Some Spoilers Ahead
After last weeks' shocking conclusion, we were left wondering about Team Arrow. This week jumped right into the aftermath and it was great. I loved the fact that they went for more of a character study, rather then just trying to move past it. Everything worked pretty well this week.
After the death of Sara last week, we were bound to see some sort of aftermath. It just wasn't what I expected. I figured there would be a lot of vengeance and stuff along those lines this week. Instead, we examined how each character is dealing with this death. I personally loved it. It gave almost every character (sorry Roy) a chance to shine. This was probably the smartest move, too. The actors really put on a clinic. Stephen Amell, in particular, has come a long way from the beginning of the series. He did a great job of portraying a man on the verge of breaking down and shutting down throughout the whole episode. It was clear that this death had a huge effect on him and to see him with tears in his eyes pretty much the whole episode was pulled off well. Laurel was also pretty awesome this week. They started planting the seeds of her being Black Canary last year, and they are going full in on it this year. Sara's death pushed her over the edge and it was great to see a bada** Laurel.
The episode did a great job with Ray Palmer. I didn't like him last week, but this week he really won me over. I also loved that he is also starting to win Felicity over. Speaking of which, that little exchange she had with Oliver was amazing. I was glad that someone finally called him out on his emotional unavailability, and his response was also great. What I liked most was Felicity's little jab at him, which shows that she isn't over the events of last week. I want to see some resolution to that in the next few weeks. Diggle also got a brief moment. First, it was when he dedicated his daughter to Sara's memory. And two was when he gave Oliver some advice. That was a great scene, and a great build off of Felicity's rant.
One thing that was epic this episode was the action. I find myself more and more amazed each week with what the creators of this show and The Flash can do with the action and special effects. That motorcycle scene was movie quality, and it was one of the best action scenes that they have done to date on the show. I also wasn't averse to the fight scenes with Komodo at Ray Palmer's fundraiser. I have enjoyed the Arrow/Arsenal tag team this season and hope they get a little more to do. Hopefully, they keep raising the bar.
The flashbacks were a little off this week, but only because they had no relevance to the story of the week. I enjoyed Tommy's appearance in the flashbacks. I liked Oliver's little interrogation with him. I thought it was great, but would've worked better if it related to the story this week. The episode set up some interesting developments with Felicity accepting a job with Ray and Laurel not telling her dad that Sara is dead. It will certainly lead to some interesting plot points in the coming weeks.
Overall, we got a great episode of Arrow this week. I loved that the show took the characters to a really dark place. We got some standout performances from Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, and Katie Cassidy this week. Amell was amazing. I can't wait to see more of these plot threads explored, because this episode added a few more onto the ones from last week. Arrow is definitely the best comic book show on TV.
After last weeks' shocking conclusion, we were left wondering about Team Arrow. This week jumped right into the aftermath and it was great. I loved the fact that they went for more of a character study, rather then just trying to move past it. Everything worked pretty well this week.
After the death of Sara last week, we were bound to see some sort of aftermath. It just wasn't what I expected. I figured there would be a lot of vengeance and stuff along those lines this week. Instead, we examined how each character is dealing with this death. I personally loved it. It gave almost every character (sorry Roy) a chance to shine. This was probably the smartest move, too. The actors really put on a clinic. Stephen Amell, in particular, has come a long way from the beginning of the series. He did a great job of portraying a man on the verge of breaking down and shutting down throughout the whole episode. It was clear that this death had a huge effect on him and to see him with tears in his eyes pretty much the whole episode was pulled off well. Laurel was also pretty awesome this week. They started planting the seeds of her being Black Canary last year, and they are going full in on it this year. Sara's death pushed her over the edge and it was great to see a bada** Laurel.
The episode did a great job with Ray Palmer. I didn't like him last week, but this week he really won me over. I also loved that he is also starting to win Felicity over. Speaking of which, that little exchange she had with Oliver was amazing. I was glad that someone finally called him out on his emotional unavailability, and his response was also great. What I liked most was Felicity's little jab at him, which shows that she isn't over the events of last week. I want to see some resolution to that in the next few weeks. Diggle also got a brief moment. First, it was when he dedicated his daughter to Sara's memory. And two was when he gave Oliver some advice. That was a great scene, and a great build off of Felicity's rant.
One thing that was epic this episode was the action. I find myself more and more amazed each week with what the creators of this show and The Flash can do with the action and special effects. That motorcycle scene was movie quality, and it was one of the best action scenes that they have done to date on the show. I also wasn't averse to the fight scenes with Komodo at Ray Palmer's fundraiser. I have enjoyed the Arrow/Arsenal tag team this season and hope they get a little more to do. Hopefully, they keep raising the bar.
The flashbacks were a little off this week, but only because they had no relevance to the story of the week. I enjoyed Tommy's appearance in the flashbacks. I liked Oliver's little interrogation with him. I thought it was great, but would've worked better if it related to the story this week. The episode set up some interesting developments with Felicity accepting a job with Ray and Laurel not telling her dad that Sara is dead. It will certainly lead to some interesting plot points in the coming weeks.
Overall, we got a great episode of Arrow this week. I loved that the show took the characters to a really dark place. We got some standout performances from Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, and Katie Cassidy this week. Amell was amazing. I can't wait to see more of these plot threads explored, because this episode added a few more onto the ones from last week. Arrow is definitely the best comic book show on TV.
Highlights:
| The Score: 9 out 10 Stars |