This Is ARROW

Article originally posted as ARROW Review Season 3 Episode 22 This Is Your Sword on Seat42F.

With only an hour left in this crazy, crazy season of Arrow on the CW, Al Sah-Him (Stephen Amell) has only two tasks left before he can become Ra’s al Ghul. But Malcolm (John Barrowman) suddenly claims that Al Sah-Him is still Oliver, executing an elaborate ruse. With everything Al Sah-Him has done, from kidnapping Lyla to almost killing Nyssa (Katrina Law) and Diggle (David Ramsey), it doesn’t seem likely Malcolm is telling the truth. Plus, Malcolm is a known liar. Should Team Arrow take a chance and trust him in “This Is Your Sword?”

It turns out, Oliver is still in control of his actions. I’d say that is unrealistic, given how far Oliver has gone, and I definitely question the scene in which Oliver maybe thinks he slaughters Diggle, but Oliver is known to go to extremes. If he believes a cause is important enough, he will sacrifice far more than most, totally committing to a mission. Because of this personality trait, I can see how Oliver may have been playing a game the entire time.

It’s not a game anymore in “This Is Your Sword,” though. Malcolm leads Team Arrow in an assault to stop Ra’s (Matt Nable) from unleashing a deadly virus on Starling City. The battle is an awesome sequence, with Laurel (Katie Cassidy) getting a great dig into Malcolm, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) wrongly believing she has killed with an iPad, and The Atom (Brandon Routh) spectacularly saving the day. In the end, though, Tatsu (Rila Fukushima), who joins Team Arrow in the assault, executes Maseo (Karl Yune), releasing him from The League to be at peace with their daughter, and everyone else is captured.

In Nanda Parbat (which, despite the plane ride, must be one county over given how often travel to and from it happens), Oliver begs the others to believe him, but even Diggle is having none of it. Diggle is blinded by anger as to what Oliver has done, thinking he has gone too far in keeping his cover, and thus has crossed the line into unforgiveable territory. It’s a real shame to see the best friends at such odds. I wish Oliver had been able to let Diggle into the plan earlier, rather than team with Malcolm. But Oliver knows Diggle would try to stop some of the things he’s doing, while Malcolm does not. So even if Oliver succeeds, will he have a home to go back to?

To Oliver, it probably doesn’t matter if he loses everyone or not by “This Is Your Sword.” That’s not to say he doesn’t care, and I don’t for a single second believe that Oliver let Ra’s kill all his friends with the virus. But Oliver clearly has made peace with the necessities of what he is doing. If losing his cherished relationships is the price he must pay in order to save tens or hundreds of thousands of lives, he’s prepared to do so. He truly is the hero of ARROW.

Does that mean Diggle and the others are not heroes, since they aren’t willing to go as far as Oliver? That’s a tough question to answer. On one hand, how far can a hero go to pretend to be on the dark side without losing the essence of good? Do the ends justify the means? On the other, Oliver is still saving lives that he may not be able to, playing by Team Arrow’s rules. I think this chasm can be bridged next season, but there’s a long way to go until Oliver can be back in anyone’s good graces.

Malcolm is definitely not a hero. He agrees to help Oliver because Thea (Willa Holland) is in Starling and could be one of the dead. But captured by Ra’s, Malcolm wastes no time in selling Oliver out. Ra’s may or may not believe Malcolm, but the last step of Oliver’s plan will certainly be that much harder to carry out after this betrayal.

Ray is a hero, giving of himself for a woman who doesn’t love him. He even gifts Felicity the company, though she doesn’t realize it yet. I’m glad Ray is continuing in the spin-off, since his time on ARROW seems nearly over.

Thankfully, Thea is far away from all of this. She tracks down Roy (Colton Haynes), now living as “Jason,” and reconnects with him, emotionally and sexually. When she wakes in the morning, though, Roy is gone and his suit is still there, giving Thea is blessing to take on the Arsenal mantle. He doesn’t want to hold Thea back and doesn’t see a way to return. I don’t agree with Roy’s decision, but it makes sense for his arc for his departure to be real in “This Is Your Sword,” as regrettable as that may be for the show, and at least Thea gets to see him one last time.

There are flashbacks again, even more unnecessary than ever. Viewers can glean from the present events that Maseo and Tatsu lose their son to the virus. We don’t need to see Oliver and Maseo fail to find a cure. These become more and more unnecessary with every passing year. I hope they are ditched entirely in the very near future.

ARROW’s season finale, airing next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on the CW, is sure to be tense and satisfying. Don’t miss it.

"Broken" ARROW

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This week’s episode of ARROW on The CW, “Broken Arrow,” is anything but boring, again. Oliver (Stephen Amell) agonizes about letting Roy (Colton Haynes) sit in police custody and asking Ray, a.k.a. The Atom (Brandon Routh), to protect the city. But he has no choice because Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) is on an Ahab-like quest to expose Oliver as The Arrow and toss him behind bars, too. Will Oliver finally accept Ra’s (Matt Nable) position and end this mess that, admittedly, Ra’s has caused?

Oliver is not someone who relies on others easily, and that has always been a core part of his character. But Team Arrow exists now, and he is not just a lone wolf. When Oliver is believed to be dead, the others step up and continue the job he once performed, finding their independence. The transition is irreversible, and never has Oliver needed their help more than now, when he is sidelined again. Except, this time he has to sit and watch them perform his duties, rather than recovering in a secret hideout.

The team is worthy of Oliver’s trust, though. Perhaps not Ray, who means well but is far too inexperienced to tackle a metahuman named Deathbolt (Doug Jones, Falling Skies, Hellboy) himself in “Broken Arrow.” But Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), Diggle (David Ramsey), and Roy have earned his confidence, and even if they don’t fill Oliver in on their full plan, they have one. Diggle and Felicity convince Oliver to mostly stay back, and to his credit, he does listen to them.

Staying back isn’t enough, though. With Quentin latched onto the idea that he must catch Oliver, the issue isn’t going away, and Oliver can’t hide from it. Lieutenant Pike (Adrian Holmes) advises Quentin to slow down, lest he lose rank again. Quentin doesn’t appear to heed those words, though. It is likely that Quentin will let this destroy him, and that will be another thing for Oliver to feel guilty about, meaning he can’t save everyone and this is something he must come to terms with.

“Broken Arrow” shows Oliver at his lowest in this regard when Quentin tells Oliver and Thea (Willa Holland) that Roy has died in prison. He isn’t actually dead, this being a trick cooked up by Team Arrow without Oliver’s input, but Oliver doesn’t know this and comes as close to breaking down as we’ve pretty much ever seen. He sometimes comes across as a little cold, but he truly does carry the weight of what he does and the people he protects on his shoulders.

Which makes it all the more tragic that, while Oliver and company are saying goodbye to Roy for good as he leaves town to start a new life, Ra’s runs Thea through with a sword. Thea is the most important person in Oliver’s life, and if she dies, it will wreck him. Even if she doesn’t die, the fact that she might have will definitely make Oliver re-think his priorities.

Can Oliver ever be The Arrow again? That identity has been burned, and the public thinks the man responsible is dead. I don’t think Oliver can give up trying to save the city, but will he do it as Ra’s, even though Ra’s has done evil things, or will he take on another identity? ARROW is very uncertain on this front.

It’s less uncertain about the future of Ray and Felicity. Their days as a couple are numbered as soon as Ray sees how affectionate Felicity is with Oliver. Ray knows her heart belongs to someone else. It probably won’t be long now before they split.

“Broken Arrow” opens a big mystery when Ray takes Deathbolt to Star Labs to be locked up. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) observes that Deathbolt was not in Starling City when the reactor exploded (see: The Flash television series), so how is he a metahuman? Thus far, all the metahumans they are aware of stem from that accident. I assume this will be a story spanning both ARROW and The Flash in the coming weeks or years.

There’s also yet another boring Hong Kong flashback in which Oliver and his friends break into a lightly-guarded lab to steal an antidote for a virus that some bad guys are about to unleash. To be honest, I find myself zoning out during these scenes, as uninteresting as they usually are, and hope the day comes very soon when ARROW dispenses with this nonsense. Thankfully, these bits are brief this time. It was a good convention at the start of the series, but has long since lost its luster.

Still, even with that complaint, “Broken Arrow” is an excellent, engaging hour for the rest of its running time. ARROW has been having a stellar third year, and this episode is no exception.

ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

ARROW Continues to Wow the "Public"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

The CW’s ARROW took an already crazy season and made it insane in last night’s episode, “Public Enemy.” When Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) fails to get Oliver (Stephen Amell) to take the offered mantle, he decides to reveal to Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) that Oliver is The Arrow. Quentin, who is still reeling from learning of his daughter, Sara’s, death, shares the secret on television and turns the whole city against our hero. What will Oliver do?

The third year of ARROW has been the best of the series thus far, constantly letting its story make huge leaps, rarely in an expected direction. By freeing the writers to do whatever they want with the characters, or so it seems, the show has cast off any type of formula or traditional structure and made it feel like a real world with real stakes. In reality, there are always more players than the handful a TV show can follow, and motivations are not easily quashed. ARROW embraces this and is better for it.

A prime example of this is Quentin Lance. The poor man has suffered so much, losing a daughter, finding out she’s actually alive, and then losing her all over again. Add to that, his surviving child, Laurel (Katie Cassidy), is doing the same thing that got Sara killed and she lied to her dad about it, and he’s reached a breaking point. He’s truly a good man, as we’ve seen in the past, and he’s smart, admitting he always suspected Oliver of being The Arrow. Yet, in his current emotional situation, he wants to punish someone. Oliver is the unfortunate target of that punishment, and Quentin is so devoted to carrying it out he will burn any bridge on his way to do so.

Oliver has a hero complex, as we know, and the further along his path he goes, the less selfish he becomes. In early episodes of ARROW, Oliver is willing to kill others and protect himself. Now, he’s concerned about his family and friends and his mission, much more so than he is about himself. Only the most noble of people would turn themselves into the police, especially when it’s debatable if Oliver deserves to be jailed. His long-standing guilt likely contributes to this decision, too, though most will see what he is doing as heroic.

But Oliver isn’t the only one in this vein. Roy (Colton Haynes) believes he deserves to be in jail, and so he tries to convince the police that he is the real Arrow. It’s unknown at this time if Quentin will buy this Spartacus-esque play. However, Roy dressed in the suit and stopping the police van is a development that makes total sense for the character, even as it makes the plot of “Public Enemy” more chaotic.

I don’t trust Nyssa (Katrina Law). She presumably helps Team Arrow, and does assist Laurel in escaping her dad, but she’s the one who sends Oliver into Ra’s trap. It could be that she doesn’t know that’s what she’s doing; ARROW doesn’t show us one way or the other if she’s complicit in her father’s plans. Until we see her do something against Ra’s, though, more than we’ve seen this far, I don’t think Oliver should be listening to her.

There’s a great subplot where Ray (Brandon Routh) is shot by Ra’s and lies in a hospital bed. Bureaucratic rules prevent the doctors from doing anything for him, so Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) sneaks Ray’s tech in and saves his life. Yet, as Donna (Charlotte Ross) points out to her daughter, Felicity is in love with Oliver, not Ray.

“Public Enemy” neatly brings this love triangle to a close in the way it needs to. Ray is a great recurring guest star, but he’s heading to the new spin-off next year, and Felicity belongs with Oliver, no matter how long it takes the couple to get started. Donna isn’t strictly necessary for this story, but she has a way of speeding things along, and she’s so enjoyable, who can complain about her presence?

As stated above, “Public Enemy” is a terrific installment that once more expands ARROW’s story in major ways. It is exciting, fast-paced, and full of surprises. It serves the characters in an authentic way, and continues the serial story appropriately. Now, if only ARROW would drop the boring Oliver flashbacks that persist in most episodes.

ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

"The Offer" ARROW Maybe Can't Refuse

Article originally written for Seat42F.

The CW’s ARROW (Stephen Amell) has a big decision to make when considering “The Offer” he receives last week, the subject of the most recent episode. Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) wants Oliver, a.k.a. The Arrow, to take over the League of Assassins as the next Ra’s. Will Oliver give up his current mission for this new one? Will Ra’s let it be a choice?

Oliver is feeling pretty down through much of “The Offer.” Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is with Ray (Brandon Routh) now, though she reminds Oliver it is his choice she and he aren’t together, and Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne) turns on the hooded archer because of the secret Oliver keeps concerning Lance’s daughter. Oliver can’t come clean to Quentin that the decision to reveal the truth rests with Laurel (Katie Cassidy), Quentin’s surviving daughter, because it would unmask The Arrow’s identity and throw someone Oliver cares about under the bus. So Oliver doesn’t feel like things are going very well for him.

But why is he The Arrow? That’s the question posed this week, and the one Oliver isn’t sure of at first. The rest of his team find their motivation when they believe Oliver to be dead. Now, it’s his turn. Is he looking for gratitude? Is he just doing what’s right? In the end, he saves the city because he is honoring his own deceased father and because he wants to promote justice. That’s enough for him, leading him to turn down Ra’s offer because, even though Ra’s says Oliver could change the moral code of the group if he wants to, how would you stop a whole league of assassins from killing?

The thing is, though, while Ra’s presents the title as a choice and tries to bribe Oliver by setting Diggle (David Ramsey) and Malcolm (John Barrowman) free with “no strings attached,” these are ploys. Ra’s thinks Oliver will come to the decision to accept on his own, and when Oliver does not, Ra’s begins to try another tactic, discrediting The Arrow’s good name. Ra’s is a sneaky bastard, and any thinking that Oliver might actually be taking over for a misunderstand man is erased. Ra’s is as ruthless as everyone believes he is, and while Oliver could be a different Ra’s, this one will not change.

Ra’s is the only one disappointed by Oliver’s refusal. Felicity and Diggle certainly don’t support Oliver going down a path that could lead him back into bad habits. Nyssa (Katrina Law) wants the job herself, though Ra’s seemingly either casts her out or challenges her to take it. Nyssa then helps Team Arrow and offers training to Laurel, which is her either trying to fit into a new group, or fishing for information she can use to be Ra’s. Either way, since Oliver doesn’t want the position and Nyssa does, it seems an easy solution could be found, if only Ra’s himself weren’t so stubbornly set on Oliver.

Besides all of the morality issues, “The Offer” is full of father / daughter drama. Ra’s and Nyssa, of course, have a falling out. Either that, or this whole thing is a ploy Ra’s designed to force Nyssa to step up. Quentin will not forgive Laurel nor listen to her reasons for keeping him in the dark about Sara’s death. And Malcolm actually urges Thea (Willa Holland) to kill him, something she resists, proving he has not ruined her.

Thea’s struggle is the most played upon this week. She could very easily slip over to the dark side, but every time she has a chance to, she resists, showing great strength of character. On the other hand, Malcolm overhears much of what is said in the apartment, so he knows the depth of his daughter’s hatred towards him. This makes for good pathos, and will likely drive Malcolm forward in his next plot, even as Thea seeks to close a chapter and return to a normal-ish life. With Roy (Colton Haynes), happily.

“The Offer” is a relatively slow hour, but ARROW continues to not disappoint. Besides a lame, thankfully brief, flashback sequence, there is little to complain about in this installment. “The Offer” asks some big questions, and gives a number of characters chances to really shine in acting. This isn’t an A-list cast, but the material is clearly tailored well to them, and they’re killing it, in the best of ways. ARROW has found freedom in its storytelling structure this year that it doesn’t have as much the first two seasons, and the only thing I’m certain of for the rest of the year is that the show will be good, as the plot has gotten rather unpredictable.

ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.