Arrow Season Three: Uprising

It would have been interesting if Malcolm took over Team Arrow

With Brick becoming more powerful than ever Malcolm offers his services to Team Arrow and while Diggle, Arsenal and Black Canary consider the proposal Felicity is strongly against it. It is revealed Malcolm has more of a personal vendetta with Brick than anyone thought as Flashbacks reveal how he became the person he is today.

What an end to an awesome three part mini arc in the Arrow TV show; I have said it before and I will say it again I have immensely enjoyed these three episodes and if I did a top moments in Arrow this will be in it. This is probably my favourite of the three episodes because finally my favourite character in the show has the spotlight; Malcolm Merlyn who I have been complaining about lately is too much on the side lines. Finally he got an episode focused on him and I have to say that the writers seem to be trying to redeem his character a bit (such as sparing Brick), I don't think he will ever be a good guy but he is has never been entirely evil in my opinion. It is just as Roy and Thea said, in his own twisted way he protects people and just wants to save the city. Plus we got to see him again as the Dark Archer which is also awesome because his costume is the best and he is the best archer in the show in my opinion. What was also a nice addition was that the Flashbacks where about his past and we definitely needed this and it was good seeing his transformation from a good man to The Magician. I only wish there was more than what we got like him training more with the League because the scene with young Nyssa was just cool but I wanted to know more!

"I'm back!!!"

As for everything else it is good that Oliver is back now and though I think is entrance could have been more grand his speech to the citizens of the Glades was epic. Speaking of the Glades the showdown with Brick at the end was done really well and I enjoyed the massive brawl in the streets, also we got to see two characters again we haven't seen in a while; Sin and Ted Grant. Firstly I have always liked Sin's character and I'm glad to see her again I just wish that she didn't just pop up out of no where and they gave more explanation to where she has been. As for Ted I wanted him to be Wildcat again and he did not disappoint and it was awesome when he fought Brick; he really kicked his ass more than anyone else and I don't even mind he lost because I'm just going to chalk that up to the fact he has been retired for ages and Brick has almost superhuman strength anyway. Another character that was great this episode was Quentin, it was just so funny that he knew Roy straight away as Arsenal and how his joke about how Team Arrow choses names. Seems like he is going to realize Sara isn't the Black Canary soon because of Sin and since next episode is titled Canaries I'm guessing it's in that episode.

WILDCAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for Team Arrow they have been great during these three episodes; Roy has really matured in the absence of Oliver, I think Laurel becoming the Black Canary has been handled really well and Diggle is always just great. However the real let down has been Felicity because I think she just become a weak and whiny character lately. She completely ruined Oliver's homecoming and I don't get why, Oliver is basically using Malcolm to train him it is not like he is making him a member of the team. I just really miss the light hearted Felicity before who is super smart but can also cheer up the team and raise their confidence in any situation with her wit and one liners. I just hope they change her back to how she was before because right now I don't look forward to the scenes she is in since she is just a downer. Before I finish I know this episode was similar to the Dark Knight Rises but that doesn't bother me since the people behind the show have said before that Christopher Nolan's Batman has been inspiration for them and it isn't like their completely copying them.

Magic tricks work on everyone; kids or even assassins

Overall great finale to the three part episodes and I am glad that Brick is still alive to appear in future episodes. We got some great action and I actually liked the Flashbacks we got this time and I am looking forward to Oliver being in Star City once again.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Epic three part arc
                   Wildcat and Sin
                   A Malcolm focused episode and Flashbacks
                   Great showdown with Brick at the end

Let - Downs: Felicity has been a constant negative in these last three episodes
                      Wanted to see Malcolm's training in the League

 

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 Three: The Magician

Dark Archer is always awesome!

The episode begins with Oliver telling Nyssa that Sara is dead who leaves so he then meets Thea for dinner who says she will be buying back The Verdant, later Nyssa goes to Sara's grave and tells Laurel (who was there first) that she is unworthy of the Sara's jacket that was given to her. Oliver then confronts Nyssa about Sara's mission at a League hideout and she says Sara was in Starling to confirm if Malcolm was still alive, Oliver then confirms this with the rest of Team Arrow with photos Sara took. They then find a note Sara written and find out that she asked Quentin for help so when Laurel asks him about it he says Sara asked for help in finding a man named Jansen at a Buddhist monastery however when Nyssa, Red Arrow and Arrow go investigate they find that Malcolm is Jansen but he gets away but Arrow manages to wound. Oliver says he put a tracker on Malcolm however Laurel is angry that he didn't kill him when he had the chance and in a Flashback Oliver is ordered to kill someone for A.R.G.U.S.. Nyssa sees how Laurel is and Laurel asks her to kill Malcolm if Oliver can't bring himself to do it, Arrow then gets a call from Malcolm (after the tacker failed) to meet up in a public place and when they do Malcolm swears on Thea's life he wasn't Sara's killer.

"Maybe we shouldn't have brought Nyssa along"

Oliver then tells Thea Malcolm is alive and she lies by being surprised and when he returns to the Arrowcave Oliver says he believes Malcolm and Nyssa angrily storms out and kidnaps Thea. Arrow then goes to the location and rescues Thea and the Dark Archer arrives soon after and a three way fight ensures that ends in Nyssa being pinned to a wall. Malcolm then says to Oliver to kill him or not to which Oliver doesn't and says to Nyssa that Malcolm is under his protection in Starling, Nyssa responds by saying he has made an enemy of the League before leaving. In a Flashback it is revealed Waller was backing Fyers and when Oliver confronts her about this she said it was to kill China White. Felicity then returns from Central City and Thea is shown to be in contact with Malcolm. The episode ends with Nyssa returning to Nanda Parbat to inform her father, Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable) what has happened, Ra's responds by saying Malcolm will be dealt with and so will Oliver for making war with the League.

Ra's al Ghul!!

We finally get the appearance of Ra's al Ghul one of DC's and Batman's iconic villains of all time! Really liked the ending scene because firstly Matt Nable was a great choice for the part, his accent really sounds great for Ra's and he really looked the part in his robes. Also he was seen getting out of a pool and I wonder if that was the Lazarus Pit? I hope it was because I really want it to exist in Arrow. As for Nyssa though I do like her and she is a great fighter I didn't like her much in this episode with her constant conflict with Oliver and her obsession with Sara (from season two til now) is just getting annoying to watch now. As for Laurel she has been a great character so far (she is even hitting the gym now) but she was annoying in this one too with her constant interfering with Oliver such as asking Nyssa behind Team Arrow's back to kill Malcolm, I mean she isn't Black Canary yet so I don't know why she thinks she is so important to the workings of Team Arrow. What was good about the Flashbacks was Oliver now resigning himself to be Waller's killer and the fact Waller hired Fyers to kill China White all along, I want to know more about that.

Doesn't anyone recognize Malcolm?

Malcolm was great as ever in this and I really liked the talk he had with Oliver in the crowded plaza; it was just the way these two arch enemies confronted each other that made for a real intense scene. Of course a highlight of this episode was the great action such as at the Buddhist monastery but the three way fight between Arrow, Dark Archer and Nyssa was just so awesome and I wished it was longer. However something I just had to mention was Roy doing that silly back flip when confronted by Nyssa, surely they could have thought of a better way for him to lose than that? Lastly I liked the dynamic between Thea and Oliver because they did promise now more secrets but they keep the biggest secrets from each other; I wonder why Oliver still won't tell her and I wonder what Thea's plans with Malcolm are?

"Been off the island for a while now, maybe I should get a haircut"

Overall this was good episode that could have had a lot more fights between Arrow, Dark Archer and Nyssa.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: The three way fight
                   Malcolm still steals every scene he is in
                   Ra's al Ghul

Let - Downs: Flashbacks
                      Couldn't stand Laurel or Nyssa
                      Roy's backflip
                        

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/