Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 16 - The Thanatos Guild

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



Plot

Nyssa Al Ghul returns to Star City to warn Thea that a League of Assassins splinter group is coming to kill her. This new faction, The Thanatos Guild, also seeks a mysterious box that was created by Malcolm Merlyn. Meanwhile, Oliver comes to a realization about his life.


Influences

Raiders of the Lost Ark (the traps in Merlyn's hideout) The Benjamin Percy run on Green Arrow (evil group seeking to recruit or kill Oliver Queen's half sister) and the New 52 Batman books (heroes warring with League of Assassins splinter group)


Performances

Katrina Law is as amazing as always.

As far as final bows go, Willa Holland gives a good one. The only downside is there's no final moment with Quentin, who has been more of a daughter to him than anyone else the past two seasons.


Artistry

The fight sequences are well-choreographed, even by the usually high standards of this show.


Trivia

The Thanatos Guild is named for Thanatos, the Greek God of Death.

The plot of this episode borrows somewhat from the recent Batman comics, which have seen the heroes contending with Leviathan - a new secretive group of assassins that employs many former League of Assassins members, including Talia Al Ghul.

The plot also vaguely resembles a plot thread from the Green Arrow comics of Benjamin Percy. There, Emiko Queen was head-hunted by The Ninth Circle - a cabal of Satanic bankers with a long association with The Queen Family, who employed Emiko's mother Shado.

The ball-cap worn by Roy Harper in this episode has a distinctive crown-shape icon on the front. This resembles the ball-cap worn by Roy Harper as part of his Arsenal costume in the DC Comics Rebirth universe.


Technobabble

Spartan has thermal imaging scanners built into his new helmet.

Iodine Dixonium is a component that is magnetically attracted to the same type of steel Ra's Al Ghul used to encase relics.

The League of Assassins cipher is based on The Fibonacci Sequence - a mathematical pattern dating back to Pingala's Formula in 450 BC. The Fibonacci Sequence is that every number is the sum of the two starting numbers.

Felicity attempts to scan the map to create a 3-D voxel-based re-creation of the original parchment. This might reveal some hidden markers.

Felicity is able to locate a bomb by tracking the frequency root of the detonator.

The bomb has a collapsible circuit. Since it has a mercury switch, it cannot be frozen. It can be short-circuited with an electricity arrow.

Merlyn's map was made with nanolithography - printed with bacteria. When the enzymes in it are exposed to Thea's DNA, the map reveals itself. This is, according to Felicity, cutting edge science requiring an atomic force microscope to create.


Dialogue Triumphs

Nyssa: I would so relish slitting your throat, Athena.
Athena: One thing we have in common.
Nyssa: Except I've grown a taste for the contemporary...
(Nyssa holds up a detonator and grins.) 
Nyssa: Such as plastic explosives.

(Roy and Thea are driving away through the streets of Star City.)
Thea: I can't believe we're actually doing it.
Roy: Yeah. I can't believe it either.
Thea: (purring) Happily ever after.
Roy: Yeah. (hesitatingly) Ever after.
Thea: Okay. That wasn't so convincing.
Roy: Look, Thea - I'm thrilled. I just don't want to jinx it.
Thea: Okay. And since when do you believe in superstitions?
Roy: Well, ever since I met your brother, there's not a lot I don't believe in.
(Thea scoffs as suddenly one of their tires blows out.  We cut away to see Roy struggling to control the car as it spins out. Close-up on the front passenger tire, which has been shot by an arrow.)
Thea: Okay. Now I may believe it too.

Tigressa: Your father had much faith in you.
Thea: Yeah, well... with that new league he created running around, I can't say the same for him.
Tigressa: So you've met Athena. She's not the leader your father desired. You are.
Thea: Yeah, well, I'm sure death has cured him of his disappointment.

(Athena and her men are standing above a dropped Roy and Thea.)
Athena: Make your father proud! Come with us!
Thea: (weakly) Felicity? I know you were wondering...(suddenly stronger) it's from Raiders. (To Roy) Kiss the floor.
(Roy and Thea both lie flat as Thea hits the trigger panel next to her. The darts in the hallway go shooting into Athena and her soldiers. most of them dropping dead instantly.)

Oliver: Nyssa.
Nyssa: Husband.
Oliver: (forced chuckle) You've got to stop doing that. I... I do have a wife now and...uh... she doesn't like it.
Nyssa: But that's the fun of it.
Oliver: Thea may want you to stay. Doesn't mean you have to.
Nyssa: Her point about Felicity's utility was well taken.
Oliver: So was her point about wanting nothing to do with Malcolm.
Nyssa: It is her life and she must find her own truth.
Oliver: I think her truth is a new life. That she's earned.
Nyssa: She's earned your support for her actions. Whatever those may be.
Oliver: I can understand why she would be conflicted with Malcolm. He was her father. I am not conflicted. He was evil. And Thea should not be charged with writing his wrongs.
Nyssa: My father was also evil. And I've dedicated the rest of my life to righting his wrongs. From what I understand, you have done the same.
Oliver: But my father asked me to! With his dying wish, he asked me to!
Nyssa: Back on Lian Yu, Merlyn gave up his life for Thea. Just as your father did for you. I believe Thea owes him the same debt!
Oliver: Well, it is convenient for you to believe that. Because Thea gets you closer to what you want, so do not pretend that you are selflessly supporting her. And never, ever lecture me on what I owe my sister.

(Felicity explains the code for the League of Assassins' Puzzle Box and The Fibonacci Sequence)
Roy: Wow.
Felicity: Yeah.
Roy (To Nyssa) When you said ancient, you were not kidding.
Nyssa: I never kid.
Felicity: Except where my marriage is concerned, apparently.

(Felicity explains the horribly technical thing she is trying to do to an oblivious Nyssa. She is clearly reveling in Nyssa being unsure of something for the first time since she's ever known her.)
Nyssa: That sounds... complicated.
Felicity: It is. Very.
(Felicity turns back to her computer, still smiling.)
Felicity: So it would be really great to not be distracted. You know?
Nyssa: Very true. (pause) I'll stay here to make sure you remain uninterrupted. Sister-Wife.
Felicity: ... okay.

(Thea asks Oliver why he's still The Green Arrow when John wants to take the mantle from him.)
Oliver: I don't know. I - I - I gave it up because I wanted to be a better father. But... William accepts the idea that I'm The Green Arrow. Plus, I don't want to give it up. I don't know why.
Thea: I do. Because being The Green Arrow is what makes you feel complete. For some reason when you... you put that hood on, it enables you to become the best version of yourself.
Oliver: We're supposed to be talking about you.
Thea: Maybe we are. I don't know...  Maybe that's the reason why I can't seem to give this... life up. I... (sighs) I dunno maybe I'm hoping that maybe I'll get the same thing... and find the best version of myself. Whoever she is.

Felicity: Don't forget guys - we have a bomb situation.
Roy: There's always a bomb situation!

Thea: One more piece of advice?
Oliver: Sure.
Thea: If you're going to wear that hood, you shouldn't string John along anymore.
Oliver: I thought I was the one who gave the wise sibling advice?
Thea: Nope. That has never been the case.


Continuity

The opening flashback from Four Years Ago with Thea talking to Merlyn took place in 223.

Nyssa Al Ghul is confirmed to still be alive following the events of Lian Yu's destruction. The last mention of her was in 601, where Slade Wilson said he saw her heading towards the cages to see if Artemis had survived the bombing.

Thea and Roy are planning to run off together, though they don't know where just yet.

According to Thea, Oliver was afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep without a light on until he was 16. Ollie says he just had a problem with pitch blackness.

Oliver makes reference to the two times he shot Roy Harper with an arrow in 208 and 220.

According to Quentin, Black Siren is as messy as Laurel but is a better cook.

Dinah and Curtis are working on figuring out which cops in the SCPD are working for Diaz, but Quentin fears that other parts of the city government might be under his control as well.

Quentin confirms that the Star City District Attorney is still going forward with the case against Oliver Queen being Green Arrow, even without Roy Harper as a witness.

One of the dirty cops working for Diaz is named J. Hester. Dinah recognizes him by sight from the fight to rescue Roy in 615.  He is the tenth dirty cop Dinah has identififed.

Nick Anastas is an SCPD officer Curtis thinks is cute. He has no blackmail pressure points and hasn't had any odd deposits into his accounts that Curtis can track.

Curtis has been taking care of Zoe since 615. He cooks Macaroni and Cheese far too much for her liking.

Rene is supposed to be starting physical therapy soon.

The licene plate on Roy Harper's car is JJV-467.

The Thantos Guild was Malcolm Merlyn's attempt to reform The League of Assassins following Nyssa's disbanding them in 413. His second in command was a woman named Athena.

Athena was a rival of Nyssa's in The League of Assassins.

Merlyn found a map to something he wanted to unearth with Thea. The Thanatos Guild wrongly believe Thea to have the map or knowledge of where it is.

Merlyn had one female associate in Star City with whom he confided - Tigressa. She is an assassin with over 200 confirmed kills, including her own brother, whom she killed because he had matched her record. She claims to have rejected the path of The League of Assassins. 

Captain Hill takes over a drug-related homicide which Dinah is investigating. This tips Dinah off that something strange might be going on, beyond her suspicion there's no way there can be this many dirty cops in the SCPD without the Captain being dirty as well.

The map is contained within a puzzle box made with an ancient cipher used by The League of Assassins. It utilizes 18 characters from three different alphabets.

Curtis is able to bluff his way into a tour with Officer Nick Anastas when he catches him standing watch outside the evidence room while Dinah is breaking into it.

The League of Assassins cipher is based on The Fibonacci Sequence - a mathematical pattern dating back to Pingala's Formula in 450 BC. The Fibonacci Sequence is that every number is the sum of the two starting numbers.

The starting numbers are 10 and 13. 1013 was the year The League of Assassins was founded. It is also, according to Thea, Malcolm Merlyn's birthday (October 13).

Roy Harper was always good at math.

Felicity holds the map close to a fire, hoping there is invisible ink in much the same way as utilized in other League of Assassins documents, such as The List from 106.

Nyssa was 25 when she first used a computer.

Curtis determines that the drugs Hill took from Dinah at the crime scene were Vertigo - not something Diaz manufactures. This suggests that Hill is clean.

Athena is able to escape despite an apparently fatal wound dealt by Thea.

The map requires Thea's blood as an agent to make the invisible ink visible.

The map shows a series of ley lines spanning the globe. There are three points which have the same confluence of ley lines as Nanda Parbat, suggesting that Merlyn discovered the location of three more Lazarus Pits.

Curtis asks Nick Anastas out to dinner. He says yes.

Dinah determines there are no cases involving Vertigo being handled. This means that Diaz is now selling Vertigo and that Captain Hill is working with him.

Thea decides to go with Nyssa to destroy The Lazarus Pits. Roy decides to go with them.

Nyssa gives Oliver a dagger that symbolizes the cutting of marital bonds among The League Of Assassins members. This officially annuls their marriage.


Location

An unnamed castle run by The Thanatos Guild.


The Bottom Line

A marked improvement over most of the episodes of the second half of Season Six, but that's likely due to the fact that it has nothing to do with the on-going story of Season Six. Even the bits with Dinah and Curtis investigating the SCPD seem far removed from the on-going story since it doesn't involve them butting heads with the Original Team Arrow and there's no Black Siren getting in the way.

This episode is almost entirely devoted to giving Thea Queen a proper send off . It does the same for Roy Harper and Nyssa Al Ghul to a lesser degree, but this is honestly Willa Holland's swan song and she makes it clear just why she was so essential to this show's success. Of course the show hasn't given her much to do in recent episodes but at least she's been given a good send off with a chance of coming back later.

Unfortunately, the preview for next week indicates more stupid bickering and heroes fighting heroes while the villains get away with murder.  For this week, however, Arrow was good.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 15 - Doppelgänger

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




Plot

Thea comes out of retirement as Speedy to save Roy Harper, who is now in the clutches of Ricardo Diaz. Meanwhile, Black Siren reveals herself to the world, claiming to be the deceased Laurel Lance!


Influences

The Green Arrow comics of Judd Winick. (Insane plot twists, villains doing things just to mess with the heroes, the villains having convoluted plans that put them three steps ahead of the heroes at all times, and even when the heroes win, it doesn't gain them any ground.)


Goofs

Katie Cassidy's ham-fisted over-acting as Black Siren tries to play what she thinks Laurel was like is almost as painful as her previous under-acted attempts to play Laurel seriously.

Zoe says her babysitter left her two hours earlier when Curtis comes over to tell her that her dad is in the hospital. What the hell kind of babysitter abandons their charge?  (A very bad one, clearly.)

It's awfully convenient that the grate to the vent which Thea uses to access the hotel is not bolted down and seems to swing on a hinge!

The police officers in Diaz' employ say they can torture Roy without leaving a mark, yet Roy already has a bloody nose and clear bruises on his forehead.

Black Siren says that all she ever wanted was to go somewhere she wouldn't have to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. If that's the case, as was asked last week, why did she come back to Star City after withdrawing the money from the bank in Corto Maltese?

The episode goes out of its way to tell us that nothing has really changed and that Oliver is still in trouble legally, even though the DA's Office no longer has their star witness in the "Green Arrow is Oliver Queen" trial.

Granting that we don't know the full details of Diaz' plan, wouldn't revealing Roy Harper is alive to the press be just as damning to Oliver as trying to get Roy to testify against Oliver and a hell of a lot easier? Roy is supposed to be legally dead, after being publicly exposed and arrested for being The Arrow.


Performances

Willa Holland steals the show as Thea this time.

The only thing lending the Black Siren storyline any credibility at this point is Paul Blackthorne's gravitas.


Trivia

Roy says that he was living in St. Roche when the Star City police found him. St. Roche was the hometown of Hawkman during the James Robinson/Geoff Johns run on the book.


Technobabble

Brady v. Maryland is the court case which determined that Defense Attorneys have to be allowed to see all the evidence that a Prosecuting Attorney has against their client.

Oliver makes use of a Fireworks Arrow to distract the balcony guards so Thea can enter the hotel where Roy is being held captive.


Dialogue Triumphs

Black Siren: Look, this is a lot simpler than you're making it. You're going to protect me. And you're going to help protect me by going along with this story that (changes her tone to sound overly sweet) I'm the real Laurel Lance.
Oliver: Yeah? Why would we do that?
Black Siren: I don't know. Maybe because of all the reporters that are just in the next room? (stepping close to Oliver and playing with his tie.) You know it's only a matter of time before they ask me who The Green Arrow is again. (mockingly) What would you like me to tell them?

Quentin: Look, I know what you're doing here, all right? You're going after Laurel because of what happened to your friend. And I get that, okay? It's what I would do if someone I loved was dead.
Dinah: You mean, it's what you'd do with a criminal, Quentin. Which, by the way, is what she is.
Quentin: Yeah, well, you and I both know that. But, you know, she's turned herself into a beloved public figure. She's also said that she's got no compunctions about outing Oliver and... (sighs) ... I don't think she'll stop with him.
Dinah: (sarcastically) Oh, so you're doing this for my sake?
Quentin: No. For all of our sakes. I've been making progress with her, Dinah, ok? I'm not finished, but if she lives as my Laurel...
Dinah: She is not your Laurel! Your Laurel wouldn't have murdered Vince or anyone else. She did. And you are delusional if you think you can change her.

Oliver: John, he's in there because of me. He's been on the run for three years.
John: Oliver, that's his choice.
Oliver: (sighs) I know, but did I learn anything from it? Roy put on the hood. He sacrificed himself. For me. And I asked you to do the same thing. At the expense of your safety. And your family.
John: Difference was I wanted to put on the hood, Oliver. Listen, I've been good for the past two months. Good! But instead of giving me back the hood, you had Cisco make me a new suit.
Oliver: (ignoring John as he points to the guards he's been watching) There it is! A 15 second opening.  That is our window!
(Oliver turns around and walks off. Diggle shakes his head, looks to the guards, then follows after Oliver.)

Anatoly: Is it Laurel or Laurel these days? So confusing this Doppelgänger business, but you seem to figure it out.
Black Siren: Diaz killed Cayden.
Anatoly: He told me. (shrugs) No honor among thieves. Or crime lords, I guess. Oh well.
Black Siren: Diaz manipulated the both of us. Lied to the both of us. The whole time, he's had his own agenda. That doesn't bother you?
Anatoly: I'm not sentimental. I'm Russian. I am in this city for two reasons only. One is revenge. Against Oliver Queen. And two is money. I'm happy to work with whoever can get me either.
Black Siren: You're in this city because the Bratva cast you out.
Anatoly: Well, there's that too.

Roy: Is that my hood?  It looks good on you.
(Thea leans in and kisses Roy passionately. Suddenly she breaks the kiss.)
Thea: I'm - I'm sorry. If you're seeing someone -
Roy: I'm not. I didn't take your advice. No kids, no wife and I really, really hate minivans.

Thea: You know, there are times that I feel like my life completely fell apart when Roy left? From my blood lust to Malcolm to the coma... knowing he was out there? That he was okay? It made my life just a little bit easier. Ever since Mom died, I haven't known much if anything, other than the fact that I want to make sure he is safe and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens!


Continuity

Jean Loring - Oliver's lawyer - was last seen in 607. She informs Oliver that she thinks she can get the Green Arrow case dropped since the FBI's case depended on leveraging Rene, with information that was obtained illegally from Cayden James, which can't be collaborated now.

That chance is blown out of water when Black Siren speaks to the press, claiming to be Laurel Lance and to have been held captive and for the past two years by people working for Damian Darhk.

Oliver confirms that Laurel Lance was the Black Canary, saying that he was told by Green Arrow, again denying that he is Green Arrow to the press.

Black Siren says the money she stole from Cayden James has been stolen.

Black Siren says she has no idea who was responsible for killing Cayden James and his son, but notes that it couldn't have been her who did the second killing since James' son died while she was being held by ARGUS, who took her into custody in 510.

Black Siren says that there is a Thea Queen on Earth Two, only she isn't as "pathetically naive" (i.e. idealistic) as Earth One Thea. It's been established before that Robert Queen was Green Arrow on Earth Two and that Oliver Queen honestly did die at sea on Earth Two.

Star City can't afford to pay it's police officers as of this week.

Captain Hill suggests auctioning off seized assets to cover the city's bills, saying the police lock-up has $30 million dollars in property.

Dinah asks to be assigned to investigate "Laurel's" kidnapping.

Rene's nickname for Curtis, according to Zoe, is C-Dawg.

DA Armand reveals that Roy Harper has been called as a new witness against Oliver Queen in the court case that he is Green Arrow.

Roy Harper was last seen in 412, where he returned to Star City after being blackmailed into committing a series of burglaries by The Calculator.

Thea notes she wasn't able to locate Roy and she tried to do so, to send him an invitation to Felicity and Oliver's wedding in 609.

Quentin makes reference to his ex-wife, Dinah, and says that while he did not give her the details, he told her to hold off on making a visit to Star City to see "Laurel".

Dinah questions Dr. Schwarz, Team Arrow's physician, about "Laurel". Dr. Schwarz confirms that she performed the autopsy on the real Laurel Lance personally and saw her die, but says that in a world full of metahumans, she thinks almost anything is possible. She says they are conducting a DNA test to see if "Laurel" is real.

The cop assigned to watch "Laurel" in the hospital is in Diaz' employ. He takes Black Siren to see Diaz.

Anatoly is now working with Diaz.

Anatoly confirms that he has been cast out of the Bratva and is only working with Diaz so he can get revenge on Oliver and/or make money.

Roy makes reference to his last conversation with Thea, from 412, where she told him to find a wife, have kids, buy a minivan and live a good life.

Roy was hiding out in St. Roche when the Star City police found him.

Felicity determines that two of the cops torturing Roy were on duty when Cayden James died and that they, and several other cops, have gotten payments from a shell corporation in Corto Maltese. This same corporation was responsible for financing the development of the drug that treated John's nerve condition.

Oliver tasks Quentin and Dinah with figuring out how badly the SCPD has been compromised, though he suspects the corruption is far worse than it was than even a year ago.

Ricardo Diaz is using an abandon casino as one of his hideaways.

Diaz is personally fighting every man who wishes to be part of his gang, saying he wants to build a family rather than a gang.

It is revealed that Black Siren is now working with Diaz, integrating herself into Team Arrow as she tries to make an honest go of being their Laurel - Oliver does not trust her but agrees to give her the space to try.

Roy and Thea seem to have reconciled.

The episode ends with a woman in the garb of The League Of Assassins, watching Thea and Roy make out, messaging her master that she has found the Heir of Ra's Al Ghul.


The Winick Factor

Diaz's working with Cayden James doesn't make a lick of sense. Anatoly, whose always had something of a code of honor suddenly going bandit in the name of getting revenge on Oliver when he had lines he would not cross in the past doesn't make any sense. Dinah, the only person who seems to consistently remember that Black Siren is a multiple-murderer who didn't show any signs of wanting redemption until she became a target of her fellow criminals, is still painted as being a vengeful hose-beast. Oliver says he doesn't trust Black Siren at all, but agrees to back off of her if she makes an honest effort at pretending to be Laurel.


The Bottom Line

A step up from last week, but only in so far as the Thea and Roy romance redeems a lot. The plot is still as stupid as ever but there are individual moments of sanity - Dinah and Quentin agreeing to work to clean up the police department despite their mutual distrust, Oliver making it clear he does not trust Black Siren at all - that make it work. I suspect the fact that Rene isn't in the episode and Curtis is barely in it help matters as well.

We know Black Siren is playing somebody - quite likely everyone - and if there's any justice, Diaz will kill her before her sudden but inevitable betrayal since she betrayed Cayden James by stealing from him and he's allegedly smart enough to realize that fact.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 9 - What We Leave Behind

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




Plot

When Curtis is attacked in his secret identity, it becomes clear that Prometheus has identified all the members of Team Arrow. Little do they realize this is the work of  Artemis, who has turned traitor in order to avenge her parents on the man she still blames for their deaths - Oliver Queen!  Meanwhile, Felicity and Detective Baldwin discover a clue to Prometheus' identity in Oliver's past... but will the revelation come soon enough to save them?


Influences

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (superhero team brought down by a traitorous new recruit) and the many pharmaceutical scandals involving Martin Shkreli.


Performances

The ensemble all do a great job here. Probably the best moment, however, is the group hug at the end where we see just how close this ensemble has become over the past eight episodes.


Artistry

The script for the episode is brilliant, with a lot of quotable dialogue and powerful scenes.

The special effects in the scene in which Prometheus splits one of Green Arrow's arrows with a throwing star are brilliantly executed, as are the slow-motion effects used for the flip Prometheus does.

The shot of Green Arrow silhouetted against the fire in the third segment is a great one.

The editing, direction and cinematography for the sequence in which Oliver is made to retrace his steps from four years early to confront Prometheus are astonishing. Ditto the fight between the two which follows.


Trivia

Artemis' betrayal of Team Arrow resembles that of Terra betraying The Teen Titans in the classic story The Judas Contract.

Justin Claybourne seems to have been inspired by real-world pharmaceutical company executive Martin Shkreli. Shkreli achieved infamy in 2014 after his company acquired the rights to Thiola - a drug used to treat the rare disease cystinuria. Patients with the disease need to take 10-15 of the pill daily. Originally, the pills were sold for $1.50 each. Shkreli hiked the price to $30 a pill.

After being fired by the company he worked for, Shkreli founded his own pharmaceutical corporation in 2015 and did the same thing again, hiking up the price on drug Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill.

It should be noted that Martin Shkreli has never released a viral weapon in order to increase his company's profits. Few would be surprised, however, if he did.


Technobabble

Prometheus injected Curtis with a drug called Dycloseral, which is used to treat tuberculosis.

Rory uses a DNA sequencer to analyze the bone fragments and ashes they found among Prometheus' belongings.



Dialogue Triumphs

(Artemis walks in on Prometheus, who is sharpening a sword.)
Artemis: I brought what you asked for. Addresses are on the back.
(Prometheus gets up and approaches Artemis. He takes the objects she holds and moves to a wall where a pyramid of photos is set up with Oliver Queen at the top and the rest of Team Arrow under him. He adds the photos to the pyramid, with Quentin Lance, Thea Queen, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak on the first level and the rest of Team Arrow under them.)
Artemis: I took those last two myself.
(Prometheus says nothing as he returns to his table.)
Artemis: What? That's it? We had a deal. I get you the intel. I get to be there when you take him down.
Prometheus: You think you can make demands of me?
Artemis: No. No, of course not. I know he's your kill... but I want to watch him die.
Prometheus: You haven't been listening. I'm not going to kill him.
(Prometheus throws a knife, which goes into the eye of the picture of Oliver Queen on the wall.)
Prometheus: I'm going to make him wish he was dead.

(After Thea is rather standoffish to Susan Williams.)
Ollie: She's... I mean,  she's just being... protective.
Susan: Well, to be fair I didn't make the best first impression.
Ollie: Well, I, of all people, understand that doing your job means pissing people off. It just means you're doing it well.

Rene: (Looking at John Jr.) Cute kid.
John: Yeah. He gets it from his mom.
Rene: I figured.
(John gives Rene a smirk. Rene returns it and nods as if to say, "Just messing with you.")
Rene: Must be uh... weird finding out about Flashpoint?
John: Yeah. I'm still not sure how I feel about that, man. I should be used to all the unusual things around here. Especially after last week, but... I could never imagine a daughter.
(John Jr. says something and starts to open one of his presents. Both men watch him.)
Rene: Being a father is the best thing in the world. Especially around the holidays.

(Ollie describes how Justin Claybourne has hiked the price on a vital medication in a time of medical emergency.)
John: Well, it's disgusting, but not illegal.
Ollie: (slammnig his book on the table-top) Claybourne is on The List. I'm not worried about illegal.
John: Just because your father wrote down his name?!
Ollie: My father explained this list. These are terrible people.
John: How would you know that? I thought he was dead?
Ollie: I am going to make sure that Claybourne isn't gouging people.
John: And what if he refuses to cooperate?
Ollie: You ask that like he has a choice.

Rory: You think Prometheus is Justin Claybourne?
Rene: Is that possible?!
Felicity: Well, in our town people who are dead turn out to be secretly alive almost every Wednesday.

(Artemis has just shot the gun from Wild Dog's hand.)
Green Arrow: Evelyn... why?
Artemis: Because you're not a hero. You're a fraud. This city needs to be saved from you!

(After Felicity gives them both a long, complicated and rushed explanation of how to use a DNA sequencer.)
Rory: Did you get all that?
Rene: You're the smart one, remember?

The Hood: Justin Claybourne - you have failed this city!
Claybourne: I - I think you got the wrong guy, pal. My company makes drugs that help people.
The Hood: Not the people in Lamb Valley.
Claybourne: That's not my problem some people can't afford it...
The Hood: It is now!
(The Hood forces Claybourne over a table and picks up a lit welding torch, holding it near Claybourne's face.)
The Hood: Your days of holding this city's health hostage are over! Do you understand me?!
Claybourne: Okay! Okay! Yes!
(The Hood allows Claybourne to stand.)
The Hood: You have until 11 PM tomorrow to make this right/
Claybourne: What happens if I don't?
(The Hood spins around and shoots Claybourne in the leg with an arrow. Claybourne falls to the ground screaming.)
The Hood: I'll aim higher.

(Ollie had just discovered that Justin Claybourne created an outbreak in order to sell his drugs.)
Ollie: He created the marketplace, Diggle. And he didn't care who died in the process.
John: And now you're going to kill him?
Ollie: How can you read what's in that folder and have a problem with that?
John: Have you thought about the ramifications of your actions? Of actually crossing names off your list? Of being judge, jury and executioner?
Ollie: Men like Claybourne buy judges! They buy juries! The law doesn't apply to them!
John: I'm not saying that you don't do some good...
Ollie: So what are you saying?
John: What I'm saying is that one day your actions may have some unintended consequences.

Thea: There's two types of every legacy. Two versions of what we leave behind. There's the good and then the bad. You just have a really lousy habit of focusing only on the bad.

Claybourne: You gonna tell me again I failed this city?
The Hood: You infected the people of Lamb Valley to turn a profit!
Claybourne: You want to make a city great again? This is how - with business, money.
The Hood: You are sentencing innocent families... children to death.
Claybourne: Nobody cares about those people. They're a blight... And I'm just thinning the herd.
The Hood: So am I.
(The Hood shoots Claybourne, sending his body flying into a swimming pool as a bell tolls in the distance.)

Prometheus: Did you hesitate at all when you killed him? Or was he just another name you crossed off your list?
Green Arrow: If you want revenge, I'm right here.
Prometheus: This is about so much more than revenge...

Prometheus: You're not a hero. You're a killer. And I'm going to show them that. I'm going to show them how everything you touch dies.

(Oliver has just confessed to the rest of Team Arrow that he killed Billy Malone.)
Felicity: (speaking firmly, steeling herself through her tears) This was Prometheus. This was all him.
Ollie: He's trying to prove to me that everyone I - I - I come in contact with...everyone close to me dies. And he's right! And... I think that, uh...  I think that all of you should get as far away from me as you possibly can.
(Everyone looks at one another as John moves to Ollie and puts a hand on his shoulder.)
John: Oliver, we are exactly where we are supposed to be.
(John hugs Oliver as Thea puts a hand on John's back while hugging Felicity with one arm as Rory, Rene and Curtis move in for a group hug.)


Continuity

Thea refers to the events of 308 (her and Ollie agreeing not to talk about the aliens anymore) and 109 (Moira Queen's amazing Christmas parties).

Curtis has been claiming that he and Felicity are working on a tech start-up together to excuse his late nights to his husband.

It is suggested, but not confirmed, that Wild Dog has children.

Ollie's favorite Christmas movie is Die Hard. His second favorite is It's A Wonderful Life.

In his first year back in Star City, The Hood targeted a man named Justin Claybourne. Claybourne was the head of a pharmaceutical company who hiked the price on a drug used to treat tuberculosis.

Oliver later learned that Claybourne was working with The AK Desmond Group - a black-market firm that developed biological weapons. Under Claybourne's direction, they released a weaponized strand of tuberculosis with the intent on causing an increased demand for the drugs he made.

There is some suggestion that Claybourne was a racist/classist who hoped to kill poor minorities with his actions.

Prometheus kept bone fragments and crematory ashes among his belongings in the old Claybourne building. Analysis later determines that they belonged to Justin Claybourne.

Neither Rory nor Rene knows how to run a DNA sequencer. Rory is able to figure it out, however.

Billy Malone is able to send Felicity a photo of a baby boy he finds in the Claybourne building before he is abducted by Prometheus.

Oliver authorizes a "shoot to kill" order for the SCPD regarding Prometheus, at Adrian Chase's urging.

Felicity identifies the baby picture as that of Justin Claybourne's illegitimate son, whose picture showed up in the court records of Claybourne's divorce. It is suggested - but not confirmed - that Prometheus is this illegitimate son.

Oliver recognizes the flip that Prometheus did as a maneuver that was taught to him by a woman in Russia in five years earlier. This suggests that Prometheus has spent four years seeking out the same people who trained Oliver Queen in order to match him.

Oliver once tried to land a helicopter on the grounds at the US Open to help Tommy impress Maria Sharapova. This caused Robert Queen to blow a huge acquisitions deal because he had to leave to bail Ollie out of prison. Thea recalls this as being the most disappointed their father ever was in Oliver.

The red pen which Oliver recalled during their first date (in 301) Felicity chewing on when they first met (in 103) makes an appearance in both the modern day and the flashback.

Felicity tracked the AK Desmond Group to 1853 West Maple Street. - the 30th Floor four years earlier. It is here that Oliver discovers Prometheus' lair in the modern day.

Oliver accidentally kills Billy Malone, who is set up as a target by Prometheus.

Oliver tells the rest of Team Arrow the truth about how he killed Billy. Felicity says that she blames Prometheus - not him.  To a person, the team refuse to abandon Oliver.

Curtis' husband Paul leaves him.

John Diggle is lured into an ambush at an ARGUS safe-house and facing off against a SWAT team as the episode ends.

Oliver goes to Susan Williams apartment and vents to her about being told that he causes everyone around him to die.

The camera lingers on Susan William deliberately selecting a certain bottle from her liquor collection after she prepares a drink for Oliver. This suggests that she may have given him a doctored drink.

When Oliver returns to The Bunker, he sees Laurel Lance.


Untelevised Adventures

The flashbacks in this episode depict an unseen adventure from Season One, where Oliver went after a corrupt pharmaceutical CEO named Justin Claybourne.


The Bottom Line

A solid stopping point for the season.  The action sequences are fantastic and the performances are wonderful across the board. The only real flaw is that the subplots involving Billy Malone's relationship with Felicity and Paul dumping Curtis seem somewhat forced into the narrative since we've had almost no time to recognize Billy as a presence (much less as a character) in the past eight episodes and this is the first sign we've seen of Curtis' night-life affecting his marriage all season.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 8 - Invasion!

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





Plot

When a group of aliens called The Dominators attack Central City, Barry speeds over to Star City to ask Team Arrow for help in fighting the invaders. When it becomes apparent that the battle is bigger than they thought, Ollie summons The Legends as Barry and Cisco recruit Supergirl as a secret weapon. Once the team is assembled, however, a secret regarding The Flashpoint Reality leaves the assembled team wondering who they can truly trust. At the same time, Wally West is itching to join the battle despite the reservations of everyone else on Team Flash.


Influences

The 1988 DC Comics crossover event Invasion!, various Gardner Fox Crisis comics, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (The opening with Green Arrow and The Flash pinned down resembles the final stand-off in this movie), EPCOT Center (HR's ideas for opening STAR Labs to the public sound like some of the scientific attractions),the film Alien (Barry and Cisco both refer to the movie in describing the appearance of The Dominators), the film World War Z (Barry refers to the zombies from this movie in describing how The Dominators move), the Superfriends cartoon series (the hangar/hall where the teams meet resembles the Hall of Justice) and the film Independence Day (general alien invasion plot, direct involvement of the American President).


Performances

The whole ensemble is giving it their all. It's hard to single out any one particular performance as exceptional in the face of that and the way all the characters are played off of one another. Among the best moments are...

* Team Flash's responses to HR's presentation on turning STAR Labs into an EPCOT style attraction.
* Cisco and Ray bonding over the rebuilt ATOM suit.
* Ray telling Barry about how Captain Cold died a Legend.
* Wally and HR with the former trying to convince the later to train him.
* Martin Stein and Caitlin Snow discussing how power can change you but it doesn't have to control you.
* Sara reading Barry the riot act over his altering the past to benefit himself.
* Every bit of Mick interacting with Supergirl and Sara's face-palming listening to it.
* Ollie's speech to Barry about how everyone would do what he did if they thought it would save their parents.


Artistry

The script does a fantastic job of giving all the assembled cast something to do, however briefly, and delivers the pay-off to a lot of on-going subplots from The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.

The choreography for all the fight scens are fantastic, but the stand out is Oliver Queen vs. Sara Lance - the closest thing we're likely to see to a Green Arrow vs. Black Canary fight in live-action anytime soon.

The best special effects sequence? Barry's high-speed fight against Supergirl.


Flash Facts

This episode was the second part of a four-part crossover between all of The CW Network's DC Comics superhero shows.

As the title suggests, the main inspiration for this four-part crossover event between all of the DCTVU shows was the 1988 crossover event Invasion!

Invasion! was based around the idea that an alliance of alien worlds - led by The Dominators - attacked Earth due to their concerns that Earth's growing metahuman population would become a threat to their planets.

The general structure of the episode also mirrors the many Crisis comics by Justice League of America writer Gardner Fox, who routinely teamed the heroes of multiple parallel worlds against threats they could not face alone.

When Lyla says that the US Government has known about The Dominators since the 1950s, Joe mentions an incident in Redmond, Oregon that the government tried to cover up. This is a reference to a famous real-world UFO report that was debunked by the United States Air Force.

The Dominators in the original comics had yellow skin, a red circle in the middle of their foreheads, claw-like fingernails and sharp fang-like teeth.

The Dominators in the DCTVU look very much like their comic book counteparts, except for the fact that the comic book Dominators wore clothing and the DCTVU Dominators appear more grey-skinned than yellow-skinned.

The "hall hangar thing" where Barry has Team Arrow, Team Flash and The Legends meet resembles The Hall of Justice from the classic Superfriends cartoon.

Cisco reveals that Supergirl's Earth is Earth 38 under his cataloging system.

In the DC Universe, Earth 38 is the setting of the Elseworlds series Superman/Batman: Generations, which is set on a world where Superman first appeared in 1938, Batman first appeared in 1939 and both heroes established a legacy passed from parent to child that lasted for over 1000 years.

Thea says that Barry described Kara as "more powerful than a locomotive". This is a direct quote from the introduction to the 1940s Superman radio show and the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV show - "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"


Technobabble

Wally West's current maximum speed is Mach 2  (1,552.4 MPH)

Wally's running economy and lactate threshold are all way above expected levels.

The Dominator ship that lands in Central City has some form of force-field that forces Barry back from their ship when he touches it.

The taychon device Barry wore to boost his speed when he accidentally traveled to Supergirl's Earth tracked him to Earth 38.

The Dominators have some form of mind-control technology. It is dependent on broadcast signals but is too strong for even STAR Labs technology to jam. The targets also have to be brought within a line-of-sight range of the broadcast equipment in order to be dominated.


Dialogue Triumphs

(The Flash and Green Arrow take cover behind an stone wall)
Green Arrow: You really did it this time, Barry!
The Flash: Seriously?!
Green Arrow: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, seriously! You come to Star City! You ask for my help! And then inevitably, immediately, we end up the creek!
The Flash: ... Okay. That's fair.
(There is an explosion, close by.)
The Flash: There're moving in.
Green Arrow: (sarcastically) On three, Team Leader.
(A blue blast of light suddenly rips through the wall between them.)
Green Arrow: What's that?
The Flash: (flatly) That would be heat vision.
Green Arrow: Three!
The Flash: Okay.
(The two run around the corner to find themselves starring down Speedy, Spartan, The Canary, Heatwave, The Atom, Firestorm and Supergirl.)

(Team Flash is discussing how to keep Wally from trying to play hero with his powers.)
Caitlin: We're going to have a hard time convincing him not to use them.
Iris: Yeah, well we have to. Until he is ready.
Joe: (laughing as he gestures to Wally running around the speed lab track) How?
Iris: By convicing him that he isn't. That means no encouraging him, no training him and you - (looking at Cisco) no talking to him about a suit. Please. It's for his own good.
Cisco: (scoffs) Why the hell not? It's just abother lie between friends, right?

(Thea just learned about why Barry came to Star City for help.)
Thea: Count me in!
Ollie: For what? I thought you retired?
Thea; Yeah, but... it's aliens!

(Team Arrow and Team Flash meet at a familiar looking facility)
Thea: What is this place?
Barry: It's this old hall... hanger... thing that STAR Labs owns. Or, I guess, I own it.
Thea: Well, you should do something with it.

(Team Arrow and Team Flash watching the Waverider shuttle land.)
Diggle: (deadpan) You know why I've never done drugs? It's because I was always afraid I'd see weird stuff.

(Barry, Cisco and Kara emerge from the breach before the rest of The Legends, Team Arrow and Team Flash.)
Barry: Guys! Thanks for coming!
Ollie: Barry, I thought you were bringing an alien?
Barry: And - yeah - we did. Everybody, this is my friend Kara Danvers. Or as she's known on her Earth, Supergirl.
Jax: What makes her so super?
Barry: Well...?
(Barry turns to Kara, dumfounded. Kara flies up over the crowd and her eyes flash blue, burning a S-shield into the concrete between everyone. She smiles modestly.)
Diggle: I'm convinced.

Ollie: We should use Kara as a stand-in for training.
Mick: Since when is Robin Hood calling the shots?
(Ollie shoots Mick a glare.)
Jax: What I think Mick is trying to say is it would be nice if we knew who was in charge around here.
Ray: Maybe we should take a vote? Choose a leader. Someone we can all trust.
Cisco: Well, I trust Oliver. He's got my vote.
(Iris throws a glare at Cisco.)
Ollie: Appreciate that, Cisco, but Barry put us all together. It should be him.
(Barry looks at Ollie stunned. Ollie just nods at him.)
Cisco: (cooly) Fair enough.
Barry: Okay - um... (stammering a bit) I guess as Team Leader,  First thing to do is.. uh.. is start out by... ummm... ahhhh.
Ollie: (quietly) Doing a test run.
Barry: Let's do a test run! Yeah! Let's do a test run. Uhhhhh...
Ollie: (quietly) Against Supergirl.
Barry: Against Supergirl! All right! Test run against Supergirl!
Sara: (pointing to Ollie) Are we just supposed to play like we don't hear him?
(Thea and Diggle both smirk.)

(Barry has just confessed to changing the past to try and bring his parents back to life.)
Sara: You can't go back and just change things like that, Barry!
Barry: I know.
Sara: You know how hard it is for me not to alter events? To bring my sister back?  But I don't! Because I know the implications!
Ray: And all those abberations we spent the last eight months traveling through time, trying to correct - you just decided it was okay to create your own.
Jax: We should have told them before...
Felicity: Guys? Guys, it's Lyla! The President has been abducted by The Dominators! She needs us now!
Barry: (sighs) Okay. You guys go. Allright? I'm gonna sit this one out. Obviously. You have Supergirl. She's just as fast as I am. Get The President. We can talk about this later.
(Everyone gets up and starts moving to get ready.)
Barry: (walking up to Kara) You still trust me, right?
Supergirl: I'll always trust you, but... it might take more to convince them.
Barry: If you need me, I'll be there.
Ollie: Guys! This is ca- hey!
(Everyone else stops.)
Ollie: This is crazy! Everyone is going, including Barry! I'm not going without him.
Diggle: Then you'll be here, Oliver.

Kara: Yep. He's in there.
Mick: How do you know that?
Kara: I can see him. (realizing she didn't explain all of her powers) Oh! I have X-Ray vision.
Mick: Oh! (grinning wickedly) You can see everyone's bits with those little peepers, huh?
Kara: (embarassed) No, I...
Sara: Ignore him.
Kara: How did you get the name Heatwave?
Mick: I burned my family alive and I like to light things on fire.
Kara: (stunned) Ah. Well, that's a... colorful backstory.
Mick: Well, my shrink thinks so. By the way, I'm not going to call you Supergirl. It's stupid.
Kara: You could call me Kara.
Mick: That won't work either.
Kara: Well, what are you going to shout if you need my help?
Mick: Skirt.
Thea; (snorting) Seriously?
Mick: Seriously. But I'm not gonna need your help.

(Later, as the Dominators activate their mind-control technology.)
Mick: Supergirl! Do something!

Ollie: Barry, you made a choice. You wanted to see your parents alive again. Do you honestly know anyone that, if they were in your shoes, wouldn't do the exact same thing? I would do the exact same thing! Barry, after The Gambit went down, it was me, my father and a crew member on a life raft. Lost at sea. Enough food and water for one person. Maybe. My father took a gun, shot the crew member, told me to survive and then turned the gun on himself. He shot himself in the head. He sacrificed himself so that I could live! Nothing I could do. No choice. Slade Wilson drove a sword right through my mothers' heart, in front of my sister and I. I was there. I was helpless on the ground. I was powerless to stop it. No choice. Do you not think that I wouldn't give anything to go back and to make things different?!
Barry: You never told me that...
Ollie: Barry, the world isn't different because you changed the timeline. Change happens. Tragedy happens. People make choices and those choices affect everyone else. You're not a god, Barry.

(Supergirl recovers from the mind-control.)
Kara: What happened?
Barry: (laughing) You didn't kill me, so my day's looking up.
Kara: I'm so sorry.
Barry: Hey. You're not the first superhero to be mind-controlled.


Continuity

The opening scene takes place 10 hours after the next scene in the STAR Labs Speed Lab.

HR plans to open STAR Labs up to the public. This will include a personal transportation tour of the facility and a a virtual-reality alternative for the faint-of-heart. Both will include something he calls "particle vision" - a moment-to-moment reinactment of the particle accelerator explosion from the perspective of the particle.

A Channel 52 reporter is seen on the site of the Dominator ship landing.

According to Lyla, the US Government has known about The Dominators since 1951. They landed on Earth, abducted some humans to gather intel, ignored all attempts at communication and killed hundreds of soldiers before inexplicably leaving.

The Dominators sent a message to the Department of Defense three months earlier saying they were only coming to Earth to seek understanding of something and warning against attacking them.

Barry saves Green Arrow and Spartan from being shot by Vigilante. Vigilante is an enemy of Team Arrow, who the team was seen fighitng in A507
As in previous encounters, Spartan throws up after being forcibly moved at super speed.

Thea Queen dons her Speedy costume for the first time since A501.

Cisco reveals that Supergirl's Earth is Earth 38 under his cataloging system.

Before leaving, Cisco says it may take him a few tries to open a breech to Earth 38. Breeches briefly appeared in two different scenes during S208 - once at the Danvers' family Thanksgiving dinner and once as Supergirl was fighting Cyborg Superman.

The scene where Barry and Cisco teleport to Supergirl's apartment is precisely the same as the final scene of S208.

Barry refers to the events of S118 and how Supergirl promised to help him if he ever needed it.

Nate and Amaya - Steel and Vixen - do not appear in this episode. Sara Lance says they were left behind to watch The Waverider. This leaves only Canary, Heatwave, Firestorm and The Atom of The Legends joining this adventure.

Iris did not know Oliver Queen was Green Arrow until this episode. She thinks Ollie is hot, much to Barry's annoyance.

There are Dominators in Supergirl's universe as well. She knows from stories that Dominators are increidbly strong, that they came to Krypton once before she was born, did experiments on a lot of people and killed a lot more.

In the wake of losing his ATOM suit in L203, Ray Palmer has rebuilt it using a new supply of dwarf star alloy he accquired in The Wild West in L206 and using the clothing replicator on The Waverider to rebuild most of the clothing parts of the suit. Cisco suggests revising the suit again together - an idea that Ray agrees to once the current crisis is over.

Ray Palmer tells Barry about Len Snart's heroic death in L115.

Professor Stein and Jax reveal the message to Rip Hunter from the Barry Allen of 2056 that they discovered in L203 to Barry and Oliver.

The message warns that a war is coming and that the Barry Allen of 2016 willl summon The Legends to fight it. The message continues to describe how while The Legends were in The Temporal Zone, The Barry Allen of 2016 made a choice that altered the time line and changed the lives of all The Legends. He advises them that when they return to 2016 it will be to the newly created timeline rather than the 2016 they left and that they should not trust anyone or anything - not even the 2016 Barry Allen. Barry believes this to be a reference to Flashpoint.

The only changes Barry is aware of thus far are Cisco's brother is dead, Caitlin has ice powers, Wally has super-speed and John Diggle's baby daughter Sara is now a baby son named John.

Ollie advises Barry not to tell the rest of the team about the changes caused by Flashpoint yet.

Supergirl is able to hold her own against Canary, Speedy, Spartan, Heatwave and The Atom at the same time.

Wally is smart enough to interpet the various STAR Labs computers used to chart his speed and physical condition and figure out that everyone is lying to him.

Wally refers to the events in The Flashpoint reality in 301 and how he and Iris were a crime-fighitng team in that world.

Wally asks HR to train him in developing his powers. At the episode's end, HR agrees.

It is revealed that the woman Professor Stein has been having visions of since L206 is his daughter. In the original timeline, he and his wife never had any children.

Cisco discovers the recording from Future Barry and demands Barry tell the rest of the team about it.

Ray says The Legends have spent eight months repairing time abberations.

The Dominators abduct the US President. He is later killed as he was only bait to lure as many superheroes as possible into a trap so they could be mind controlled.

The future newspaper from April 25, 2024 - first seen in 101 - still shows The Flash disappearing during some kind of Crisis. The article has been changed, however, to be written by Julie Greer rather than Iris West-Allen.

Ollie tells Barry about how his father killed himself to give Ollie a chance at survival (as seen in the flashbacks in A101) and how Slade Wilson killed his mother in front of him (as seen in A220).

At the end of the episode, Sara Lance, Thea Queen, Ray Palmer, John Diggle and Oliver Queen are abducted by The Dominators.


Location

Supergirl's apartment in National City on Earth 38.


The Bottom Line

Perfect. A true comic-book story line expertly adapted for the small-screen. The gold standard by which all future superhero shows will be judges.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 2 - The Candidate

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




Plot

When an old friend of their mother decides to run for mayor of Star City, Ollie and Thea decide to go beyond offering their endorsement and make it their business to protect her personally as The Green Arrow and Speedy. But Thea has been changed by The Lazarus Pit and that change is becoming more pronounced the more Thea throws herself into battle.  Can she hold it together in the face of a kidnapping plot orchestrated by a would-be minion of Damian Darhk?

At the same time, Felicity takes over Palmer Technologies only to find that the Board of Directors is less concerned about her ideas for saving the company and more concerned about letting go enough people to balance out their own high salaries.  But Felicity may be able to save more than jobs with the help of a brilliant young genius named Curtis Holt...

In the flashbacks, Ollie is back on Lian Yu, charged with infiltrating a new gang that has taken over the island and turned it into a poppy farm.


Influences

Green Arrow: Year One (Ollie infiltrating an island being used by a drug cartel to farm poppies for heroin), the Green Arrow comics of Elliot S! Maggin and Dennis O'Neil (the theme of public figures needing to be examples as well as superheroes and the idea of Ollie running for mayor) and the Mister Terrific comics of Eric Wallace.


Goofs

Despite Ollie's apparently sticking to his guns about not killing, there are several moments in the fight scenes where it looks like he fatally shoots people in the chest and Laurel seems to throw one man off a building to his death.

While chasing after Machin, Ollie is hit by a car, cracks the windshield and is thrown off of the car again with no apparent ill effects. Not even so much as a bruise.

Why would Machin go through the trouble of resewing his fingerprints onto his hands in a mixed up fashion after cutting them off when burning them off would have been a far easier way of accomplishing the same ends?


Trivia

The episode opens with another new variant of the "My name is Oliver Queen..." opening.

Team Arrow fight The Ghosts to save the city's water supply in the opening fight scene. This is perhaps one of the most time-honored cliches in superhero comics - stopping villains from contaminating a water supply.

Jessica Danforth is an original character made for the show Arrow.  Her name may, however, be a reference to Daniel Danforth Dickerson III, who was briefly mayor of Gotham City following the Batman: No Man's Land storyline.  In this story, Gotham City was abandoned by the United States following a series of disasters including the release of a plague and an earthquake that leveled most of the city - not unlike what has happened with Star City on Arrow. Dickerson was the first mayor to try and rebuild after Gotham City was reclaimed by the USA.

Anarky was originally an anti-hero created by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle in Detective Comics #608 (November 1989) as an antagonist for Batman. An idealistic child prodigy named Lonnie Machin, Anarky discovered philosophy at a young age and became concerned about the state of the world and the increasing influence of corporations and the idle rich. Creating a costume that increased his height, Lonnie embarked on a campaign of terror, beating up CEOs, encouraging homeless people to riot and hacking the accounts of evil companies and transferring their funds to various third-world relief charities.

Reaction to Anarky has been mixed, to put it mildly. Alan Grant has been accused of plagiarizing the base concept of an anarchist superhero from Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and Anarky's costume appears to be modeled on that of V - the anti-hero protagonist of that book.  The Anarky stories written by Grant have been said to be thinly-veiled, one-sided political screeds that use Anarky as a mouthpiece for Grant's own philosophy. Anarky himself is a Gary Stu, being a super-genius scientist and master martial artist who created his own style before he hit puberty, with a secret base under Washington DC and technology that rivals that of Batman! He even won the respect of Darkseid and was given a Boomtube!

Anarky encountered Green Arrow twice in the comics. They first crossed paths in Green Arrow Vol. 2 #89 (read my review of that issue here.), and Anarky professed an admiration for Green Arrow while wondering what happened to his idealism after Oliver Queen refused to help him blow up a gun factory. They next met in Green Arrow Vol. 3 #51, where Anarky was portrayed as more of a mad bomber, though he still spoke of admiring Green Arrow and decried that The Emerald Archer had "sold out".

Anarky's weapon of choice in the comics is a stylized taser staff. We see the DCTVU version of Anarky making use of a similar weapon in this episode.

The DCTVU version of Anarky is quite different. This Lonnie Machin is an adult and a career criminal, who worked for both The Triads and The Bertinelli crime family. Apart from utilizing a taser-staff weapon and the name, there is no apparent connection to the Alan Grant character, as this Anarky seems to be more of a mad bomber and a sadist than the super-genius chessmaster from the comics

Curtis Holt is the DCTVU version of Michael Holt aka Mister Terrific. In the comics, Michael Holt was a man "with a natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes". He was a Gold-medal winning Olympic decathlete, held 14 doctorates along with an assortment of Master's and Bachelor's degrees and ran his own technology firm - Holt Holdings. Left suicidal after a drunk driver killed his beloved wife, Holt was visited by the angelic being known as The Spectre, who told him the story of another gifted man named Terry Sloane who devoted himself to heroism under the guise of Mister Terrific, after contemplating suicide himself. Inspired by Sloane's example, Holt became the second Mister Terrific, and devoted himself toward helping the needy however he could and fighting crime with his fortune.

Curtis Holt is quite different from Michael Holt in several key respects.  Curtis Holt is gay and happily married. Michael Holt was straight and a widower. Thus far, Curtis does not seem to be the athletic type whereas Michael was a peak-human athlete in addition to being a super-genius.

The executive pushing Felicity to fire more people is named Mr. Dennis.  This could be a nod to legendary Green Arrow writer Dennis O'Neil.

Damien Darhk and Oliver both make reference to a gangster named Rick Pinzolo. This was the name of a gangster, played by Stanley Tucci, on the show Wiseguy.

The exact power of the shock delivered by Anarky's staff is revealed to be 5000 volts. Ironically - given how the fight with Anarky ends - 5000 Volts is also the name of a British Disco group, whose biggest hit was a song called "I'm On Fire!".

The leader of the group running the poppy farm on Lian Yu is introduced to Oliver as Baron Reiter. This is a nod to the super-villain Baron Blitzkreig, though writer Marc Guggenheim has already said this character will not be a Nazi and the focus will be upon Reiter's ties to the organized crime group Shadowspire, which first appeared in Deathstroke #53.

The idea of Oliver Queen running for mayor was first suggested in the story "What Can One Man Do?" by Elliot S! Maggin, in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #87.  It was his first professionally published story and one of many stories he wrote that explored the idea of superheroes as agents for social justice as well as crime-fighters.


Technobabble

Curtis Holt developed an algorithm using a specialized AI to determine maximum profits with a minimum amount of workforce reduction. However, he had originally designed it to develop a value matrix, to argue for company-wide pay increases and raises.  Mr. Dennis had him turn it around to figure out who to get rid of.

Anarky's taser-staff administers a 5,000 volt shock.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ollie: My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in hell, I returned home with only one goal - to save my city. But my old approach wasn't enough. I had to become someone else. I had to become... something else. I had to become... The Green Arrow.

(After explaining that he developed an algorithm to determine maximum profits with a minimum of work-force reduction)
Curtis: Sorry. I probably could have explained that better.
Felicity: No, I got the gist. You came up with a list of people that you'd like me to fire.
Curtis: (weakly) Work-Force Reduction has a nicer sound to it?

(As Ollie reveals the windshield which has a sample of Lonnie Machin's fingerprints)
Laurel: How did you get the owner to part with his windshield?
Ollie: I bought his truck.
(Everyone just stares at him)
Ollie: One of the benefits of your girlfriend inheriting a multi-billon dollar conglomerate. We have money now.

Quentin: You've been gone.  You don't know what this city is facing. Now, I'm not saying it doesn't need saving. But a guy hiding behind a mask isn't gonna get it done. What this city needs is someone willing to stand up in the light of day - not a guy lurking around in the shadows. You say you're going to be different this time, huh?  How?

Jessica Danforth: Yes, The Green Arrow risked his life to keep the people of this city safe. But who inspires them? Who works to make sure that there's a city worth saving? Who's there to make Star City a place my daughter wants to call home?

Ollie: Thank you for rescuing me.
Baron: (chuckles) I'm sorry, but we're not rescuing you. First thing you do once you get home is tell people what we're doing here.
Ollie:.I - I don't know what you're doing here.
Baron: Be that as it may, I can't send you home. Not right now. Good news, though. I have no reason to kill you.
Ollie: So what are you going to do with me?
Baron: Good question. You survived three years here all alone. That requires fortitude, intelligence - qualities that are of use to me. As it happens, one of my men stepped on a land mine. How would you like his job?

Damien Darhk: Now I see why Rick Pinzolo banished you. You're unaware that there are lines one does not cross.
Lonnie Machin: I met one of your "ghosts". After I took his tooth, we had an interesting conversation about HIVE. I wasn't led to believe you respected lines.
Damien Darhk: I respect Order, Mr. Machin. Discipline. Precision. You are sloppy. All you represent is anarchy.

Ollie: Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.

Ollie: Both Lance and Jessica Danforth said something to me about this city needing something that Green Arrow can't offer.
Felicity: Decent Sushi restrautant?
Ollie: Hope. Inspiration. Someone who can do things in the light who isn't afraid... someone who can protect themselves.  Felicity?
Felicity: Umm-hmm?
Ollie: I'm going to run for mayor.


Continuity

Diggle and Felicity do not have code names yet.

Ollie gives Felicity a fern for her first day at work. This is a nod to the fern she got him in 301.

In her candidacy announcement, Jessica Danforth refers to the death of Moira Queen in 220.

Lonnie Machin cut off his own fingerprints and restitched them onto his fingers in mis-matched patterns as a means of remaining unidentified.

Diggle tells Laurel about how his brother was killed by a group called HIVE and how he has spent two years looking for them, theorizing a connection go The Ghosts they are fighting, but not telling Felicity or Ollie about it because he considers it a family affair.

Thea is capable of breaking a man's arm with one hand.

Ollie makes reference to Malcolm Merlyn's warning in 320 that those who are resurrected by The Lazarus Pit do not come back as the same person they once were.

Laurel learns about The Lazarus Pit being used to resurrect Thea and immediately begins plotting a way to use it to bring back Sara Lance.

Thea makes a reference to her kidnapping at the hands of Slade Wilson in 216, watching Jessica Danforth on the news after her daughter was kidnapped and wondering if that's what it was like for Moira Queen.

Lonnie Machin escapes en route to the hospital after being set on fire by Thea. He leaves behind an anarchy symbol painted in blood as a calling card.

In the flashback, Ollie has his hair cut after joining The Baron's men.

At the end of the episode, Oliver decides to run for mayor himself in the wake of Jessica Danforth dropping out of the race.


The Fridge Factor

Laurel is back to her usual hypocritical self, chewing Diggle out for hiding information from Oliver and Felicity regarding HIVE but then going on to hide her trip to Nanda Parbat with Thea from Oliver.

Jessica Danforth is presented as a strong, confident independent woman only to immediately collapse into a helpless victim once her daughter is kidnapped. Jeri Ryan was completely wasted in this role and it's shameful that her casting on this show was built up for such a weak payoff.


The Winick Factor

Ollie's fighting skills seem to be nerfed severely when he goes up against Anarky, purely so Thea can have an opportunity to come in and accidentally set him on fire.


The Bottom Line

A lackluster episode that is reminiscent of the first season villain-of-the-week stories for all the wrong reasons. Anarky is such a one-note joke of a villain you actually feel upset that he wasn't killed off. Virtually all the progress the characters have made over the past year has been jettisoned as everyone is still keeping secrets from everyone else for the sake of prolonging the drama. It's telling that the best parts of the episode are the ones that introduce new information and characters rather than rehashing the same old tropes.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 1 - Green Arrow

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


Plot

Several months have passed since Oliver Queen defeated Ra's Al Ghul and saved Starling City from The League of Assassins and much has changed.  Starling City has changed its name to Star City, in honor of Ray Palmer, presumed dead after a lab accident.  John Diggle now leads Laurel Lance and Thea Queen in protecting the city. And Oliver Queen has happily retired to a life of suburban bliss with Felicity Smoak. Alas, it can't last, and when a new threat proves too much for what is left of Team Arrow to cope with, Oliver Queen must once again become someone else.


Influences

The comics of Dennis O'Neil, Mike Grell and Kevin Smith (Ollie as a stay-at-home husband), the Titans comics of Devin Grayson (character of Damian Darhk) and the general theme of redemption that dominates so many classic Green Arrow stories.


Goofs

Everyone seems somewhat skeptical of Oliver's claims that the supernatural is real and that he's seen things when he says that Damien Darhk's powers are mystic in nature... considering that they all saw Thea come back from the dead six months earlier after being exposed to The Lazarus Pit.


Performances

Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards play Oliver and Felicity as two clearly different characters. It is clear the time away from Starling City has done wonders for both characters, with Oliver being happier and Felicity being more confident. The chemistry between both actors is incredible.

David Ramsey has often had a thankless job in playing the under-utilized John Diggle.  This episode, however, almost makes up for every episode where he had nothing to do but stand in the background and glare at Oliver in silent disapproval until the two of them were alone and he could let him have it. Diggle is front and center with his resentment of Oliver's actions against his family and every moment - from the quiet one with his wife and daughter - to his finally putting all his cards on the table with Oliver as they search for a bomb - is good stuff.


Artistry

The action scene of Laurel, Diggle and Thea chasing after the HIVE thugs in the Kord Industries truck is a good one.

The script for this episode is strong in one particular theme - redemption. Throughout the episode, Oliver is forced to confront his past mistakes (what Thea has become, how he destroyed his friendship with John Diggle, etc.) and seek a way to move past who he was to become someone else. Someone better. That idea - that someone can become a better person - is the defining characteristic of Oliver Queen's character in all of his various incarnations. And that transformation in this episode is handled beautifully.


Trivia

Ollie being a fantastic chef is a direct nod to the comics. While he's primarily famous for his chili recipe, Oliver was frequently depicted experimenting in the kitchen in his spare time in the comics by Dennis O'Neil, Mike Grell and Kevin Smith.

Ollie living as a house-husband is also a nod to the Mike Grell comics.  While nominally employed by Dinah Lance as a delivery man and assistant at her floral business after the two moved in together, Ollie mostly concerned himself with tending to their home when he wasn't playing vigilante.

In the original comics, Damian Darhk was an enemy of The Titans, making his first appearance in the first issue of the Devin Grayson run on that series. A mysterious figure and something of a tech-guru, Darhk was a major player in the criminal underworld and had connections with H.I.V.E. Curiously, he had the appearance of a 20-year-old man despite his apparent connections and experience. He was seemingly killed by Vandal Savage, but apparently gained immortality after his blood merged with that of the HIVE Mistress.

The DCTVU version of Damian Darhk is a decidedly different character, apart from being definitively identified as the leader of HIVE and a former member of The League of Assassins who was enlisted at the same time as Ra's Al Ghul. Darhk is a magician rather than a tech-based villain, capable of telekinesis (he stops the arrows Ollie shoots at him), teleportation (he disappears off the train after Diggle shoots him) and he possess some kind of ability to drain the life out of people with a touch. We see Darhk performing some kind of ritual that requires spilling his own blood before an idol near the episode's end.

HIVE - the organization that Damian Darhk runs - is a reference to another villain group that fought The Teen Titans and Superman in the comics.  HIVE stands for Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination and the group was involved in various criminal schemes with an ultimate goal of world domination. In the DCTVU reality, they apparently hired Deadshot to kill Andy Diggle, John's brother.

In the New 52 comics, HIVE stands for Holistic Integration for Viral Equality. Otherwise, they are much the same as the original HIVE.  The group formed an uneasy alliance with the psychic villain Hector Hammond and were responsible for the lab accident that turned Dr. Caitlin Snow into the villain Killer Frost.

Kord Industries - the company HIVE steals the cluster-bombs from - is a reference to the company of DC Comics hero Ted Kord a.k.a. The Blue Beetle. The truck HIVE steals is decorated in light blue with dark blue piping - the same colors as Ted Kord's costume in the comics.

Thea is still referred to by the code-name Speedy in the field. At one point she asks to be called The Red Arrow. In the original comics, Speedy was the first code-name used by Roy Harper, who later became known as The Red Arrow when he joined The Justice League.

The scene where Amanda Waller takes Oliver to a bar opens on a shot of a leather aviator jacket with the name Jordan sewn onto the chest. This is a reference to the signature jacket of Hal Jordan, who was Oliver Queen's best friend in the comics and also the first Earthling to become a member of The Green Lantern Corps.

It's also worth noting that Oliver and Amanda Waller were in Coast City - Hal Jordan's home town in the comics.

It is revealed near the end of the episode that the suburb Ollie and Felicity moved into is called Ivy Town.  In the comics, Ivy Town was Ray Palmer's home town and he was employed as a college professor at Ivy University.


Technobabble

The weapons stolen from Kord Industries by HIVE are cluster bombs with built-in GPS unites. These bombs are censor-fused and high-yield - the most powerful non-nuclear bombs in the world.

Oliver is given a backpack with AES-Encrypted Communication Gear before he is dropped back on Lian Yu, in the Five Years Ago flashback.


Dialogue Triumphs

Oliver: (To Felicity) You're uncharacteristically quiet.
Felicity: What should I say? Our friends need our help. We should be in the car.

Oliver: I don't need a therapist.
Waller: The hood and eye make-up suggest otherwise.

(As they drive past a row of closed down businesses and boarded up homes)
Oliver: Jeez. It's tough not to look out this window and wonder.
Felicity: Wonder what?
Oliver: What did we really accomplish?

Diggle: That's pretty forgiving considering he kidnapped you six months ago.
Lyla: You know why he did. You have to let go of it sometime. I did.
Diggle: That's because you're better than me. That's one of the reasons why I love you.
Lyla: It was war, John. Maybe not against a country, but it was war. And in times of war, we do what we have to do.
Diggle: Really, Lyla? I mean, that include lying to me? Lying to Felicity? What was the point?
Lyla: Oliver did what he thought he had to do to defeat Ra's. I'm not saying he made the right choice. But if Oliver Queen always made the right choice, he wouldn't need you.

Oliver: Saw that you took my advice on the identity concealment...
Diggle: (sighs) Oliver, man - what are we doing? Pretending everything's normal? That we are normal?
Oliver; I'm looking for a way in.
Diggle: I was furious with you that you trusted Malcolm Merlyn more than you trusted me. But then I realized that I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at myself for thinking that you're someone that you clearly aren't.
Oliver: I don't know what that means.
Diggle: Oliver, after everything that we've been through, man, I couldn't fathom why you didn't trust me. But then I realized that you couldn't. That's not who you are. You don't trust. You don't love. You were able to fool Ra's and join The League because inside you are every bit as dark as they are.

Lance: The prodigal arrow returns.
Oliver: Captain Lance.
Lance: I thought that was you last night, some mask over your head. Felt like old times.
Oliver: I was only trying to help. 
Lance: If that were true, you wouldn't have come back. This town started going to crap the moment you put on that hood. You brought madness into all our lives and the monster you were inspired monsters.
Oliver: Maybe. But I'm not a monster anymore.
Lance: Then what are you?!

Felicity: I love our new home. And I love you. But I also love it here and you can't honestly tell me that you don't.
Oliver: Yeah, no, of course! I miss aspects of it. The sense of purpose. The idea of helping people. But Lance was right.
Felicity: About what?
Oliver: A few months ago he told me that all I brought back from the island was pain, misery and darkness. And of course I knew that the moment we came back here that darkness would be waiting for me.
Felicity:  Well, he's wrong. Dead wrong. You didn't bring the darkness back with you from Lian Yu!
Oliver: But, Felicity, I'm telling you that the only way I know to fight the darkness is to be darkness. That is why I left!  I don't want to be that type of person anymore!
Felicity: Well, maybe you need to be a different kind of person.  And you're not doing this alone anymore.

Damien Darhk: You can't be The Arrow. He died. So who are you?
Ollie: You're about to find out.

The Green Arrow: Six months ago, The Arrow died. But what he stood for didn't. It lived on in the heroes who took up his mantle. People who believe that this city should never descend into hopelessness. Who believe although life is filled with darkness, that darkness can be the key to find light. And tonight, I am declaring my intention to stand with them - to fight for this city! To be the symbol of hope that The Arrow never was. I am... The Green Arrow!


Dialogue Disasters

Thea: I thought I told you you guys to call me Red Arrow!
Diggle: A red arrow just means you can't make a left turn.


Continuity

Five years ago, Oliver operated as a vigilante in Coast City, targeting drug dealers who dealt to children. He was discovered by Amanda Waller, who drugged him and arranged for him to be dropped onto Lian Yu as part of a reconnaissance mission, where he was almost immediately captured by a man in camouflage.

Waller makes reference to Oliver's bloody killing of General Shrieve in 323.

As the episode opens, Ollie and Felicity have settled in the suburbs of Ivy Town. Ollie is a house-husband and Felicity is the Acting CEO In Absentia of Palmer Technologies, though she is trying to convince the Tech Board that she can take over the position permanently.

Ollie has become a brilliant chef in the past five months. Felicity is not so gifted.

Ollie had the dragon tattoo on his shoulder surgically removed, saying he didn't need it anymore. The tattoo was originally forced onto Oliver in 217 by Slade Wilson as a reminder of Shado's death.

Diggle now wears a helmet that obscures and protects his face along with black tactical gear and a black leather jacket as a costume.

According to Diggle and Thea, Kord Industries are one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the DCTVU. They also manufacture consumer goods, including "awesome cel phones."

Walter Steele - Oliver and Thea's step-father, last seen at Moira Queen's funeral in 221 - was apparently approached about running for Mayor of Star City. He declined.

Captain Lance notes that Star City has lost three mayors and one mayoral candidate in the last three years. We witnessed these events in 201 (Mayor Altman was killed by The Hoods), 220 (Moira Queen murdered by Slade Wilson), 222 (Mayor Sebastian Blood killed by Isabel Rochev) and 317 (Mayor Castle killed by League of Assasins to frame The Arrow for murder).

The foot-soldiers of HIVE are dubbed "ghosts" by the press, due to how quickly they disappear after committing a crime. They are all equipped with cyanide pills and will kill themselves rather than talk.

Captain Lance describes some of Star City's attempts to improve the image of their city in the wake of three disasters in as many years. Apart from changing their name (in honor of the presumed dead Ray Palmer), they've also begun a new tourism program and constructed a high-speed railway between Star City and Central City.

Captain Lance makes a reference to Central City holding a Flash Day event.  We saw this in episode F201.

All of the city leaders except for Captain Lance are killed by HIVE. These include the District Attorney, The Comptroller and Head of Emergency Services.

Ollie attempts to propose to Felicity twice over the course of the episode, using his mother's engagement ring that belonged to his mother. One attempt is thwarted by the sudden arrival of Thea and Laurel. The other is abandoned in the middle of moving into Thea's old loft.

Cisco Ramon made Oliver a new costume six months earlier.  Ollie dons this new costume to become The Green Arrow.

Thea Queen has become a much more aggressive fighter, nearly killing one HIVE agent before Ollie stops her during Team Arrow's raid on The HIVE Hideout they discover. Presumably this is a side-effect of her resurrection in The Lazarus Pit in 320.

Oliver identifies Damien Darhk's powers as magical and says that he has seen mystical things in his past without elaborating.

By the episode's end, Ollie and Felicity have moved into Thea's loft. We learn that Thea has apparently been living with Laurel, not wanting to stay in her old loft as she was killed by Ra's Al Ghul there.

When Ollie says that Ra's Al Ghul specifically identified Damien Darhk's organization as "a hive", this triggers a flashback in Diggle, who remembers Deadshot's words in 206 regarding HIVE - the group that hired him to kill John's brother, Andy.  He does not share this information with the rest of Team Arrow.

It is also revealed that Captain Lance is working with Damien Darhk.

In the final scene of the episode, we see a flash-forward six months. Ollie is seen at a graveside alone and is briefly joined by Barry Allen, who apologizes for missing the funeral, saying that he was busy dealing with Zoom. We do not see who the grave belongs to.


Location

Ivy Town.


Untelevised Adventures

Felicity apparently helped Diggle, Laurel and Thea with several cases during the five months she and Oliver were away from Star City.

At some point in his past, Oliver Queen has seen proof that magic is real.


The Fridge Factor

Laurel sucks at keeping her highly illegal vigilante lifestyle under wraps. She's abandoned any pretense of disguising her hair with a wig.

When the D.A. starts dying beside her, Laurel shouts for someone else to call 911 while she is getting on her own phone out.  She then begins talking on the phone, with several people in earshot, about Diggle and Thea needing to check on the other city leaders. Nobody finds the assistant DA's lack of concern for her boss at all suspicious.

Later on, after she's saved her father from the HIVE assassins who came after him, Laurel casually talks to her father, in costume, in front of several cops, who think nothing is odd about their vigilante-hating boss NOT shouting for someone to help him cuff the woman in the mask.

Thea's shooting a smoke arrow into the middle of a crowd before trying to evacuate them is an incredibly stupid move.


The Winick Factor

I was hard pressed on where to put the examples of Laurel and Thea's incompetence. Ultimately, I decided to put them in The Fridge Factor above instead of The Winick Factor simply because none of the male characters exhibited such issues.


The Bottom Line

A solid start with a lot of mysteries for the viewers to consider and an interesting wrinkle as magic is introduced into the DCTVU. Unfortunately, the show is still struggling to give Laurel anything useful to do and Thea is barely any better. Still, Darhk has a strong first appearance as the big-bad for the season and the chemistry between Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards saves a lot of scenes that might otherwise have fallen flat.