Arrow has had its share of ups and downs this season. When the show is good, it is epic. When it is bad…well, it’s still better than it was in Season Three, but way off kilter. Thankfully, “Beacon of Hope” lives up to its title and delivers one of Season Four’s best episodes yet.
Brie Larvan (Emily Kinney), aka the Bug-Eyed Bandit, returns in this episode and she is after the bio-chip that Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum) developed that allowed Felicity to walk again. She’s going to be needing the chip for herself very soon. She has a tumor on her spine that needs to be removed, but the surgery will leave her paralyzed. The Bug-Eyed Bandit takes the board of directors of Palmer Technologies hostage to get what she wants, and in the process traps Felicity, Thea and Donna Smoak (Charlotte Ross) inside the Palmer Technologies building with the use of her robot bees.
Meanwhile, the remaining members of Team Arrow are having to deal with a very moody and brooding Oliver Queen who seems lost without Felicity. When they learn of the danger Felicity and the others are in, they get ready to go into action to save them. They get an unexpected hand from Curtis who goes looking for Green Arrow when he sees the danger that Felicity is in. Curtis discovers the Arrow Cave and Captain Lance voices my sentiment perfectly when he wonders if anyone can just walk into this secret headquarters now.
Curtis learns that Oliver is Green Arrow, Laurel is Black Canary and that Diggle is someone, he’s just not sure who though. Curtis then effortlessly step into the role that Overwatch played on the team and helps Oliver and the others take down the Queen Bee-tch herself and rescue her hostages.
While Team Arrow is dealing with Larvan, Damian Darhk (Neal McDonough) is finding prison life not too agreeable, especially since H.I.V.E. has grown weary of his antics and temper tantrums and have decided prison is the perfect place to let him stew for a while. Indeed, the only one left on his side is Malcolm Meryln (and when Malcom is your only friend, you are royally screwed). Darhk’s incarceration leads to him encountering Michael Amar (Adrian Glynn McMorran), aka Murmur, who was last seen in “The Offer,” and having just enough pull left on the outside (and access to Murmur’s grandmother) to sway Amar to his side to become a reluctant ally. Still, I get the feeling prison will not be kind to Darhk.
Also, the flashbacks are starting to really pick up the pace as Oliver confronts Reiter (Jimmy Akingbola) and we find that there are limits to Reiter’s powers that are connected to his new totem.
Like I said, “Beacon of Hope” is a huge improvement over some of the previous episodes from this season. It manages to hit the lighter tone that the show seems to have been striving for this year and finally hits the mark. Much of this is due to Echo Kellum, whose Curtis Holt is a blast to watch. The character brings much needed excitement and enthusiasm to Team Arrow and his reactions remind me of Cisco’s on The Flash. This guy is having fun as a crime fighter and it shows. Plus, I can relate to someone who throws out pop cultural references like he does. This guy speaks my language. It was announced recently that Kellum was being brought on to the show as a series regular in Season Five and that is great. With luck, we may get to see him as his alter ego, Mr. Terrific by then too.
The Walking Dead’s Emily Kinney returns in this episode too and she seems to be having a ball with the Bug-Eyed Bandit. Personally, I was all abuzz with her bee puns and you better bee-lieve she was out to sting Felicity and company. Okay, I had to get those out of my system. But seriously Kinney knows how to get into the fun of bee-ing a super-villain and bee-having badly.
Forgive me, I have a problem.
As I said, this is a fun episode and the tone for it was nearly pitch perfect. Sadly, the tag at the end when we see Meryln meet with Darhk’s ace in the hole and learn it is Andy Diggle (Eugene Byrd), coupled with the previews for the next couple of episodes lead me to believe the good times might be over for Team Arrow all too soon. I get the feeling we’re heading for the home stretch and the events that will cultivate in the season finale and the mystery of the grave that has run throughout this season. Until then, enjoy the good times while you can, and know “Beacon of Hope” is one of those good times. Overall, I give it 4 stars.