With The Flash out of action this week (due to reasons I’m unsure of), we have to make do with Arrow. Fortunately, even though this episode has a very filler feel to it, that’s fine.
After finding out last week that she was the one who killed Sara, Thea finds herself at odds with everything. Not only can she not trust her father, she can’t necessarily trust Oliver, who didn’t tell her in order to spare the pain. This leads to her contacting Nyssa, and allowing them to capture Merlyn. Oliver, not wanting Thea to live with the guilt of directly causing the death of someone on purpose.
As mentioned above, this episode has a filler vibe to it. Whether it’s because the story line jumps around a fair old bit, or doesn’t really seem to move forward as much, there’s no way around it. Arrow is an entertaining show, but it’s getting a little grim lately. With everyone keeping secrets about people who’re dead or might end up as such, there’s a Cerberus Syndrome eeking in.
Merlyn isn’t faring very well lately. His plans are all for naught as the League is aware of his actions, and he is seemingly powerless to stop them. Ra’s al Ghul puts in a much needed appearance after a long absence. However, his role here is fairly limited. Similarly our flashbacks this week seem to be in an in-betweeen stage.
Indeed Diggle is one of the few characters who gets to shine this week. That may well be because of how little he’s had to do these last few episodes. Suffice to say he gets emotional and action chops this time around. It can be a little hard to keep so many characters in the limelight when there’s a central story to be followed, so it makes me wonder if Diggle will be put on a bus at some point soon to give other characters breathing room with so many competing for it.
Speaking of competing for screen-time, Ray Palmer will certainly be talked about this week as he finally suits up as A.T.O.M. After a few humorous interludes with Felicity, we finally get to see how the costume looks. There’s no getting around the fact that the Iron Man films are a point of reference here and it’s not a bad thing particularly but it doesn’t feel like anything new. Having said that, with rumours of a spin-off that Ray will likely be appearing in, there’s a fair bit of ground-work going into it for that to work.
Let’s talk about Merlyn’s plan. He wanted Oliver to kill Ra’s. Fine. However, he is currently training Oliver to fight in the hopes of beating him. Confused? I know I am. I can’t help the feeling that in a lot of ways this show is being written by the seat of the writer’s pants. Also there’s the League of Assassin’s being beaten by two men who didn’t even manage to sneak into their fortress.
Ra’s offers Arrow the chance to take over as head of the league. Does this mean that Ra’s is more than a man, similar to the dark knight trilogy? Is there an ulterior motive in place? Either way, we get a few cliff-hangers: we don’t know how Oliver will respond. Meanwhile, Thea confesses to Nyssa her role in Sara’s death. Laurel handled the news surprisingly well, but Nyssa is a bag of cats so this could spell doom for Thea.
Will Oliver take over the League of Assassin’s? Will Nyssa seek vengeance against Thea? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
