Showing posts with label STARLING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STARLING. Show all posts

Monday, 28 September 2015

Top 10 Arrow Season Two Episodes


Now for Arrow Season Two! SPOILERS
 
10. Tremors





Starting off is an episode that had Ben Turner AKA Bronze Tiger as the main villain which I really liked because he is one of my favourite villains in the Arrow TV series, it is such a shame his character has been possibly killed off because he has been in the comics. We also had some good moments with Oliver training Roy and revealing his identity to him and it was the start of a good subplot where Moira runs for mayor.

9. League of Assassins





The episode that introduced the League when they where only hinted at in Season One and they did a very good job. We had some awesome fight scenes between the League, Oliver and Sara but I really liked the emotional moments between Sara and Quentin such as when she first approached him and when Sara had to leave in the end. Plus this is probably one of my favourite episodes with Quentin because of the moments I just mentioned and when he teamed up with Oliver and Sara to fight the League, even doing really good against trained assassins.

8. The Promise




The episode of the season when the majority of it focuses on Flashbacks and we got a really entertaining one where Slade, Oliver and Sara take over the boat. Slade was really awesome in this when he wore his old Deathstroke mask and slaughtered everyone in his path also we got some tense moments in the present with Team Arrow trying to secretly take out Slade. What does bother my a bit about this episode is that is that Slade turns against Oliver because of Shado and I always found that reason to be kind of forced .

7. Streets of Fire




The penultimate episode of the season and a really good one where Slade unleashes his army upon Starling City. This episode had a lot of good moments such as Quentin regaining his trust with the police, Malcolm returning as the Dark Archer and a real standout is when Sebastian Blood decides to betray Slade because he truly did love the city. However while I also enjoyed the parts with Sara and Laurel I have just never liked that Sara keeps thinking she is so irredeemable because that was the flimsy excuse she used to leave last time and I never believed it.  

6. Broken Dolls





The introduction of one of my favourite DC villains which is the Dollmaker and he was really good here in live action. Another great episode with Quentin (see he is much better in Season Two than in One and Three) because of his past history with the Dollmaker and that he teamed up with Team Arrow. This was also one of the darkest Arrow episodes because of the method of the Dollmaker's killings, like the part when he tried to make Laurel into his new doll. This was also a strong introduction to the Canary (not just two minutes intro last episode) but I just wish she didn't have to kill the Dollmaker.

5. Unthinkable




Now I know the finale is a bit further down the list than even I would have thought but that is because Season Two has so many great episodes not just the finale. We have here an awesome final fight between Oliver and Slade which was made so much cooler with the use of Flashbacks during it and we have the massive battle between Oliver teaming up with the League (with debut of Arsenal) against Slade's army. However I just didn't like Thea's subplot of leaving Starling because as I have mentioned in my reviews the pay off in Season Three is lacklustre after so much hype.
 
4. State vs. Queen




This episode is a standout in Season Two and I enjoyed watching every minute of it! First off this episode had the return of the first Count Vertigo and while there was some who found him too over the top I've always like him. He had a really cool plan of poisoning the city with Vertigo, he is one of the few to work out the Arrow's identity and he had a great final confrontation with him in the Queen Consolidated building. Besides that the trial was entertaining to watch with many twists and this episode had a big WTF moment with the reveal that Malcolm is still alive and the father of Thea.

3. The Scientist




Yep I just had to put in the two episode arc where we get the debut of both Mirakuru and Barry Allen. First off I complained in my reviews of Season One that the show was too grounded but this two episodes where the start of Arrow being more like a comic book, like with a serum that can make super - soldiers which is a great start. Then of course is including Barry Allen who went on to become the Flash and have a successful TV show of his own and would introduce Meta Humans to both shows. Plus Grant Gustin proved that he was just the perfect casting for the speedster!

2. Three Ghosts




The second episode of the arc to feature Barry Allen and a great follow up it was too. Arrow's fight against Cyrus (like in the last episode) is so awesome but the real standout is the visions Oliver throughout that drives him into despair except for Tommy (always great to see him) that gives him hope once again. This also had an awesome ending where Barry struck by lightning and I was so happy when I saw that because I knew then they where really going to give us fans the Flash and not just Barry Allen as a scientist.
 
1. The Man Under the Hood




My favourite episode of the season and I think it has earned it! Slade was so great as Deathstroke in this with a big WTF moment when he appeared out of nowhere in Team Arrow's hideout and then attacked the STAR labs. This also introduced us to Cisco and Caitlin so this was kind of like the first crossover even before the Flash show and the moments with Team Arrow rescuing Roy where great. Finally this is one only Season Two of episodes where I really liked Laurel because of her investigation confirming Oliver is Arrow, her scene with an injured Quentin and blackmailing her boss which I give her props for.  

Worst episode

Heir to the Demon

While I do like Nyssa as a character this episode reveals she had a past relationship with Sara which I just never liked because it always felt forced to me. Also while Laurel has just been terrible the entire season this episode was the worst for her with her fit of rage against Sara in the end or the kind of person she was in Flashbacks. I'm just really glad she became a way better character in Season Three then she was now.


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



Friday, 15 May 2015

Arrow Season Three: My Name Is Oliver Queen

"I have saved this city.........three times now"
Ra's al Ghul enacts his master plan which puts everyone's lives in danger and Oliver must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice to stop him meanwhile the rest of Team Arrow springs into action.

Another finale, another season of Arrow finished and while this season has had it's ups and downs (especially in the later half) I was satisfied with what I watched. First off while it lacked the impact and intensity of the Mirakuru army I did enjoy the bio weapons attack on Starling and the rematch between Oliver and Ra's. I liked that all of Team Arrow was united to stop the four League members from spreading the virus but I didn't like that the virus was cured completely off screen by Ray's nanotech; it didn't feel like it was that big of a threat overall. However I did like the fight on the cargo plane and the final fight between Oliver and Ra's because I really like me some sword fighting, it's one of my favourite type of action sequence. I also liked that Oliver mimicked the words Ra's spoke to him on the mountain but I don't think that Ra's is going to be dead for long because the guy is famous for constantly coming back to life. I did like that Thea (she was good for once) got to show up in Arsenal costume for the ending but damn was that brief! I just hope she gets more crime fighting time than that next season. I also liked the team up between Nyssa and Oliver because I really prefer seeing them working together than against one another and when she defending Oliver against Diggle. As for Quentin I hated his relapse into drinking again but there is hope he can support Team Arrow again when he was against the sniper taking out Oliver (liked his funny "this is May" line lol). Then of course there was the reveal that Ra's was also after Damien Darke as well and the fact that he managed to fool even Ra's makes me really look forward to seeing him in Season Four; I liked the whole hotel scene and the moment with Damien's assistant because it was a well done tease for the new villain.

As for everything else Diggle of course shined the most with again struggling to accept Oliver back into the team but at least they came to an understanding at the end. It is a bit of a shame about Oliver's departure because it is almost like an end of an era for those two but hopefully Diggle will continue the good fight and get his own costume! Then there is Malcolm who is always one step ahead and came out on top as the new Ra's, was not expecting that. Obviously he and Nyssa are going to have some friction but with the reveal of Sara alive in Legends of Tomorrow (I've seen the trailer so no need to talk about Ray because I know he is alive too) maybe they will come to a truce. He will probably also go back to being a full villain but I doubt the League will have too much of a presence for a while so the show can focus on other stuff. Then there was Felicity and while she was alright I didn't like her being in the ATOM suit too much (because it was a quick attempt to involve her in the fight which meant we couldn't see Ray in action) and then she drove off with Oliver at the end. I never wanted these two together but I bet the OliverxFelicity fans are jumping with joy now, I guess I just got to accept it. Now I don't think Oliver is retiring for good (because he is the star obviously) but maybe like the Brick Arc he will be absent for a while which I don't mind because the Brick Arc proved that the secondary characters can hold there own so hopefully we will see more developments with Thea, Laurel and Diggle. Finally there is the Flashbacks and I just didn't like them because there was just little for Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu to do and was far less dramatic than the Slade vs. Oliver fight last season. However we got a great Easter Egg for Green Lantern with Oliver boarding a ship to Coast City so I hope we see Hal Jordon next season because he has been teased on Arrow/Flash for ages.

Overall not the best finale out of the three seasons but still a fun one to watch and makes me look forward to the possibilities of Season Four. Plus I liked how they managed to fit in the Flash for the finale, that was cool!

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Oliver vs. Ra's/Oliver and Nyssa team up
                   Team Arrow stopping the virus
                   Malcolm as the new Ra's
                   The possibilities for Season Four/Damien Darke

Let - Downs: The bio attack wasn't as threatening as the Mirakuru army
                       Flashbacks didn't do much
                       OliverxFelicity
                       ATOM didn't join in on the fight

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





Monday, 19 January 2015

Arrow Season Two: Streets of Fire

"Thea, I am your father"
The episode begins immediately after the last one however Arrow escapes the collapsed tunnel when Laurel uses an explosive arrow and Diggle and Felicity escape from Ravager when the latter runs into her with a truck, meanwhile the city is still being destroyed by the Mirakuru army. In a Flashback Oliver leaves to save Sara and tells Knyazev to escape if he is not back in time, in the present Thea is saved when Malcolm arrives as Dark Archer. The S.T.A.R labs truck is then destroyed in the chaos so Team Arrow races there to get the cure while at SCPD Quentin kills the solider then manages to convince the cops to work with Arrow and he is made a detective again. Laurel is then saved by Black Canary on her way to SCPD, Sebastian begins to have doubts after seeing so much death and when Malcolm kills the Mirakuru soldier so he asks Thea to come with him. Sebastian then visits Slade and says the plan was to make him Mayor so he can improve Starling after some destruction however Slade says the total destruction of Starling was his plan all along, meanwhile Laurel bonds more with Sara when she reassures her by saying she is a hero.

"I am altering our deal Blood, pray I don't alter it any further"
In a Flashback Oliver and Sara are captured by Slade and in the present the cure is stolen by a Mirakuru solider. At the clock tower where Roy is held Oliver says it is his fault this has happened however Felicity manages to give him confidence and says Slade is still out there meanwhile Sara saves a child from a burning building in front of Quentin who says she is a hero. Arrow and Diggle then go to Sebastian's office (after getting a call from him says he we give them the cure), there he says he made his skull mask because he feared his father as a child and that all he did he did for Starling City. He also says that he will still lead the city after this destruction and warns Oliver he will expose his secret if he exposes his however when Arrow and Diggle leave with the cure Isabel stabs Sebastian; Sebastian dies after declaring his love for the city and dropping his skull mask. Oliver injects Roy with the cure and then gets a call from Waller who says she will launch missile strikes on the city to stop Slade. The episode ends with Thea pointing a gun at Malcolm.

Someone should have told you; you don't mess with the Dark Archer!
This series sure knows how to make a great three part finale and there is still one more episode left! Firstly we got the return as Malcolm in his Dark Archer costume which was just awesome to see and his fight with the solider, where he used trick arrows now, was great. I thought he would appear sooner or later since Moira is now dead and it is to persuade the only family he has left to join him. Thea has got quite the dilemma here because Malcolm may have committed a few murderous acts but this may be her opportunity to really break free of the Queen Family which she has just became so tired of because of their lies. Unfortunately while the return of Malcolm was great he was so underused; his fight should have lasted longer and maybe he should have gone out into the city to confront Oliver. As for the events at the SCPD Quentin really had a moment to shine when he gave his speech to the cops about Arrow (great scene) and how he dispatched the solider. As for Quentin's daughter's Laurel was good because of how she used the bow and arrow to escape but I didn't get why she wandered the streets alone. As for Sara though she did fight and save people I am still not buying her whole "I'm a killer" mood she is in after being a hero already with helping Team Arrow.


If she spent long in there we could have had fried canary..........lol
The biggest highlight of the episode however was Sebastian who has been a great character since his debut and he went out a great character. Sebastian truly cared for the city more than anything else and in his own way try to help it - his intentions where good but he chose to do bad things to realize them. We also got some more backstory on the mask, which was good because he didn't wear it just because it's creepy, and the moment he threatened Oliver was great too. In the end it was a great way for his character to go because he did redeem himself slight because he wanted to save Starling City.

"I might not be a vigilante but I'm still taking you down!"
As for everything else the action was truly top notch in this; everything from how the destruction looks in Starling City to the fights with the Mirakuru army. Diggle and Felicity also where great as well such as their fight with Ravager (funny when Felicity hit her with the truck) to when Felicity gave her pep talk to Oliver in the clock tower. As for the Flashbacks they where way to short though Knyazev was good in it and I hope his relationship is expanded sometime in more Flashbacks since Oliver must have meet him again during the five years because of his tattoo and Russian connections. Finally there was the appearance of Waller who again I just do not like and I didn't like her missile strike at the end. So far she has just done some really stupid things in this series which just creates unnecessary problems.

Goodbye Sebastian
Overall this could have been worthy of being a finale episode by itself but we still have one more.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Return of Malcolm
                   Sebastian
                   Great action and character moments

Let - Downs: Waller and Sara
                       Malcolm was underused
                       Flashbacks


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



Sunday, 18 January 2015

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;