I genuinely don’t feel like watching Arrow next season.
Maybe it’s because I got too invested in the character of Laurel Lance (thank you Katie Cassidy), but I can’t think of any other character on the show that I genuinely care about at the moment. There’s Nyssa Al Gul, but sadly Arrow seems hellbent on never making her a series regular when she could most definitely elevate the series in every way imaginable. And so we’re stuck with a boring lead (hello Oliver Queen), and his brainless supporting cast (I’m looking at you Diggle and Felicity). Thank God for Paul Blackthorne eh? But we’ll get to him in a bit.
The thing about this week’s flashbacks is that they were most certainly touching. Creating parallels between Laurel and Tommy’s deaths was a pretty great move, but I so wish the show had dedicated the flashbacks to showing us moments that actually celebrated Laurel as a character (and the Black Canary legacy as a result). Instead, we got her kissing Oliver right after Tommy’s death (which wasn’t too likeable), and basically just moping around instead of decisive and headstrong.
And then Canary Cry (a fitting name for the episode by the way), wasted our time by giving us a cheap Canary copycat. I get that she stole Laurel’s device, but the fact that she was actually able to reprogram Cisco’s supposedly brilliant and customized sonic device was just absurd on every level. And then the writers expected us to believe that she also took the outfit? Or did she make her own? Atrocious stuff! (And the less said about the guest star’s acting – I’m not even inclined to look up her name – the better).
Of course the episode was salvaged by Paul Blackthorne Emmy-worthy performance. It’s a miracle really that I hated the character in season one, because he’s probably the only saving grace on Arrow these days (well, I like Thea too but she has absolutely nothing to do). Regardless of the fact that I hate Laurel’s death, the writers were pretty idiotic in making this move because it’s ludicrous to expect Blackthorne to react to yet ANOTHER daughter death. Nevertheless, he made it work with flying colours with his gut-wrenching performance; his breakdown in front of Oliver was just incredible.
Bits & Arrows
– Pretty nifty fakeout in the teaser by making us believe it was Laurel’s funeral only to discover it’s Tommy’s.
– There’s some beautiful parallels with Laurel and Oliver’s hallway scene. The one they shared in season two was HARSH.
– It’s a good thing the copycat’s Canary Cry is more effective than Laurel’s (sending Thea flying across the room). They were never consistent with Laurel’s device so I’m glad we’ll never suffer through that again.
– So we’re supposed to believe that Oliver didn’t think of wearing the Canary Cry earplugs?
– Extremely satisfying moment with Diggle smacking Ruve in the face. His tantrum afterwards on the other hand was laughable.
– I love it when people say the iconic line “Laurel Lance, always trying to save the world.”. Tommy said it in the pilot, Sara said in the season three premiere before her death, Quentin said it, and now Ollie in the flashback.
– Mama Lance sure is convinced Laurel will come back. If only the writers cared as much.
– Loved Ollie announcing Laurel was the Canary to the public. And there was some nice growth with Ollie being unable to talk at Tommy’s funeral, but being able to at Laurel’s.
– I appreciated the continuity with Oliver giving Laurel that picture (which she revealed she had held on to before dying)! And the fact that he wanted her to be the hero (when unfortunately she became an addict).
– We finally saw the flashforward from the premiere… and people are going crazy that Barry still had his speed (apparently he lost it on The Flash). Scheduling conflicts from The CW I guess!
– A very cool Twitter user pointed out that Laurel was wearing the same outfit in the pilot. Awww.
Starling Quips
Felicity: You’re just one illegitimate child away from a really awesome Oliver Queen impersonation, but just like we tell Oliver, what happened was not your fault, and Laurel would have wanted you to know that.
Ruve: Arrest him!
Oliver: I’ve seen this movie before.
Mamma Lance: Our girls always come back to us, Quentin.
Conclusion
Although it was great that Katie Cassidy got to show off her acting chops one last time, this hour could have been much more impactful. To top it all off, I’ve really lost faith in Arrow, and I have no idea if the show can ever truly win me back.
Nad Rating
B