Arrow Season Four: Beyond Redemption

How will Quentin deal with this shock?

Laurel has to deal with a feral Sara when she brings her back to Star City meanwhile rouge police officers lead by Liza Warner (Rutina Wesley) are causing trouble for both Green Arrow and Quentin.
I have praised him a lot this season but Quentin, Paul Blackthorne, defiantly deserves it because he had the spotlight in this episode. He was involved in both of the major subplots and made a big contribution to both with which is probably his best performance in a episode of far in Arrow. Him finding out that Sara was alive was so well done; his initial shock at seeing her tied up in a basement, having some shred of hope when he thought she was responsive and then horror at when he had to save Laurel from her. It made for some really powerful stuff but the real emotional scene came when he took Damien's advice and tired to kill Sara, seeing it has a kind of mercy. The way he almost pulled the trigger and then broke down when he couldn't do it, again this is Blackthorne's best performance in my opinion and scene speaks for itself. Then of course he was part of the subplot to stop Warner and this is when you can tell how hard it has been for Quentin to have the double life of being a cop and working for Damien. He almost lost his faith in the city (like Oliver) after seeing the corruption in the force but managed to claw out of the darkness with a great speech that inspired both Warner and Oliver during the fight at the end. I also of course have to mention the two scenes with him and Oliver talking in his apartment because those where also some of their best scenes together. Amell was also so good because of the way he argued against Quentin, saying that for ages he has just wanted his approval and with Quentin saying how screwed he basically is working with Damien. I am glad that he and Oliver have a better relationship now because I defiantly much prefer it when they work together then against one another.

Police gear for a costume does look really cool

As for everything else the villains where really good, corrupt cops aren't anything too special but they tired in perfectly with what Quentin is going through this episode. I really enjoyed the action scenes with them; it was some awesome fighting, their special weapons where really cool and I am glad we got to see the Canary Cry again. Warner also made for a good villain because she really held her own in a fight against Green Arrow, she was really humanised as well with the way she wasn't evil but just someone desperation wanting to leave a dying city and with the way things ended I think we might see a redemption story with her in the future. Oliver's subplot at being mayor was better then I thought especially with the reveal that they are using Sebastian Blood's old office and lair (good call back to Season Two) and that they made a kickass new lair that looked really cool! His Flashbacks are still good, not a highlight or let down they are just good so far. Then there was Felicity's subplot involving Ray's last message and while I like her scenes with Curtis and I want her to find Ray they just felt really out of place this episode and just a mild distraction from the two major plots involving Quentin. Finally Laurel continues to be a weak link this season (shame because I really liked her in Season Three) because again I just think her bringing Sara back has been for selfish reasons and it is hard to sympathise with her when Quentin does a better job of it.

"I will now run this city"

Overall a near perfect episode and Quentin's best so far and I am looking forward to next week's with the arrival of John Constantine! I usually avoid spoilers and previews but him arriving has been such a big topic for this season it was hard to avoid some, like which episode he appears in.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Best Quentin episode
                   Warner and her cops where good villains
                   Oliver was also great

Let - Downs: Laurel still hasn't been that great
                      Felicity's subplot just felt too out of place

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





http://screencapped.net/          

The Flash Season One: All Star Team Up

"I'll be bigger on this than I ever was on The Walking Dead!"

Felicity arrives in town with Ray to get help to improve his ATOM suit however they end up helping Team Flash when robotic specialist and computer genius Brie Larvan (Emily Kinney) AKA Bug Eyed Bandit unleashes hundreds of robotic bees to kill her former co - workers.
 

The the return of the ultimate duo - Ray and Cisco! Had to get that out of the way first because those two are so funny like when they where working on the suit or coming up with the villain name, they have got to work together more often. It was great seeing Felicity on Flash again because she was awesome the last two times and gave us some of her light hearted comedy (it was like she was back to her old self) and her showdown with Bug Eyed Bandit was epic and bringing Ray was a plus because these two really fit in the Flash show. We got to see Ray shine again in the ATOM suit but Felicity finally got herself a nemesis too with Bug Eyed Bandit who was a really great villain; I like that she is a computer match for Felicity and I liked her robot bees however I feel we barely got to know the character, heck her bees got more screen time than her. I hope she appears again to challenge Felicity in the Flash and Arrow because it is possible she is connected to HIVE with her whole bee theme. Plus I actually really liked Emily Kinney in this, she was better in this one Flash episode than she ever was in the Walking Dead, and I don't mind that they gender swapped the real Bug Eyed Bandit from the comics because he was never really a major villain anyway and I really liked the robotic bees because I always like seeing advanced technology in the Flash or the Arrow.




It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.......the ATOM!!

As for everything else I did really like how Barry found it hard to trust anyone because he does have a right but it was good seeing him struggling with it throughout the episode. In the end (with help from Felicity) he decided to trust Cisco and Caitlin and his theory is even being confirmed by Cisco who remembers the alternate timeline. I don't know how he can but maybe it has something to do with the fact he was the only one killed in it, maybe? Finally it was good having a part of the episode with Eddie dealing with his problem because he usually takes a back seat and him having these problems with Iris and blaming Barry and Joe for it might turn him into a villain...maybe. However I really didn't like that Iris had to be a bitch the whole episode; I do want her to finally be told Barry's secret but I found her attitude towards Eddie to be annoying and she made that dinner scene just plain awkward when it could have been a pleasant and funny moment. I do like her character but they just make her damn unlikable and they don't focus on her investigating The Flash or S.T.A.R labs nearly enough when it's really is in the end the only good storyline she has had so far.

I'm not that fond of bees myself so you have my sympathies Flash 

Overall a very decent episode that was obviously filler but is such good filler! Thought I'd say I am going to be really busy the next couple of weeks so my uploads may be late.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Two computer experts face off
                      Felicity and Ray worked so well in this episode
                      Eddie and Barry subplots

Let - Downs: Not enough Bug Eyed Bandit
                      Didn't like Iris that much in this and she was a bit unfair to Eddie 

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/

Bleach Review: The Shooting Star Project [We Only Have to Beat You Mix]

Lets crack on with another Bleach review.

The chapter begins right where it left off with the countdown with the cannon about to fire Ichigo and his group to the Royal Realm, however they are stopped by Ganju who insists on coming. After a brief argument where Ichigo warns Ganju about how dangerous it is they decide to let him on because he says he is ready and he has a map. After the blast off the group remembers how this is similar to when they rescued Rukia and Orihime sadly comments how Uryu was with them then, Ichigo says he will beat Ywach and bring Uryu back.



"Don't worry Sakura, I'll rescue Sasuke......wrong manga!"

It then changes back to the Royal Realm and Nianzol Weizol explains that is ability is to deflect all attacks and all the swords that are aimed at him will bend. At first Shutara believes that this ability can be counted by attacking Weizol from his blind spot but he quickly disproves this theory by bending the swords of his attackers, saying that if he has already seen the ability it doesn't matter if it is in his blind spot. He then uses his finger to bend one of the guard's sword even more and then slices three in half at the same time.

Bet this is really annoying for those guards

Shutara however says that the guards where not her true attack and that in a blink of an eye she managed to remake his entire trench coat with one of her hands. She then says that if he attempts to take it off he will not survive and sure enough Weizol is then impaled by a dozen spikes from his coat.

Really interesting chapter here; I thought it would go back to the fights back on the ground but we remain with Ichigo and the Zero Squad.

What I really like about this chapter was how the first part with Ichigo was like a nod to the Soul Society Recuse Arc, so it was really nostalgic to read it. It was really funny seeing Ganju and the group argue again even if it did waste quite a few pages when I wanted to see more fighting. It is still good to see Ganju again and he must have gotten way stronger or else he would not be so confident about going to the Royal Realm but where did he leave the Xcution members? It also once again raises the question on whether or not the Shibas have any connection to the Royal Realm because of how you must use the cannon to get up there and how Ganju has a map of the place.

I really don't think this is the end for him

We also got some great action in the Royal Realm; Weizol's ability is really interesting and I curious to who is going to fight him and get round it (I seriously doubt he is dead already). Weizol turned out to be a real sarcastic person when speaking, using his lisp as an excuse for not explain his abilities properly. Shutara also turns out to be a real badass and her stitching based abilities are really cool and it makes me all the more excited to see hers, and all the other Zero Squad members, Shikai and Bankai.

Overall this was a real solid chapter even though it felt kind of short and that is mainly because I felt the reunion between Ganju and the rest dragged out for too long.

OVERALL: 8/10