is how is Team Arrow going to get away from R'as and the League of Assassins?
Next: "My Name Is Oliver Queen!"
For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.
