So How Was Arrow Season 3?

So How Was Arrow Season 3?

So Arrow season 3. Boy has this one split the fans straight down the middle. You could easily argue that the show has really upped the stakes and taken things in a bold new direction while others could just as easily talk of how the show has become bloated and lacking in focus. My thoughts? Read ahead and beware of spoilers.

 

So Arrow season 3 starts 6 months after the end of season 2. Everyone’s happy for once and the whole crime fighting thing is going well. Being a 23 episode season Arrow has to at least at the start be very episodic with a villain of the week thing going on and season 3 was no exception. While this is not a bad thing as these villains are often used well and early season 3 felt a lot like early season 1 and 2.

 

The big thing of course was Sara dying very early on. Whether you liked this season or not you cannot help but agree that there were some seriously big twists and moments in Arrow season 3. Some bold moves were certainly made to the show and this is where some people have a lot of problems. Arrow’s biggest strength in my eyes has always been its core group of characters. While side characters have always been sort of up and down the main group, usually Oliver, Diggle and Felicity have always had great and interesting interactions and been enjoyable. This ‘Team Arrow’ was what made the show tick. Season 3 introduced a lot of new characters and equally bought a lot of others into the spotlight. While especially towards the end of the show some of the shows lesser characters such as Laurel, Thea and Roy were really improved and developed. New characters were also introduced and the show became rather bloated. This was one of the shows biggest shortcomings however. With so many characters it didn’t give enough screen time to pass around. Going into season 4 however the show is looking far more streamlined so hopefully this won’t continue being a problem.

 

Arrow’s flashbacks have always been a high point for me of every episode. The plot going on was always just as if not more exciting than the present day and it always linked and benefitted the present day plot seeing the island flashbacks. Hong Kong was an interesting turn, however I don’t think it worked. I don’t think they really added to the show and honestly the flashbacks I enjoyed most were the ones focused on characters other than Oliver. I know I’m not the only one to share this opinion, hopefully the flashbacks will pick up again in season 4.

 

More problems. Arrow is a dark and gritty show but the darkness and grit has gone into overload in this season. Especially when compared to the Flash Arrow to some has seemed extremely dark and over dramatic. Strangely however I haven’t had a problem with it. The theme of season 3 has been self-identity and discovering oneself and a dark tone I think was necessary. It’s easy to forget what these characters are going through. After everything Oliver has been through and always prevailed Ra’s al Ghul broke him. As for the romance related angst I again think this was an important point. Oliver needed to learn to accept both himself and the love and support from others to progress as a character. Do I think this was all done perfectly? No, it was a little overdone at times however I’d rather they try to progress the character like they did than keep the show standing still.

 

A problem I did however with the identity theme was that the show at times didn’t really feel like Arrow any more. Arrow at times was used as a platform to promote spin offs and new characters and at other times everything got a tad convoluted. Despite me enjoying the new characters and an interesting new direction I want Arrow to remain as Arrow, not a stepping stone for other shows.

 

I’ve moaned enough, a lot of good came out of the series. I’ve mentioned I enjoyed some of the characters developments and I’ve really enjoyed Ra’s al Ghul. He was everything I wanted Ra’s al Ghul to be. I loved the presence he had every time he was on screen. There was such a sophistication to him and yet it was made very apparent how powerful he was. He was also very interesting as a character with some interesting backstory and giving us some interesting insight into the league of Assassins. Season 2 had one incredible villain in Slade Wilson but I think season 3 did as well as it possibly could to follow up on the fantastic Deathstroke.

 

I really need to talk about Malcom Merlin. I really want him to be back for season 4, Merlin is perhaps one of my favourite television characters period. Always an ulterior motive, always having a plan and being a lot of fun to watch on screen. I really liked the twist of him working with Oliver, any time we saw Malcom really lit up the scene. 

 

Arrow season 3 is very difficult to talk about as parts of it were very average and parts of it I thought were up there with the best Arrow has ever been. The episode that stands out in my head is the one where Roy left, I thought that one was great. My overall thoughts however are extremely mixed as I like most the individual elements, not including the flashbacks of course. I still really like the main characters, Oliver is still an incredibly well written and developed character, Diggle is great and even after not quite being as great as last year Felicity is still a superb character. I liked the tone, the action was cool, I liked the Atom and how Thea has developed. Laurel has come on leaps and bound to become one of my favourite characters, the villain was great, there were some great twists I really didn’t see coming and I appreciate what the show was trying to do to keep Arrow fresh and interesting even if it seemed to bite off more than it could chew at some points. Did I enjoy it as much as season 2? Honestly no, however I still think Arrow season 3 was a very good season of television. Take my opinion for what it is, a very biased opinion from a fan of the show but for what it’s worth I thought it was really good. It had its problems for sure but they definitely do not hold Arrow back enough to make the show any less than really good.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 23 - My Name is Oliver Queen Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 23 – My Name is Oliver Queen Review

Well it’s over … I miss is already.

 

Episode 23 was the finale of season 3 and featured team Arrow reunited to try to prevent Ra’s al Ghul using the bioweapon to destroy Starling City. Meanwhile in the flashbacks we see the aftermath of the unleashed bioweapon as well as the death of Akio.

 

There has been a very mixed response for this episode. Overall I have to say I really enjoyed it. I thought it was exciting, paced well and had some great action set pieces. As an episode of television it did its job. This is the finale of Arrow however, a show that has captured many of us and a show I’m sure everyone reading this really does love. When I was watching it I was really into it, looking back I can see some issues however.

 

I’ll start with the good stuff and as always Arrow delivered some really string and powerful scenes. I’ve seen quite a lot of complaints over the fight scene between Oliver and Ra’s however I thought it was very well done. The choreography was quick and entertaining and the chant in the background was excellent, really adding to the mood and size of the scene. I thought it ended well too, I remember thinking last week it would be really cheesy to have Ra’s get stabbed through the chest in the same way Oliver was however now I’ve seen it I like how it was done. It signified the arc and progression Oliver has made throughout the season, he truly has become something else. While I don’t necessarily thing killing off Ra’s was a good idea I liked how he died with dignity and never lost that class and presence even in death. He was a fantastic villain this season and did the impossible of not being a disappointment in comparison to Slade Wilson.

 

The strongest character in this episode for me was Diggle. A lot of team Arrow forgave Oliver very quickly over what he did but I liked seeing it continue to grate on Diggle. He shook Oliver’s hand at the end but even then you could see Diggle hadn’t forgotten about what Oliver did to his wife and the trust he broke. It really came across how he felt let down by it all and really I think he’s completely right to think so. We all know Diggle is a great character, the voice of reason, our eyes into this insane world and really the glue that hold everything together and this was another great episode. More than anything else I’m glad with so many characters Diggle still holds focus as I’m always glad when he’s in a scene.

 

I liked the flashbacks this week. I think it did a good job of explaining what happened to Tatsu and Maseo’s characters and I honestly found it quite emotional at times. I liked the comparison between Maseo and Oliver both in some way becoming a monster and up until the ending I thought it was quite well done. The problem isn’t really to do with this flashback, rather the ones leading up to it. This had some really big moments and should have been really impactful, the problem is that the flashbacks leading up to this one haven’t been great and thus haven’t invested me in what’s going on. Purely as a single episode however I thought this week’s flashbacks were good.

 

The Flash had a really enjoyable crossover in this episode, a lot of what he said really made me laugh. It amuses me to think what the assassins must be thinking after being taken out in a fraction of a second before hearing some smartass talking about the cool hot tub. I think The Flash is great and apart from being fun his appearance did a good job of showing the juxtaposition between Oliver and Barry and how they do things. The whole episode in fact had some fun moments, the one that stands out to me is when Captain Lance said the city’s under attack, it must be May.

 

Arrow has some really strong characters so I’m not going to ramble about how Laurel, Thea, Malcom and Ray are good well developed characters but I do enjoy seeing all the members of team Arrow interact. It’s fun but it’s also serious when it needs to be and watching the team do what it does is enjoyable in itself.

 

I mentioned problems with the episode earlier, some of my more nitckpicky one were how it was a little cheesy at times, the part where Felicity used the Atom suit to save Oliver springs to mind. Felicity still isn’t that great character she was in season 2, she was kind of summed up when she wanted Ray to save Oliver over an entire city. I’m also not pleased about Ra’s al Ghul dying. While the fight was done well and I’m glad we’ve seen Oliver progress as well as overcome that mental block to allow him to defeat Ra’s., I just don’t think he should’ve died. He’s Ra’s al Ghul, one of the most dangerous men on the planet after all.

 

My biggest problem however is Oliver and Felicity driving off into the sunset. It just seemed really cliché and while I know they’ll come back and there is going to be a season 4 and Oliver Queen isn’t going to stay retired I can’t help but think this will slow down the start to next season but more importantly this seemed like a big last ever episode of Arrow moment with Oliver finally coming to terms with who he is and what he has become and is now happy for it. I’m not against the Oliver Felicity romance, I just don’t want to see it end at some point into next season and then be forgotten. This would really undermine the arc of season 3 as well as negate the point of the drama.

 

There were some big twists in the episode and the significant one I haven’t yet mentioned is Malcom becoming the new Ra’s al Ghul. This is what made the former Ra’s death okay to me, Malcom is a great character, one who we can never quite be sure of the intentions and it makes you wonder if this was his plan all along. It does make me look forwards to an league of assassins based stories in the future, especially after the scene with him and Nyssa

 

So overall the finale was a good one. It was entertaining, enjoyable and did a good job of bringing this up and down season to a close. It wasn’t perfect by any means but one thing’s for sure, I am looking forwards to Arrow season 4.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 22 - This is your Sword Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 22 – This is your Sword Review

So things are getting intense.

 

Episode 22, This is you Sword follows team Arrow heading to Nanda Parbat to prevent the use of the Alpha-Omega bioweapon. Meanwhile Thea hunts down Roy and in the flashbacks Oliver and Maseo try to hunt down a cure for the bioweapon to use on Akio.

 

I really enjoyed this episode, overall it was really strong and I hardly have any faults with it. My favourite thing about the episode was seeing team Arrow interacting with Oliver now they think he has betrayed them and gone to the league. Props to Stephen Amell, he pulled off the Al Sah-him character really well and sure had me fooled that he had changed for good. Seeing his former allies, especially Diggle being so enraged at him was done really well and at the same time really painful to see such a strong bond broken especially seeing as Oliver is putting on a façade for this whole thing.

 

I also enjoyed the scenes with Ra’s and Malcom. Ra’s as I’ve said before carries such presence and power and it is very apparent that he is the most dangerous man on earth. Malcom is always a joy to watch, you’re never quite sure of his intentions and it makes him extremely interesting. He also has some charm and almost decency but in a sick and twisted kind of way that makes him an interesting character. Despite how many bad things he does it is as if he sees himself as the good guy and convinces himself he is doing the right thing. It makes for an interesting character.

 

Remember last season when after every episode of Arrow you’d think wow Felicity is awesome. She’s strong and has some sass and wit without being a typical strong female stereotype and brings some humour to what is quite a dark show. These days Laurel is the character that does that for me. I find myself looking forward to her in every scene she’s in and I have actually really enjoyed her growth from someone who I thought was pretty pointless and not needed into arguably the level headed and strongest member of team Arrow. Thea is similar in how I used to find her a whiney brat and now I’m looking forward to where her character is going. I want to see some after effects to the Lazarus pit but equally I enjoy how now she tries to fix her problems instead of crying about them as she did when she went to find Roy.

 

Speaking of Roy I want him back on the show. He had developed into a good character, one who while similar to Oliver in some ways was an individual and could have plots focused on him. Saying that the way he left this episode I think was perfect for the character he has become. He became Arsenal to do the right thing and that’s exactly what he did and now you could argue he’s saved both Oliver and Thea, keeping Oliver out of prison and giving Thea purpose again.

 

The big fight with the assassin’s vs Team Arrow was one of my favourite fight scene all series. I thought it was really well done and it was simply entertaining, plus I’m glad Ray turned up, he’s another character I look forward to seeing developed more in the spin off show (It cracked me up seeing him talk to Ra’s al Ghul, maybe I’m just easily pleased). The fight was entertaining but also had some emotion behind it with Katana and Maseo In their battle. It was quite tragic seeing them have to fight like that, especially for Katana who has now seen both her Son and Husband die in her arms. I do think some more time devoted to them in previous episodes would have been good as this kind of came out the blue having Katana back but she is a really cool character and hopefully she’ll be important in the finale.

 

I even thought the flashbacks were decent in this episode, a rare thing recently. They weren’t amazing but I did enjoy them and it didn’t just feel like being taken out of the much more interesting plot as they did tie in to the present day. Not much more to say on them, they all things considered they were okay.

 

I had one problem, Felicity. Man can she whine. I remember back when she was strong and witty and had a fire inside her. We still see glimpses but for the most part she isn’t that same great character I remember. I realise she’s going through a lot and I like seeing characters going through tough ordeals but it’s being just too much of a downer. Diggle is going through a lot too and he still remains interesting and not whiney. Don’t get me wrong I don’t dislike her, she’s just not quite the same. The thing that sums it up for me is when all team Arrow were locked up and she starts about how Oliver is marrying Nyssa. It seemed a little over dramatic and like something out of a soap opera. It’s not even like I’m against the whole Olicity thing, I think it can work as long as they stick with it throughout the seasons and don’t just throw it aside for a new love interest and thus undermining all that happened this season. Not a major complaint, I still like her as a character, I’m more just a fan of Laurel now instead.

 

Next episode is the final episode of the season :’(. Who knows what I’m going to watch on television for the months afterwards (Suggestions will be appreciated) but despite having some ups and downs I do think they have set up this final episode extremely well. I look forward to the finale after a solid episode today.

 

Arrow Season 3 Episode 21 - Al Sah-him Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 21 – Al Sah-him Review

So many twists, so little time.

 

Episode 21 followed Team Arrow as they try to contend with Oliver being gone after joining the league. Meanwhile Oliver returns to Starling in order to eliminate the one threat to his reign, Nyssa.

 

I really enjoyed this episode. Episodes with a lot of Nyssa are always good and this one was no exception. She’s a great character, one who’s not really in the show enough for my liking. It’s interesting to see a complex character who for her whole life has only known one thing is suddenly thrust into a new situation. She is badass but also interesting as we see her struggle between doing the right thing fear of Ra’s and her right as heir to the Demon. It’s strange that daughter of the Demon would be so honourable. Also I must say that the scene with the milkshakes with Laurel was really funny.

 

Speaking of Laurel she has truly won me over. I prefer her like this, she seems happier and more upbeat which means when things get serious we care more about what happens to her. While it is strange to think she has become the voice of reason I like that she has become string and loyal. This is the sort of character I expected Black Canary to be. Furthermore I really enjoy her friendship with Nyssa, it builds on Nyssa’s humanity as well as adds to Laurels character, both as the Canary and the person under the mask. I do also appreciate being shown how Laurel has suddenly become so good in a fight.

 

Al Sah-him is menacing. Stephen Amell did a great job with the subtleties of showing very slight glimpses of Oliver Queen behind the mask of Al Sah-him. I also enjoyed watching Oliver in full flow this episode with the fight scene. We haven’t really seen that for a while on Arrow and it was great to see him fighting. The fight with Diggle was my favourite, we all knew there was no way Diggle could possibly win but at the same time seeing these two guys who are practically brothers fighting to the death was very powerful. One other thing was just a little thing in the opening, My Name Was Oliver Queen. That set the tone perfectly.

 

Arrow does a great job with its powerful scenes and this episode was no exception. For me the best in the episode was the one when Diggle and Felicity confronted Laurel and Nyssa over freeing Lyla. It’s very rare we see Diggle lose it but he slammed her into that wall with such a rage. I love that Diggle is being bought back to the forefront towards the end of the series, he’s such a strong and all around great character as we all know. He’s like the glue that holds both the team and really the whole show together and when for that brief moment I thought he was dead my heart sank. Plus how funny was it when he told Felicity no costume? Maybe I’m just easily pleased but that cracked me up.

 

Thea is an interesting character for sure, she went from whiney to awesome back to sort of whiney and now is awesome again. She was really enjoyable in this episode, I love the determined and almost aggressive Thea. It’s like Malcom said, she’s a warrior and there is some real fight in there. I really liked her moment when she shot the arrow at Oliver and I thought it was great when she talked to Malcom who by the way makes every scene he’s in infinitely better. This is the Thea I want to see in season 4 when she will likely be more of a focus. Strong sure but the cracks are still there and she’s certainly hurting and not as hardened as some of the others.

 

While I thought Thea was great I do want to address something and that’s the so called negative side effects of the Lazarus pit. It’ll probably be more of a focus next season but so far she’s been different for about 30 minutes and I was really hoping to see some conflict and problems come from a supposedly warped mind. The writers did this well with the Mirakuru plot and I thought they were doing something similar here. They probably will, it just seems like something to mention.

 

In these reviews I always have my time to moan about how the flashbacks aren’t very good but this time I won’t simply moan about the flashbacks. I’ll say Katana is really cool … and now moan. They just don’t work as well as last season, they feel kind of disjointed and they barely relate to the main plot. I will be really disappointed if the whole point of the flashbacks was to introduce the virus and kill Akio. I won’t go on too long, the flashbacks just take me out of the really interesting present day plot.

 

Now to talk about the big twists. I hear wedding bells. The look on Oliver and Nyssa’s faces said it all, I was NOT expecting that. It’ll be interesting to see where this is going, obviously they’re not going to get married but it does pose quite the conundrum. Also Ra’s wanting to kill everyone in Starling City is an interesting development. Very reminiscent of Batman Begins, it seems likely this will be the thing that is too far for Oliver and bring him back to himself. Finally Oliver was perfectly willing to kill not only Nyssa but Diggle too. Without Thea he would have stabbed Diggle through the chest. This for me was a big moment and perhaps the moment team Arrow lost faith in him. It was like watching another character, one who would kill his brother.

 

I really enjoyed this episode, not only for its good character development and powerful scenes but it had some great action and set up the rest of the season for a fantastic climax. Can’t wait for next week!

Arrow Season 3 Epsidoe 20 - The Fallen Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 20 – The Fallen Review

So many emotional goodbyes.

 

The Fallen followed the consequences of Thea being killed by Ra’s al Ghul. Team Arrow head to Nanda Parbat as Oliver trades his life for Thea’s and agreed to become heir to the demon.

 

This episode was phenomenal, I really enjoyed it. I’m going to say it, Ra’s al Ghul has reached the same level as Deathstroke in terms of being awesome. He’s such a great villain but for entirely different reasons. Ra’s is like a master chess player, everything he does is methodically thought out and he always knows exactly what to say and do. He also however has depth and we heard a little of his backstory but more importantly he thinks he’s doing what’s best for the world. He’s not just a mindless killer he thinks the world is cruel and wants to change it for the better and he managed to break Oliver into becoming irrational. He has such a presence whenever he’s on screen, he’s a delight to watch.

 

Nanda Parbat itself has a great atmosphere to it. It’s fun to have a little change from Starling City from time to time and the atmosphere to Nanda Parbat really fit the mood. I also really enjoyed the ritual scene with Thea coming back to life. It felt really intense and the chanting made the situation seem a whole lot bigger. I also appreciated being told about the origin of the word assassin.

 

This was an episode that revolved heavily around the relationship between Felicity and Oliver and I do think it was done well. They have been building up to this for a very long time and I think it was a good way to send them off in different directions. I really enjoyed the scene with Felicity talking to Ra’s, it highlighted that strong character we’ve all known over the seasons and showed us as Ra’s said the fire within her. I liked how even with the emotional goodbye while getting all the necessary emotion across she still made Oliver chuckle slightly, for me that’s what her character is all about. Also is you’re an Olicity fan then you can rejoice in happiness now. I’m not an Olicity fan as being an 18 year old guy I’m far too pretentious and uber masculine to appreciate romance but I do think they have good chemistry and they’re talks are good to watch.

 

Speaking of talks there were a lot of them in this episode and they all hit the mark. All the deep one to one conversations got across the tone and purpose they were trying to. It makes us feel sorry for characters and it makes us respect them more. In particular, Felicity talking to Ra’s as I’ve already mentioned but also Diggle talking to Maseo and the rather fitting farewell scene towards the end. Diggle talking to Maseo was a real eye opener in terms of why Maseo is where he is and how great Diggle is. A lot happened in this episode and I’m glad they integrated Diggle in so well. Diggle is great as that wise older brother type character and I loved how he picked on the weakness of a mighty assassin. I thought it was great how a talk with Diggle is what convinced Maseo to let Team Arrow go. The farewell scene was very touching, not only with Felicity but with Diggle too.

 

Finally for the good stuff, Malcom Merlin is such a badass. His actions scenes were great but more than that every time he’s on screen you take notice.  He is acted excellently and he’s such an interesting character to see progress.

 

Negatives time. Flashbacks … yeah, they’re not good anymore. In season 2 they all linked in to what was going on in the present with Deathstroke and Sarah. Now they don’t really connect to what’s going on in the present, the pacing is a bit off and it doesn’t really feel like a connected ark. I think they’re getting to something but it feels like multiple paths that will eventually overlap rather than one continuing arc. I won’t carry on complaining about the flashbacks but it was worth mentioning.

 

I wanted them to go into the effects of the Lazarus pit on Thea a bit more. There was that bit where she jumped out and attacked Oliver but other than that she barely had a line. I realise they will go into the side effects of being resurrected more later on and in the next season but they could’ve had a bit more to it.

 

Finally the lack of Laurel bugged me. I really think she should’ve had some sort of goodbye to Oliver and the small glance we saw of her comforting Felicity and her acting calmly to console her friend despite how awful she must have felt really highlighted how far she’s come as a character. On the bright side she had some great scenes with Cisco on the Flash, she was really quite charming and fun which is far away from the Laurel we all remember from seasons 1 and 2. She was enjoyable, had some funny lines (Especially when she said she’d kill him) and that photo was hilarious, the look on Cisco’s face was priceless.

 

I’ve gone of topic so overall what did I think?  This was a brilliant episode I thought, it really tied together some of the plot threads created this season as well as set up Arrow for the future with Oliver becoming a member of the league of assassins. I really look forward to seeing where they go with this and whether he returns to Starling for the start of season 4. Yep so overall great episode and I’ as excited as ever. Now I’m going to sit here … and wait around for next week for The Flash and Arrow … I should get some friends or something.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 19 - Broken Arrow Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 19 – Broken Arrow Review

Oh man the feels.

 

Broken Arrow followed the aftermath of Roy falsely confessing as the Arrow. We see his experiences in prison and follow Oliver team up with Ray to take down a Meta Human known as Death Bolt.

 

So wow they poured emotion into that episode and it worked incredibly well. I’ll naturally start with Roy and I have to say how much I’ll miss him on the show. He went from a kind of annoying guy in earlier seasons to the guy who ultimately stepped up to save Oliver. I don’t mention acting performances often but big props to Colton Haynes for this performance.  These were some really powerful scenes, the one with Thea in particular was gut wrenching. His fight scene was also great and you could really feel his intentions and understand what he was going through. It seems like he is finally at peace with himself. The evolution of his character is extraordinary and I’ll really miss having him around. It was a fantastic way to send him off. The bromance was strong in this episode.

 

Speaking of bromance I really should mention how great the Oliver Queen character is. I don’t often, I think we all take it for granted but this is one interesting character. You really feel his conflict and inner turmoil and you can see how everything begins to weigh on him. It’s almost like everything is closing in on him, limiting his options and he’s great. It’s like Felicity said, he’s given up everything to be the Arrow. His interactions with Ray were also a lot of fun, it makes an interesting contrast. His seasoned and stoic tone compared the hopeful and optimistic Ray Palmer is a joy to watch.

 

Ray Palmer is a lot of fun, I’m glad he’ll be in the spin off, I’d love to see him be more focussed on. So many of his lines are funny but he’s not just a big joke, he is determined and heroic. I like how he took on Death Bolt, first time he got wrecked but second time even without Oliver he stepped up like any good hero should. It was like another step taken to becoming a hero. There was a problem however which I‘ll get to later.

 

While there wasn’t much to Death Bolt in this episode, he wasn’t really the focus. Ra’s al Ghul however steals every scene he’s in. He has such a presence and such authority. I love how he has everything planned out and he’s so methodical as well as being a total badass. His fight with Thea was so well done. It really got across how powerful he is and he’s losing a fight to no one. He’s incredibly menacing and yet incredibly calm and dignified with it as shown at the end.

 

There were other positive aspects, Captain Lance was enjoyable, his bitterness and determination as well as his obviously not thinking clearly made him really get to the characters. Diggle is Diggle, no more needs to be said and I liked how Felicity wasn’t too much of a downer and her scenes with Ray are a lot of fun to watch. Now however I’m going to talk massive spoilers. We knew someone was meant to die. I thought it was going to be Roy and I have done for a long while. I was feeling very justified along with distraught as he was stabbed in the prison. That scene took such a great character and made him look so powerless to avoid his fate, it was great. The switch u and seeing him alive was such a massive relief and at the same time done so cleverly I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted it too happen. It was a great twist and after a touching scene when each member of team Arrow says goodbye to him in a completely fitting way we got another even bigger WTF moment. Thea’s death at the hand of Ra’s al Ghul made my jaw drop about 50 feet. After a very well done fight scene I was thinking maybe he was just messing with her or maybe he’s take her hostage. I was absolutely gobsmacked when he killed her.  This was a great twist as you would think it would open many doors for the end of the series. It seems almost certain she’ll go in the Lazarus pit and be resurrected but will it send her insane. She doesn’t know Roy is still alive after all. It also seems to open a way for Oliver to take Ra’s al Ghul’s place and they can do so much with this it really excites me to see what happens.

 

Negatives time. I enjoy Ray Palmer a lot but let’s face it, he does not suit the tone of Arrow at all. Some of his lines made me laugh a lot and it was hilarious seeing him high five Oliver but sometimes the changes in tone can be a little too jarring. It’s necessary to have lighter moments but sometimes he take things a little too un-seriously for what’s going on. This isn’t a big complaint however as I did enjoy his presence and he does make a nice contrast to Oliver’s brooding. I almost like him for similar reasons I like the Flash TV show. He’s light hearted in comparison to Arrow but still has his serious moments and doesn’t go as far as to be camp and silly. It is worth mention however that for me at least the shifts can be a little too jarring, at least for me.

 

The other issue is the flashbacks. This was an odd one as while a lot happened it still felt very slow and even a little dull. The flashbacks in previous series were constantly intense as well as building on Oliver’s character to give us a better understanding of him in present day. Now however they don’t really seem to be going anywhere. Even when it does reach the climax I don’t see it really wowing us. Hopefully I’m wrong but the build up at least has not been very interesting at all and now it looks like they’re cutting out Amanda Waller, the best part of the Hong Kong flashbacks. I should mention that I liked seeing her in a weaker state, she’s always been powerful and I enjoy seeing such powerful characters with such presence at their weakest, similar to when we saw Malcom Merlin’s fear of Ra’s al Ghul.

 

Next week’s episode is called The Fallen and will likely see Oliver and the gang head to Nanda Parbat to use the Lazarus pit on Thea. It looks promising and I can’t wait to see how Thea reacts after coming back to life.

 

Broken Arrow was a fantastic episode and one I heavily enjoyed. It did a good job of really setting up where the rest of the season will go and did a fantastic job of setting a character on his way who I think we’ve all really grown fond of. A great episode and a great finale to who has become a great character.

 

Arrow Season 3 Episode 18 - Public Enemies Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 18 - Public Enemies Review

Well that’s what I’m talking about.

 

Public enemy was primarily about Captain Lances Manhunt for the Arrow as he goes mad in his pursuit in his grief for his daughter. Meanwhile Ray Palmer is hit with an arrow from Maseo disguised as the Arrow and needs lifesaving surgery to save his life.

 

If you couldn’t already tell by my opening line I really enjoyed this episode. Not that Arrow hasn’t been good, it has but it hasn’t quite lived up to the brilliant climax to season 2 with Deathstroke. This episode however felt to me at least just as good as last season.

 

The overall atmosphere of this episode was great. With the Police closing in you could feel the tension and how desperate the situation got for Oliver. Especially while he was cornered in Diggle’s apartment Oliver was like a cornered rat with little chance of survival. It was great seeing the tide of power turn.

 

It seems obvious to say but I enjoyed Captain Lance in this episode. Laurel at one point commented on how he was going mad and in a way this really came across. He is obviously enraged and incredibly determined to get his man. He is an enjoyable character, I like seeing his conflict between doing the right thing and keeping everything within the law. He is feeling very betrayed by everyone he thought cared about him. He is still mourning the loss of his daughter and its eating him up inside and while he obviously isn’t thinking straight his  situation is so tragic that you can sort of understand why he’s doing what he is, especially considering he saw someone who looks a lot like the Arrow fire an arrow into the Mayor. On top of this his seen in the prison truck with Oliver was great, it was like seeing Oliver’s greatest fears and regrets manifest in front of him.

 

I loved the chase scene with team Arrow escaping the police. The battle against the assassins was cool, Ra’s al Ghul was great, appearing as calm and in control as ever. The escape from the police was intense and I thought it was very fitting how each team Arrow member escaped.

 

Roy having to shoot police officers was a great way to resurface the guilt he was feeling over the cop he killed in his Mirakuru induced rage. It set up the guilt he was racked with later on and his sacrifice in place of Oliver. Of all the characters it makes most sense he would get himself arrested to protect Oliver, not just to protect Oliver but he thinks he deserves to be locked up.

 

Laurel being cornered by her Father while expected was a sad situation to watch. Laurel wants to re connect with her Father, he is hell bent on bringing the Arrow to justice. As she says, he is in all kinds of pain and I liked that Nyssa came to her aid. I’ve mentioned before how I really like Nyssa and the budding friendship between her and Laurel. It makes sense and with all the craziness and difficulty of being a vigilantly it seems likely that Laurel would be pleased to have a friend who wasn’t lying about Sara.

 

Finally Oliver’s escaped proved one thing. You can always rely of Diggle. In all seriousness when it all got serious I was glad to see Diggle come to the rescue. Similarly I liked they hid in his apartment. It shows how reliable he is and the trust you can always confide in him. I also liked how Oliver was said to be the origin of all the people in masks. With all the spin offs and the Flash show (Which is awesome by the way) it’s good to know that he is almost like the Batman of the DC television universe. He may not have super powers but he’s the big player and the main man in it all.

 

Slightly different to the tone of everything else but Ray and Felicity’s scenes in the hospital were very enjoyable. Slightly lighter in tone yes but Ray’s attitude to being in hospital and facing death was a lot of fun to watch. He made me chuckle multiple times and his chemistry with Felicity is bubbly and fun to watch. It’s good that he is very different to Oliver, he’s new to all this and his positive outlook reflects that.

 

Finally I really like Felicty’s mum. She is such a fun character, she’s funny but at the same time she has heart and you can see she genuinely cares about her daughter and tries to do what’s best for her. I also like how she clearly isn’t meant to be as bright as Felicity (Who is) but you have similar reactions to her that Felicity does, as in wait what? Or a massive face palm. The best example was “At least you have a boyfriend”. She is trying to help and trying to make her daughter feel better and in a way I’m sure her strange comments helped Felicity cope as she knew she has her support but it was still a really odd thing to say and I found it really funny. Hopefully she’ll still be in the show next episode.

 

The flashbacks were okay. I’m glad Katana’s back, she’s great and I enjoy the scenes with Oliver and Akio, it’s an endearing older brother type relationship and I am starting to care about the kid and I want him to be okay. They are setting up for something bad to happen and I will be sad if he is harmed in some way. However while I like the character interactions I’m not so keen on where the flashbacks are going. Last season they held real purpose with the history of Slade and setting up the plot in the present, in Hong Kong they’ve just been on the run for a while. I think they are setting something up which is going to be big but for now it does feel just like that, set up. I did like Shado’s sister though and I enjoyed her reaction to the news of her family’s death.

 

The other negative I have is a bit of a nit-pick but worth mentioning. I didn’t like Felicity’s reaction to Ray saying he loved her. Yes nit-picky and I sound like a girl watching a chic flick but I don’t see what the point of going through all the fun scenes was if she’s just going to awkwardly scuttle off. I mean damn it women is nothing good enough for you! All joking aside it did seem a little odd, she just saved his life, you’d think they’d be even closer now than before and last week she wanted to be his partner though his ATOM stuff or whatever it was.

 

Next episode will likely see what happens to Roy in prison. Supposedly someone is supposed to die and it seems like it will either be Roy or Quentin. It’s sad because both these characters are great but I still think Roy is more likely. Either way I loved this episode and cannot wait for next week. 

 

Arrow Season 3 Episode 17 - Suicidal Tendencies Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 17 - Suicidal Tendencies Review

Another episode of Arrow comes and another cliff hanger leaves us all impatiently for next week’s episode.

 

Suicidal tendencies was, shocker, a suicide squad episode following the newly wed Mr and Mrs Diggle along with just who you’d want on your honeymoon to rescue a U.S Senator in Kaznia, Deadshot and Cupid. Starling City meanwhile was host to a battle between the conflicting Arrow and Atom.

 

My favourite part of the episode was the flashbacks. The flashbacks that don’t involve Oliver are always great strangely and this one was no exception. Floyd Lawton has always been interesting. While at first you really try not to like him at first as he killed Diggle’s brother you cannot help but sympathise with him. He seems remorseless at first but the more of him we saw the more sympathetic he comes across. There are more layers to him than we first thought and he is interesting if nothing else. This episode showed us he does have morality and he does mean well but he’s so messed up in the head from what he’s had to done. It made his heroic sacrifice all the more meaningful and I was genuinely sad. I hope he comes back some day but I can’t see it happening as if nothing else the film’s already cast him.

 

The suicide squad episodes are always enjoyable and this was no exception. I was kind of disappointed that Bronze Tiger didn’t come back but as a replacement Cupid was brilliant. I really liked her, she was crazy but at times kind of endearing for it. Plus some of her lines really made me laugh, especially her moments with Deadshot. On top of this the chemistry between Dig and Lyla is very likeable and believable. I like how the act like real people in a real relationship. They’re not just lovey dovey all the time, but even the dryer moments between them show the audience that they do genuinely care for each other and they are likeable as a result. Lyla doesn’t turn up that often but she’s always enjoyable when she does, she’s a good strong character and the suicide squad is a great little distraction from the main show. I would absolutely love a spin off show about task force X but with the movie being made his seems highly unlikely to ever happen.

 

My favourite scene back in Starling City was the fight scene between the Arrow and Atom. It played out just how I think it should have, the Atom does have more tech and thus is technically more powerful but the show often refers to Oliver’s experience as a key factor and ultimately after Roy was quickly overpowered Oliver triumphed through his own cunning. The interactions between Oliver and Ray was also very believable, Oliver is obviously not pleased about what he’s doing but has to accept it in order to come out of the situation peacefully. You do sense his uneasiness however with the situation and it does seem likely they’ll continue to clash without being fully at each other’s throats like they were here. It is apparent how different their views on the world and crime fighting is.

 

Ray Palmer is a likeable character and I do enjoy his chemistry with Felicity. It is a refreshing change of pace for Arrow to have an upbeat almost Flash like character and he is enjoyable to watch, even in the scenes by himself. His suit was also pretty cool and the abilities were exciting and pretty badass. He is a bit too similar to Iron Man and there’s something about his helmet that I don’t like but he is enjoyable and interesting to watch.

 

He does however sum up the biggest issue with the show and that is that it is getting a little too big. Its cast of characters while all intriguing and fun to watch in their own right does at times feel a little bloated. It’s not that any of them are uninteresting, the issue is character are often side lined for whole episodes. This episode for example had no Thea or Merlin, two characters who are very interesting and important of late. Roy in this episode while having a few funny lines (Especially the one about Ray’s suit being awesome) but let’s face it there was very little reason for him to be there other than he kind of had to be. Back when there was a smaller cast of characters and we got a lot of time with Oliver, Diggle and Felicity it almost felt more personal and more tightly focused.

 

This is almost a credit to the show as they’ve made so many characters I’ve become invested in and maybe I should congratulate the show for making me want more and I will get used to the increasing size of the show but for now it can be a little irritating. The final scene of the episode was superb and it does a great job of setting up next episode where Quentin is likely to go nuts trying to catch the Arrow. It was a very well done scene with the contrast of emotion, as well as then high intensity change as the mayor was killed by Maseo’s arrow.

 

Overall however I thought this was a solid episode. It had its good action, it was quite dramatic but in a good way. I do think they overplayed the romance triangle between Oliver, Ray and Felicity a tad at times but not enough to make it feel obnoxious or ruin the episode. It was dramatic but also slightly more light hearted I though than usual and it did make a nice change of pace. The flashbacks were superb and even the wedding was enjoyable to watch, when it’s so dark and bleak a lot of the time it is very enjoyable when the characters have a really happy moment like in this episode. So yeah, a good episode and I’m definitely hooked and can’t wait for next week.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 16 - The Offer Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 16 - The Offer Review

After an annoying break Arrow returned with a slid episode to start the push to the end of the season.

 

The offer focused on well, the offer made by Ras al Ghul to Oliver to take over the league of assassins and become the next Ras al Ghul. The flashbacks followed Oliver and Akio as they evade their attackers through Hong Kong.

 

I really did enjoy this episode as I like what it is setting up. Its main job was to set up the bigger things happening towards the end of this season and I think it did its job very well.

 

I think my biggest positive was Ras al Ghul. I like that they make it very clear he is the most dangerous villain Oliver has ever faced, both in terms of skill and his mind. I really enjoyed the scenes of him talking to Oliver in the Nanda Parbat. You could see how clever he is and how easily he got under Oliver’s skin, to a point where Oliver very nearly accepted his offer. It was both the little subtleties and how royal and authoritative he always appears that really define his character and I like he never shows any sign of weakness or panic. We also see how conniving he is and I look forward to seeing him more. He hold and exhibits real power just with his presence on screen and it’s fun to watch.

 

I really enjoyed the scenes with the original team Arrow members, being Oliver, Diggle and Felicty. It was great that it was them who convinced Oliver to not to take up Ras on his offer and it shows that no matter how many new characters they introduce, these will be the big three of team Arrow, a trifecta of awesome. Diggle’s great and his advice is as good as ever but the real enjoyable scenes were with Felicty. We had been missing these scenes between Oliver and Felicty lately and while she’s great with Ray it is nice to see them connect again. Their scenes always have a slight comedic edge with Felicty (Evil incorporated made me laugh) but they are always very heartfelt and meaningful. It shows us how much Oliver relies on Felicty and I will continues to enjoy their scenes. They’re two great characters that really complement each other perfectly and I don’t even mean in the romantic aspect, rather in terms of a bond and how it brings a real connection to the characters.

 

I’ve really come around to Laurel, I think she’s great which is not a popular opinion. I like that now she’s the Black Canary she is very relevant but she doesn’t take up too much focus. Kind of similar to Roy I think they’re using her the right amount and for me personally she really works. She’s pretty badass in a fight, she has some sass about her. She can be slightly overly emotional but so can everyone else, it’s just part of the drama. I no longer find her whiney, instead she’s more proactive and I like that she’s not trying to be Sara. I also find some of her dialogue quite funny, with the sass and occasional sarcasm and I think the writers are admittedly finally doing a god job with her.

 

It looks like we’ll be getting more of Nyssa and that is fine by me. I enjoy her character a lot, sure she does some cool assassin stuff but more importantly she is a very interesting character. She has obviously been very torn up by Sara’s death and her Father’s neglect and I’m looking forwards to seeing her motivations without following the league. I also enjoy her friendship with Laurel, they do have genuine respect for each other they do seem to find some comfort in each other of Sara. They’re both having a tough time and I hope and I hope this isn’t some fake out thing and Nyssa is just using Laurel, the friendships in Arrow are always really great, whether it’s within team Arrow or like when Tommy was still alive. The other thing that makes Nyssa interesting is she believes she is doing the right thing despite how many she kills. She does believe in justice and honour which is why I think she did seek out Laurel just for a friendly face and somewhere to go. Seems like we’ll get more of her and I can’t wait to see.

 

As always Merlin (That one big happy family line cracked me up) was great, Detective, I mean Captain Lance is very enjoyable to watch. I really felt the pain he was going through watching this, he was harsh but understandably so, he was lied to by everyone he trusts about the death of his own daughter. I also really enjoyed the action scenes in this episode, they were very well done as was the dialogue as always.

 

 

I did have some weak points though. The flashbacks were pretty pointless, pretty much nothing happened until we saw Shado right at the end. I’m sure it’ll be explained but I doubt that really was Shado, we saw her clearly dead and buried in a grave. It is interesting to see who that is but having Oliver and Akio walk around Honk Kong talking about nothing in particular and basically just filler wasn’t very interesting. It’s a shame as the flashbacks have been pretty weak lately but then again they do seem to be leading up to something so at least it’s not just wasted time, or at least I hope not.

 

Thea was also pretty weak here. She wasn’t awful but she did seem to whine quite a lot, similar to how she was in season one. The only saving grace was that she is going through a lot and it would probably send me crazy too, I just think they spent a little too much time with her as all she did in this episode was complain about how awful everything is. It’s not that they shouldn’t have shown this, just not quite as much.

 

The villain wasn’t very strong but then again he was by no means the focus. He just wasn’t very interesting, all he was there for was something for Oliver to save people from to get his realisation. He didn’t really serve much of a purpose, he could’ve been replaced with any random thug. I also didn’t really like Oliver’s realisation. He realised that he was doing this to help people? Isn’t that obvious and wouldn’t that be even easier to do as head of the league of assassins. Also he says about how there were casualties before saying he’s doing this to help people. I’m pretty sure a lot of people were shot, so a lot of the policemen didn’t make it home like he was saying. Maybe a bit of a nit-pick but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

So where do I think the show is going? I think Roy is going to die. He’s coming into his own, he knows his place, things look okay for him and now he’s back together with Thea, it seems like they’re setting up a tragic death and I admit it would be tragic as Roy’s a great addition to team Arrow. However I think he’ll die so Thea can take the ‘Speedy’ mantel as well as heap more regret and tragedy onto her character to push her towards bigger things. Maybe it’ll make her do good or maybe it’ll unleash her inner darkness but I think it will happen.

 

Overall this episode was really good, then again I always say that about Arrow. It was enjoyable, it opened a lot of doors for what they can do and set up what is looking like it’ll be a really great climax to the season. Next week’s episode see’s Dig get married, the return of the suicide squad and the Atom learning the identity of the Arrow. I can’t wait.