Arrow Season Two: Unthinkable

Super epic shot!!

The episode begins with Roy being cured but the clock tower is surrounded by Mirakuru soldiers however Lyla shows up to blow it up as Team Arrow escapes meanwhile Thea has shot Malcolm but he was wearing a vest and is proud she had the conviction to shoot him (something Tommy didn't have) however Thea leaves when she gets a call from Roy. At SCPD Laurel sees Sara talking to someone and is knocked out but it is revealed at the Arrowcave to be Nyssa and other League members who have agreed to help as long as Sara re-joins the League, Oliver agrees too but only if they use the cure. Team Arrow and the League fight Deathstroke and Ravager at Queen Consolidated; Nyssa kills Ravager however Deathstroke escapes, in a Flashback Slade is about to kill Oliver but Knyazev fires a torpedo at the boat before he is able to. At SCPD Laurel is kidnapped by a solider and when Team Arrow arrives Quentin says while he respects Arrow's no killing, Slade needs to die meanwhile Thea and Roy meet up and agree to runaway together but Roy gets a call from Arrow for help and decides to do that first. Oliver then hides Felcitiy at the Queen Manor because he says he loves her and doesn't want Slade to hurt her, elsewhere Diggle and Lyla free the Suicide Squad at A.R.G.U.S headquarters so they can stop Waller.



"Our last stand"

The League, Black Canary, Roy (who, equipped with a mask and bow, is now Red Arrow) and Arrow confront the Mirkuru army and fight and cure many of them meanwhile however Thea has found spare arrows at Roy's place which upsets her. Arrow then gets a call from Deathstroke saying he has Felicity and Laurel and forces him to chose when he gets to the location however it is then revealed Oliver discovered the cameras and purposely lied to Felicity in front of them so he can slip her the cure which she now uses on Slade. Arrow and Deathstroke fight while Flashbacks also show them fighting on the sinking boat, Sara is dragged under water which makes Oliver believe she died again however Slade is trapped when debris falls on him. Slade then threatens to find Oliver's family and kill them which forces him to put an arrow through Slade's eye (seemingly killing him) while in the present Arrow ties up Deathstroke with a trick arrow and choses not to kill him, Waller stops the missiles (while revealing Lyla is pregnant with Diggle's child). Later when Sara says her goodbyes Quentin collapses and spits up blood and Roy finds Thea missing who has gone off with Malcolm. Slade is then imprisoned back on the island in an A.R.G.U.S cell where Oliver leaves him but thanks him for teaching him how to fight. The episode ends in a Flashback and Oliver finds himself in Hong Kong and greeted by Waller.

So awesome!

Now this is a way to end the season!!! This episode was really action heavy to say the least which is how a hero series finale should be like. This was a fitting conclusion to the Arrow vs. Deathstroke arc and they had one of the most epic showdowns I have ever seen. Firstly Oliver's plan to cure Slade of Mirakuru was so damn smart because I really didn't expect it however super strength or not Deathstroke still proved to be quite the match for Arrow as they had their epic clash on the roof. The stunts, the fighting, the swordplay and arrows; it was all just what I wanted it to be but what was the best part about the showdown was the use of Flashbacks mirroring the fight in the present. That was so creative, so well done and Oliver stabbing Slade in the eye, now that was brutal! I also liked the trash talk between them at the beginning because Oliver did make a good point; Slade was mad and perverting Shado's memory. I am really glad that Oliver imprisoned Slade at the end because that means he could return in a future season which is a must, this series need Manu Bennett just as much as any of the other characters.

"So we're partners again Diggle old pal"

Another great thing about this episode was the return of Nyssa and the League because it is always epic when the League show up and Nyssa is just a sexy badass. They had a awesome clash against the Mirakuru army (epic entrance for Team Arrow) and a fight against Ravager; Nyssa can be damn cold snapping her neck like that. Isabel may have been a worthless character in the beginning but these last few episode she really grew on me as Ravager and that was a brutal way for her character to go and kind of what she deserves. Roy was a stand out because I have been waiting for him to be become Red Arrow/Aresenal for ages now and he finally got his bow, mask and kicked some ass. I hope this means that he will be a permanent addition to Team Arrow now and it looks like it since Thea has left to go with Malcolm.

"Yeeesh"

As for everything else while it was interesting Thea choosing to go with Malcolm, because this may really change her character, Malcolm himself was so underused again. He is one of my favourite characters, he was the only one to kill a Mirakuru solider without the cure, but he didn't play a large role in anything else. I also didn't like that it left on such anti - climatic moments such as Oliver being in Hong King and not really knowing how he got there, Sara going off with the League and most of all Quentin coughing up blood. Now that came completely out of nowhere and I wished it wasn't left so open ended mainly because this is the finale, I didn't want them to leave the results of that all the way until next season. Speaking of Sara she was way better in the episode than she than the last two but it is a shame that she is off with the League now because I would rather she remain a main character. Lastly I was great seeing Deadshot and the Suicide Squad again but they could have done more and Waller just continues to be an annoyance for me in the things she does and the way she acts. I mean she could have sent in the Suicide Squad to help Team Arrow (that would have been epic) but instead they are wasted because of her stupid missile plan.

"Miss me boys?"

Overall this was an awesome episode and season two overall has improved on a lot of things from season one and has been truly epic.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Arrow vs. Deathstroke/Flashbacks
                   Return of Nyssa and the League
                   Roy as Red Arrow
                   So much action

Let - Downs: Malcolm again was underused
                      The Suicide Squad was underused and Waller was just stupid
                      The fate of Quentin left unknown

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/    

Arrow Season Two: City of Blood

Enter Ravager

The episode begins with Moira's funeral but Oliver is absent and Sebastian being sworn in as Mayor, later Walter attempts to comfort Thea who is mad Oliver never warned them of Slade and Isabel threatens Diggle and Felicity at the reception. In a Flashback the group go to the submarine in an effort to repair it, in the present Laurel brings up her mistrust of Sebastian again to Quentin and his possible connection to Slade. Diggle then gets help from Waller to track down Oliver and Isabel says to Thea she will shut down The Verdant since she owns it along with the company. Laurel then later plants a bug on Sebastian's desk and she and Quentin use it to hack his files and find a speech on Moira's passing written before her death. In a Flashback the group finds out someone will have to sacrifice themselves in a torpedo to free themselves, back in the present Diggle and Felicity find Oliver in a backup Arrowcave, one he kept secret. Oliver admits he should have cured Slade instead of killing him back on the island  and says he will hand himself over to him, of course Diggle is against it and Felicity is distraught. Oliver meets with Thea who wants to leave Starling City which Oliver thinks is for the best and in a Flashback the priest named Peter offers to sacrifice himself because the radiation poisoning Ivo gave him is killing him anyway.

"I volunteer the one who isn't even in the present"

Oliver is then captured by Diggle, Felicity and Laurel who talk him into being Arrow again and he gets more motivated when Laurel reveals Sebastian is working with Slade. In a Flashback Peter is successful freeing the sub and in the present Oliver and Sebastian have dinner where they both reveal their identities while Felicity gets the location of the Mirakuru army from one of Sebastian's bodyguards. Arrow infiltrates the sewers where Brother Blood is addressing the Mirakuru army while above ground Diggle and Felicity plant explosives. Laurel then helps Arrow take out one of the soldiers while Diggle deals with Isabel who wearing her altered costume and is now Ravager. Diggle holds Ravager off but has to get away before denoting the explosives and Arrow is forced to trap himself and Laurel in the tunnel when more soldiers approach them. Several soldiers are already causing havoc in the city; one infiltrated the police station and is massacring them while another is shooting up the train station where Thea is. The episode ends in a Flashback and Oliver hears Sara panic over the radio (because she was outside it) and in the present the Mirakuru army are making their way to the city.

Damn!

The first part of the finale for Arrow Season Two (like season one I feel the finale is really spread over the last three episodes) and was it a hell of a great start. The first part of the episode deals with the aftermath of Moira's death and it was so good; we had Walter back, Thea decided to leave Starling City and Oliver was more distraught than ever. Oliver looked more defeated than he ever has before and it was just great seeing him deal with it, going to surrender himself and then finding his resolve again. Another stand out was Sebastian who is so convincing as a good guy despite being a bad guy but is so menacing when he dons his mask and becomes Brother Blood. Plus the dinner scene he had that Oliver was great as well because of the tension between the two, each one mocking the other, it was just so cool.

Arrow vs. Brother Blood

Other standouts where Diggle and Felicity because they both some great moment of their own such as Felicity when she broke down after Oliver says he is surrendering but then later totally owned that bodyguard with her computer. Plus it was just great seeing Team Arrow give confidence to Oliver again because once again it proves how important they all are to Arrow. Of course Diggle proves he is just as capable as any costumed hero or villain by taking on Ravager and I will say again that Diggle deserves his own damn costume!! As for Isabel she continues to be a far more better character in these final episodes such as her awesome Ravager costume and the cool fight she had with Diggle.

"Too bad we don't have Felicity for this computer work"

As for everything else we had some great fights like the one Ravager vs. Diggle and Arrow facing the solider and we got a look at how much destruction just two soldiers are causing already which make me excited for the next episode. Thea had a nice moment with Oliver as well because at least they reconciled at the end and it showed that Oliver is ready to just let his sister go now. Laurel, like Isabel, is better in these final episode such as following Arrow in the sewer or earlier when he helped the doubtful Oliver. The only things that felt out of place this episode was the Flashbacks because did it really need a situation where one had to sacrifice themselves? Since we know it wasn't going to be Oliver, Sara or even Knyazev so there was no tension or sense of dread.

"All bow before Brother Blood"

Overall this was an awesome start to the finale and sets up a truly epic clash in the streets of Starling City.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Oliver and Sebastian
                   Great action like Ravager vs. Diggle
                   Such emotional moments from everyone in the aftermath of Moira's death

Let - Downs: Flashbacks

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/