I didn’t love this one, in fact I expected much more.
At least they’re following through on old villains-of-the-week with the return of The Count (followed by Deadshot soon). However, the madman turned out to be nothing more than a puppet for yet another one-off villain (a nameless doctor). Still, I appreciated the fact that for once, a baddie actually looked beneath a hero’s hood to unearth his identity.
The relationship between Tommy and Oliver continued to spiral out of control as Merlyn saved his best friend’s behind (by hiding his secret lair) and he still got judged for his past mistakes. It was an intriguing turn that ultimately drove Tommy into his daddy’s arms (literally) as he took his first real steps in his villainous journey. This should be awesome.
Who else is getting irritated by Detective Lance? He has to be the most redundant plot device on Arrow – constantly trying to catch one of our players in the act. Give him something to do writers (a hint of alcoholism is not enough). Honestly, the show would really benefit by killing him in the finale as it would reinvigorate Laurel and send her down the Black Canary path.
The highlight for me this week was the hilariously awesome trio of Ollie, Slade and Shado on the island. Shado is already a zillion times more likeable than the rest of the cast and her training Oliver is filled with potential. I would pay to watch a sitcom starring these three constantly sniping at each other.
Bits & Arrows
– Shado’s water slapping exercise culminating in Oliver effectively handling the bow was far-fetched yet compelling.
– So Diggle’s still after Deadshot, and Ollie ain’t happy.
– Diggle frying the thug’s brain with the defibrillator was badass.
– I laughed when psycho doc told Ollie he couldn’t aim a single arrow and our hero took out THREE as a response.
– This was probably the least humorous episode of the show yet (as evident by the omission of the Super Liners section this week). Not cool writers, the show can be quite funny if you let it .
Conclusion
An adequate transitional hour into the final stretch of the year.
Nad Rating
B-