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 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 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.

 

 

 

Arrow Season 3 Episode 15 - Nanda Parbat Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 15 - Nanda Parbat Review

Damn Arrow and its dumb cliff-hangers right before it goes on a break.

 

Okay these cliff-hangers are great once they’re resolved but I can’t help but sit here and wait in anticipation. Yes reader your right I should go and get some friends.

 

This brings me to the positives of the episode where I’ll start with Diggle or ‘Dig’ as I think I should call him. One of my biggest issues with season 3 is that Diggle has taken a bit of a back seat. That’s not to say the show has been bad, far from it but one of the things that made the show so good was the interactions between Diggle and Oliver. Those conversations they have where Diggle acts as the voice of reason are highlights of the show and we got an abundance of them here. The scene that summed this up was the one when they were in the prison in Nanda Parbat. Diggle calls Oliver a Brother. Diggle was the one who went with Oliver as despite how great the other characters are Diggle is the one he can rely on the most.

 

Diggle getting more time in the spotlight was great. We saw Lyla and his baby again for the first time in a long while. The strongest core of the show I find is the original trifecta of Oliver, Diggle and Felicity. Felicity has also been missing for a while. We haven’t had the funny and slightly awkward Felicity with her tension with Oliver. Fortunately for us she was back to her old bubbly self. Her banter with Ray was admittedly a bit of a contrast with the rest of the episode and seemed more like it belonged on The Flash but I thought it was an enjoyable contrast.

 

I was wondering where Ray had gone recently and it gave a suitable answer. Apparently there are a lot of fans for the whole Oliver and Felicity romance thing but I think she is necessary for the Ray Palmer character to work. I did find it funny how sex gave Ray the inspiration to complete the problem to finish his suit. I also found it funny how he nearly blew up the building. It was a little out of place but I enjoyed the slightly lighter tone of these scenes.

 

The other biggest positive is Ras al Ghul. After the return of Manu Bennet as Slade Wilson last week I wondered if he was going to be a little underwhelming but this certainly was not the case. He is incredibly menacing and powerful. I loved the part where he has Malcom Merlin begging for mercy. Merlin is a powerful character, we saw him as the villain in series 1. He can kill without remorse and even earlier in the episode took out Laurel with ease. Since he became an assassin we haven’t seen him in any kind of vulnerability but Ras al Ghul had him begging for mercy. He commands such authority and power and I think the actor did an excellent job in portraying this.

 

We also see how intelligent he is in how easily he tricked Oliver and Diggle and trapped them. I love the dynamic between Oliver and Ras al Ghul. There is clearly a respect between them as shown by the ending. However Oliver fears Ras as Ghul as he’s the one opponent he cannot defeat.

 

I like the consistency in Laurel’s character. Yes she makes some irrational decisions such as taking on Merlin but it does highlight how inexperienced and how much of a novice she is. We saw this when Nyssa walk past and tells her to stand aside. She’s not as ridiculous in her actions as before though. I was glad she didn’t blame Thea and I like her scenes with Nyssa. It was a heart-warming scene when they talked about Sara and I really enjoyed the scene where Laurel talked to Thea. She’s like a younger sister to Laurel and the conflict it sets off is hard for the both of them. I have been critical of Laurel but every episode makes me like her more. I just wish she had a cool weapon and not just a stick.

 

Thea is an interesting point. I wouldn’t call her a negative per say but there were more issues with her than anyone else. She is getting very dark and while I like it  as she is going through a lot, the problem I had was she did play the victim a bit. When talking to Roy especially she acted like she was in a fa worst place than anyone else. Yes it is very hard for her, but it is for Roy too and I felt quite bad for him when he was trying to help Thea. I am interested to see what happens between her and Nyssa though. Obviously Nyssa won’t kill her, she too important a character but Nyssa doesn’t strike me as the understanding type and it’ll be interesting to see how she escapes.

 

The other negative was the flashbacks. They weren’t terrible, it was just nothing really happened. They need to expand on them next episode since as really all that happened was they hid for cover from machine gun fire for a while.

 

Now it’s time to discuss the ending. I think we all know Oliver won’t become the next Ras al Ghul but I do wonder if he’ll at least consider it. I doubt Ras will simply let him think about it without trying to be persuasive. Ras truly believes in any means being necessary after all to purge the world of evil. I wouldn’t be surprised if Oliver seriously thinks about it, especially considering the cracks starting to appear in team Arrow. With Thea so guilty, Felicity moving to Ray Palmer and Laurel so conflicted since Oliver came back he hasn’t been the leader as he was before. Things have changed, even Roy stood up to him and really only Diggle is actually at his side as he was before. Diggle is still a brother to him and I think there will be a huge internal conflict within Oliver. The series has been about identity and he may think becoming Ras al Ghul is the best way to save his city.

 

I really enjoyed Nanda Parbat. It did start a little slowly but I felt the build-up was necessary for the overarching story of the episode. I can’t wait to see what happens when the show returns, in particular I’m interested in how team Arrow seems to be fracturing. I also have to mention that we saw the Lazarus Pit. Thinking back to series 1 who ever though immortality would be a thing in Arrow. Episode 15 was definitely great and I’m excited to see where the show is going.