Arrow Season Three: Canaries

Damn she got her ass kicked

Oliver is now back however he is thrown with the changes to Team Arrow is his absence which creates conflict in the group. He even tells Laurel to stop being Black Canary however she ignores him when Vertigo returns but unfortunately gets affected by his drug. Meanwhile Chase surprises Thea and in Flashbacks Oliver and Maseo try to escape from A.R.G.U.S

Things certainly aren't the same for Oliver in his return to Starling with the main change being Laurel is determined to carry on the mantle of Black Canary. This was mainly a Laurel focused episode and a really good one at that with the involvement of Vertigo and how she confronted Sara who was an awesome character so I'm glad they brought her back in some form. I liked the fights she had with Sara and I think her taunting of Laurel was stuff the audience where already thinking off; that she was just a copy of Sara. I liked that Laurel has now faced her demons and that with the help of Felicity she has realized that she has to be her own version of Black Canary and not a copy of Sara. Quentin was also a huge factor for Laurel this episode and I thought it was about time he learned the truth and it was a damn powerful scene when he broke down with Laurel, makes me wonder what he will do now. Vertigo was also a part of Laurel's development and even though I really like this one, because he does seem a lot darker than Count Vertigo, I wished he had more scenes since he was only a means to an end for Laurel.

"Don't judge me harshly by the beating, drugs, killings and torture. I'm actually a nice guy"

As for the rest of the episode I liked that Thea handled the confession of Oliver well and that she didn't turn into a whiny brat (like she would in season 1 and 2) but that only lasted for a few minutes until she turned on Malcolm. I get why she is a bit angry but after everything she has been through with him I hated how quickly she turned against him, I just hated her damn attitude in this episode. Another thing I didn't like in her subplot was the lacklustre way the Chase character ended; he put up a decent fight but after he has kind of been hyped up for a while he is just out of it now, it feels like they have wasted a lot of time with his character. As for Team Arrow I liked the way they stood up to Oliver and arguing that they can do things on their own now because it isn't just about Oliver anymore. Roy I think has really grown as a vigilante because he was the one leading the arguments against Oliver and makes me think how he could get episodes just dedicated to him sometime. Finally the Flashbacks are a let down again (like all the Hong Kong ones mostly have been) and that is mainly because of Waller. I really like her character in the comics (old and new 52 Suicide Squad) but she just really damn bugs me in this, everything from her actress, appearance and personality and I think they haven't done her comic book version justice. They only thing good about the Flashbacks was that I like the friendship between Oliver and Maseo and them being in Starling City now should be interesting.

Do you sleep with all your victims Chase?

Overall I would have liked this episode better if it completely focused on Laurel and Vertigo instead of wasting are time with a whiny Thea. I just hope her character improves after some training on the island because so far she hasn't done anything and keeps losing in fights anyway.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Laurel vs. Vertigo and her hallucinations
                   Team Arrow standing up to Oliver
                   Quentin and Thea's reactions to the confessions

Let - Downs: Thea
                      Chase was a wasted character
                      Flashbacks and Waller

EXTRA

Now I have kept up with the news of Arrow and I have heard that Thea will soon get her own costume (saw a picture of her getting fitted for a mask) and there are rumours that to make room for her a member of Team Arrow has to die and Arsenal might be the one. I hope this really doesn't happen because Arsenal is one of my favourite comic characters and I really like Roy on the show. If they have to get rid of him though I hope it is only temporary and as I have said before he loses his arm and maybe everyone will think he is dead but instead he is kidnapped, gets his robotic arm from either A.R.G.U.S or H.I.V.E and is forced to be an agent of H.I.V.E or a member of the Suicide Squad. Let me know what you think of that.

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 Calm

"I am the new Vertigo!!"

The episode begins with Team Arrow stopping a truck hijacking and then saying how calm Starling has been lately, in a Flashback Oliver tries to send an email but is stopped by A.R.G.U.S agent Maseo Yamashiro (Karl Yune). Later Laurel and Oliver watch Quentin, now a Captain, delivering a speech on how the SCPD now recognize Arrow as a hero, this is also watched on TV by Werner Zytle (Peter Stormare) using his new Veritgo drug (that now causes fear hallucinations) to kill someone and takes up the mantle of Vertigo. Felicity is then seen at her new job in a computer store and being asked out by Oliver while at night Arrow tracks down a criminal but so is Quentin; Arrow thanks him for what he has said but tells him to take it easy because of his heart condition. In a Flashback Oliver is reprimanded by Waller for trying to escape while in the present Vertigo has tracked down Oliver (he placed a tracker on him earlier but does not know who he is) and fires a rocket launcher at the restaurant. Felicity is injured in the blast and Oliver blames himself so he goes after Vertigo alone however Vertigo puts up quite the fight and injects Arrow with the drug however he is saved by the arrival of Quentin.

Red Arrow!

Things continue not to go well as Oliver tells Diggle not to be in the field anymore because of his soon to be born child (this angers Diggle) and Quentin is in the hospital for over doing it while saving Arrow. Oliver then tries to get back Queen Consolidated but is out shone by billionaire and genius inventor Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) who wows the board with his plans for the company and the city (wanting to rename it Star City), Oliver takes this as the final sign that he still can't be Oliver Queen. Team Arrow later finds out Vertigo wants to blow up a stadium to eliminate a rival so Red Arrow goes to deactivate the bomb while Arrow takes on Vertigo. Arrow still has trouble but is helped with the arrival of Black Canary, however Vertigo says that even if they stop him the mantle of Vertigo will continue. Team Arrow then gathers for the birth of Diggle's daughter where Oliver and Diggle apologizes to each other and Oliver kisses Felcitiy but says he cannot be together with her. In a Flashback Maseo says to Oliver that Waller has threatened to kill his family if Oliver does not cooperate with her and in the present Oliver gets a call from Barry Allen who has woken up from his coma. The episode ends with Sara and Laurel catching up on a rooftop however when Laurel leaves Sara is killed by someone she seems to recognize and her body falls down in front of Laurel.

"I have such great timing"

This season really started off on a more positive note than the beginning of season two; in season two the Glades had recently been destroyed, Oliver still moaned for Tommy and the police and elitists seemed to be corrupt or uncaring. However this beginning showed hope which I really, really liked because crime is down, the police support Arrow (led by Quentin) and Team Arrow has never been stronger. I really liked that Roy is now Red Arrow (I am calling him that until he is renamed Arsenal) who was a great side kick for Arrow and just as epic on the streets, he even had a badass costume that I even like better than Arrow's (I like red better than green). We also got the start of a relationship between Oliver and Felicity, I liked that they touched on that because it was hinted at throughout season two however despite Oliver giving a reason why he can't be with her I think they gave up on it to fast and the reason wasn't that strong. It reminded me of when Sara gave up on her and Oliver in season two which I didn't like; I know Oliver is afraid of Felicity getting hurt again but she has been part of Team Arrow for years, I think she knows the risks by now.

Nice uniform Lance

The new peace can't last however with the arrival of a new Vertigo and someone who has taken up the name. I was a big fan of the old Count Vertigo but this new one made a strong debut thanks to Peter Stormare who has his own interesting take on the role. Firstly is his new Vertigo drug which induces fear and even though it reminded me a lot of Scarecrow the hallucinations where cool then there is the fact this Vertigo is a really good fighter against Arrow and his awesome with this throwing darts. His is pretty merciless with the actions he took this episode so I really hope he becomes a more recurring villain. Then there is Roy Palmer and I liked him straight away, the guy is just so charismatic and enthusiastic like when he met with Felicity in the computer store. Unlike Sebastian Blood I could just tell he is going to be a good guy with how he acts and I just really liked his portrayal and personality, though of course he will probably be a thorn in Oliver's side for taking over the company. Plus I knew when I heard his name that he is the hero ATOM so it makes me wonder if Starling will get a new hero soon, maybe a rival of Team Arrow?

You can't help but like Ray Palmer

I admit when I saw Sara back I was glad but a bit annoyed because what would have been the point of her leaving in the season two finale? Then of course she died! This took me completely by surprise because I never thought they would kill off her character this early in the whole series even though I knew it might have been necessary for Laurel to become Black Canary. I am slightly annoyed because Sara was an awesome female vigilante and they could have gotten more out of her character but on the other hand her death was handled really well and it was pretty damn brutal. This will definitely lead the way for Laurel to be Black Canary and maybe the League might get involved again however the writers are going to have to be damn convincing of turning Laurel into Black Canary with how much of a weak character she was in season two. As for everything else I liked the argument between Diggle and Oliver and maybe with a child Diggle may even be more involved in the story and have something more to fight for. The Flashbacks where kind of interesting but that is it really because there was barely anything else to say about them and Quentin continues to be a great character because of his support for Arrow.

Goodbye Sara

Overall this was a strong opening for the season and has opened the door for many subplots.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Good job of showing a calm in Starling City
                   Team Arrow and Roy as Red Arrow
                   New Vertigo and Ray Palmer
                   Death of Black Canary done well

Let - Downs: There wasn't much to say about the Flashbacks
                       Again the romantic subplots are weak

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 Two: State v. Queen

"I'm back!"

The episode begins six months ago during a Flashback and it is revealed that The Count escaped during The Undertaking (even setting The Dollmaker free), it then goes to the present and Moira's trial has begun. In a Flashback Oliver, Sara, Ivo and some of the pirates are now on the island and Slade and Shado prepare to rescue Oliver, in the present Oliver sends Diggle home because he looks ill and later collapses in front of Felicity. The Count, now renamed Count Vertigo, is back to selling Vertigo but has bigger plans meanwhile Oliver and Felicity find out Diggle has trace amounts of Vertigo in his system though they don't know how it got there. At the trial things aren't looking too good for Moira, especially since Laurel's boss says he has a trump card, however he suddenly collapses as well, in a Flashback Shado and Slade arrive to help Oliver. Later Oliver knows that Moira is still keeping secrets however soon a video is posted on the internet of Count Vertigo who has kidnapped Laurel's boss and says that he has infected numerous people with Vertigo already. Laurel is then put in charge of prosecuting Moira and Roy helps Thea vent her frustration with boxing.



DEATHSTROKE!!!!!!!!

Laurel then begs Moira to accept the plea bargain because she doesn't want to use the trump card meanwhile Arrow tracks down Count Vertigo but he escapes, taking advantage that Arrow doesn't kill now. Moira then tells Oliver and Thea that she once had an affair with Malcolm much to their disgust and this goes against her in court; Laurel stating that she was never in any true danger from Malcolm. In a Flashback Slade and Shado successfully rescues Oliver and Sara, in the present Felicity figures out immunization vans infected people with Vertigo so Count Vertigo can create supply and demand however she is kidnapped while investigating a van. Oliver then gets a call from Count Vertigo who has figured out he is Arrow but is killed by him when he threatens Felicity. In a Flashback Slade is still not doing too well from his wounds so Sara suggests the Mirakuru on the sub, in the present Moira is found not guilty much to the surprise of everyone. It is then revealed that Brother Blood was the one backing Count Vertigo however a man named Cyrus Gold (Graham Shiels) has survived his injection. The episode ends with the reveal the Malcolm Merlyn is still alive; admitting that he rigged the trial to get Moira free and that Thea is actually his daughter.

"And I'm back too"

Got the return of two great Arrow villains in this and I guess I will first start off with the main one and that is Count Vertigo. I have read other reviews that people don't like him too much because he is like a Joker copy (I admit that video was a copy from The Dark Knight) however I have always liked him because despite him not having any powers it was smart that they turned it into a drug. Like his overall plan in this episode was really great as well and I liked the two action scenes when Arrow tracked him down and it was cool that he figured out Arrow's identity. Plus Count Vertigo brought up Oliver's vow of no killing again and in such a big way because of kidnapping Felicity; it was a really great moment when Arrow shot him out the window and I guess Oliver is going to have to live with the fact he killed after his vow now. Shame that Count Vertigo is dead now but I think he had a real impact on the story in this episode.

"Just a little taste Felicity, you'll love it"

The other major event in this episode was Moira's trial and I liked how that was handled as well because it had so many twists like the fact Moira had an affair with Malcolm and I liked the moments Oliver and Thea went through wen dealing with the whole thing. I seriously thought Moira would be found guilty and I was really surprised when she wasn't but that was explained with the return of Malcolm Merlyn. Really glad he is back because he was such an awesome villain and played by such a great actor who definitely has more to give to the series. He has some explaining about how he faked his death but that was overshadowed with the reveal that Thea is his daughter! I wonder how long it would take for Oliver and Thea to find this out and how much conflict it would create but until then I'm sure Malcolm will use this as leverage of Moira.

"Finally we got one and it only took 500 tries"

As for the rest of the episode I did really like the Flashbacks (cool how Slade has one side of his face covered like Deathstroke) but there was so little of it. I wanted to see more and learn even more of this Mirakuru and if they will inject Slade with it. Also I liked seeing Brother Blood once again and I think after seeing these Flashbacks it is obvious now that he is injecting Mirakuru into his victims and it looks like now he has a super - solider. Lastly Laurel is once again a let down in this because the writers are just making her out to be really unlikeable; I know she warned Moira but maybe she could have done more and her being the prosecutor really is a conflict of interest and really would not have happened in real life.

Funny that it's kind of shaped like a V

Overall this was a really great episode with the return of two great villains and such great reveals.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Return of Count Vertigo
                   Return on Malcolm Merlyn
                   All of Moira's trial

Let - Downs: Laurel
                      Wanted longer Flashbacks

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: Unfinished Business

"Go right ahead, prove your no better than I am"

The episode begins with a young woman dying just outside the Verdant (Oliver's club) and when Quentin questions Oliver and Tommy about it they find out she died from Vertigo. Quentin and The Hood both go visit The Count however he is in no fit state for questioning since he is still suffering from the affects of a over dose of Vertigo. In a Flashback Slade and Yao Fei's daughter Shado (Celina Jade) are sparing but Oliver still can't get over his deal with Fyers not working meanwhile in the present Diggle is upset that Deadshot is still at large. It is later revealed that The Count has escaped from the mental hospital and that a new stronger Vertigo is hitting the streets meanwhile Quentin questions Tommy because he received a text from the victim before she died. In a Flashback Shado begins to train Oliver while in the present he stops a Vertigo deal while Diggle asks A.R.G.U.S agent Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson) for information on Deadshot. Tommy is later still followed by Quentin who then gets a warrant for the Verdant, luckily all the stuff in the Arrowcave was moved ahead of time however Tommy later quits because of how Oliver suspected him of selling Vertigo.

They are fighting right?

The Hood then tracks down where the new Vertigo is being made and finds The Count strapped to a chair and is soon knocked out by a Dr Wells who worked a the mental hospital. It is revealed Wells created the new Vertigo and faked The Count's escape because he knew the police would suspect him. He then forces The Hood to drink the Vertigo who then activates an explosive arrow and then Diggle arrives to help out. The Hood then kills Wells by firing three arrows in to his chest but has to be talked out of killing The Count by Diggle. In a Flashback Shado begins to teach Oliver how to use a bow while in the present Quentin admits to Laurel he owes Tommy and Oliver an apology. The episode ends with Diggle wanting Oliver's help to take down Deadshot while Tommy asks his father for a job at Merlyn Global Group, which Malcolm agrees to while embracing him.

Nothing to be ashamed of Oliver, from what I have read in comics every hero gets captured at least once in their career

Looks like we got the return of Vertigo but I knew it couldn't stay away for long since it is named after a villain, we also go the return of The Count in a way. I did really like the twist that they pulled at the end of this episode that The Count was only being used by Wells but I didn't really like Wells because he was nothing more than a throwaway villain. I still liked almost everything else to do with Vertigo such as a stronger one being made, The Hood stopping the drug deal and the showdown at the end where Diggle came and helped. However one thing I didn't like was Quentin thinking Tommy was behind the overdose of the victim; now that his ex wife is gone he is back to his overzealous police work and I admit it does get annoying some times. For example when he was trying to catch The Hood by bugging the phone, then being a hypocrite and asking The Hood for help or kind of when he was so convinced it was Oliver he didn't listen to no one else to the point that even Laurel gets angry with him like this episode.

"Wells The Count's cell mate Myers didn't tell us anything"

Tommy however still continues to be a great character because I liked the conflict he had with both Quentin and Oliver. As I said above Quentin can be an ass but at least Tommy never backed down from him of allowed himself to be intimidated. It is also interesting now that Tommy has ended his friendship with Oliver but it kind of felt like the right thing to do since Oliver didn't fully trust him over the Vertigo incident and he just can't take his best friend being The Hood anymore. Tommy always seems to have some great material to work with and proves that he is a better person than Oliver or Quentin but now that he is working for his father I wonder if he will become involved in The Undertaking?

"I guess my dad's the only good person in Starling City"

As for everything else the Flashbacks are still going strong and we probably have seen the beginning of Oliver being a master archer and the water pressing technique was interesting. It also seems that Diggle will be getting more of a subplot because of Deadshot and I got the feeling these two are going to be connected for a while. Plus I really liked the mention of A.R.G.U.S in this episode because when I first heard that I thought of Amanda Waller and when I think of her I think of the Suicide Squad! I know that this is still early but if we get to see more of A.R.G.U.S and then opens the possibility of the characters and villains that are associated with it.

"Why don't they do their deals in the day? Doing this s**t is dangerous at night!"

Overall this was a good episode but felt really short because of the absence of such characters like Moira, Thea and Roy.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: The return of Vertigo and The Count
                   Tommy's subplot
                    A.R.G.U.S exists in the tv series

Let - Downs: Quentin was a tad annoying again
                       Felt like a really short episode
                       The "real villain in this was lacklustre

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: Vertigo

The Count, not to be confused with Dracula

The episode begins with The Hood chasing down a drug dealer who sells Vertigo but all he can get out of the guy is that it is supplied by someone called The Count. Oliver tells Diggle how frustrated he is with trying to catch The Count but Diggle reminds him that Thea's hearing is soon. Outside the court house it is a media frenzy and inside is not much better as the judge wants to make Thea the poster child for the city's Vertigo problem and make an example out of her. We then get a Flashback to Oliver asking Yao Fei to let him go but Yao Fei refuses, in the present Oliver contacts an old friend, McKenna Hall, who is now a vice detective for information on The Count. Later The Count (Seth Gabel) injects a drug dealer with Vertigo which causes him terrible pain and he shoots himself, The Count only finds it just "interesting" that The Hood is after him. Oliver then goes to Laurel for help with Thea who in turns asks her father who says he will do what he can.

"So this is what I get for helping someone"

Oliver later meets with his Bratva connections to get a meeting with The Count but only if he kills someone he agrees but only fakes the man's death, in a Flashback Oliver is pushed in to a circle and prepared to fight Yao Fei. Laurel manages to cut a deal for Thea which includes community service but Thea refuses saying she wants to go to jail so she can ruin Moira's life which forces Oliver to tell her it was their father who was the unfaithful one. Oliver and Diggle later meet The Count but the police soon arrive but not before Oliver is injected with Vertigo, in a Flashback Yao Fei fakes Oliver's death in the fight. Oliver seems to recover from Vertigo but soon collapses and has another Flashback to when Yao Fei dumped his body in a river. Felicity has found out where the Vertigo was made (after Oliver gave her a sample) and Oliver rushes there and even though he is still weak from Vertigo fights The Count and injects him with his own drug. Thea then makes up with Moira and agrees to the community service and The Count is arrested but battling for his life in hospital after overdosing on Vertigo. The episode ends in a Flashback where Oliver wakes up and finds a map Yao Fei put in his pocket and in the present Felicity gives him the journal Walter found.

Might as well have let her in on it now Oliver

Just like I thought in my last review Count Vertigo in this is definitely not the same as his comic counterpart, he doesn't even have the name Count Vertigo. It was smart however that his powers are in the form of a drug so it is more realistic for the style of the show and how he is called The Count because of the puncture wounds his injections make, I did really like that. I also liked the actor who played The Count because he was completely crazy and didn't care about killing to perfect his drug and he is something different from the mob and businessmen The Hood usually has to take down. You could say I am two sides on this; I didn't like how Count Vertigo, one of my favourite Arrow villains in the comic, has been turned in to something more practical for the grounded tone of the show but I did like The Count overall and is probably one of my favourite Arrow TV series villains so far.

"A taste of your own medicine"

As for the other major event in this, Thea's trial, I didn't like that at all. As I have said in my previous reviews I do not like Thea so far in the show and her attitude in this didn't help at all. I mean just to get back at her mom she wanted to go to jail? When I first saw this episode I thought that was one of the stupidest things I ever heard. Firstly I don't think she would survive five minutes in jail and also she was completely wrong about her mom in the end but no she just couldn't admit that straight away. Luckily the writers must have thought Thea has been a rubbish character so far because after this she thankfully does get less annoying and gets a better story. However Laurel and Quentin where good in their involvement in it because I liked how Laurel made the comparisons to Sara and this is showing that Quentin is being less of a jerk to the Queen family.

Flawless Victory

Overall there isn't too much to say about this one; the Flashbacks where great as ever but they where short and far between (would have liked them to have lasted longer by cutting down some of Thea's trial) and the final fight between The Hood and The Count was good but that was all the way at the end.

SCORE: 6/10

Highlights: The Flashbacks
                   This grounded portrayal of The Count was good
                   The fighting in Flashbacks and present was good too

Let - Downs: Thea and everything involving her trial
                      Looks like there is going to be no actual Count Vertigo from the comics

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: Trust but Verify

"This is my show now"

The episode begins with an armoured truck heist and Diggle is shocked to learn that Oliver's suspect is his former commanding officer and mentor, Ted Gaynor. In a Flashback Oliver uses his commando disguise to infiltrate Fyer's camp to rescue Yao Fie but runs in to Fyers, in the present Tommy is busy renovating the club when he gets a call from his father who apologizes for before and wants dinner with him and Laurel. The Hood then goes to confront Gaynor but is stopped when Diggle intervenes but manages to steal a flash drive, Diggle is then given a job at Gaynor's security company. Back at the Arrowcave Oliver is furious with Diggle but Diggle believes Gaynor is a good man and wants to prove it, Oliver agrees to let him; we then have a Flashback and Oliver has been found out by Fyers. Later Moira is called in to a meeting with Malcolm but demands evidence that Walter is alright, their meeting is witnessed by Thea who believes they are having an affair, elsewhere Laurel convinces Tommy to have dinner with Malcolm. Diggle has dinner with Gaynor at his sister in law's restaurant and even though he meets another former solider named Paul Knox who he never got along with still thinks Gaynor is innocent. Thea later tells her worries to Oliver who then confronts Moira about them but she denies having an affair with Malcolm and that Robert was unfaithful to her, in a Flashback Oliver is captured by Fyers.

Kind of almost sad Malcolm spoiled the moment, they where getting along so well

While Tommy, Laurel and Malcolm have dinner Malcolm tries to get Tommy to sign over a free health clinic that was run by his late mother, Tommy refuses and storms out. Oliver later gives the flash drive to Felicity who cracks it and informs him that that it has information on the robberies, Oliver disrupts one of them and seriously wounds one of the robbers. At Thea's 18th birthday party she gets a car but also a new drug called Vertigo from her friends and then angrily leaves after again thinking Moira and Malcolm are having an affair. Oliver then asks Diggle to poke around the security company where he finds blood in one of the vans and is then confronted by Gaynor and Knox who are behind the robberies; they have even kidnapped Diggle's sister in law to force him to help with the next robbery. Diggle refuses to go along with the robbery and The Hood shows up; Knox is killed and Gaynor soon as well after a fight, Diggle is arrested but soon let go. Oliver later shows lets Diggle cross Ted Gaynor's name off the list and apologies for not trusting him more. Thea then gets in to a car accident under the influence of Vertigo and winds up in hospital, she also wants nothing to do with Moira but is arrested by the police for being on drugs. The episode ends in a Flashback where it is reveal Yao Fei is working for Fyers.

A bow vs. a knife

Got a good Diggle centred episode here and it is about time because we defiantly need to learn more about his past because they don't talk about it much and they haven't expanded on his Deadshot connection yet. I really like that it raised the issue of trust because Diggle was torn between old loyalties or his new one to Oliver to help Starling City because it does show how he looks for the good in people, like Oliver and why he helps him. Also again it shows him taking a more active role in helping the city than just supporting Oliver; in this he went undercover and even fought Gaynor. It might not be as cool as seeing him act as The Hood but it sure is a start, Diggle is one of the best characters in the show and I want to see even more of him and Felicity. Felicity too is an interesting character and as smart as she is she is defiantly going to figure out that Oliver is The Hood soon; I mean everyone comes to her with all of their problems and it is interesting how many BS stories Oliver can come up with lol.



"Is that real food!!"

Other stuff that was great was again the moments we have between Tommy and his father; the two have such a complicated relationship and I want to know why they don't get along that much, it is also confirmed that Tommy's mother is dead and maybe that has something to do with it. Malcolm obviously developed more of a bleak outlook on life after that and how Tommy gave us more background on him. I'm guessing in those two years he was gone he must have became an expert fighter and archer and I hope we get a Flashback for it, plus the scene with Tommy talking and you see Malcolm next to his costume was really cool. I also liked the Flashback this episode with Oliver sneaking into the enemy camp to rescue Yao Fei; he already thinks he is Big Boss! It was a surprise to learn that Yao Fei is working for Fyers but I'm sure that after everything that has happened he is being threatened in some way and that he will end up helping Oliver. Also I guess this shows how much Oliver has changed since being on the island since he is willing to risk going in to an enemy camp to rescue someone he barely knows, like the time he didn't give up Yao Fei's name under torture.

"I love being on TV"

Now for the thing that has let the episode down; Thea, I really cannot stand the stupid things she continues to do. I mean why did she get so upset about her mom maybe having an affair with Malcolm? she barely had any proof and now she doesn't want anything to do with Moira again. Also how can she be so stupid to drive under drugs influences? I don't know if their trying to make us sympathise with her or make a tragic subplot because I can't, she is just a whiny, annoying, stuck - up bitch (she annoys me that much it's uncensored!). However at the very least we got the mention of Vertigo and it has me more worried than anything else. In the comics the Arrow has a villain called Count Vertigo who has the power called the Vertigo Effect to disrupt his enemies' balance which is useful in combat (can even work to disrupt equipment). This has me worried because if they are kind of introducing his power as a drug than just like most things in this show Count Vertigo will be turned in to someone realistic and grounded.

"You should have joined us Diggle, unlike the Arrow we would have paid you"

Overall I like this episode because it focused more on Diggle and the Flashbacks continue to be some of the strongest moments in the series.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Diggle focused episode with a good showdown at the end
                   Great Flashback
          Tommy and Malcolm continue to have on of the more interesting character relationships        

Let - Downs: Thea continues to annoy
                      Worries for Count Vertigo if he gets introduced

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/