I continue to applaud this season’s resolve to squeeze in more action, and to give us less of the talky talk. Right from the get-go, bam! Bam bam bam! Now if they would just cut loose those damn flashbacks. Seriously, how long was Oliver gone anyway? He managed to squeeze in 50 years of experiences, I swear. I think he should automatically do a cameo on any other show where there’s a flashback sequence. Maybe by the series finale we’ll find out the island he was marooned on was the same one from Lost. Then they could go back and cg him into those episodes. “Oliver Queen is everywhere!”
This week’s episode, “Restoration,” was a little less crappy than last week’s. Neal McDonough continues to play Damien Darhk like a boss. The best part of any Arrow episode is when he’s on, without a doubt. We also get, if I’m not mistaken, our first meta-villain in Double-Down. What he lacks in character, he makes up for in innovation, as he can generate deadly, razor-sharp playing cards from his tattoos.
Felicity gets tough on Oliver and John about the true nature of cooperation in a speech that is only slightly less embarrassing than the entire “Forgiveness” sub-plot in which it occurs.
The centerpiece of this week’s episode is the return to Nanda Parbat. John Barrowman is now the de facto despot of the League, and every assassin is required to know at least one Broadway show tune. Excluding all numbers from “Cats.” We learn that Thea’s only chance of being cured is to either indulge her bloodlust (Malcolm Merlyn’s preference) or to resurrect Sara Lance.
???????
Yeah, I listened to his explanation of this several times and I couldn’t follow the thread of his logic, either. Explanation: because plot.
Bringing Sara back does creates some interesting conflict between Nyssa Al Ghul and Laurel. Nyssa says that Laurel’s desire to bring back her sister is out of grief and not love. This is food for thought. Hopefully the show’s writers will continue to mine this idea in future episodes. How far will someone go to sacrifice ideals in the name of love? And what of love that is motivated by self-interest? I suspect, like Frankenstein’s monster, Sara will have some thoughts to offer on this theme.
If you hadn’t guessed from my last comment, yeah, they bring her back. They done did it now. Sara’s all snarly and scratchy. Nyssa poisons the Lazarus Pits for good (a secret she learned from her late father) and promises Merlyn that she’s gonna shiv his ass when he’s not lookin’. (Don’t drop the soap, MM!) The LOA is all a mess.
The biggest caveat I have about this episode is the scene where Double Down goes to kill Felicity and her nerd pet, Curtis Holt. Which he fails miserably at because, who knew, this world-class meta-assassin would have to face the masterful dodging and flailing of two average people. What the hell? How is this even remotely possible? The man kills people for a living! He grows razor sharp weapons out of his body! I guess having to aim at people who are moving is his kryptonite. The best part is when Felicity, who having never handled an automatic weapon (or, doing a great impression of someone who has never handled an automatic weapon) manages to go all Inspector Clouseau and accidentally scares him away with some lucky shots. I know it’s a comic book show. I know it’s not a great comic book show, even. But clichés like this really hamper my ability to suspend and believe, y’all.
That’s it for this week. Like Roy Harper, I’m outa here.