Arrow Review: Season 5 Episode 2 "The Recruits"

Arrow, Season 5 Episode 2

“The Recruits”

Starring:

Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Paul Blackthorne, Rick Gonzalez, Madison McLaughlin, Tyler Ritter, Joe Dinicol, Chad L. Coleman, Suki Kaiser

Synopsis:

Oliver recruits Curtis, Wild Dog and Evelyn Sharp for his team, but his training methods prove to be too much for some to handle. In flashbacks, Oliver continues his initiation into the Bratva.

Final Thoughts:

Two weeks in a row Arrow has produced quality Television. In this episode Oliver is trying to set up a free clinic for Star City, during the opening we are introduce to this weeks bad guy who ultimalty turns into the good guy Ragman. This turn happens when a show down with Tobias Church. Before the end of the episode we once again are treated to the Dark Archer. Also throughout the episode we see the training of the new recruits, obviously since this is Arrow, the training doesn’t go as well and lead to Oliver needing to apologies and reveal his true identity to gain the teams trust.

A few thoughts i had on the episode, the recruits came off as whiny and quitters. I think there has to be more trust built in just by training with a man who has been doing the vigilantey thing for many years. If this keeps going this way with no quick resolution the fans will loose interest in these characters. Another thought came to mind when watching this episode, the daytime scenes really change the feeling of the show. I have to say I really enjoyed them as it brought a more up beat feeling to a normally doom and gloom show.

With the inclusion of the Dark Archer AKA Prometheus, there is a new man out to get the Green Arrow. From casting reveals this past summer, we know there is some sort of personal connection between the two. Does anyone else think Tommy Merlin? It actually makes sense especially with the death of the woman he loved Laurel and before anyone says a thing about Tommy dying, really its not the first time someone has been brought back to life. 

Once again it was a great episode and in many ways it was especially nice to see a less drama filled Felicity, she even got back to make some of her more silly jokes which the was the reason fans of the show fell in love with her. As for the show itself it was nice to see the fighting sequences become much smother since last year and the writing in general was much tighter. 

We want to hear your thoughts on the episode, leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 5 Episode 1 "Legacy"

Arrow Season 5 Episode 1

“Legacy”

Starring:

Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Paul Blackthorne, Katie Cassidy, Rick Gonzalez, Chad L. Coleman, Tyler Ritter

Synopsis:

After Laurel’s death and the departure of both Diggle and Thea From Team Arrow, Oliver takes to the streets solo to protect Star City’s citizens as the Green Arrow.

Final Thoughts:

First episode from season 5 is here and we pick off with Team Arrow only consisting of Oliver and Felicity. Most of the episode is Felicity trying to convince Oliver that Diggle and Thea won’t be back and that he needs to find new recruits to join the team. The funny thing about this episode, it was the first time in awhile that I didn’t mind Felicity. It worked and didn’t feel forced on us like in past seasons. Sure this is still a CW show and we will ultimately get the relationship drama between the two again, but for the time being it was a nice change of pace.

As for the rest of the episode, there was some similarities between this episode and season two were Oliver actually has another story arc to go along with fighting bad guys and felicity. In this episode we see the dilemma that Oliver faces being the new Mayor of Star City and still trying to keep its citizens safe by running around at night as The Green Arrow. This just might be the most interesting story they had for Oliver since that season two, and it also is giving the character outside conflicts to deal with. Hopefully season 5 continues with these changes and doesn’t rely to heavily on the Felicity/Oliver on and off again relationship to deliver. 

Another aspect of this episode and we will definetely seem more of in the near future is the Recruits. New blood was needed to keep this show interesting, the writes for four season have relied to heavily on the same four people to keep delivering on tired story arcs. With new character to add to the mix at the very least will add new drama to the mix. I am also excited to see that Curtis Holt will be joining Team Arrow. Hopefully soon we will see Mister Terrific.

I feel this was a strong start leading to a fresh season, as long as we don’t get to much of the past Arrow season we should be good, and I truly believe this could be a great season.

Let us know what you thought of Episode 1 and leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 19 "Canary Cry"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 19 

“Canary Cry”

Synopsis:

Oliver and the team struggle to come to terms with laurel’s death, especially Diggle who is overwhelmed with quilt for choosing to believe Andy had changed. Meanwhile, Lance refuses to believe his Daughter is really gone and asks Nyssa to help bring her back.

Review:

With the entire team trying to put the pieces back together after Laural’s Death, another person has taken up the mantel of Black Canary.

Oliver, trying to stop the tarnishing of the Black Canary’s legacy, is also dealing with mourning of a friend and the grief of the team and their self blame. Diggle is the one taking it the hardest, as he is blaming himself for not listening to Oliver when he was warned that his brother could be playing both sides. This cause Diggle to snap and he goes after Ruve Adams.

With Adams using the attack on her as an excuse to go after the Vigilantes and also blame the death of Laural on the black Canary. It leave Oliver with only one choice, which was to announce at the funeral that Laural was the Canary and she died protecting the city.

Final Thoughts:

Not only have the last two episode been great, but there has been a feel to them which hasn’t been around since season two. This is a very solid news, especially going into the last few episodes of the season.

Once again it looks as if the time line between Arrow and Flash has been thrown off, We see Barry show up at the very end of the episode at the grave. Nice little tease, as he walks up to talk with Oliver, but ends up speeding away when done. I will say that it was nice to see that Barry does have his powers back, 

This was a solid episode ad regained some faith in the searies…..Who am i kidding, I will always love this show even when it gets bad.

Let us know what your thoughts of the episode where and leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 18 "Eleven-Fifty-Nine"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 18

“Eleven-Fifty-Nine”

Synopsis:

Oliver and Diggle learn that Merlyn is going to try to break Darhk out of prison. Meanwhile, Laurel gets a surprising offer and Felicity has a heart-to-heart talk with Curtis.

Review:

The Previous episode left off with Andy meeting with Malcolm, this episode starts off with Andy telling Diggle the plan to help Darhk escape Iron Hights. While Diggle and Oliver are out following up on Andy’s information, Malcolm and a few loyal members of the League break into the Arrow Hide out and steal the idol which hold the powers of Darhk.

The team is tracking Malcolm to catch him prior to him handing the Idol over the Darhk, follow to a warehouse were Any takes a arrow for Oliver. Even with this act, Oliver still questions Andy’s Loyalties.

The Team is ultimately called into action when Darhk takes the guards hostage in his cell block, once the team is in Andy turns on them and hands the gem that powers the idol over to Darhk.  With Darhk fully powered up, he uses his powers and in the end Laurel pays the ultimate price. 

Final Thoughts:

We finally know who is in the grave, Laurel Lance. This is a surprise twist which I did not see coming. Not sure how I feel about this, for the first time since the beginning of season 1, I was starting to warm to Laurel. She really started to become the Black Canary and was the perfect addition to the Team. 

Now there is some interesting twist and turns which could take place and allow Laurel to come back. Technically Sara is still bouncing around time on Legends of Tomorrow. If she come back early enough the timeline could reset itself, giving that the grave scene should take place in the next few episode there technically are enough episode which would allow this to happen and make sense still. I guess we will have to wait and see how this will play out.

This is a solid episode, it works because they steered away from the relationship drama and went with more action. It was also nice to have an episode with very little felicity. I am definitely looking forward to the next few episode to see what the fall out should be. 

Let us know what your thoughts of Episode 18 where and leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 17 "Beacon of Hope"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 17

“Beacon of Hope”

Synopsis:

The Bug-Eyed Bandit escapes from jail and turns up at Palmer Tech threatening to kill everyone in the building unless she gets the Bio-Chip that was implanted in Felicity’s spine.

Review:

Brie Larvan is back, getting her release from prison early she is out to get the bio-chip from Felicity. The Bug-Eyed Bandit decides to take Palmer tech hostage until Felicity shows. Without Felicity, the team is lost trying to figure the best way to defeat the artificial bee’s of Bries. Fortunately for the team Curtis Holt went home early and decided to step in to help. 

In order to stop the Bug-Eyed Bandit, Holt develops a virus to stop the bee’s from attacking. We also found out that Felicity has no want to rejoin the team, and the separation is hurting Oliver to the point of lashing out at his friends.

The end of the episode ends with Malcolm meeting Diggle’s brother in order to help the escape of Damien Darhk from prison.

Final Thoughts:

Well there goes the longest stretch without the secret identity of Oliver being given up. I think i am ok with Curtis Holt finding out, but only if it means a bigger role going forward. 

For the most part this episode was another dud, there was no build into the remainder of the season. We also didn’t get any resolution to the Oliver/Felicity drama, which now is officially ruining each episode. At some point we need a resolution, which I don’t believe will happen until either these two get back together or Felicity is gone from the show. 

Unfrotunatley the best part of the episode was the min of the show. We learn that in some fashion Andy Diggle is still working for Darhk. Nice little teaser for the next episode.

This unfortunately this was the worse episode of the season. Another villain not being used correctly, more Relationship drama than I care to watch, and worse of all the episode barely did anything to advance the story. Let us know what your thoughts of the episode were.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 16 "Broken Hearts"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 16

“Broken Hearts”

Synopsis:

Following the events of William’s kidnapping, Darhk has become less powerful, but carrie Cutter, A.K.A Cupid, has emerged into Star City to cause chaos on the city and the Green Arrow.

Review:

The engagement is off between Oliver and Felicity, Damien Darhk is on trial and Cupid is back in town. The only way to take Darhk down, Captain Lance will need to incriminate himself, he confesses to helping Darhk due to threats to Laurel’s life.

Meanwhile Cupid is going on a rampage, first killing a celebrity couple and than kidnapping another. This is all due to being heartbroken over the death of Deadshot, the teams only way to stop her is an uncomfortable fake wedding between Felicity and Oliver.

The end of the episode we see Felicity walk away from the team telling Oliver she is already gone, than we see Darhk in prison. Lights flickering while he puts on what looks to be a wedding band.

Final Thoughts:

These are the episodes of Arrow which really are frustrating. I am not against relationship drama, but its frustrating that this storyline has been going on for the better part of three seasons. Its time for the creators of Arrow to ask themselves the question, are they writing a show which is based off Comicbooks Characters or do they continue to want to write for “Friends”. 

I guess i am just surprised at the ability of Arrow to be such a great show and at the same time have some horrible episodes. Cupid has the ability to be a great villain but again it gets lost in the drama of Felicity and Oliver. The only way I can see them working this issue out is have Felicity have a very limited appearance in the next few episodes. Lets get back to the Arrow we all know. The only interesting take away from this episode has to be does Darhk have his powers back? The final scene somewhat suggests as much. Only time will tell.

I give this episode only One Thumbs Up, Obviously this is generous and only due to the fact that show still is Arrow. Let us know you thoughts of the episode and leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 15 "Taken"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 15

“Taken”

Synopsis:

Oliver calls in his old friend for help in fighting Darhk, while Thea has a Heart to Heart talk with Malcolm.

Review:

The episode starts with Darhk informing Oliver that he has his son William, his demand for Williams return are to drop out of the Mayor race and to back his wife.

With Oliver dealing with a kidnapped son and Felicity now knowing his secrets he now needs some additional help. He calls on a friend with whom he had an Animated past with….Vixen.

With Vixen now in the fold, she informs the team that like her, Darhk must have a object which is providing him with his magical power. Team come up with a plan to save William and to take away the Damian powers. 

The episode come to an end with the team being able to destroy the token which provide the powers, William was saved and Felicity being able to walk again and giving the ring back to Oliver.

Final Thoughts.

I just love Crossovers, obviously this one is a little more obscured do to the fact its with the Animated Web Series Vixen. It non the less was just as great as most we have seen thus far. Megalyn Echilunwoke was wonderful as Mari McCabe/Vixen. Great addition to the DC television Universe. 

The episode it self provided a lot of great twists for the remainder of the season, with Darhk missing his powers its now interesting to see how he will rage havoc on Team Arrow. The episode also muddy what had seemed to be an obvious answer to who was in the grave a couple of months from now. With William and his mother safe and far away, these two obviously fall off the list. This leave the possibilities down to only Diggle, Thea or Captain Lance. With the show runners annoucing the possibility of Diggle getting a new helmet. My last two guesses would have to be Lance or Thea.

The return of Evil Malcolm might be the best thing this season has brought us, but the return of the up and down relationship between Felicity and Oliver will definitely cast a shadow over what has become an awesome season thus far.

I give this episode two thumbs up. Let us know what your thoughts of the episode were and leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 14 "Code of Silence"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 14

“Code of Silence”

Synopsis:

Team Arrow uncovers HIVE’s plan to take them out for good, Leading Lance to wonder if Donna is better off without him and Oliver to consider telling Felicity about his son.

Review:

With Oliver preparing for his first Debate for Mayor against Ruve Adams, Lance is attacked by members of HIVE who specialize in demolition. Team Arrow takes the fight to the demolition team, after the first two encounters with the team ending with the failure. Oliver and team learn that the next attack will be at the big debate. 

Final Thoughts:

An interesting episode of Arrow, the demolition seemed to be only place in order for the creators of Arrow to have an excuse to suite up Oliver and to provide some foreshadowing. Obviously with issues arising between Donna and Lance due to lies is directly tied to Felicity and Oliver and the fact that he has yet to tell Felicity about his son William. 

With an interesting twist for the show, it seems like the creators gave Oliver a win finally in his personal life with his debate victory of the wife of Darhk. It will be an interesting season 5 if Oliver become Mayor. 

I loved the nice little nod to Curtis Holts super hero personality of Mr Terrific when Oliver called him Terrific after coming up with some tech that may ultimately help Felicity walk again. Although i am not to sure how I feel about this possibility, it seem so soon for them to come up with a way to have her walk again.

Finally the ending, its seems now that Darhk has William, who he says they will be watch while his mother is busy. Does this ultimately mean she is in the grave? No one will truly know until we get to that episode. But it seems like all signs are pointing in that way.

Another solid episode, but ultimately only gets One Thumbs Up, as this is two episodes in a row which have had very limited Green Arrow scenes. What did you think of Episode 14? Leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 13 "Sins of the Father"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 13

“Sins of the Father”

Synopsis:

Oliver receives an offer from Nyssa that is hard to refuse, Meanwhile Thea continues to battle the bloodlust Malcolm steps in to help his daughter, and Laurel has a Heart to Heart talk with Nyssa.

Review:

The episode starts with Nyssa offering the lotus to save Thea, however she wants Merlins control over the league. Oliver has to come up with a way to get the lotus without the death of Nyssa or Malcolm. The initial plan falls apart after Malcolm decides that he doesn’t want to make a deal. After multiple battles between the two factions of the league, Merlin faces off with Oliver and the end result is the loss of his hand.

Nyssa, after getting the ring from Merlin decides to disband the league. This action leads to Merlin promising Oliver he will suffer. The end of the episode show Merlin meeting with Darhk and giving him the identified of the person Oliver cares for the most….William his son.

Final Thoughts:

With each passing season of Arrow, it seems that the creators find more ways to disband and kill off members of the DC Universe. First we saw the end of Deadshot, then the death of Amanda Waller, now the disbanding of the league of Assassins. At least we have The Flash, and his ability to bring these characters back to life.

Finally we get the evil Malcolm back, minus a hand. His deal with Damien Darhk seems to jump the story forward a lot and leaves us with some clues as to where the show will go. Oliver’s son will be the center point going forward, most likely driving a wedge between Oliver and Felicity. My guess is William will some how be involved with the grave scene. This will be a entertaining ride for sure.

How does the dismembering of Thea’s father ultimately effect the relationship between her and Oliver will have to be seen still, but at the very least she is now cured of the effects from the Lazarus Pitt.

The most interesting part of the episode has to be the weird ending to Felicity and her Father, it seems like a quick resolution with Felicity sending him to Prison. I am guessing there is much more to come.

I give this episode Two Thumbs Up, another solid episode. Let us know your thoughts and leave a comment below. 

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 12 "Unchained"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 12

“Unchained”

Synopsis:

The team faces off against a formidable villain nicknamed The Calculator. Meanwhile, Nyssa makes her move and Roy Harper returns to Star City.

Review:

The episode starts with the team chasing a Tech Theif, which turns out to be Roy Harper. Roy is being Blackmailed by a tech villain named The Calculator. While the team is trying to help Roy, Thea is close to death due to her lust to kill and not fulfilling those needs. While the team is able to stop the plans of The Calculator we learn that he is the father of Felicity.

Final Thoughts:

What an episode, so much was going on it was amazing writers were able to write a complete episode with few to no flaws. We see the return of Shado in Olivers flash backs, Tatus Yamashiro and Nyssa al Ghul have a quick but exciting fight before deciding to work together in order to help Oliver, and we were treated to the return of Roy Harper. Wasn’t it great to have Arsenal back in the mix, even if it was just for one episode. Hopefully Roy does return soon.

This episode introduced Felicity’s Father, interesting turn of events, as he has become known as The Calculator. It looks like he is working with Damien Darhk, and trying to help take down Star City.

Again it seems like Arrow is trying to direct the fans attention to the different individuals that may end up in the grave. This week, the attention was on Thea. She was on my list to begin the season, but I think this is ultimately a mis-direct. Leading my thoughts to Merlin, and unfortunately this may be the person and i am worried. With the news that John Barrowman being casted in another CW show, although its only for a few appearance this season. Barrowman might be a main stay on the Orginals leaving the creators of Arrow needing a way to write him out of the show. Than again, if you take the weird animosity between Oliver and Felicity in the Limbo scene, it may have to do with her father.

This was another solid episode of Arrow, and I am loving what they are doing each week so far. I give this episode Two Thumbs Up. Let us know what your thoughts were and leave a comment below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 11 "A.W.O.L."

Arrow Season 4 Episode 11

“A.W.O.L.”

Synopsis:

An agent of Shadowspire who was an enemy from Diggle and Andy’s wartime past shows up to Star City. Wiggle must learn to trust Andy but he got more than he wanted about their shared time from War. Oliver however must learn a new way of life when Felicity is now in a wheelchair and receives her codename.

Review:

Shadowspire a group formed of military personnel and part of Andy’s past is in Star City. They take over Argus facilities and take Amanda Waller and Lyla hostage leaving Diggle in need of help and only able to rely on his brother to save the day. Shadowspire kills Waller before being taken down by the team.

Through out the episode Felicity is struggling with her new life unable to walk. Relying on pain killers she start to hallucinate about her past self. 

Final Thoughts:

Its always nice when we get new Flashback of Diggle’s life. It give a lot more detail about his relations with his brother. I am not sure why there is so much hate for these type of flashbacks with the internet community. Granted last season’s were difficult to deal with but in many ways the entire season was difficult to watch. However with Oliver back on the island the flashbacks seem to work again.

This episode helped breakdown the wall between Diggle and his brother. Not sure how but obviously this will have a huge impact on the season. This may just be the person that is in the grave four months from now.

The great thing about this season of Arrow, they seem to build up drama with Felicity but it never last longer than half the episode. Its nice and a huge improvement from last season. As for her being wheelchair bound it will be interesting if this last or if it will just be for the remaining episodes of the season, also it seemed as the hallucinations where just for tonights episode but will this last longer? many of these questions will have the be answered in the weeks to come.

Finally Felicity gets a code name, and the way it happened was just great. As the team is about to enter Argus, Oliver reveals the her new code name is Overwatch but not without a little shout out to what the internet has been rumoring the entire time……Oracle, but as Oliver stated it was already taken. Awww you got to love CW and DC’s TV universe. 

This was an excellent episode. Enough emotions to allow you to feel for Felicity without taking away from the show. Perfect! I give this episode Two Thumbs Up. Let us know what your thoughts were and leave your comments below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 10 "Blood Debts"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 10

“Blood Debts”

Synopsis:

Oliver seeks revenge and goes on a brutal manhun to find Darhk, After dealing with the devastating consequences of Darhk’s latest attack.

Review: 

The first thing we see in this episode is Felicity being worked on as Oliver is going around beating members of the Army of Ghost trying to locate Darhk’s location. The quest for vengeance brings Team Arrow face to face with Anarchy. Trying to use Anarchy’s want for vengeance against Darhk, Oliver decided to release and track him back to Darhk’s home.

Final Thoughts:

This may have been one of the most difficult episodes to write a review on. Between the weird time jumping, not only did we get the usual flashbacks but we jumped forward 4 months to the grave scene twice and throughout the beginning of the episode we Felicity being rushed to the emergency room while also seeing Oliver hunt down Damian Darhk. Whoa, talk about a mind fuck. 

Ok now that we got that out of the way…..Felicity is alive and she isn’t the one in the grave. however she maybe paralyzed which might confirm the rumors that she will fill the role of Oracle which in DC’s canon is the identity of Barbara Gordon. This makes sense as Arrow seems to have more in common with Batman with each passing season. As for who is in the Grave, from the beginning my prediction was that it would be either Thea or Captain Lance. This episode even place a little teaser of that with having Lance give up Darhk’s meeting location, however with that being said I am going to throw two more names into this ring. It may be Diggle or It’s going to be Oliver’s EX. Judging by the weird interaction between Oliver and Felicity in the limo, My guess is the Ex.

Like the Flash, this episode really was more to set up the rest of the season, and also to ensure all the fans of Felicity would continue to watch the show. I give this episode One Thumbs Up. Let us know what your thought of the episode were and leave a comment below.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 9 "Dark Waters"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 9

“Dark Waters”

Synopsis:

Oliver makes a bold move against HIVE when the city is attacked. Meanwhile, Malcolm checks in on Thea and leaves her with a warning; and things take a horrible turn when Damien Darhk retaliates in a brutal Manner at Oliver’s mayoral Holiday party

Review:

Episode 8 starts with Oliver and crew cleaning the bay with the supporters of his Mayoral campaign. While there Damien Darhk sends a drone to attack. The team decides the best way to retaliate is to out Damien as the leader of the Army of Ghost to the public. This leads to Darhk taking actions at Oliver’s Mayoral Holiday party.

While discussing why Oliver didn’t ask her to marry her months ago Felicity, John, and Thea are taking hostage by Darhk. This sends Oliver into a hunting spree, attacking the army across Star City trying to locate where Damien is keeping them. In come’s Malcolm to the rescue, They plan to turn Oliver in to Darhk to learn their location, While captured Malcolm dressed as the Green Arrow attacks to save the day. They leave Darhk in the warehouse with an explosive Arrow. 

While the team believes that Damien Darhk is still alive after the explosion, since no body had turned up. They decide to go ahead with the planned Tree Lighting ceremony at the bay, where Oliver finally proposes to Felicity. While leaving the party their limo is attacked by a group of ghost, the episode ends with Oliver hold the bloody body of Felicity.

Final Thoughts:

First lets just say great Mid Season Finale, the type which makes you wish this show was a Netflix property and that you didn’t have to wait a month and half to see where it was going to lead. I Absolutely love every time we get Malcolm on screen, this is he evil is he good act every episode is building on the mystic of the character. As I have said before, Malcolm has become the ultimate opportunist.

Well they finally did it, they gave us the glimpse of who might be in the grave. So they shot up Felicity and left her for dead, allowing everyone to wonder if she is truly the one in the grave. 

I am torn with my thoughts, we never do see the headstone leaving it up for speculation still. This could go either way, in many ways the fun and happy felicity hasn’t been seen since season 2, many fans have grown tired of her due to season 3. However; this season has been much better and getting back to the fun quirky girl that everyone loved. So it could make sense to kill her off, finally getting to the Black Canary/Green Arrow relationship from the comics. This really doesn’t make sense since Laurel has never really warmed to the fans of the show. If I was a betting man, I would guess this will ultimately be another twist which we have seen done multiple times in the past. Felicity isn’t dead however an act for Damien Darhk. Remember Barry was at the grave as well and didn't show any signs of being upset. 

Loved seeing Malcolm as the Green Arrow, Interested in seeing where the Damien Darhk Family story will lead, and major props to finding a creepy rendition to Little Drummer Boy for that last scene. All in all I give the episode Two Thumbs Up. Let us know your thoughts on the episode, leave your comments below.

Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 8 "Legends of Yesterday"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 8
“Legends Of Yesterday”

Synopsis:
Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Barry Allen (guest star Grant Gustin) take Kendra Saunders (guest star Ciara Renée) and Carter Hall (guest star Falk Henstchel) to a remote location to keep them hidden from Vandal Savage (guest star Casper Crump) while they figure out how to defeat him. Malcolm (John Barrowman) arranges a meeting between Vandal, Green Arrow and The Flash that doesn’t go as planned. Meanwhile, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), Thea (Willa Holland), Diggle (David Ramsey) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) work with Team Flash to come up with a weapon powerful enough to destroy Vandal Savage.

Review:
Finally the second half of the Arrow/The Flash crossover event. The episode starts with a flash back on both Hawkgirl and Hawkman. meanwhile in present time the team has found a secluded place to hold up while they try to come up with a way to neutralize the staff of Vandal Savage. Oliver and Barry get the terms Savage sets when Malcolm sets up a meeting between the four of them. On the way to the meeting Barry sees the ghost of his future self. 

A distracted Oliver with Barry and both Kendra and Carter head to the meeting, everything goes wrong resulting in the deaths of everyone except for Barry. This is when we get the time jump when Barry is running away from the explosion that is set off from the staff of savage.

So starts round 2 with Savage, this time Barry lets Oliver know about the time travel and allowing both teams to get a plan together to defeat Savage. After Savage is left in ashes on the floor, we see Malcolm praying over the ashes as he is scooping them up into the a jar.

Final Thoughts: 
This paired with the episode of The Flash is a great jumping point into Legends of Tomorrow. I am excited to see more of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. This episode finally explores more into the Oliver’s past. We learn he definitely has a Son, we also know that the mother of William doesn’t want anyone in Oliver’s life to know about the child. Oh how the Drama and Secrets which Oliver has create so many side drama which usually is left for mid day soap opera’s. The only part about this which I don’t enjoy is the drama this creates within the team. I like the dynamic which we currently have and not sure how I feel with the Idea of more drama being entered. I was really hoping this season would be the one that didn’t create so many issues. However; with that being said there are so many more choices now to add to the grave possibility we saw in that first episode.

We know Savage returns in the Legends of Tomorrow, it will be interesting to see what Malcolm has in store to bring back Savage and how this helps Malcolm who has become the ultimate opportunist.

Loved that time travel played a part in this episode and loved the Harrison Wells quote tie in with “Run Barry Run” from Oliver, also how is Cisco the best part again? so many characters to choose from to highlight but its Cisco that has become the go to supporting character. Love the Crystal Skulls reference.

Every episode this season has been on point, much improved and more enjoyable. Surprisingly this may be the best season yet of Arrow. I give tonights episode Two Thumbs Up.

Let us know what your thoughts from the episode are. Leave your comments below.

Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 7 "Brotherhood"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 7

“Brotherhood”

Synopsis:

Team Green Arrow’s ongoing battle with Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) is complicated by a shocking revelation. Thea’s (Willa Holland) bloodlust returns and she loses control in front of Alex (guest star Parker Young)

Review:

Arrow continues with the fast pace beginnings, the episode starts with Team Arrow fighting HIVE’s army of Ghost. As soon as we get back to the Arrow Cave 3.0, Diggle decides to fill Oliver in on the information that he received from Captain Lance on his brother Andy. When the team goes after Darhk again Diggle learns his brother is still alive and working with HIVE. Diggle is having issues with Andy being alive, battling with thoughts of betrayal. This causes Oliver to want to rescue Andy, giving him the benefit go the doubt that he is being mind controlled the same way the rest of the Army of Ghost are as we learned from the Docks. 

Not only did we get more of Ray Palmer in this Episode, but we also got the ATOM helping the team out at the end of the episode. It seems Ray is struggle with the impact that he has left on Star City. By the end of Episode 7, Ray decides he needs to go search for his meaning in this world. As he said coming back to do the hero stuff will still happen…….Cough** Cough** Legends of Tomorrow.

What can make this episode better? The return of Malcom Merlin. Love the character, I am more than happy that he has been a reoccurring character. Malcolm is back due to the effects of Thea Killing members of the league will be wearing off. Marlin decides that the best course of action is to feed the blood lust with criminals who have gotten away with horrific crimes……Does anyone else feel a Dexter vibe at all?

Final Thoughts, there seemed to be a lot going on in this episode. Damien Darhk finally introduced himself to Oliver, as he wanted to “request” that Oliver drop his plans to redevelop the bay. When Oliver asked what he would do if he said No Darhk informed Oliver he would no longer run Unopposed for Mayor. It’s nice to see that Oliver has grown a lot from last season and is listening to his friends as he has decided to “Fight Darhk in the light of Day”. Which means we might see more of a battle for Mayor between the two.

We also learned that Thea has some ability to defend herself from the affects of Darhk, when Darhk touched her it also seemed to fend off her blood lust. I am guessing this has something to do with the Lazarus Pit. She also asks that Malcom helps to create a way to make this permeant. I am waiting to see how Malcom ultimately learns how to use this power to his advantage, got to love villains. 

I personally enjoying that Oliver has become the voice of reason this season. Its been long time coming, but its a nice switch from when Diggle was always that voice for Oliver. I am intrigued to find out what affect Andy will have on Diggle going forward. Is he really Diggle’s actual brother? If he is, Is he truly part of HIVE, I am wondering if there is some type of twist in the works where Andy is actually undercover with the organization. This was definitely 4 years in the making, I love that the creative team has kept strong with stories they started in the early seasons.

Did anyone else absolutely love the fight sequence at the docks? It was done using one straight shot multiple times, reminding me of season ones episode when Oliver rescues his Step dad. This was a great episode and it seems like the creative team is hitting on all cylinders this season. Its early but this might be the best season yet. I give this episode Two Thumbs Up.

Let us know what your opinion of Episode 7 “Brotherhood” was. Leave your comment below.