Arrow Season One: Vendetta



At least the costume for The Huntress is good and that's the only good thing I'll say about her

The episode begins with Helena leaving Oliver in bed to track down the Triad but is stopped by Oliver who followed her as The Hood. Helena agrees to go to dinner with him but is not swayed to change her ways, Diggle thinks this is a good things because he believes Helena cannot be saved. Oliver then visits Helena in the cemetery and tells her about Sara Lance which convinces her to listen to him, Oliver then brings her to his hideout which annoys Diggle. Meanwhile Laurel wants Tommy to ask Oliver for a job and Felicity tells Walter she has found more information but he doesn't want to hear it. Later Oliver equips Helena with a crossbow and costume and takes her stop a drug dealer who works for her father, Oliver says this proves she can seek justice with killing innocents. Walter then searches through Moira's things and finds a blank journal with the same symbol Felicity had found.

"I just love going through other people's things"

Oliver, Helena, Tommy and Laurel have dinner but Tommy storms out when Oliver makes fun of him wanting a job (Oliver does not know Tommy is cut off yet), Helena then leaves when she realizes Oliver may still love Laurel. Tommy however later apologies to Laurel and Oliver admits to Diggle that Helena may really be beyond saving and he is proven right when she kills the head of the Triad and frames her father. China White leads an attack on Frank's house but Oliver is there and manages to get him out however Frank is then shot in the leg by Helena. She and Oliver then fight however Frank shoots Helena from behind but is arrested sooner afterwards. Oliver treats Helena's wounds but an ungrateful Helena is furious at being cheated out of revenge against her father and tells Oliver not to follow her before leaving. The episode ends with Felicity, after being asked for help again by Walter, discovers the journal is written in invisible ink and Tommy apologizing to Oliver and asking for an actual job after turning down his money.




This fight could have been a bit longer

This episode was better than the previous one, mainly because The Huntress actually had a cool looking costume and the fight scenes where good, but again I just can't stand her or her attitude towards Oliver. I really wish that she changed her ways when she teamed up with Oliver because she could have been a good character then but no they had to let her still go on her stupid vendetta and kill more people. I just felt like any hype that was felt when The Huntress was introduced just didn't live up to it; her character and backstory was just poor and Jessica De Gouw just was not convincing at all as the badass Huntress. Also once again it is a subplot that involves another pair of secondary characters, Felicity and Walter, that was far more interesting. I'm glad that Felicity is given more and more stuff to do in the series and I liked how she didn't back down from the investigation even though Walter said it could be dangerous. Things are also getting more interesting for them since they have found another journal and I wonder what Walter will do with the information he finds? However I guess I should be more worried with what Malcolm might do when he finds out Walter is still snooping around. Speaking of Malcolm it is a shame we don't see him again in this episode however I am still really liking Tommy's subplot about his financial situation.

"One of these days Oliver you'll fall and I'll be there with my camera"

Overall I am just finally glad that Huntress plot is finally over and I hope we don't see her for a very long time and if we do then they kill her off and introduce a new Huntress. Tommy had some good scenes but it is a shame Malcolm wasn't in this episode and as I said the fight scenes involving Oliver and The Huntress where really good. I know I haven't said much in this review but that is because like last episode not much happened in it because it was largely focused on The Huntress.

SCORE: 6/10

Highlights: The fighting at the mansion was really good
                    Walter and Felicity's investigation/ Tommy continued subplot

Let - Downs: Again The Huntress
                      Again the main plot wasn't as good as the subplots
                      No Malcolm when we just found out he is Tommy's father

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 One: Muse of Fire



Didn't put much thought in to a costume

The episode begins with Oliver meeting his mother outside Queen Consolidated who is turning down a building contract offer from a man named Paul Copani. Shortly after this a helmeted person on a motorcycle shoots and kills Copani and speeds off, Oliver tries to give chase but is unable to catch the shooter. Quentin later concludes that Moira is not in any danger from the shooter since Copani had mob connections, elsewhere Tommy wants to start a proper relationship with Laurel. Later in his hideout Oliver discovers that Copani worked for a man named Frank Bertinelli who is head of a major construction company but also is part of Starling City Mafia, Oliver wants to investigate him. Somewhere unknown a dark haired women, who was driving the motorcycle, crosses off Copani's picture on a board full of them.

"No one gets away from me!"

Tommy then arrives at Queen Manor and tells Oliver he wants a relationship with Laurel, Oliver wishes the best for both of them. Thea takes her mother out and says she doesn't like Oliver's recent behaviour but Moira thinks they should be easier on Oliver because he spent 5 years on an island. Oliver then goes to Bertinelli manor to discuss business (while really investigating him) and meets his daughter Helena (Jessica De Gouw), Frank is busy however and asks Helena to take Oliver out to dinner. Frank then meets with the Chinese Triad enforcers Zhishan and China White to see if the Triad are responsible for several attacks on his people, they deny this but Frank does not believe them. Meanwhile Quentin has been listening in on this conversation and thinks that the Triad wasn't responsible for Copani's murder since it wasn't done by a pro.

"I knew me and my white hair would be back!"

At dinner Oliver and Helena are hitting it off and Oliver finds out that Helena had a late fiancé named Michael Staton but the dinner is cut short when Oliver gets a call from Diggle, another dinner has not ended well when Tommy finds out his credit card is declined while out with Laurel. Oliver goes to stop one of Frank's enforcers named Nick who is violently attacking a family for information on the recent murders but both Oliver and Helena, dressed in their disguises, arrive at the same time and fight Nick and this men. Nick escapes and Oliver and Helena fight but Oliver manages to get her helmet off and is surprised it's Helena, he lets her go. At the hideout Oliver wants to know the reason Helena is targeting her family but Diggle isn't interested because she is just a killer. Quentin later warns Oliver at Queen Manor to stay away from Helena because her family is dangerous.



I'm sure Oliver was going easy on her

Tommy later confronts his father about his being cut off and Malcolm, revealed as Tommy's father Malcolm Merlyn, says he is finally tired of his son's irresponsibility and laziness. At a cemetery Oliver and Helena are kidnapped by Nick shortly after Oliver meets Helena at Michael's grave. Nick has found out Helena is killing her father's men and her reason is because Michael was killed by Nick and her father for being an FBI informant. Oliver and Helena break free of their restraints and fight Nick and his men which ends with Helena snapping Nick's neck. Tommy then goes to see Laurel and admits he has no money and lost his apartment and car, Laurel says it will be alright. Walter has now come back to Starling City and Thea apologises to Oliver about her attitude earlier. The episode ends with Oliver visiting Helena's apartment, who has figured out he is The Hood based on his fighting style, and they kiss.

"Your wishing you made those restraints tighter, don't you b***h?"

SPOILERS FOR TWO COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS BELOW




We have two comic book character introductions this episode with the first being Helena Bertinelli who is The Huntress and if I am honest I was not very impressed by her. I am a big fan of The Huntress in the comics (one of my favourite appearances of her was the Hush storyline) and I do not think they have done her justice here. In the comics she is rash and violent to the point that even Batman rarely relies on her but I still considered her a hero; I hate in this that she is an unlikable anti - hero with one of the stupidest back stories ever. In the comics she does harbour a grudge against the mafia but that is because as a child she witnessed the slaughter of her mafia family at the hands of a rival, she then travels around the world while training with her bodyguard. I don't see how after the murder of her fiancé she could suddenly think "I'll ride on a bike, kill everyone all my father's men and then him", I am just not buying it; it is just like Diggle said she is just a plain murderer in this. Not to mention her methods are sloppy when she kills and there's no explanation to how she became so good a fighter. Lastly I just think the acting of Jessica De Gouw was just poor; her best moment was during the dinner with Oliver not when she is The Huntress because then she is melodramatic and too emotionless really.

Big epic reveal!!

Now Malcolm Merlyn is a comic character that has been done right and looks to be an intriguing villain this season. I won't say now who he will be (wait till future episodes) but lets just say it could have been him or Tommy however Malcolm has already been seen as being involved in a conspiracy with Moira and seems to have impressive fencing skills. I have already liked Malcolm since he has been introduced (knew he was Malcolm Merlyn then but didn't say) because the guy just seems like he is going to be a great villain and I hope he is revealed to be the main antagonist.

Yay Walter's back!

As for the rest of the episode because I have said already that I hate the version of The Huntress and the storyline involving her it was something I really didn't care for. If I am honest I found the subplot involving Tommy and his no money predicament more enjoyable to watch and that didn't include any fighting. I just really liked how the playboy Tommy now has absolutely nothing and I think this will really develop his character into more than just Oliver's friend. From this we can also see that the relationship between him and his father isn't on the best of terms and hopefully we'll find out more about it.

"So this is how the poor live.......I'm not going to make it"

Overall I am glad that we have the first two - parter in Arrow but I hate that they had to ruin The Huntress and the short re - appearance of China White didn't really do anything. The only things I liked about this episode was the scenes involving Tommy and his father and Walter coming back to Starling. Also they didn't have any Flashbacks in this which was quite the change but I kind of wished they did have some since they provide some of the best moments.

SCORE: 4/10

Highlights: Tommy's character development
                   Malcolm and the moment he had with Tommy

Let - Downs: The Huntress and the casting for her
                      Didn't really care for the anything else in this episode      

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/