Arrow Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 15 - The Promise

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



Plot

In the present, Slade Wilson reveals himself to Oliver Queen, in the guise of a businessman with an interest in Moira's mayoral campaign.  Oliver must bide his time as the rest of Team Arrow gets in to position to deal with the most dangerous enemy either Oliver or Sara has ever known.

Five years ago, Oliver, Sara and Slade put their plan to take The Amazo into action.  With a toast of Australian rum, they hope the next dawn will see them free of the island and Anthony Ivo's madness. 


Influences

Green Arrow: Year One (the island sequences) and Green Arrow/Black Canary: A League Of Their Own (Roy's training in the Arrow Cave).


Performances

Manu Bennett steals the show.  We get to see him play Slade on multiple levels - much as Stephen Amell and Caity Lotz have with their characters in the past.  We've seen hints of how the Mirakuru was driving him mad before but this episode gives us the first signs that Slade is able to put method to his madness.  The charming act Slade puts on around Moira and Thea is another interesting mask, which brings to mind the classic Slade Wilson of the original Teen Titans who could be as charming as he was lethal when needed.


Artistry

The action sequences during the attack on The Amazo are feature-film quality.


Trivia

The opening credits now show Roy seeing the Arrow Cave for the first time instead of Oliver visiting Tommy Merlyn's grave.

As in the comics, Oliver's full name is Oliver Jonas Queen.

The sequence in which Roy is seen practicing archery in the Arrow Cave and doing badly may be a call-back to Judd Winick's final storyline on Green Arrow/Black Canary.  In that story, Connor Hawke (the second Green Arrow) gained enhanced strength, durability and a healing factor following his abduction at the hands of a mad scientist but lost much of his ability to use a bow with any degree of accuracy.


Technobabble

The Amazo is armed with GP25 grenade launchers.

Sara mixes up cocculus indicus - a picrotoxin that can counteract the effects of barbiturates like Sodium Pentathol (i.e. truth serum)


Dialogue Triumphs

Slade: All I can say is you and I have something in common.
Moira: What's that?
Slade: I know how difficult it is to pick yourself back up when other people have written you off.

(After Ollie tumbles and hits a perfect bulls-eye)
Slade: Shado would be proud.
Ollie: Thank you.  But those trees don't move. Or shoot back. Ivo's men on the freighter will.
Slade: Then shoot first.

(Ollie tries to shoot the beacon on the beach with a flaming arrow.  He misses)
Slade: Well, we don't have all day...
Ollie: (testily) There's a breeze.

Slade: I believe that when we lose someone we love we have the obligation to honor their memory.

Ivo: It's harder than it looks, isn't it?  Killing an unarmed man?
Ollie: Seemed pretty easy when you murdered Shado.
Ivo: I didn't murder her, Oliver.
Ollie: Ivo, you shot her in the head!
Ivo: I gave you a choice!  You chose Sara!  You blame me, but that's because you can't face your own guilt.  I loaded the bullets, yes.  I pulled the trigger.  But you... you aimed the gun.  And you hold yourself responsible, don't you?
Ollie: Yes... but that doesn't mean I won't kill you.
Ivo: The question is... what will he do?
(Ollie lowers the bow and turns around, to see Slade standing in the doorway.)

Ollie: Cyrus Gold.  The man in the skull mask.  All this was you.  They worked for you.
Slade: Well... I have my allies, just as you have yours.  John Diggle, for example.  I suppose you're wondering why he hasn't taken his head-shot?  Don't worry.  He's still alive.  For now.
Ollie: Slade.... what do you want?
(Slade gets inside his car and then lowers the window)
Slade: Five years ago, I made you a promise.  Do you remember?  Well I'm here to fulfill it.  I'll see you around, kid.

Slade: To kill you now would be a mercy.  You cannot die until you have suffered the same way that I have suffered.  Until you have found complete despair.  And you will.  I promise.


Continuity

Slade Wilson reveals himself to Oliver, masquerading as a businessman interested in donating to Moira's campaign.

Slade brings a gift for Moira - a bottle of Australian rum - Reuther.  We find out later this is the same brand that Slade used to propose a toast before the assault on The Amazo.

Oliver practices sprinting, jumping, tumbling, pull-ups and running shots with his bow as part of his training regiment on the island.

Sara learned enough basic chemistry under Ivo to learn how to make an antidote for truth serum.

Oliver don's Shado's green hood for the first time as Slade also dons Wintergreen's mask.

While speaking with Moira, Slade claims to have never been married or had children.  This contradicts what Slade told Oliver about his background in The Odyssey (114), where he mentioned a son named Joe.  Given all the other lies he is spinning Moira, however, it seems likely Slade was telling the truth then and that this is not a continuity error on the part of the writers.

We see Anatoly Knyazev (a.k.a. The Russian) for the first time since Keep Your Enemies Closer (206) among the prisoners on the Amazo.  We are also introduced to Hendrick (a violent man with a particular loathing for Sara) and Reverend Thomas Flynn - a missionary who has taken to training at least one of the rats in the ship's prison.

Ivo's motivation for finding the Mirakuru has something to do with his terminally ill wife, Jessica.  He left her to find a cure for her condition but judging by their brief phone conversation she is less than thrilled about his leaving her.

Thea Queen is an art expert.  She gave a tour of the Queen Family collection to her art class her senior year

We find out that Sara and Roy are aware of each other now and the two are seen hanging around the Arrow Cave together.

Slade cuts Ivo's hand off.

Slade seems honestly surprised that Sara Lance is still alive.

Moira kicks Ollie out of Queen Manor, saying that he is no longer welcome in her house if how he acted around Slade Wilson is how he is going to act around her from now on.

By episode's end, we discover that Slade has cameras installed all around Queen Manor, secretly planted as Thea was giving him the grand tour.


The Bottom Line

Despite telling a story that has been hinted at all season that we already knew the end result of, The Promise is still an enjoyable episode that offers a number of surprises.   Largely set in flashback, the lion's share of the episode is focused upon Slade Wilson.  Unsurprisingly, Manu Bennett proves more than capable of bearing that burden, playing Slade on multiple levels throughout the episode.  The action sequences are top-notched, being perhaps the most cinematic of any the show has produced to date.  All in all, a fine bit of television.   

Legends of Red Sonja #4 - A Review

As Legends of Red Sonja enters into its penultimate chapter, it shows no signs of losing momentum.  Indeed, the frame story by Gail Simone - detailing a mercenary band that is hunting Red Sonja even as she herself is hounding them - is the strongest section of the book this time around. 

Surprisingly, the weakest of the stories in this anthology is by veteran fantasy author Mercedes Lackey.  Her tale - Jenny's Story: Parallax - relates the adventure of a girl who claims to have had a chance encounter with Red Sonja and whose words speak of a great hero.  But are her words the truth?  It is unclear if the alternate tale we see side-by-side with Jenny's story is the truth of matters or the truth as imagined by the evil men hearing the tale.  In the end, it matters little, for the tale has little meaning either way if Lackey's purpose is to paint a negative portrait of Sonja.


The final chapter, She Lives Still, is a far stronger tale in my humble opinion.  Written by Marjorie M. Liu, the Sonja we see in this story is undoubtedly a hero.  I am reluctant to say much beyond that, save that the base plot is reminiscent of some of the works of Lovecraft as well as Howard.  Suffice it to say those who are fond of Simone's work on the monthly Red Sonja title and some of the changes made therein to Sonja's character will enjoy this tale and what it signifies. 


The artwork is universally strong throughout.  Veteran Red Sonja artist Jack Jadson does his usual stellar job on the framing sequences.  Nei Ruffino offers a childish simplicity to his artwork while retaining amazing detail, creating a final product that is not unlike a medieval woodcut.  Phil Noto's art is intriguing, with individual characters being lightly inked and most of the shadows and definitions being applied to the background, creating an effect that makes it look as if the torchlight on the page is radiating like a true flame.

 

King Conan: The Conqueror #1 - A Review

King Conan: The Conqueror  #1 opens with a glorious summary of the events of the preceding miniseries, King Conan: The Hour Of The Dragon.  Most readers probably won't need such a summary.  If they are anything like me, they have been eagerly awaiting this latest adaptation from Truman, Giorello and Villarrubia for a while now.  Still, the summary offers a welcome reminder and should prove a boon to any new readers who choose to jump into the story at this point.



Truman's script sticks firmly to the original text by Robert E. Howard.  Truman's sole expansion upon the original story is a framing device, in which an aged King Conan relates a tale of how he reclaimed his kingdom to a young scribe.  Truman does add one interesting wrinkle to the tale - the idea that Conan and his beloved queen Zeonbia were never formally wed.  Conan's reasons for this, however, are true to character and the revelation, while interesting, is inconsequential to the action at hand. 

And what action!  Disposed from his throne by an evil wizard in the service of an enemy nation, Conan now seeks The Heart of Ahriman - a magic gem used by his enemies to resurrect and command said wizard.  Conan has tracked said gem and the thief who stole it to the port city of Messatina.  It is here he hopes to reconnect with old contacts from his days as a pirate and recover the gem before the thief can find a buyer.



Moody and morose, Tomas Giorello's artwork is a perfect complement to Truman's script.  Giorello is one of the finest sword-and-sorcery artists in the business today and his Conan is quickly becoming the definitive modern version.  His artwork is aided by some masterful choices of color by Jose Villarrubia, whose muted palette aids to the feeling of gloom and desperation that dominates Conan's current attitude and plight. 

Pryde Of The X-Men - A Commentary In Riffs.

And now, the 1989 failed cartoon pilot - Pryde Of The X-Men.

0:07 – Is that Mark Hamill’s Joker singing this theme song?

0:22 – This is why most of the 90’s Marvel cartoons didn’t have theme songs with lyrics…

0:50 – Stan Lee warning us our classmates might be dangerous mutants seems wrong somehow… wasn’t this comic supposed to encourage us to accept others who are different?

1:13 – Holy crap... is that Uncle Phil as Magneto?

1:30 – Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists?  I think they picked the one name WORSE than “Brotherhood of Evil Mutants”.  You can get away with claiming “Evil” is ironic.

1:35 – He’s swinging a metal rifle at the guy who controls metal, who is behind a force-field?  I’m guessing the Colonel isn’t in Military Intelligence…

1:50 – Why does Emma Frost sound like she’s an old woman?  And why does telepathy melt asphalt?

2:10 – And since when does she throw magic bolts around? 

2:20 – Yeah.   Metal guns. REALLY did not think this through, did they?

2:43 – Minor nitpick, but since when is Kitty a redhead?  Or orange-head in this case?

3:15 – Well, at least they captured Professor X’s sensitivity accurately – greeting a nervous teenage girl with a ghostly apparition.

3:30 – Ack!  Chuck is running his orientation video in Windows 8.1!  He IS evil!

3:40 – Wait… her parents agreed to let her travel across the country to another school ALONE?

4:10 –  They have a place called The Danger Room.  You ever get the feeling Professor X isn’t  an accredited educator?

4:25 – “better known as Cyclops”.  Better known to who?

5:01 – Charles got this game program with the tentacle-rape plants from Japan.

5:30 – “Well, not understood by ME anyway.  My degree was actually in women’s studies….”

6:00 – Hands to yourself, Nightcrawler!

6:40 – What the hell kind of accent is that?  I know they said Wolverine sounded Australian in this but that doesn’t sound Australian!

6:50 – “Actually, I don’t.  I have severe amnesia and… YOW!”

7:42 – Ah, Kurt – you’re such a charming pederast.

8:10 – Kitty isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, is she?  Asking is Xavier knows them AFTER the expository speech.

9:00 – So how is her power not shorting out the circuit when she phases while holding it?  And why isn’t Professor X using his telepathy offensively?  Apart from him needing to be captured because the story says so?

9:49 – You’d think they’d have some kind of alarm on their planes telling them their home just got trashed.  And didn’t they leave in two jets, earlier?

10:22 – Peter isn’t exactly that bright either.  Haven’t they fought The Blob before?

11:35 – Why the hell is Lockheed here?

12:10 – Uh, Peter? I know he’s already paralyzed but moving him might not be a good idea…

12:47 – I just love how Kitty is scared witless by Nightcrawler but thinks nothing of swinging at Wolverine.

14:00 – Umm.. won’t most of the mutants be killed off if a comet hits the Earth?  I could buy Magneto doing this if he had a whole mutant nation on the asteroid but it looks like the only woman they have is Emma Frost….

14:40 – Yes, it is far too dangerous for you to go out into the field.  Instead you will stay here… alone, in the ruined mansion where even the world’s most powerful  telepath couldn’t protect you before!  Yeah… I’m rooting for Magneto at this point.  His continued employment of Toad aside, he’s not an idiot.

14:45 – My child?  Kurt, just when I thought you couldn’t get any creepier…

16:00 – How did he not blast his own helmet off?

16:04 – Take that, Figment!

16:54 – Hey!  Toad In The Hole! 

16:58 – Why did Wolverine stay behind when they got Toad trapped?

18:30 – Just go with it…. It doesn’t have to make sense…

19:11 – You have to wonder why Magneto kept that dragon around…

20:11 – He teleported without his space suit?

21:24 – No… that wasn’t James Avery as Magneto.  Because this world is not awesome enough to have him being Shredder AND Magneto.

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #2 - A Review

Considering how involved Firefly was as a series, Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #2 is surprisingly easy to get into.  While some familiarity with the series Firefly and the events of the movie Serenity are necessary, your average Browncoat could jump in on this issue without having to worry about having missed the first part.  The events of the previous issue is explained easily enough in both the action of this issue and a blurb on the title page.

As this chapter opens, Captain Malcolm Reynolds is a doubly wanted man.  The Alliance wants him for his role in exposing the truth about their crimes on the planet Miranda and a burgeoning rebellion wants him to be their fearless leader.  The latter group has tracked down Jayne Cobb - a mercenary who used to serve on Reynolds' ship - and hired him to lead the way to their would-be leader, little knowing that an old enemy of the Serenity crew is on the trail as well.


Mal, as usual, has bigger concerns than playing "the big damn hero".  First Mate Zoe has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl and while newborn Emma is doing fine, her mother is bleeding out slow in a way that ship's doctor Simon can't fix.  This means a trip to someplace civilized to get Zoe healed and that means risks the fugitive crew shouldn't be taking but can't help avoiding.


Zack Whedon does a fine job capturing the essence of his brother's characters.  This comic reads just like an episode of Firefly or a scene from the long dreamed of Serenity sequel.  The only real problem with the script is that much of the ensemble cast is given little to do and there's too few of the character moments that made the show so memorable.  Kaylee and Inara suffer the worst here - perhaps because so much of their personal drama was built around "will they?/won't they?" relationships that have now been resolved.

A larger problem lies in the artwork.  Penciler Georges Jeanty does some good caricatures of the established cast but their looks from panel to panel can differ greatly.  Another oddity is Karl Story's inks, which are layered-on heavily in the close-ups on various characters yet oddly sparse in medium and long range shots.  Thankfully, none of the artwork is glaringly bad enough to distract away from the story - just odd without being off-putting.