"My Name Is Oliver Queen," Not ARROW

Article originally written for Seat42F.

The CW’s ARROW tells us who its lead character is in the season finale, “My Name is Oliver Queen.” Still trying to trick Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable), Oliver’s cover is blown early in the hour, resulting in a scramble to stop Ra’s from releasing a deadly virus that could wipe out Starling City. Will Oliver’s friends, last seen being poisoned themselves by Ra’s, be able to help?

Oliver (Stephen Amell) has a rough go of things. In order to trick Ra’s, he must fully insulate himself into the League of Assassins, cutting himself off from those he cares about. Doing so requires making tough decisions and seemingly betraying people he would never betray. But not for one second did I believe, nor should any fan, that Oliver would allow Ra’s to murder all of Team Arrow, as appears to happen in last week’s “cliffhanger.”

Instead, Malcolm (John Barrowman) inoculates those captured, and The Flash (Grant Gustin) stops by to help them escape, with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) inadvertently blowing his cover, something that could have ramifications later. Even though this is Oliver’s plan, this isn’t enough to assuage any hurt feelings, as he finds out when he returns to Palmer Technologies with Nyssa (Katrina Law) in tow and is greeted by stony silence, especially from Diggle (David Ramsey).

I understand why Diggle doesn’t approve of Oliver’s methods in “My Name is Oliver Queen.” When they first meet, Oliver does the wrong thing sometimes. Diggle sees Oliver’s latest actions as a backslide. Even with Oliver sparing lives, he crosses the line when he kidnaps Diggle’s wife. For Diggle, the ends do not always justify the means, and he thinks Oliver should have found another way. There’s no telling if another option would work, but that’s how Diggle feels.

Even by the end of “My Name is Oliver Queen,” after the virus has been stopped with minimal casualties, Diggle doesn’t forgive Oliver. The fact that Oliver leaves town might allow Diggle to continue on Team Arrow, hopefully finally adopting a secret identity, but their bond is broken. Is there anything Oliver can ever do to help Diggle understand what Oliver has done, or at least that Oliver regrets any pain caused? I just don’t know, and that seems a ripe question for season four.

Yes, Oliver will be back next season. As satisfying as it is to see him drive off with Felicity into the sunset, that’s series finale stuff, not the way ARROW will send off its titular character. The Arrow might be a blown cover that can’t be used any more, at least not for a bit, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be resurrected at some point, nor that Oliver can escape his mission, even if the voiceover indicates the mission is complete. It’s a bold choice to leave Oliver in this position, as it is really neat that the Arrow identity has been gone from the show for so long. However, this is just a part of the journey, not the conclusion.

The season also ends with Malcolm assuming the mantle of Ra’s. I assume this is something he demands in order to help Oliver, and Oliver did need his help. Still, I can’t help but wonder if this will end up being a huge mistake. Will Malcolm play nice with Team Arrow because Thea is a part of the group now? Or will his new position go to his head and make him more dangerous than ever? How will Nyssa try to take him down? This is an interesting development with many possibilities.

The last twist is that Ray (Brandon Routh) and Palmer Technologies blow up. He may be dead, at least temporarily. True, Ray is heading to the spin-off next January, but so is Sara, who is killed earlier this season. The fact of the matter is, though, Ray will return, so the stakes here are pretty low.

Surprisingly, “My Name is Oliver Queen” has quite a few moments that make me question the quality of the writing, something I don’t typically find with ARROW. I often complain about the flashbacks, the ones this week equally as useless as in other recent installments, but that isn’t the only problem here. The Flash leaves with a flimsy excuse. Oliver decides not to give Thea (Willa Holland) any gruff about becoming a costumed hero. Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) helps Oliver without complaint, something he has not shown a willingness to do lately, and the dialogue between he and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) when she confronts him about his drinking seems trite and cliché. Felicity learns to fly The Atom suit in moments.

Now, I’m not saying that the season finale is a bad episode; it is super exciting, and there is no denying how cool it is to see Felicity swoop in and catch Oliver, who then appears totally uninjured a short time later. I’m just saying that usually the writers don’t have so many plot holes or things that just don’t make sense. I feel much of this happens because they must wrap up a season in a single hour and want to end it happily and with a feeling of finality. These things aren’t enough to ruin the show, nor even the episode, but they do knock it down a few pegs from its usual perch.

ARROW has been renewed and will return for a fourth run next fall on the CW.

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.

ARROW Is Dead, Long Live "Al Sah-Him"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

ARROW is dead, long live “Al Sah-Him.” Those are not words you’re likely to hear from any of Team Arrow, whose leader, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), is gone. But it is a chant that could be uttered within the walls of Nanda Parbat, the place where the man formerly known as The Arrow is now residing. Is there any chance of getting Oliver back, or is he lost to his loved ones forever?

It doesn’t take much time for “Al Sah-Him” to establish how good Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) is at brainwashing. A mere three weeks since Oliver agreed to become the next Ra’s, Ra’s has him murdering a man he thinks is John Diggle (David Ramsey), his best friend. It seems like Oliver has been completely erased from the body of this man, and whether Oliver knew what he was signing up for or not, his immersion into the new life is proceeding as Ra’s wants.

This causes much distress among Team Arrow, understandably. While Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) helping Diggle find the bad guys for him to take down seems to be working all right, the gang is definitely operating on a shoestring. Starling City is somewhat vulnerable to attack, its hero not returning and the third member of the team gone, too.

Which means they are not prepared when Al Sah-Him comes home and kidnaps Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson), something he would never have done as Oliver. His goal is to nab Nyssa (Katrina Law), who must face justice from her father, Ra’s, for abandoning The League of Assassins. But even with Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and her new scream, as well as Felicity and Diggle, standing up for her, Nyssa stands no chance escaping from Al Sah-Him. Thankfully, Ra’s has forced marriage in mind for Nyssa, intending to wed her to Al Sah-Him, rather than death. But she’s still being held against her will and Team Arrow cannot save her. Like I said, the city needs a hero again.

In fact, Starling needs saving more than any of the good guys know. Ra’s reveals to Al Sah-Him that the last thing he needs to do to erase Oliver Queen’s existence is destroy his home, meaning to kill everyone in Starling City. Ra’s himself did this once upon a time, and has the virus that Oliver, Maseo (Karl Yune), and Tatsu (Rila Fukushima) narrowly escape from, with grave consequences, in this week’s unnecessary flashback. Al Sah-Him may have forgotten himself enough to murder a friend, but is he so brainwashed that he would slaughter millions without blinking?

One bright spot of hope in “Al Sah-Him” is when Thea (Willa Holland) dons the hood and shoots Al Sah-Him through the arm before he can kill Diggle for real. I’m sure Team Arrow is resisting letting Thea in, as they did Laurel before her, but Thea is quite capable at this point. With the roster feeling empty, it’s time for recruitment, and Thea is the best candidate around. If she pitches in, Starling might just survive this.

“Al Sah-Him” is an emotional hour. Thea, Diggle, and Felicity all still have deep feelings of affection for Oliver, and only believe he’s been lost to them when they see his behavior. The acting in this installment is terrific, proving the cast is capable of more than just running around and shooting arrows. ARROW doesn’t have the best cast on television, but the group is certainly well used, the show playing to the strengths of what it has. And the story couldn’t get much better, high stakes with bold choices.

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

ARROW Is Not "The Fallen"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

Whoa. Last night’s episode of the CW’s ARROW, entitled “The Fallen,” is big for the series. Not that other episodes this season have not been big; ARROW has shown no hesitation to blow up its world and core cast repeatedly. That is welcome, as it keeps the plot exciting and moving, and this third year has been much, much better than the first two. “The Fallen” might just set a new high bar, though, with some big things fans might not expect to happen, at least not now.

As “The Fallen” begins, Oliver (Stephen Amell) decides to take Thea (Willa Holland) to Nanda Parbat because that’s her only hope at getting her life back. Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) knows what he’s doing when running Thea through with a sword, leaving her alive enough for the Lazarus Baths, which he controls, to heal her, but injured enough that Oliver will pay the price for the use of the baths, which is becoming the next Ra’s.

Oliver has resisted becoming Ra’s for good reason. He would have to leave his life and everyone he loves behind, giving himself fully over to the League of Assassins, which isn’t the most heroic of organizations. Even though the resources in the group would allow him to expand the good he does for the world once he reformed it in the image he wants, it requires great personal sacrifice on his part to take up that mantle.

But Oliver is nothing if not a hero. He may have had to give up being The Arrow, but the core of who he is remains intact. He gives in to Ra’s’ demands because it’s what’s best for Thea, her only shot at a normal life, and Oliver loves Thea more than anyone in the world.

Thea isn’t the only one that loves Oliver. Diggle (David Ramsey), Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), and (for Thea’s sake) Malcolm (John Barrowman) accompany Oliver to Nanda Parbat, and Maseo (Karl Yune) risks his own position and life to help Oliver late in the hour. This would not have happened so readily early in the series’ run, before Oliver inspired loyalty and respect from those surrounding him. It’s a testament to how far he has come that people fight to save him.

Felicity takes it to another level when, prompted by Ra’s to express her feelings, she sleeps with Oliver and then tries to kidnap him. The sex is a great pay off for shippers, who have longed for the two to be together, and comes at the perfect dramatic moment since they will not be seeing each other again, as far as he knows.

Felicity tries to ensure a future for them and she fails. Still, I think it’s awesome that “The Fallen” finds her standing up to someone like Ra’s, which it’s hard to imagine Felicity doing even a short while ago. Her involvement with Oliver has made her stronger, and she’s come into her own this year. This episode pays off that character growth. And it’s satisfying that ARROW gives her a quick break up scene with Ray (Brandon Routh) first, so there are no questions of morality.

So what happens next? Presumably, Oliver is with Ra’s and Maseo to stay, whereas Thea goes home with Malcolm, and Felicity and Diggle must decide if they want to continue their heroes club sans Oliver, as they did when they thought Oliver had died. I can’t help but think that ARROW will do some sort of reset by the end of the year, next fall at the latest, to get everyone back on track and restore Team Arrow, not as it was, but close enough. At the same time, it would be pretty darn cool if they didn’t, letting someone else become The Arrow and continuing Oliver’s story as Ra’s. ARROW is bold enough that I can’t say for certain what will happen, but it’s likely to be good, no matter which direction they go in.

Oh, and there is yet another flashback, this one taking fight scenes to all new levels of non-believability. It is well past time to ditch these. Please do so ASAP.

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

"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.