Arrow Episode Guide: Season 8, Episode 4 - Present Tense

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

Faced with a mysterious new Deathstroke, the original Team Arrow and their time-displaced proteges from the future must join forces.


Influences

The Shawshank Redemption (Curtis makes reference to it, as the team crawl through the sewers to stop Grant Wilson's bombs) and the Rebirth Deathstroke comic. (Mention of Buredunia.)


Goofs

The usual rules regarding paradox and changing your own past are handily ignored by Team Arrow 2040. (Presumably whoever brought them back in time is also preventing paradox from affecting them?)


Performances

Ben Lewis and Stephen Amell have great interplay as the older William and Oliver.


Trivia

While trying to determine the identity of the new Deathstroke, it is said that Slade Wilson is currently in Buredunia.  This is a fictional nation on the eastern side of the African continent in the DC Comics universe, which featured in the Deathstroke Rebirth comic series.

The new Deathstroke is eventually revealed to be Grant Wilson - Slade Wilson's eldest son. In a potential future shown on Legends of Tomorrow, Grant Wilson was responsible for exposing Oliver Queen's secret identity to the world and took over the Star City of 2046.

In the original comics, Grant Wilson was the first Ravager - an assassin who tried to follow in Deathstroke's footsteps. When his body was destroyed by the experimental treatments that HIVE developed in an effort to mimic the formula that made Slade Wilson into a super soldier, Wilson swore revenge on the Titans and promised to fulfill his son's contract on the superhero team.

At the end of the episode, Grant Wilson is sent to Blackgate in Gotham City. In the DC Comics Universe, Blackgate Penitentiary is the prison reserved for non-super-powered criminals in Gotham City.


Technobabble

The Deathstrokes send secret messages in an ink that only shows up on wet paper under a black light.

Grant Wilson sets up his bombs on a relay device that can be detonated remotely by a phone.

The relay device is revealed to be an intervalometer, pulsating in a consistently synchronized pattern. It has a transfer switch embedded into the mainframe. Disconnecting the red wire deactivates it.


Dialogue Triumphs

William: Dad, we all have the chance to get to know each other now.
Oliver: If your sister will let me.
William: Mia will come around. You know, she can be a little bit a little bit stubborn and hard to reach sometimes.
Oliver: (dryly) Shocker. Where'd she get that from?
William: (dryly) Mom, I guess.
(The two laugh.)

Mia: You know, I survived my whole life without you. I don't need you to play Dad now.
Oliver: Hey! I'm not playing Dad. I am simply telling you that it is not tactically wise to go out there by yourself...
Mia: Fine. I'll take Laurel.
Oliver: (clearing throat) ...when you are letting your decisions be driven by your emotions. Trust me! I've been there!
Mia: You don't get a say. You gave up that right when you left me and Mom alone in that cabin! How could you just abandon us?!
Oliver: Because I chose to keep you safe, and I chose right.
Mia: You just wanted to be a hero, so you put your mission above your family! Don't worry! You'll learn to live without me pretty easy. Just like I learned to live without you

Oliver: She's right. I chose to go with the Monitor. I abandoned her. I haven't earned a say.
William: Yeah, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want you to have one or or that you shouldn't, and I'm saying that from experience.
Oliver: You have kids in the future?
William: Oh, God, no. I mean, don't get me wrong. Kids are a miracle or whatever, but I was actually referring to when I left you to go live with grandma and grandpa.
Oliver: Yeah. That one's still pretty fresh for me.
William: Right. I mean I... I thought you hated my guts. I hated you for abandoning me.
Oliver: I tried.
William: True, but I wanted you to try harder, push a little more. I think that's all any child wants from their parents.
Oliver: I'm sorry.
William: It's okay. Dad, I am glad that you're in my life. Then and now. And Mia will be, too.


Continuity

It is revealed that John was teleported to Star City, along with Oliver and Team Arrow 2040.

Dinah and Rene learn that Felicity was pregnant and had a daughter named Mia. In the original 2040 timeline, they didn't meet Mia until she was an adult and didn't find out she was Felicity and Oliver's daughter until later.

Connor accidentally lets it slip that John Diggle adopts him, not knowing they had traveled back in time to before that happened.

William tells Oliver that he never saw him again after he left him to live with his grandparents and nobody is sure what happened to Ollie in the future. He just vanished and was presumed dead. He also says that he never saw Felicity again until recently in his time.

William tells Oliver that he became a tech magnate in the future.

William also tells Oliver that he's gay. Oliver says he already knew that.

Archroyal Capital CEO MacMillan Fairfield is the first victim of the new Deathstroke, who sews a bomb into his stomach, timing it to go off inside Starling General Hospital.

Dr. Eliza Schwartz, who frequently treated Team Arrow on the down-low, is killed in the bomb explosion.

Team Arrow determines the new Deathstroke is not Slade Wilson or Kane Wolfman.

Curtis Holt, last seen in 722, comes out of retirement to help fight the new Deathstroke.

Rene is currently running for a City Councilman position in Star City.

Oliver has a sample of cloth clipped by the antimatter wave that destroyed Earth-2. He asks for Curtis to analyze it and find a way to replicate the effect.

Connor accidentally mentions the Canaries to Dinah, describing them as an organization comparable to Knightwatch in his time. High praise indeed, considering he compared ARGUS to a kindergarten glass, relative to the power Knightwatch held in 2040.

According to Connor, "Star City's cancer is the rich" is JJ's favorite catch-phrase.

Team Arrow 2040 find the new Deathstroke in the building that becomes Galaxy One's corporate headquarters in 2040. They are shocked, however, to find the new Deathstroke is not John Diggle Jr., but Grant Wilson - Slade Wilson's older son.

Connor recalls that Grant Wilson founded the Deathstrokes and trained John Diggle Jr., who eventually took over the gang from him.

After Connor reveals to Diggle that his son becomes the leader of the Deathstrokes in the future, William comes clean about the rest of the bad news about the future they tried to keep hidden. Namely, that Zoe Ramirez is dead at John Diggle Jr's hand, that Star City 2040 is a terrible place run by crooked cops and politicians and that Rene Ramirez getting elected to City Council was the start of things going wrong.

The team figures out one big thing has already changed - in the original timeline, Grant Wilson's base was never blown up in 2019. Since that has changed his plans, that may mean the future can be changed and the Deathstrokes can be arrested before they become the cult heroes that inspired John Diggle Jr.

Zoe hates mint chocolate chip ice cream, saying it tastes like toothpaste.

Mia goes to investigate the hopsital bomb site with Black Siren.

Black Siren admits that she doesn't like Oliver and thinks he's a dick.

Black Siren makes reference to the events of 706 and how she talked Felicity out of killing Ricardo Diaz.

Connor and William are able to disarm the bomb.

Mia and Oliver are able to capture Grant Wilson.

Grant Wilson is sent to Blackgate Prison in Gotham City and it is said he'll be there for at least 20 years.

Connor and Diggle make peace.

Rene decides to continue his run for office, but focus on not letting the bad future he heard about happen.

Dinah and Black Siren discuss forming the Canaries a few years early.

Dinah resolves to keep training Zoe.

Curtis tells Oliver he figured out how to replicate the energy wave, but it will require tools he doesn't have, plutonium and be highly illegal. He does, however have a lead on a General who may have the tools they need. He currently lives in Russia.

Black Siren is approached by The Monitor, who says he can restore Earth-2 if she betrays Oliver Queen.


Untelevised Adventures

It is never revealed what Oliver and John were doing when they were teleported to Star City.


The Bottom Line

Better than it has any right to be, given that most of its drama is based around various characters being mad about things that haven't happened yet but which might happen, unless they decide to try and stop it from happening. The effects of this on the timeline are largely ignored and it's still unclear at the end if John Diggle Jr. might be redeemed and Zoe Ramirez might still be alive in the future. Still, there's a lot of good character moments (especially Oliver and William interacting) and the performances help salvage a very strange script.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 6 - Promises Kept

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

As Slade Wilson uncovers the truth about his son's past, Oliver finds himself in exactly the sort of trouble he had promised he would avoid. Meanwhile, back in Star City, the rest of Team Arrow must contend with The Dragon -a new crime boss who stealing advanced technology for an unexpected end and one whom has a surprising connection to one of them...


Influences

The Teen Titans comics of Marv Wolfman and George Perez (plot involving Deathstroke trying to bring the son who emulates him under control) and the Green Arrow comics of Jeff Lemire (character of Ricardo Diaz).


Goofs

Why doesn't Nylander recognize Oliver as the friend who was with Slade at their meeting in the last episode?

Why was the A.S.I.S. training room in Australia getting the Channel 52 news feed?

The whole "Diggle turning to mystery drugs" subplot doesn't make sense and both Lyla and Curtis point out why. Lyla rightly calls John the most moral man she knows and Digg's desire not to burden people would never outweigh his sense of duty to the team. Curtis points out that given that he was able to crate a microchip that could cure paralysis, John should have come to him first about his nerve problems instead of trusting a strange drug dealer.


Performances

Manu Bennett delivers his best performance yet as Slade Wilson. If this is his final appearance, he's ending on a high note. That still won't stop me from hoping for a Deathstroke series in 2018. Make it happen, CW!

Despite how random it was in starting and how quickly it's resolved here, David Ramsey sells the hell out of his performance here as John Diggle coping with drug abuse.


Artistry

The final shot of Slade walking away through a steam-cloud is like something George Perez would have drawn, brought to life.


Trivia

The first business the tech thieves try to rob in this episode is Cadmus Tech. Cadmus, in the original comics, is a scientific concern involved in genetic engineering. In the New 52 universe, they are tied to a business called Cadmus Industries. In the DC Animated Universe, Project Cadmus was an association of scientific, military and government agents who were concerned about the threat posed by The Justice League.

In the DCTVU, on Earth 38 - the world where Supergirl is from - Cadmus is the name of Lillian Luthor's anti-alien group.

Lyla makes a reference to the nation of Vlatava. In the original comics, Vlatava was a small eastern-European nation and home to the villain Count Vertigo.

The second business the thieves hit is the Bio division of Palmer Tech. This is, of course, Ray Palmer's company. They steal a second high-quality 3-D printer.

The character of Richard Dragon was originally created by Dennis O'Neil and Jim Berry for the novel Kung Fu Master, Richard Dragon: Dragon's Fists (1974). O'Neil, best known at the time for his work on Detective Comics and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, later adapted the character for the DC Comics Universe in Richard Dragon Kung Fu Fighter #1 (May 1975). As a teenage sneak-thief in Japan, a young Richard tried to break into a dojo run by O-Sensei. Bested and beaten by O-Sensei's prize student, the old master saw something worth saving in the young thief and took him on as a student. For seven years, Richard studied the martial arts, eventually deciding to use his skills for good. He went on to become one of the best (if not the best) overall martial artists in the DC Universe.

The character of Richard Dragon was introduced to The New 52 reality in Green Arrow #23 (October 2013) by Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino. This version of Richard Dragon was apparently a member of The League of Assassins and was killed by one of his students, Ricardo Diaz Jr., who took Richard Dragon's name.

Ricardo Diaz Jr. was the son of Ricardo Diaz Sr. - a corrupt Seattle businessman, who was killed by John Diggle who was, at the time, posing as Green Arrow. Seeking revenge, Diaz Jr. went off in search of The League of Assassins. After killing his mentor and taking his name, the new "Richard Dragon" returned to Seattle and began killing gang-leaders while posing as a vigilante. In truth, "Dragon" was cementing his control on the underworld with the ultimate goal of killing Green Arrow and taking over his city. To that end, Diaz formed a team - The Longbow Hunters - dedicated to killing Green Arrow.

The DCTVU version of Ricardo Diaz is a career criminal who goes by the street name "Dragon". Once part of a Glades gang called The Scorpions, he was sentenced to Life Without Parole twice for his extensive list of crimes. His convictions were overturned due to technicalities and he has only been out of prison for one month, according to Dinah.

Joe makes mention of a brother named Grant that Slade didn't know about. In the comics, Grant Wilson was Slade Wilson's oldest son, who followed in his footsteps to become the mercenary Ravager.

In one alternate future visited by The Legends of Tomorrow, Grant Wilson was the new Deathstroke who ruled over Star City 2046.

The video game Felicity and William are playing when Oliver returns home is Injustice 2 - a game which features, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Firestorm, The Atom, Supergirl, The Flash, Vixen, Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd and Deadshot as playable characters. None of these characters are seen, however, with Felicity playing as Blue Beetle and William playing as Sub Zero.


Technobabble

The thieves were after a military-grade 3-D printer, capable of printing weapons, drones or chemicals.

Semtex is a high-yield explosive.

The armor which Slade Wilson wore as Deathstroke was developed by the A.S.I.S and was in it's prototype stages in 2011.

"Double jolts of Life Plus One" is a slang term for "two sentences for Life Without Parole".

Curtis says that both the stolen 3-D printers could be used to simultaneously print inert polypropylenes and soft material catalyst composites. This would allow him to make reactionware - i.e. designer street-drugs.

The drug John is taking is an experimental steroid.

In pondering how to solve John's nerve damage, Curtis asks if he's had an electromyogram done, but then corrects himself and says he'll need to do an NCV Test first.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Slade Wilson lies in a hospital bed, his head and right-eye bandaged. He twitches suddenly as we see, from his perspective, flashbacks of his battles on Lian Yu.)
Joe: Father?
(Slade looks up. His gaze focusing. He sees his son, Joe.)
Slade: Joe...
Joe: How are you feeling?
Slade: How did I get here?
Joe: Evac found you washed upon the Philippine coast. They said you were barely conscious. Just muttering someone's name... Oliver. Who is he?
(Slade shudders as he remembers. We see flashes of his battle with Oliver Queen on The Amazo. He reaches up to his bandaged eye.)
Joe: Father?
Slade: ... someone that owed me a debt.
Joe: Everyone left you for dead... but I knew you'd come back.
Slade: I will never leave you again, Joe.
(Joe leans down and hugs Slade. Slade hugs him back.)
Slade: I promise.

Diaz: Until we get our FDA approval, we've got to be careful with the roll out. You understand?
John: I get it. I'm just trying to make it through the day.
Diaz: Aren't we all?

John: To be Green Arrow means that I have to be physically capable of protecting the city. No matter what! Lyla, you make the same choices at ARGUS all the time!
Lyla: Choices you've condemned me for making!
John: I know I'm wrong. But I couldn't let Oliver down.
Lyla: So you let yourself down instead?

(Oliver wakes up, tied up in a chair. He finds a sword point at his right eye. Slade is holding the sword, as Joe looks on.)
Slade: Years ago I made you a promise. Do you remember? I promised that you would suffer. The same way that I suffered.
Oliver: What are you doing? You're not this person anymore.
Slade: What I am is a father. Reunited with my son. I made him a promise too, And I'm not going to break it again.
Oliver: We made each other a promise, Slade. To save our sons! To save Joe. To save William.
Joe: He has a son? I'll make sure he suffers too.
(Slade moves around behind Oliver.)
Oliver: Slade?
(Slade starts to raise up his sword.)
Joe: Do it!
Oliver: Slade?!  Slade!
(Slade grunts and slrikes down... cutting Oliver's bonds. Oliver is out of his chair with a shot, knocking Joe out with a quick strike.)
Oliver: (glaring at Slade) That was a little too convincing.

Slade: I spared your life back there.
Oliver: I know. But back there, it didn't feel like an act, the same way it did with Chase back on Lian Yu.
Slade: Because when I saw my son... I was tempted. I would have done anything to keep us together. But when you mentioned William... I realized that's not my boy. It's Kane. But what I fear is there's only one way to stop him.

Joe: "Trust begins with honesty." That's what you said to me. But you lied!
Slade: You know life is not that simple, Joe.
Joe: That's not my name! How could you forgive Oliver Queen after what he did to you?!
Slade: Because he forgave me for far worse. Sins that I have to carry to the grave. A curse that I didn't want to pass on to you! All of this anger and resentment - it's time to bring it to an end, son!
Joe: (drawing his sword) No. It's just the beginning!

Slade: It's time for you to go home.
Oliver: And where will you go?
Slade: I'm going to keep searching for my son. Both of them. (pauses) I can't give up.
Oliver: If you ever need my help again, you don't hesitate to ask. 
Slade: You have your own son to protect and I'm not going to put that at risk again. You've seen what can happen.
(Oliver nods as Slade offers his hand. Oliver takes it and shakes it.)
Slade: Thank you, kid.
(Slade picks up his bag and walks off. Oliver turns and watches as Slade walks into an alley disappearing into a steam cloud.)


Continuity

Once again, John freezes up trying to fire his weapon as his hands go shaky.

Both Slade and Joe have a taste for single-malt scotch whiskey.

Ricardo Diaz is revealed to be leading the drug-ring that is making the drug that is keeping Diggle's aim steady. Diaz claims they are keeping it on the down-low until the FDA approves it.

John confesses about his nerve damage and his drug use to Lyla.

Slade spent two years (from 2010 to 2012) with his son, training alongside him in the A.S.I.S.. The Mirakuru drove him mad, however, and he killed almost all of his squad, save Joe, before leaving to pursue his vengeance on Oliver Queen, after seeing a news broadcast declaring that Oliver Queen was alive and had been rescued.

Joe reveals that he saw Slade kill a Chinese spy while they were supposed to be on a father-son trip in 2004. (As seen in the flashbacks in 605.) He says he made his first kill six months after that.

Joe reveals that he has a brother named Grant who Slade never knew about.

The Jackals are in custody but Joe/Kane gets away.

William got an A on his science project - a bottle rocket that went further than anyone else in his class.

John confesses his drug use and nerve trouble to Dinah, Rene and Curtis.

They forgive him, though Curtis is more offended that John didn't come to him for help first and promises to find a way to cure John without the steroid.

John promises no more secrets between himself and Dinah. She agrees... as she handles the matcbox that Vigilante gave her 605.


Location

An A.S.I.S. Medical Ward - 2010.
An A.S.I.S. Training Facility - 2011.
An A.S.I.S. Training Facility  - 2012.
A secret bunker in the nation of Kasnia.


Untelevised Adventures

The flashbacks in this episode tell the story of what happened to Slade Wilson in the five years between when he fought Oliver Queen on the Amazo and when he turned up in Star City posing as a businessman financing Moira Queen's run for mayor.


The Winick Factor

The arbitrary introduction of a drug addiction and the swift resolution of it in one issue is very Winnickian.


The Bottom Line

Half great. Half okay.

The only reason the subplot for Diggle works on any level is because of David Ramsey's performance. Had the subplot been given more time to mature, it might have worked more effectively. On the other hand, that would have required us to spend more time contemplating how out-of-character John was acting and how stupid he was for keeping secrets, not turning to the scientist he works with for help, etc.

The Deathstroke subplot, on the other hand, is handled perfectly and it gives Manu Bennett the exit from the series that he deserved rather than the embarrassing way Slade Wilson was handled in Arrow's third season. I really hope this isn't the last we see of Slade, but if it is, it's a grand way to go out.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 5 - Deathstroke Returns

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Slade Wilson returns to ask for Oliver's help in rescuing his long-lost son, Joe, from a Kasnian prison. And for once he needs the help of Oliver Queen - not the Green Arrow. Meanwhile, Vigilante returns to Star City and is apparently out for the head of the councilwoman leading the push against masked crime-fighters. And Agent Watson begins questioning the other members of Team Arrow in her bid to bring down Mayor Queen.


Influences

The Teen Titans comics of Marv Wolfman and George Perez.


Performances

Manu Bennett is as amazing as ever as Slade Wilson.

Juliana Harkavy blows away her naysayers with her performance here. This is the Black Canary we've been waiting for for six years.


Artistry

The scene of Slade fighting the Jackals works rather well, despite making use of the famous sped-up/slow-down editing trick.


Trivia

The leather jacket Dinah wears in the opening scene is the same style worn by The Black Canary in the comics.

The main plot of the episode follows Slade Wilson's efforts to find his son, Joseph. In the comics, Joseph Wilson was the superhero and Teen Titans member Jericho, who had the power to take control of the body of anyone he made eye-contact with. He was rendered mute as a child after having his throat cut while being taken hostage by a terrorist called The Jackal.

Joseph "Jericho" Wilson was reportedly the first comic book character George Perez designed entirely by himself.  The codename Jericho and the fact that he was Deathstroke's son apparently came from Marv Wolfman, but Perez came up with his real name, personality, powers and came up with the idea of Jericho being mute.

Slade says that his son, Joseph, was now using his wife's maiden name - Kane. In the original comics, Slade Wilson's wife was a woman named Adeline Kane.

The idea of Slade Wilson being devoted to his work and putting his job over his family is taken directly from the classic Teen Titans comics. His wife left him after Joseph was rendered mute - an action that occurred because Slade put his professional code of ethics regarding his work ahead of everything else - and took all of their children with her, going into hiding.

Slade says that Joseph is being held in a prison in Kasnia. The nation of Kasnia (or Kazina) first appeared in the DC Animated Universe. It was located somewhere in the Balkans or Eastern Europe and its history was loosely based upon the nation of Yugoslavia, suffering from a number of civil wars through its long history.

One Justice League episode - Maid of Honor - focused upon the nation of Kasnia and involved Vandal Savage and his attempts to take control of the country (and then the world!) through an arranged marriage to the country's princess.

Nylander addresses Slade as "The Terminator". This was indeed Slade Wilson's nickname in the comics, given to him before the name became synonymous with a certain murderous brand of time-traveling robot.

Joe Wilson refers to a friend whose dad is a pilot for Ferris Air. In the comics, Ferris Air is the company owned by Carol Ferris - a.k.a. Star Sapphire. An aeronautics company in the original comics, Ferris Air is an airline in the DCTVU.

We find out later that Joe Wilson's full alias is Kane Wolfman. This is a nod to Marv Wolfman - the writer responsible for creating Slade Wilson in the original Teen Titans comics.

The mercenary group that Joe Wilson was investigating was called The Jackals. This is a nod to The Jackal - the terrorist in the original comics who was responsible for slashing Joe Wilson's throat and leaving him mute.


Technobabble

Vigilante either hacked his visor so Team Arrow couldn't track him through it or switched to a new visor technology unlike the one he'd used the last time he fought them.

Bullets can become magnetic if they are stored in an environment with a strong magnetic field.


Dialogue Triumphs

Agent Watson: Excuse me! What are you doing here? You are not SCPD.
Dinah: No. He's not. And this is not a federal case.
Agent Watson: Still doesn't explain what John Diggle, who works personal security for the mayor, is doing at a crime scene.
John: I have relevant experience. And the mayor thought this could use a fresh set of eyes.
Agent Watson: What type of experience?
John: Sniper.
Agent Watson: I don't recall reading that in your military file.
John: I'm sorry. Tell me again why you're reviewing my service jacket?
Agent Watson: Mayor Queen didn't mention he's under investigation?
John: Of course he did. It has nothing to do with -
Agent Watson: But you've been working with him for the past six years. Which makes us overdue for a chat.

(Nylander gives Slade the information he asked for.)
Slade: This should work. Thank you.
Nylander: That's it? Just thank you? No extravagant dinner? No pints?
Slade: Maybe next time. When my son isn't rotting in a third-world prison.
Nylander: He is lucky to have you as a father.
(Slade stops in mid-step.)
Slade: My son wouldn't be in this mess if anybody else was his father.
Nylander: Just be careful, Kamrat. Your boy was snooping around some private-ops mercenaries. Some... not so nice guys.
(Slade turns around and gives Nylander an honest smile.)
Slade: Under certain circumstances, I'm not so nice a guy.

(Slade says that he doesn't intend to see his son once Oliver gets him out of prison.)
Slade: It's better this way.
Oliver: For him or for you? (pauses) Are you... are you afraid that he's going to see you as Deathstroke and not the man you were? The man I think you are now?
Slade: I gave up my right to be his father when I stepped out of the light, into the shadows and became this monster.
Oliver: Your son will forgive you. The way that my son forgave me.
Slade: Joe knew that I was coming to look for him. So he contacted his mother. And she sent me a message to stay away. You got your second chance, kid. And I'm happy for you. Some fathers aren't that lucky.

John: Are you having as much trouble with Oliver working with Slade as I am?
Felicity: No. I'm having a lot more.

(Oliver is protesting Slade planning to take on The Jackals alone.)
Oliver: I am not letting you do this.. alone...
(Oliver passes out, collapsing into his chair. Slade looks at him and then to the water Oliver had been drinking as he moves to stand over Oliver.)
Slade: Alone is what I do best, kid.

(Vigilante pulls off his mask to reveal the bullet he took for Black Canary stuck in his forehead. He pulls it out.)
Black Canary: How?
Vigilante: You're not the only one dark matter did something to. Everything heals now.
Black Canary: I thought you were dead!  You let me believe it for four years!
Vigilante: I'm sorry. I couldn't let myself be-
Black Canary: Human?
Vigilante: Distracted.
Black Canary: Distracted?! From what?!
Vigilante: My mission. We were cops for 10 years. What did we ever accomplish?
Black Canary: A lot.
Vigilante: Not enough. Not nearly enough. (pauses) This is the only way.
Black Canary: You've lost your mind.
Vigilante: I'm not the only one wearing a mask.


Continuity

Vigilante appears for the first time since 515, apparently having survived being thrown off a roof by Prometheus.

Slade says that his son, Joseph, is now using his wife's surname - Kane. He followed in Slade's footsteps and joined The Australian Intelligence Service.

Slade says that he tracked Joe from Calgary to Ibiza (an island off the eastern coast of Spain) then to Mombasa - the second largest city in Kenya.

Slade says that Joe is being held in a prison in Kasnia - the same country John Diggle led The Suicide Squad into in 317. It is also where most of L110 took place, in the year 2147. On Earth 38, John Corben - the man who became Metallo - was said to have ties to Kasnian terrorists in S201.

Felicity makes reference to the events of F405 and a metahuman criminal crashing Iris West's bachlorette party.

Aruba is Oliver and Felicity's special vacation spot. It's also the favored vacation spot of Mick Rory, as seen in L301.

Vigilante is revealed to be Vincent Sobel - Dinah Drake's former partner, last seen in the flashbacks of 511.

Nylander was an associate of Slade's when he was in the AIS. Slade describes him as a jackass who was never on time.

Agent Watson interviews John Diggle, Felicty Smoak and Rene Ramirez.

Joe Wilson was investigating a mercenary gang known as The Jackals.

Vincent Sobel used to make matchbox art.

John refers to Vigilante attacking Oliver's limo in 515 and how he had a chance to kill Dinah but didn't take it.

Vincent Sobel developed a metahuman healing factor from the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion. It allowed him to heal being shot in the head when Dinah first saw him die and allows him to survive taking a bullet for her when a rookie cop tries to shoot Black Canary.

Nylander turns out to be part of The Jackals and Joe Wilson is revealed to be their leader.

Agent Watson noticed that Dinah was missing during the blackout when Black Canary showed up.

Vigilante leaves a matchbox with a rose inside it for Dinah on the dash of her car.


Location

Milford Sound, New Zeland - Sometime in 2004.
A prison in the nation of Kasnia.
A hidden bunker in the nation of Kasnia.


The Bottom Line

The title of this episode may be lazy but its execution is anything but. Manu Bennett returns in style and it's like he never left. While most audiences could happily spend an entire hour watching Deathstroke be awesome, the Black Canary subplot more than equals it. Easily the best episode of the season to date and another contender for one of the best Arrow episodes of all time. Can we have a Deathstroke series in 2018, please?

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 1 - Fallout

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

In the wake of Green Arrow's final battle with Prometheus and the destruction of Lian Yu, Oliver Queen finds himself in a new role - father. Balancing his duties as Mayor of Star City and Green Arrow was hard enough. How can he manage that and being there for his son, William?  Particularly when Black Siren - who also survived the destruction of Lian Yu - is threatening Star City with a new gang? Who remains to help Green Arrow save his city? And what new enemies will rise up to endanger it again?


Influences

The Jeff Lemire run on Green Arrow (Oliver Queen caring for a child who wants nothing to do with him.)


Performances

Paul Blackthorne and Juliana Harkavy having amazing chemistry together - far better than Blackthorne ever had with Katie Cassidy, ironically enough. The scene of Quentin turning to Dinah for help with his alcoholism is a powerful one.

Honestly, Paul Blackthorne is the episode MVP and the scene of him talking about being a father with Oliver is a moment we never would have expected between those two characters five years ago. If nothing else shows how much Arrow has evolved, that scene does.


Artistry

The script for this episode does a fantastic job of slowly revealing who is alive as it jumps between the flashbacks and the present.

The fight scene with Green Arrow and Spartan in The Bunker with the lights off looks amazing in terms of atmosphere and choreography.


Trivia

This episode marks the first as Arrow moves to it's new time-slot at 9 PM EST on Thursdays. Before this, the shown at 8 PM EST on Wednesdays.

The teaser trailer for Season 6 only showed Oliver Queen, William Clayton, Slade Wilson, Black Siren and Dinah Drake as having survived the destruction of Lian Yu. The IMDB.com page for this episode only listed those characters as being in the episode, as well as Emily Bett Ricakards as Felicity.

The episode opens with a "Last Season on Arrow" notice, though all of the clips come from episode 523.  It  shows Oliver offering to help Slade Wilson find his son, Prometheus taking the rest of Team Arrow to Lian Yu, Samantha Clayton declaring she is not getting on the plane without her son, Felicity explaining to Oliver about Prometheus' dead-man's switch and the island of Lian Yu exploding after he kills himself.

The criminal Team Arrow goes after in the opening scene is a man named Faust. There are two famous Fausts in DC Comics, but neither of them is a weapon's dealer. The first is Felix Faust - a wizard who made an appearance on Constantine in C110. The second Faust, son of the first, is a powerful sorcerer in his own right, who was born without a soul thanks to his father's attempt to bargain it away for more magical power. The deal worked but, much to Felix Faust's annoyance, his son got the power and became a good guy. This Faust, whose first name is revealed to be Alex, has no magical powers but does seem to be obsessed with explosives.

Black Siren mocks Black Canary's new costume, saying she would have gone with fishnets. In the original comics, Black Canary's costume featured fishnet stockings.


Technobabble

The MGM-140 Faust fires at Star City is a "fire and forget" weapon. It's full name is the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS).

Mister Terrific disarms the missile by having his T-Sphere spoof the missile's guidance system and drawing it back over the waterfront where it can detonate harmlessly.

Faust makes use of a false-tooth C-4 implant. It becomes a powerful explosive when submerged in carbonated water.

Sniffers are electronic bomb-detectors that can spot an ounce of explosive materials within a 1000 ft. radius.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Faust has just launched a missile at Star City.)
Faust: You can't stop it! You can't disarm it!
Green Arrow: No. But I have a very smart friend who can.
(Cut to Mister Terriffic, on a rooftop, throwing a T-Sphere after the missile.)

(We see Quentin, sitting at a bar, staring at three filled shot-glasses. Dinah enters and sits next to him. The two exchange quick greetings.)
Dinah: You did the right thing texting me.
Quentin:  Heh. It's not like I can call my sponsor now, is it?
Dinah: Why not?
Quentin: If I tell him... why I want to drink, what I did, why... why I did it...
Dinah: Yeah. He'd think you're on something a lot stronger than booze.
Quentin: It's like all I got is this guilt. And all I can do is just run... run... run away from it.
Dinah: And run where?
Quentin: To the bottom of these glasses.
Dinah: Well, you're not going to do that. Because you know and I know that's not what Laurel would want.
Quentin: Which Laurel?

(Oliver is standing at Thea's hospital bed. He turns as he hears a figure enter the room. It's Slade Wilson.)
Slade: Hey kid.
Oliver: Hello, Slade.
Slade: How's she doing?
Oliver: She's the same. What are you doing her?
Slade: I popped by to say that the intel you gave me on my son, Joe... it panned out. So I'm heading to Calgary.
Oliver: Well, that's great. I'm very... uh.  I'm happy for you and I hope that... I hope you find what you're looking for
Slade: You don't think I will?
Oliver: I think that finding your son doesn't always go as planned.
Slade: Have things been that hard with you and your son?
Oliver: ... yeah.
Slade: Be patient. But be prepared.
Oliver: For what?
Slade: Choosing between being the man that people need you to be... or the father that your son needs you to be.
Oliver: What do you mean by that?
Slade: You and I walk between two worlds. But we can only do that for so long.
(Slade offers Oliver his hand.)
Slade: Good luck... Mr. Queen.
Oliver: Good luck, Slade.


Dialogue Disasters

Every moment of William's crying about "The Bad Man". The child actor involved looks way too old to be saying the dialogue that was written for him.

Minion: Do you want me to kill him?
Black Siren: I'm not paying you to keep him alive.


Continuity

The first scene of the episode opens Five Months Later. (i.e. Five months after the events of 523.) and shows Green Arrow attacking a ship belonging to an arms dealer called Faust.

The first character confirmed alive is John "Spartan" Diggle, who is seen talking to Oliver on the comms as they are searching for a Faust.

The second confirmed to be alive is Rene "Wild Dog" Ramirez, who appears in a new costume, saving Spartan from being shot in the back.

The third to be confirmed alive is Curtis "Mister Terrific" Holt, who disarm's Faust's missile with his T-spheres.

The flashback to the explosion on Lian Yu shows Slade abandoning the rest of the group to make for the boat on his own. Most of Team Arrow elects to use the sabotaged plane as a shield from the explosions. Samantha Clayton runs back into the jungle to look for William, not knowing he's on a boat with Prometheus. Thea Queen runs after her. Felicity Smoak starts to run with her, is told to go to the plane, falls as she turns around and is helped up by John Diggle as the two are caught in a blast as the island begins to explode.

Rene has received a promotion to Chief of Staff for The Mayor's Office - the job previously held by Thea Queen. This new position includes speech-writing duties for Mayor Queen. Surprisingly, he is good at this part of his job.

A reference is made to Dinah Drake being alive, though she wasn't in the field that night with the rest of the team.

Felicity Smoak is revealed to have survived as she returns to base with the rest of the team's take-out from Big Belly Burger.

Curtis tells Felicity she missed him disarming a missile. She says she's already seen him do that. (It happened in 423).

It is revealed that Oliver and Felicity are still romantically interested in one another, but have held off on restarting their relationship so that Oliver can focus on building a relationship with William without the added baggage of introducing "Dad's Girlfriend".

Raisa, a member of The Queen Family house-staff, makes her first appearance since The Pilot. She is now apparently in Oliver's employee as a house-keeper/nanny for William. It was implied in her first appearance that she was more of a traditional mother to Oliver as a child than Moira Queen was.

William addresses Oliver by his name - not as "Dad" or any other term of fondness. It is later revealed that "the bad man" in William's reoccurring nightmare who killed his mother is Oliver.

Dinah Drake is now a Detective Lieutenant in the SCPD.

Like Wild Dog, Dinah Drake is revealed to have a new suit as Black Canary.

Quentin Lance is still alive and still Deputy Mayor - both facts we learn when Dinah is informed that Quentin missed an appointment to discuss the Police Academy graduation ceremony. 

Quentin is still fighting his alcoholism but has turned to Dinah for support in the absence of his daughters because he can't tell his sponsor the reasons why he's more tempted than ever to return to drinking.

Black Siren blows up SCPD HQ, killing 9 officers, injuring 4 and putting 6 in critical condition.

Both Quentin and Dinah claim to have seen Black Siren's body on Lian Yu after the island exploded. We find out later that they were lying, with Black Siren having ambushed Dinah and Quentin saving her life by shooting Black Siren. They left her for dead and decided to claim that they found her dead so as to spare Quentin the pain of having to explain that he killed his daughter's doppleganger.

In the flashback, Slade went back to look for survivors after the explosion. He saw two of Oliver's friends (Dinah and Quentin) return to the temple to look for survivors. He says that Nyssa Al Ghul returned to the cages to get Artemis. He then takes Oliver to Thea. Specifically, where her body landed.

Diggle seems to be suffering from some form of PTSD, freezing up while trying to shoot a mercenary to save Wild Dog's life. He later volunteers to avoid working in the field, running Comms from Team Arrow's base. Dinah later reveals that she discovered he hadn't fired his gun while he was in The Bunker fighting Black Siren's men.

Reference is made to Dr. Schwartz - the doctor at Starling General Hospital who secretly treats the vigilantes of Star City and is aware of Oliver Queen's secret identity.

In the flashback Samantha was fatally wounded but survived the explosions long enough to make Oliver promise to take care of William himself and be a father to him.

Black Siren's plans to blow up City Hall were a feint, leaving The Bunker relatively unprotected so she and her team could blow it up.

Oliver and the new DA of Star City pull some strings to get Rene another custody hearing for his daughter, Zoe. Rene missed his last hearing due to being abducted by Prometheus.

Thea is later revealed to be alive, but in a very deep coma.

Slade Wilson visits Oliver while he's in the hospital visiting Thea. He says the intel Oliver gave him panned out and he's about to go to Calgary in search of his son.

Black Siren stole a prototype T-Sphere from The Bunker.

It is revealed that Black Siren was saved from Lian Yu by a mystery man in a suit who has a helicopter.

The episode ends with a Channel 52 News broadcast showing a photo of Oliver, in his Green Arrow costume, with the hood down and the mask off.


The Fridge Factor

Samantha is killed to give Oliver one more thing to be angsty about.

Thea is nearly killed to give Oliver one more thing to be angsty about.

Black Canary is severely nerfed in terms of competence in order to build up Black Siren as a villain. (Presumably to appease the Katie Cassidy fans and the Laureliver shipping faction.)


The Bottom Line

Ignoring Black Siren's sudden competence and how annoying a presence William is, this would be a solid episode. Unfortunately, since the main focus of the story is how dangerous Black Siren has suddenly become and how William has come to hate Oliver for no readily logical reason (apart from whatever trash-talking Samantha may have done about his dad when Ollie wasn't around) this means that most of the episode is focused on plot beats we don't care about while things involving major characters are afterthoughts.

The damnable thing is that the cast does a great job selling this despite the logic gaps (Quentin suddenly having an issue with fighting Black Siren, despite taking her down last season), the repetitiveness (Rene is fighting to get his daughter back... AGAIN!) and the just plain unexplained (Whatever is up with Diggle.) It's a shaky start but the last ten minutes is magic.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 23 - Lian Yu

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

With the rest of Team Arrow abducted by Prometheus and held captive where it all began on the island of Lian Yiu, Oliver Queen must build an unlikely army of his enemies! Malcolm Merlyn, Nyssa Al Ghul, Captain Boomerang and even Slade Wilson will stand beside him for one reason or another. Yet even if they triumph over an army that includes Talia Al Ghul and her followers, Evelyn Sharpe and Black Siren, can Oliver count on them letting him live long enough to enjoy the victory once Prometheus is brought to justice?


Influences

Green Arrow (Vol. 3) #66 (Basic plot of Oliver Queen and his friends and family vs. an island full of killers) and Justice League: Cry For Justice (A villain called Prometheus threatens everything Oliver Queen loves.)


Goofs

It's a minor thing, but it just seems weird for Thea to be calling Sara "my friend's sister" instead of by name.

Unfortunately, all the drama of the episode is killed by the final minute, because - even ignoring press releases confirming the cast for Season 6 - we can't believe for a moment that they're killing off the entire cast except for Oliver Queen himself.


Performances

I never realized how much I missed Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson until now. I know the DCTVU is already a bit over saturated with shows but... 2018?  Deathstroke series? Please?

Well... now we know why John Barrowman didn't get his contract renewed for Season 6. Still, if Merlyn had to go out, we couldn't have asked for a better send off and Barrowman couldn't have given a better final performance as everyone's favorite bad guy you hate to love.

Willa Holland and Emily Bett Rickards haven't gotten a lot of scenes together. The brief moment they have bonding as the daughters of villains who did try to make it up to their daughters shows what a mistake that has been, as the two play off each other beautifully.


Artistry

The washed-out filter used to make the flashbacks look grayer and more miserable/dream-like is a nice touch.

It also helps to provide contrast during the fight between Team Arrow and Prometheus and his recruits when the episode cuts between the fight and Oliver's final battle with Kovar. A masterful bit of directing and editing, that.

The Nyssa/Talia sword fight is a great one.


Trivia

The episode starts with the same words that started The Pilot. "The name of the island they found me on is Lian Yu. It's Mandarin for purgatory."

The blue top and black leather jacket that Dinah is wearing in this episode resemble the DC Rebirth Black Canary costume.


Technobabble

Felicity says that she and Curtis combined have an IQ over 500.

Prometheus created a network of hundreds of charges of linked C-4 explosives.

Oliver gives Dinah the collar that Curtis built for her. It allows her to focus her Canary Cry but also allows it to overcome sonic dampeners.

Prometheus removed the on-wing hydraulic system from the plane he took to Lian Yu, rendering the plane useless.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Oliver has just knocked out the ARGUS guard who refused to abandon his post. He turns around to find Slade Wilson locking his cell door behind him.)
Slade: Would you like to explain what's going on?
Oliver: I'd like to talk about you for a minute. (pauses, clearly considering his words carefully) You seem...
Slade: What? In possession of all my marbles?
(Oliver just nods.)
Slade: The Mirakuru wore off a long time ago, kid. I mean, I remember everything that happened. I'm not trying to escape that. It feels like some... bad dream. Now, regardless of my sanity, why do you want to help me?  After everything I've done?
Oliver: There's a man here on the island named Adrian Chase. He's holding my friends and my family hostage. Including Thea... and my son.
Slade: (smirking) Since when do you have a son?
Oliver: Slade, are you going to help me or not?
Slade: I think I'm stating the obvious when I say I killed your mother.  And for that alone you should have killed me.
Oliver: Maybe what's happening now is the reason I didn't.
(Oliver retrieves a memory card from his pocket and hands it to Slade.)
Oliver: This is all the intel that I've been able to gather on your son, Joe. Including his present whereabouts.
Slade: (openly shaken at the mention of his lost son) Are you offering to help me find my son?
Oliver: I want us to find both of our sons.
(Oliver turns around and walks to the bag that he dropped when he first entered the prison block. He opens it to reveal the Deathstroke mask. Without a word, he returns to Slade and offers him the mask. Slade nods.)
Slade: You and me, kid. Like old times.

Merlyn: Are you looking for applause? Clapping is a little more difficult for me these days.

(Oliver, Slade and Digger discover Felicity, Samantha, Curtis and Thea caged in an open field.)
Slade: Why are they unguarded?
Captain Boomerang: It seems pretty obvious to me, mate.
(Talia and Evenlyn drop out of the trees, guns and bows drawn.)
Captain Boomerang: (sighing) It's a trap.
Talia: Don't even think it Oliver, or your son loses his mother.
Captain Boomerang: Oh, and, uh.. don't worry about that gun, mate. (reaches into his coat pocket to reveal he already has one)  Mr. Chase gave me this nice new one. Along with a better offer.
Evelyn: (nodding to Slade) Adrian thought it would be pointless to reach out to you.
Talia: Although given this turn of events, perhaps you've changed your mind?
Captain Boomerang: What's it going to be, Slade?  Care to side with the winners?

Captain Boomerang: I assumed you'd want to be on the winning side.
Slade: Assumption is the mother of all failures!

(Merlyn unlocks Thea's cage.)
Merlyn: You okay?
Thea: (tiredly) Go to Hell.
Merlyn: I'll take that as a yes.

(Oliver hands Curtis a communicator.)
Oliver: Comms. Just in case something goes wrong.
Curtis: You mean "when", right?

Slade: So instead of marrying the blonde, you married Ra's Al Ghul's daughter?
Oliver: Uh... Nyssa talks too much.
Slade: She hasn't explained your beef with Chase.
Oliver: (sighs and shakes his head) My past is coming back to haunt me.
Slade: Seems to be a recurring theme with you, kid.
Oliver: Don't know why.
Slade: Well, it's not really that complicated. You suffer from survivor's guilt. You can't get over the death of your father.
Oliver: Adrian Chase has nothing to do with my father.
Slade: Kid, when it comes to you, everything has to do with your father. You and I are not dissimilar. We're both haunted by our pasts. And the only way to bury that ghost is by forgiving yourself.
Oliver: Forgiving myself?  For what?
Slade: You blame yourself for your father's suicide. And everything else that has gone wrong since. You need to forgive yourself for your sins.
Oliver: You say that like it's easy.

Slade: It's the hardest thing in this world. 

Merlyn: You may not think of me as your father, Thea, but you'll always be my daughter.

Captain Boomerang: Go after the rest!
Merlyn: I wouldn't do that if I were you.

Captain Boomerang: Well, you don't seem too bright. Standing out here in the open like this? What kind of ass-backwards strategy is that? 

Merlyn: (smirking) Let me show you.
(Cut to: Felicity, Thea, Curtis and Samantha running through the woods. There is an explosion in the distance. Thea turns around and looks behind them in shock.)

(Nyssa has just left Oliver and Slade to scout ahead in the old building.)
Slade: She doesn't trust me.
Oliver: Can you blame her?

Slade: No.

(Slade suddenly cold-cocks Oliver, knocking him out. Black Siren rounds the corner with several of Talia's students and smirks.)
Slade: Tell Mr. Chase I have a gift for him. 

Felicity: I'd ask if you're okay, but I don't see how you could be. 

Thea: Honestly, I... I don't even know how I feel right now. 24 hours ago I... couldn't even think of Malcolm without wanting to scream, and now? Now I miss him. Is... is that insane?
Felicity: It's not insane. He's your father.
Thea: He manipulated me. He lied to me. He... he got me to kill my friend's sister! I... how can you miss somebody that you hated so much?
Felicity: Yeah. I mean, I have some experience with evil dads too. My father abandoned me. Lied to me. And then took a bullet for me, saving my life. (pauses and looks at Thea) Malcolm was not a good person and he was an even worse father, but... in his own way... he loved you. Today, he proved that.
Thea: I don't know. It's like today, I got... I got to see the father that he could have been but... he'll never get to be... because he's gone.

(Felicity pulls Thea into a tight hug.)

(Oliver has just given Dinah the collar Curtis made to enhance her powers.)

Dinah: Oh, I love that Curtis!  (To everyone else) This may hurt a bit.

Rene: Just sing, Canary!

Quentin: Actually, it's Black Canary.

(Dinah takes a deep breath and looks at the joint connecting their chains. She screams, breaking it.)

Nyssa: We have unfinished business... Sister.
Talia: I heard you gave up The Ring of The Demon's Head. What a foolish woman you've grown into.
Nyssa: It was your selfishness that forced me to grow up alone.
Talia: Our father never would have passed his mantle on to a woman. I had to forge my own path.
Nyssa: And you left me, knowing I would suffer at Father's hand.
Talia: Do you wish to settle the score now?
Nyssa: I stand with my friends!
Talia: You ally yourself with our father's murderer? He'd be ashamed of you.

Nyssa: (chuckling) Father was always ashamed of me.

(Black Siren and Black Canary knocked themselves down with their point-blank sonic cries. Siren is the first to get to her feet.)

Black Siren: You thought you could replace me? That's cute. 

(Quentin runs up behind Black Siren and hits her across the back of the head with a bo staff.)

Black Canary: You didn't have to do that.

Quentin: Oh, I did. For so many reasons. 

(Oliver has Prometheus's neck in a death grip.)

Prometheus: It's all over, but only if you do it! Do it, Oliver! And show everyone - show yourself who you really are!
(Oliver winces for a bit, sorely tempted, but he looks out to his friends, who are all watching him struggle with Prometheus.)
Oliver: No!
(Oliver releases his grip on Prometheus, leaving him gasping for breath. Oliver takes Prometheus' gun and empties it before tossing the gun away.)

Oliver: That's who I was. That's who I was before! It's not who I am now. You can blame me for your father's death for the rest of your life. I'm done blaming myself for mine. 

(Oliver starts to walk away from Prometheus.)

Prometheus: I knew it would come to this.  (growling) Your son is dead, Oliver!

(Everybody stares at Prometheus in shock. Oliver moves in and kneels by Prometheus, forcing him to meet his gaze.)

Oliver: (speaking with an eerie calm) I don't believe you. Because you are a liar. You're lying to me to manipulate me into doing what you want. But Adrian, here's the thing. If you're telling the truth? If you killed my son? I am never going to be the person you want me to be. Not ever.

Continuity

Slade Wilson was last seen in 314.

Oliver offers to help Slade find his son, Joe, whom Slade first mentioned in 114, in exchange for his help.

Captain Boomerang was last seen in 308.

Samantha Clayton, William's mother, is among the hostages on Lian Yu.

Captain Boomerang was recruited by Prometheus, in case Oliver tried recruiting him as well.

Oliver is skilled enough with a throwing knife to knock an arrow out of the air.

Merlyn used to own three Gulfstreams and can fly any plane like it.

Before the Chinese government turned it into a prison, Lian Yu was a holy retreat.

Merlyn sacrifices himself to save Thea from a landmine and takes out Captain Boomerang in the process.

Nyssa. Slade and Oliver discover the ruins of the plane that was Oliver and Slade's home on Lian Yu some nine years earlier.

Thea refers to the events of 301 and how Merlyn manipulated her to kill Sara Lance.

Felicity refers to the events of 421 and how her father, The Calculator, took a bullet for her.

Neither Felicity or Curtis knows how to fly a plane.

Quentin gives Dinah his blessing to use the name Black Canary.

Dinah's newly focused Canary Cry is capable of breaking metal chains.

We learn that the burn scars on Oliver's back came from Kovar pushing him back against the burning wreckage of the helicopter that Oliver shot down.

Oliver kills Kovar by snapping his neck.

John is not an ace pilot but he can get a plane started.

Susanna Thompson - who played Moira Queen - has a cameo in the flashbacks as Oliver calls home to tell her that he is alive.

The episode concludes with Prometheus killing himself and Lian Yu blowing up - supposedly with all of Oliver Queen's friends and family still on the island.


The Winick Factor

There's a lot of great character moments here that are ruined by a completely random ending that only serves to make the villain look invincible and smarter than the hero. That describes about 90% of Judd Winick's Green Arrow stories and most of the Prometheus stories in Season Five, in all honesty.


The Bottom Line

For a story that draws upon elements of two of the most infamously bad Green Arrow stories of all time, this one does a miraculous job of doing that this show set out to do for five years and, for the most part, did successfully - take the fractured history of a B-list (at best) comic book hero and turn it into something epic. Ignoring the last minute of the episode, that's what they did. The cliff-hanger doesn't ring true, however, and it ends the whole thing on a sour note.

Ignore that though and focus on the good - Oliver being true to his ideals, Manu Bennett redeeming Deathstroke into something like the anti-hero he's meant to be, the Susanna Thompson cameo, Oliver's final battle with Kovar, Black Canary and Quentin kicking Black Siren's ass - and this is one hell of a Hail Mary for a season that did much to restore the good old days of Arrow.  I honestly can't wait for Season Six.

Titans #11 - A Review

Slade Wilson is the greatest assassin on Earth - a position he earned by being wise enough not to hold grudges. Yet even his professionalism was tested when his eldest son and heir apparent, The Ravager, was killed during his combat with the original team of Titans. Many years have passed since that day but Slade has not forgotten the debt The Titans owe him. Now, they will make amends for what they did - one way or the other!


Reluctant as I am to encourage the myth of the invincible Slade Wilson (a Winickian conceit that's somehow grown in power since the ridiculous Identity Crisis) I found myself enjoying Titans #11 even as I wished for an explanation as to just how the heck Deathstroke could abduct Wally West unseen in a public space without his friends noticing.

"But whatever", as the late great Mako would say. Dan Abnett's script (based on a story by hmself, Priest and Benjamin Percy) doesn't waste time with such trivia. It's too busy reaffirming one of the greatest villain/team rivalries in comics history for a new generation of readers and showing the circumstances that led to Deathstroke's grudge against The Titans in the reality of Rebirth. To Abnett's credit, he does this without any lengthy exposition dumps, conveying just enough information to move the story forward and editorial boxes (oh, how I've missed those!) informing the reader where they can read the full details.

The artwork is up to the usual standard of Titans' art team. Brett Booth is a wonderful fight choreographer but still has an unfortunate tendency to capture his characters with awkward expressions. Norm Rapmund keeps his inks delightfully light, allowing the bright colors utilized by Andrew Dalhouse and Carrie Strachan to shine all the brighter.

Final Analysis: 8 out of 10. A solid start.

Injustice: Ground Zero #17 - A Review

The jail-break to free Batman hits a snag when Cyborg has trouble hacking the Watchtower teleporter, And as Lex Luthor flies off to confront the tyrant Superman, Harley Quinn faces a new crisis. The Joker from another world has freed himself and turned most of her gang against her. Can Harley fight against Mistah Jay AND her own followers?


While Ground Zero has never been a bad book this issue shows a marked improvement on recent issues, where the need to show the action of the Injustice game for the benefit of those readers who haven't played it slowed the pacing a bit. This chapter has no such issues, with the various subplots moving at a rapid pace. Harley's story remains the high-point, however, with Christopher Sebela showcasing a true command of Harley's rich character and internal conflict.


The artwork is just plain fantastic. I've been a big fan of the collaborations between Daniel Sampere and Juan Albarran for a while now and their work here is a prime example of why that is so, Rex Lokus' color art provides the perfect finishes to the pencils and inks

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #36 - A Review

Zasaz has turned up dead in his cell - a mystery that further convinces Hal Jordan that Sinestro is hiding something within The Regime's new super-prison. Meanwhile, Deathstroke encounters some unexpected resistance in his mission to steal a Motherbox from STAR Labs. It seems The Regime has recruited Metamorpho as a secret security guard and he's more than willing to give the world's greatest mercenary a beating.


I want to like this issue of Injustice more than I did but it suffered from a serious case of deja vu. Sinestro's playing dumb with Hal regarding the constant security breaches around Zasaz has become a running gag.  The problem is that Sinestro playing dumb seems horribly out of character for the former Green Lantern whose biggest crime was arrogance.

I think the ultimate problem is that we're close enough to the ending now there's little room for the sudden surprises that have made this series a delight. So while it's nice to see Metamorpho, the fight between him and Deathstroke falls a little flat since the action of the battle isn't clear. Mike S. Miller illustrates it well enough but there's no explanation for some of that happens. A little more narration might have smoothed things over.  In the end, this comic is merely acceptable rather than excellent - still worth reading, but a disappointment compared to what we're used to seeing on this series.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #35 - A Review

Lex Luthor and Batman have come up with a plan to recruit a Justice League from another dimension to help them fight The Regime. To pull it off, they'll need to steal a Motherbox from the most secure armory in the world. And to pull that off without exposing Batman will require the services of the world's greatest mercenary - Deathstroke!


I can't recall off-hand if Deathstroke has appeared in the Injustice comic or not before now. In either case, his appearance here is well handled and - much like the earlier appearances of Green Arrow and Harley Quinn - reflects the character as he was before The New 52. This is the principled mercenary Slade Wilson as written by Marv Wolfman and Brian Buccellato does a fine job capturing that voice.


Mike. S. Miller does an equally fantastic job on the artwork. The artwork for this series has rarely been anything worse than average but I believe Miller is probably my favorite of all the many fine artists to work on Injustice. He has a great eye for detail and always finds the perfect balance between merely outlining the original pencils and enhancing them. Talking of enhancements, the color art by J. Nanjan is impressive.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #19 - A Review

In order to synthesize a fresh dose of the Mirakuru antidote, Oliver Queen and Roy Harper must journey to the last place on Earth Oliver wants to go - Lian Yu.  Because the antidote requires a blood sample from someone who recently took Mirakuru and the only one who can provide that is Slade Wilson.  And even though he's locked up in an ARGUS holding facility, the man called Deathstroke will not bleed without a fight...


Marc Guggenheim's script for this issue is a thrilling one. As one would expect, the fight between Slade and Oliver is a suspenseful one. What really sells this story, however, is a wonderful opening monologue which I would place among the greatest Oliver Queen lines in any medium.


The artwork remains at its usual level of quality. Joe Bennett blocks the action sequences like a master choreographer and does a fine job capturing the likenesses of the actors from the show.  The inks by Craig Yeung enhance the artwork rather than concealing it. And Jim Charalampidis' colors prove well chosen.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 14 - The Return

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Oliver and Thea travel to Lian Yu to begin training to defeat Ra's Al Ghul.  Unfortunately, Slade Wilson is out of his cell.. and out for revenge!

In the flashback, Oliver and Maseo travel to Starling City in search of Chien Na Wei.  And despite Waller's orders to the contrary, Ollie checks up on his family and friends.


Influences

The Count of Monte Cristo (a man who was wrongfully imprisoned returns home, wanting to know what happened to his friends and family while he was away), Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (Slade's line about leaving Ollie the same way Ollie left him), Green Arrow: Year One (Ollie fighting for survival on an island) and various Green Arrow comics by both Judd Winick (Ollie returning to the island he was stranded with loved ones to learn new skills and Slade's threat to fake Ollie and Thea's deaths) and Dennis O'Neil (Quentin Lance's "fat-cat" speech).


Goofs

It's a hard choice what is more infuriating - Maseo's belief that a multinational corporation would never remove the finger-print records of a dead employee from the database that governs access to their private computer records or his belief that Ollie attempting to access Queen Consolidate's records with his own identity when they are supposed to be hiding the fact that Oliver Queen is alive isn't a stupid idea.


Performances

Manu Bennett, as always, proves a real treat as Slade Wilson, however briefly he appears.

Ditto Colin Donnel as Tommy Merlyn.  If Lazarus Pits become a reality in the DCTVU, I want Tommy Merlyn in line right behind Sara Lance.when they start bringing back beloved characters.

Paul Blackthorne's performance here makes you realize how underutilized he's been during Season Three and his turn as a younger, drunker and more easily irritated Quentin Lance proves a welcome reminder of the character from Season One and serves as an interesting set-up for the powerful scene in which he tells Laurel off in the present.

Finally, Willa Holland rocks every bit of material she is given in this episode, including some lines that almost, ALMOST don't work (i.e. most of Thea's break-down moments).  And then we get that final speech to Merlyn... and all is forgiven.


Artistry

The three-way fight scene between Ollie, Slade and Thea.


Trivia

Ollie says Lian Yu reminds him of who he is.  This is similar to comments Oliver made in the comics, where he would revisit the island where he was stranded for a few days each year.  He also took frequent camping trips to hone his skills in the wild.

The company that Laurel took a job with in San Francisco is Wethersby Posner.  This is one name away from the firm of Wethersby, Posner & Klein - the law-firm from Eli Stone.  Eli Stone was a show that Arrow Executive Producers Marc Guggenheim and Greg Berlanti both created together before Arrow.

When chewing Laurel out for taking a job with a big law-firm, Quentin Lance makes reference to "fat cats getting fatter".  This was a frequent phrase in Oliver Queen's rants about corporate corruption in the Green Arrow comics of Dennis O'Neil.

In the comics, Lt. Matthew Shrieve is an United States Army officer associated with a group called Project M or Project Monster.  Shrieve was the commander of a sub-group of Project M known as The Creature Commandos - a group of monsters that fought the Nazis during WWII.


Technobabble

SHACAL-4 Encryption protests the computers in Queen Consolidated's offices.  This encryption is unhackable, at least by Maseo.

The computers at Queen Consolidated are protected by biometic encryption i.e. finger-print scanners.

Oliver is given a crawler that will search all of Peter Yang's network trafficking.

The ARGUS facility on Lian Yu is a former Chinese prison complex retrofitted by eight ARGUS technicians.


Dialogue Triumphs

(While dueling with Thea)
Ollie: Did he teach you to cheat?
Thea: There's no such thing. There's only survival and death.

Tommy: You shouldn't grow up too fast.
Thea: Yeah, well you're not my brother!
Tommy: You're right. No, I'm not. But I think about him every single day. And for the first time I'm glad he's gone. Because seeing you like this would break his heart.
Thea: Funny how Ollie seems to care about me more now that he's dead than when he was alive.

Slade: I'm going to leave you, kid, the same way you left me - alone in Purgatory.

Felicity: (to a picture of Ollie) You're cute. Too bad you're, you know, dead. Which is obviously a lot worse for you than it is for me. (sighs) I really need to learn to stop talking to myself.

John: Nothing like a rich kid's party to remind me of what I miss about being shot at in Afghanistan.

Quentin: You spoiled billionaires sure know how to throw yourselves a party. You've got underage girls. You've got drug dealers. You've even got dead drug dealers!

Maseo: What were you thinking!  Anyone at that party could have seen you!
Ollie: Yeah... I pulled the hoodie down to cover my face.
Maseo: That disguise wouldn't work even if you smeared greasepaint over your face!

Maseo: Oliver, if you want redemption, start with all the lives Chien Na Wei's bio-weapon could end.
Ollie: Those people are strangers to me.  These people... they're my friends and my family.
Maseo: And they will be ashamed of this selfish choice you are making.
Ollie: They're already ashamed of me.

Thea: This whole thing with Lian Yu...This is ridiculous! What the hell are we even doing here?!
(Slade comes up behind Thea and puts a gun to her temple)
Slade: I ask myself that very same question... over... and over...

Robert Queen: You can right my wrongs. You can be better than I was. You can save this city.

(After stepping in to save Maseo from a firefight)
Ollie: I'm sorry I'm late.
Maseo: Actually, you were right on time.

(Thea is holding a gun on a helpless Slade)
Ollie: You're not a killer!
Thea: Tell that to Sara!
Ollie: What happened to Sara is not on you! What happens to him is! All this is what Malcolm wanted! He freed Slade to prove that we're killers because he wants you to be just like him. You've got to prove to him that you're not!

Slade: How many people can Oliver Queen lose before there is no more Oliver Queen?

Quentin: The reason why I want to open up this bottle and want to crawl inside is because of what you did to us. I loved your sister. I loved your mom. So much like each other, and, you know, these wild spirits. But you and I, we had something more than that. 'Cause we were the ones that were alike. And we had a trust. And we had a bond. And you broke it. And - I don't know... how you could do that to us. Look, I'm going to survive this. I mean, I've got to. It's my baby girl. But what you've done... I don't know how I'm going to live through this.
Laurel: Daddy, I think we should go to a meeting...
Quentin: Yeah.  I'll to go the one on Broxton.  You go to the one on Fourth.

Thea: (to Merlyn) I will work with you to stop Ra's, because that's what my brother says we need to do. So I will be your student. I will be your partner. Even if I have to, I will be your soldier. But never again will I be your daughter!


Dialogue Disasters

Laurel: Hey! Do you remember when I was going to take that corporate job in San Francisco? Do you remember what you said to me? You were mad because I wasn't choosing a life where I was going to help people. It's like you knew. Already even then. You knew that my life was always heading towards that mask.


Continuity

Starling City celebrated its centennial in 2010.

Ollie refers to his returning to Lian Yu between Season One and Season Two.

Thea refers to Laurel telling her about Sara's death (A309).

Ollie says Sara's name in his sleep.

Oliver buried a gun with his father's body on Lian Yu.

Slade refers to the murder of Moira Queen (A220) and Ollie's lying to Slade about how Shado died (A209).

We get our first look at Andy Diggle and find out the first job he got John working security after he left the US Army was as security for Tommy Merlyn.

Laurel originally planned to work for as a lawyer for a corporation in San Francisco before a drunken rant by her father made her reconsider her desire to "save the world in Starling City".

Oliver kills the drug-dealer who sold to Thea by snapping his neck after the dealer recognized him.

Ollie makes reference to the one other inmate of the Lian Yu ARGUS jail - Captain Boomerang - who has been imprisoned since A308.

We finally see the message Oliver's father left him regarding The List, first mentioned in A111.

General Matthew Shrieve is Amanda Waller's superior.

In 2010, Laurel gave up the job in San Francisco to take a job with CNRI.

Quentin calls Laurel by the name Black Canary.


Location

Lian Yu.  Starling City five years earlier, in the flashbacks.


The Bottom Line

A wonderful return to form after last week, with nearly every element of the show rocking on eight cylinders.  We don't get nearly as much Slade Wilson as we might have wanted and it's a little disappointing that Merlyn engineered his escape rather than Slade escaping on his own.  Still, the flashbacks are fun in how they play against the events of the present and Ollie and Thea finally lose the final layers of secrets between them.

Con Report: North Texas Comic Book Show - July 19, 2014 - Part Three

And now, pictures of the cosplay contest and some of the contestants involved...


Ash Deadpool and Pika-pool.  

Angel from X-Men.

Loki

This vicious little Riddler threatened to steal my money, cut off my head...
and shave off my beard!  What must her parents think?!

A questionable fellow, this one...

Arkham Origins Deathstroke

The proud father with his Bat-Brood.

Thor vs. Loki

Quicksilver

The Great Sayin Man!

Arkham City Harley Quinn

Princess Azula from Avatar

The Seven Winners: Deathstroke, Princess Azula, Poison Ivy,  Ash Deadpool, Thor and Loki, Quicksilver and Harley Quinn.

A-Kon 25 Cosplay Pictures - Part Three

Two characters from Monster High.


The Geeky Seamstress as Bombshell Wonder Woman


Caitlin Glass as Black Canary.


Daenerys Targaryen.


Mia Moore as Taiga from Toradora!


The Shredder and April O'Neil from the classic TMNT cartoon.


Rude & Esper Terra from Final Fantasy 7 & Final Fantasy 6 respectively.


Deathstroke vs. Two Green Arrows.  This is unfair to someone, but I'm not sure who...


Oracle a.k.a. Barbara Gordon


Bombshell Batgirl


Black Canary


An unnamed original character.  Nice outfit, isn't it?


Daria and Jane, looking less than excited about being here.


Suzeaux Ryette of Airship Isabella.


She Hulk

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Four

Captain Hammer-Pants.  And he dances too!





Jafar from Aladdin


Deathstroke


Wonder Woman


Stephanie Brown Robin.


Tigra.


A Minecraft Player.


Deathstroke and Black Mask


Codex and a mini-Codex from The Guild.


Zombie Spider-Man!


Yet another Deathstroke.


Chun Li from Street Fighter.


A non-zombie Spider-Man.


Glitzy Geek Girl as Thor.


The Joker.


Hipster Elsa from Frozen