Arrow Season One: Damaged



"I'm going to make your life a living hell boy"

The episode starts off with the hooded man teaching Oliver how to use a bow and arrow and of course it isn't easy. Oliver is then sent to retrieve the rabbit the hooded man shot but is soon captured in a wooden cage by several commandos wearing all black. Back in the present Oliver is brought to the police station and is interrogated by Quentin who believes he is The Hood after seeing the footage of him. Walter and Moira arrive shortly in to the interrogation demanding that Oliver needs a lawyer however Oliver wants Laurel to defend him. At the bail hearing Oliver is put under house arrest while wearing a GPS tracking device, he thanks Laurel for what she has done but Laurel says she knows he cannot be The Hood.

"At least I can make this mug shot look good"

Oliver is then fitted for his GPS tracking device and says to Tommy that they should hold a prison - themed party at his manor. Meanwhile Quentin is angry at Laurel for siding with Oliver but Laurel insists that he is innocent and that he shouldn't be blamed for Sara's death or for Quentin getting divorced shortly after. Diggle wonders how Oliver will get out of this but Oliver says this was all part of his plan; to get caught on camera since he needs all suspicion of him being The Hood gone. He then tells Diggle to follow a German arms dealer in Starling City named Leo Mueller with his tracking equipment. Later Walter is talking with head of security for Queen's Consolidated and wants him to move the remains of the Queen's Gambit.

Finding it fun working for the Arrow yet Diggle?

Oliver later refuses to accept the insanity plea but agrees to take a polygraph test however Laurel does not believe that is the best option. In a Flashback Oliver is brought before a man named Edward Fyers (Sebastian Dunn) who is the leader of the commandos that are on the island. He wants to know where Yao Fei (the hooded man) is and Oliver says he doesn't know, Fyers isn't convinced by this and brings in a man wearing a black and yellow mask (Jeffrey Robinson). In the present Thea is worried about the situation but Oliver says there is nothing to worry about meanwhile Moria meets with Malcolm who says the charges are false but Malcolm believes that Oliver is hiding something.

I probably would have told them everything.........what? It's freaking Deathstroke!

During the polygraph test Oliver manages to lie through it successfully but thinks back to when he was cut by the man in the mask. He vaguely mentions that he was tortured to Quentin and Laurel and admits that he killed Sara by bringing her on the Queen's Gambit before ending the test. That night Oliver throws his party, Quentin is there as well, and tells Diggle he needs him to be The Hood so stop Mueller while he has the perfect alibi, Diggle agrees to do it. Laurel comes to the party and apologises to Oliver and they even kiss but she soon leaves. In a Flashback Yao Fei has arrived to save Oliver and fights the man in the mask but leaves shortly with Oliver.

 

He really knows how to throw a party

In the present Diggle has successfully stopped Mueller's arms deal as The Hood and Walter finds out that the head of security was killed and accuses Moira of lying to him. Later at the party a waiter pulls a gun on Oliver but Quentin manages to kill the waiter, Moira snaps at Quentin for endangering her son since he is accusing him to be The Hood (even though she suspects the killer was sent by Malcolm). Quentin frees Oliver of the GPS and drops all charges because of the waiter killer and the fact that Diggle posed as The Hood to stop an arms deal, giving Oliver an alibi. Moira later tells Malcolm to never harm her family again and even finds out that he killed the head of security because Walter is finding out too much.

 

"Let Oliver stay on house arrest; I can do this myself"

In a Flashback Yao Fei takes Oliver back to the cave but leaves soon after giving him a pouch. Laurel confronts Oliver that he managed to lie on polygraph test but Oliver manages to still divert suspicion from himself. Walter is then seen leaving the manor, saying he is taking a long business trip and doesn't know how long he will be gone. The episode ends with Diggle asking Oliver if he knows how his plan will affect his friends and family, Oliver says that it hurts worse than anything before tracking down and stopping Mueller.

 

The answer's never in a bottom of a bottle Quentin

This was probably the best episode of Arrow so far; for me it had the best fight scenes, flashback and present day moments out of the five episodes. Firstly there was Oliver's predicament on convincing everyone that he isn't The Hood and it was a great plan in the end, he is lucky that he has Diggle on his side now. Speaking of Diggle he kicked some major ass in this episode, I am liking his character more and more and this one proved that he can defiantly help out Oliver on the streets. Not only did he look awesome as The Hood but he had a great fight scene with those arms dealers, one of the best parts of the episode. I really hope Diggle continues to help out more with the fighting, maybe even get his own costume or even fill in from time to time for Oliver.

 

This fight was pretty damn epic!

Now as we are on the subject of great fights the one between Yao Fei and Deathstroke was truly epic, the name Deathstroke might not have been mentioned but I recognize that mask even if it is a bit different. My favourite shot in this episode was when Deathstroke caught the arrow, it had a comic - book feel to it and the fight the came after as well. See just like with Deadshot this is the type of villain I want to see in Arrow; possessing skills that make them seem superhuman with a great costume to match. The rest of the Flashback was great as well, with the inclusion of this military force led by Fyers giving Oliver another obstacle on the island. Of course I want to know exactly why they are here and why they are interested in Yao Fei and great that we also got to see how Oliver got one of his very first scars.

 

Staring contest!

The rest of the episode was great as well such as Malcolm sending a killer after Oliver, I think this proves that he is going to be at least one of the main antagonists in the present and again makes you wonder what he and Moira are involved in? Like always Quentin has a great story arc in the episode, despite how angry he is at Oliver and how much he wanted to convict him he did save his life at the end and its actually good seeing Laurel on Oliver's side for once. Also as I mentioned above I did like watching all of Oliver's plan to prove his innocent from the polygraph to throwing that party.  

 

"You can't take it off because it's taped to your leg hair, which really hurts"

Overall as I mentioned above this is the best episode of Arrow so far with great past and present day story with the inclusion of such an iconic DC villain. I don't think there was anything bad in this episode because I immensely enjoyed it however I admit maybe Deathstroke could have had a few speaking lines but maybe they want to make he seem more menacing or mysterious right now. 

 

SCORE: 10/10

 

Highlights: Deathstroke/Flashbacks

                   Diggle as The Hood

                   The whole present - day storyline

 

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 Brave and the Bold

They should team up at least once a season now

I know I am still reviewing season one of Arrow but since this is Part II of the Arrow and Flash crossover I feel like I just have to review this one now

The episode begins with Arrow and Arsenal checking out the hideout of Digger Harkness AKA Captain Boomerang however it is a trap and the place is rigged with explosives. A.R.G.U.S agents then turn up which means they have an interest in Captain Boomerang as well, we then have a Flashback and Oliver is ordered by Waller to interrogate/torture someone who has planted a bomb in the city. Cisco and Caitlin arrive in Starling City and Felicity takes them to the Arrowcave while Diggle is at A.R.G.U.S headquarters to get more information from Lyla however the place is soon attacked by Captain Boomerang. Arrow and Arsenal arrive to fight him and The Flash even shows up so Captain Boomerang retreats, Team Arrow then hide Lyla at the Arrowcave for the time being. Turns out Captain Boomerang was a member of the Suicide Squad three years ago however during a mission that went bad Lyla made the decision to explode all the member's neck bombs however the one in Captain Boomerang must have malfunctioned and he wants revenge.



"Who needs guns when I got these!"

Arrow and The Flash team up however The Flash soon regrets this after Arrow tortures one of Captain Boomerang's contacts for information but Arrow argues that this is Starling City not Central City, we then have a Flashback and the bomb has gone off because Oliver went easy on the torture. In the present Arrow, Arsenal, Diggle, Cisco and The Flash follow a lead however Captain Boomerang arrives at the Arrowcave while most are gone (tracing a phone they took earlier) and seriously injures Lyla before escaping. After Barry says to Oliver that none of this was his fault they then track Captain Boomerang to the train station however he has planted five bombs throughout the city. Arrow defeats Captain Boomerang while The Flash disarms the bombs with the help of the rest of the team, Captain Boomerang is later sent to the same island prison as Slade Wilson. Diggle and Lyla then decide to get married, Oliver gives Barry his own costume space in the Arrowcave and Oliver is given a stronger costume by Cisco and we then get a Flashback to Waller giving Oliver a second chance at torture. The episode ends with Arrow and The Flash facing off against each other in an empty warehouse, wanting to know once and for all who would win in a fight.

You now have a place of honour Barry

What a awesome Part II to an awesome crossover of two great shows! This crossover has been a huge success because it had everything I wanted to see and it just worked really well. It is hard to decide which episode of the crossover was better but personally for me it would have to be this episode just slightly mainly because of Captain Boomerang. He is one of my most favourite members of the Suicide Squad and villains of all time and I think Nick E. Tarabay did a fantastic job and he played a more important role in the plot than Rainbow Raider did who felt underused in the second half of Part I. The fight scenes involving Captain Boomerang where just so good as well, with such great choreography and the skill with throwing those boomerangs. I mean that fight scene between Captain Boomerang, Arrow and Arsenal was just so epic; a two on three fight and Arsenal brings out those cool nightsticks, again just epic! I'll just mention this about Season One is that moments like this was rare in it because it felt so grounded; a fight that looked as great as this and a more comic book like villain. Of course this all changed in Season Two with additions like Deathstroke, Brother Blood, Mirakuru, League of Assassins and just more comic book stuff all round.

"You won't be throwing any Boomerangs for a while"

Of course Team Arrow and Team Flash worked together well again with some great scenes of dialogue. For example when Barry was against the use of torture and Oliver replied something like; "This isn't Central City where it is always sunny." and then continues by mentioning the deaths of his mom and Tommy. This is further elaborated with Cisco and Caitlin saying that since they face Meta Human who use powers it all feels less real to them. All of this great dialogue between the characters really show the difference between the two cities and even though Team Flash does have Meta Humans, Starling City is a lot more dangerous because of the darker themes and events that have taken place in the Arrow episodes.

"If only you could bring yourself to cut a few fingers off this wouldn't have happened"

I also enjoyed just about everything else in this episode from the Flashbacks which influenced Oliver to how he operates in the present (I haven't been liking the Flashbacks in Season Three so far, seem really slow so far but this episode was alright) to Barry being the one to tell Oliver that he still has his humanity and giving each other equipment. I really liked those moments because it proves that Arrow and The Flash are starting to rely on each other more and Oliver is realizing that he is hero and not someone to be feared. I also liked at the end that Captain Boomerang is now a cellmate of Deathstroke and it makes me wonder if the two many escape and team up in the future? It also opens the possibly that the current Suicide Squad may make a reappearance again soon (hopefully) and with Team Flash's help the murder of Sara may be solved soon.

Awesome!

Overall this was simply an awesome episode and I can't think of anything wrong with it because I enjoyed watching every second of it. Plus really liked the Rocky III reference at the end!

SCORE: 10/10

Highlights: The interactions between Team Flash and Team Arrow
                   Captain Boomerang and the great fight scenes
                   Successful Part II to the crossover

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/