Arrow Season One: The Undertaking

"I should really enter Casino Royale"

The episode begins with The Hood tracking down an accountant who works for a secret organization and stealing his laptop so he can transfer all his funds back to the people he stole from. However while decrypting it Felicity finds a money transfer to a casino owner for the kidnapping of Walter so they decide they most follow it. Moira then has a Flashback to when her husband Robert, Frank and Malcolm where discussing The Undertaking which involves levelling the Glades, killing thousands to remove the crime and rebuild however she is unaware of this at the time. The Flashback continues and Robert tries to talk Malcolm out of The Undertaking but is unsuccessful however he then tells Moira who thinks they should stop it, in the present Felicity tries to get Diggle to come back but he refuses until Oliver admits he was wrong. Felicity then poses as a card - shark at the casino however The Hood soon arrives and finds out Walter was killed shortly after his kidnapping.

"You know Frank I think we are in over are heads here"

Oliver then tells this bad news to Moira and we then get another Flashback to Robert asking Frank for help to stop Malcolm and they agree to meet in China. The Hood then follows Moira as she confronts Malcolm who insists Walter is still alive, this confirms Oliver's suspicious that his mother is involved. Felicity then gets Walter's location by hacking Malcolm's phone and The Hood goes there to free him and he is then reunited with Moira and Thea. In a Flashback Robert is preparing to board the Queen's Gambit with Oliver and Sara however Malcolm has secretly planted a bomb on the yacht after Frank betrays Robert. Still at the hospital Oliver tries to hide is rage when talking with Malcolm and when Laurel asks Oliver to tell Tommy he has no feelings for her he says he can't because that would be lying. The episode ends with Oliver apologising to Diggle saying he was right about everything and asking for his help just as a truck from Unidac Industries.

"Just leave me, I can't survive outside these walls anymore"

The first of the final three episodes where The Undertaking gets under way; I admit not too much happens in this episode however we did get a lot of interesting Flashbacks. They may not have involved the island but we got some background into The Undertaking and that Robert was truly part of it however his reasons for wanting to do it was really weak compared to Malcolm's who we all know who's wife was murdered in the Glades. It also sheds some light on how the Queen's Gambit was sunk and even though the reveal of Malcolm planting the bombs was obvious, it was Frank who sold Robert out after promising to help him. They also say that they are going to completely level the Glades which means Malcolm must have something big in mind and it might have something to do with the Unidac truck at the end. Also we did get a lot more on Malcolm's reasons behind the Undertaking and that is what makes him really dangerous; one of my favourite reviewers on YouTube, John Campea, said (and I have to agree) that the most dangerous villains are the ones who believe they are not evil. That really describes Malcolm well because he does not see what he is doing as evil and that gives him conviction to see it through to the end.

It's a shame, Felicity was on a roll!

As for the present we got some great moments to such as Felicity once again out in the field (she is a great card player!) and she really shone and Walter finally being rescued, I missed Colin Salmon. We got some great action when The Hood crashed the casino and Walter's location in Bludhaven, hearing this city got me excited because that is where Nightwing operates one of my favourite DC heroes! Does this mean we will see him in the series? As for everything else I am glad Diggle is back on the team but it felt underwhelming because even though I said Oliver should apologies, in the end that was all it took? I didn't much care for Laurel's attempt with talking to Oliver and he revealing he still has feelings for her because I just don't think it will work between them after everything they have been through in the past. Lastly I can't believe there was no Roy in this episode because he is one of my favourite characters.

"They don't pay us enough for this!"

Overall this was a great start to the revealing of Malcolm's master plan.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: The Flashbacks/More on Malcolm
                   Felicity back in the field
                   Great action scenes with The Hood

Let - Downs: Oliver and Diggle resolve was underwhelming
                      No Roy!

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: 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/