Arrow S05 E23: Liam Yu

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.

Arrow S05 E17: Kapiushon

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.

Arrow S05 E16: Checkmate

When I first saw the title of this episode - "Checkmate" - I have to admit to groaning, hoping they were not bringing the Checkmate concept from the comics into the Arrowverse.  So much of this covert government task force is already part of the series however, including Arsenal, Deadshot, Amanda Waller, Vixen, the Suicide Squad, the Huntress, Count Vertigo, Mr. Terrific, Deathstroke, and the Adrian Chase Vigilante - so why not? 

We open on Oliver in snow peaked mountains searching for his former teacher, Talia, who until now we have only seen in flashback.  We learn that in fact the showrunners have a calendar they've been following, and that Oliver had no idea who Talia really was.  If the shocked duh look on Oliver's face wasn't enough when he found out he'd killed Talia's father and that's why she trained Prometheus - the look was even more priceless when she told him his name was Adrian Chase.  I have to hand it to the showrunners, this was a good one. 

When Oliver returns to Star City he confronts Chase only to find he's already aware.  He'd kidnapped Susan Williams and will kill her if Oliver makes the wrong move.  I gotta say, Chase revealed is far more interesting than he was previously, maybe a reason for a sooner reveal.  Now he's got a bit of a swagger not unlike Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan on "The Walking Dead." 

Meanwhile the Russian flashbacks continue, and Felicity joins Helix.  She's nowhere to be found when Team Arrow makes its assault on Chase's house looking for Susan.  Curtis sports a slightly different outfit, more like the comics, presumably to go along with his new operational T-Spheres.  I like the red and white, nice to have bright colors on the show again.  Spartan as well seems to have had a helmet upgrade.  Did Cisco visit?  Coolness. 

When Felicity returns, one thing she does learn is that Adrian Chase is an alias, and his real name is Simon Morrison, notably the real name of the comics Prometheus.  But of course for that information Helix wants something in exchange, perhaps suggesting the group Checkmate intimated in the episode title. 

Other than the posturing, and pardon my language, pissing contests, and penis measuring between Green Arrow and Prometheus, both in and out of costume, not much else really happens.  Much.  I found myself wondering if Oliver really cares all that much about Susan.  If he did, he could always call in a super-fast friend who could search the city in seconds.  That's the good thing about a shared universe. 

In the end, Talia joins Prometheus in taking down Green Arrow, and now our hero is the prisoner of a psychopath who killed his own wife like it was nothing.  This was a better than average episode, managing to surprise, and entertain, but I fear like other seasons of "Arrow," this may go on too long...

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 S05 E12: Bratva

If I'm being honest, most of this episode bored me. It's the culmination of a subplot that bored me taken control of an entire episode. General Walker who had betrayed John Diggle and had him arrested has escaped custody and gone rogue. Learning that Walker has gone to Russia to sell his stolen nuke to Markovian terrorists, most of Team Arrow has pursued him.

While it was nice to see the civilian KGBeast again, the rest of the A plot bored me. Back in Star City we see the returns of Quentin Lance from rehab and Susan Williams as well. For laughs, Wild Dog is left behind to help Quentin prep for a press conference. This comic relief is a detriment to both characters.

The only compelling sequences in this episode, and they are far too short comparatively, concern Oliver's early pre-pilot adventures as the Arrow being trained by Talia. This idea does conjure certain questions, like what happened to Talia in the Arrowverse? Where did she go? Is she still alive? What would she make of the Green Arrow and company? And in a world without Batman, how does Oliver fit in her life?

In the end, I have to confess some disappointment that John did not kill Walker, especially after letting Dinah kill Sonus last time. I liked seeing exactly how powerful Ragman is and wish we could have seen more of that. I hate that the nuke neutralized the rags' powers. Perhaps we'll see Ragman as a powerless crimefighter, but it won't be the same.

I dislike how the showrunners have automatically pushed Oliver and Dinah together so quickly. I mean, it's not just weird, it's creepy. Although at least they salvaged the Rene and Quentin relationship by retconning a past between them. And our ending stinger has Susan suspecting Oliver of being Green Arrow, a cliche I can only hope will be spun better than expected. A solid disappointment this week.

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: Spectre of the Gun!

Arrow S05 E11: Second Chances

We open this episode of "Arrow" three years ago in Central City, the night of the particle accelerator explosion that created the Flash and dozens of other metahumans. Some thugs have kidnapped and are torturing two cops, one of them, Tina Boland, was spotted at the end of our last episode demonstrating sonic powers like the Black Canary of the comics. One guess how she got that way.

In the present Team Arrow is looking for a replacement for the late Laurel, a new Black Canary. No matter how awesome the candidates the others come up with, Oliver shoots them down, saying they're not up to the impossible standard Laurel set. Seriously, folks, was Laurel that good? I mean really, if we're being honest, there were episodes where she didn't even appear or speak, let alone suit up and fight.

Finally Curtis brings up an urban legend with sonic powers, Tina, who's kicking ass and saving lives. The only thing she doesn't have is blond hair, but one could fix that with a wig, just like in the comics. That's cool and all, but to make her a blonde... isn't that a bit weirdly obsessive? Just saying.

While Felicity meets a hacker groupie and Flashback Oliver gets help against Kovar from the Batman-less Arrowverse's version of Talia Al Ghul, the rest of Team Arrow pursue Tina Borland to Hub City. She wants nothing to do with joining Green Arrow's little club to replace his dead girlfriend.

While there and taking steady burger breaks, the three heroes - Green Arrow, Wild Dog, and Mr. Terrific - not wanting to take no for an answer get mixed up in Tina's war on drug lord Sean Sonus, who killed her partner. Sonus also received metahuman powers from the particle accelerator explosion, to create vertigo in his victims. In the comics, he's known as Dischord, and in the Arrowverse, he's actually the third or fourth meta to have that power, after Count Vertigo and the Top.

In the end, Tina kills Sonus, presumably ruining her chances to join Team Arrow, and yet does any way, revealing her real name is Dinah Drake, the actual maiden name of the Golden Age Black Canary in the comics. Per the episode title, she gets a second chance.

Elsewhere, John is seemingly exonerated using information obtained from the hacktivist group Helix. And Flashback Oliver is given the tools to create his Arrow identity by Talia. New beginnings.

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: Bratva!