The latest half of season 3 of Arrow has been one whirlwind
of awesome to the next. Oliver’s back from the dead, Laurel is officially Black
Canary, and Ray Palmer is only a few steps away from perfecting his A.T.O.M.
suit. Can it get any crazier? Sure!
In the fashion of how Sarah Munson recapped most of theAgent Carter episodes, I’m going to recap the latest three Arrow episodes to
prepare for the show’s second return this season (it’s currently on a few weeks
break and will return March 18th). As Sarah stated: I’ve only seen each episode
once, so don’t call your local city vigilante to tell me “I’ve failed this
fandom.” And I’ll be lightly recapping each—spotlighting the most important
parts.
Episode 13: Canaries
Air date: 2.11.15, The CW
 |
| photo from Arrow's Official Facebook page |
Oliver has just returned to Star(ling?) City and has learned
about Laurel taking up the mantle of Black Canary. He’s not happy. Diggle and
the other team members support Laurel since she was around to help the city
during Oliver’s absence.
Malcolm Meryln tells Oliver he thinks the only way to truly
defeat Ra’s Al Guld is for Thea to join them in training—that way they can work
together to take down the ancient master. Oliver knows this must mean he has to
tell Thea about his work as the Hood/Arrow (still don’t know what they call him
now). Her initial reaction is wonderstruck. She’s amazed that her brother had
been the one to help so many people out.
However, at the same time, Zytle—known as Vertigo and the
man behind the hallucination-inducing drug—escapes from prison and begins to
set up his work once again. Laurel as Black Canary decides to take him on—only
to get affected by the drug. When the hallucinations start, she sees Sara in
full Canary gear taunting her. She fails and is only saved when Arrow and
Arsenal (Roy for anybody wondering) arrive. Zytle escapes.
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
After Laurel is tended to and the drug wears off, she faces
her fear by talking to Felicity. She fears she cannot live up to her sister’s
legacy, but Felicity encourages her to find another reason for being Black
Canary. Sara had more than one reason to wear a mask; Laurel should find a
deeper reason for doing so as well. (Yay for Felicity! Yay for Woman Talk! Yay
for strong female relationships in a TV show!)
Thea and her DJ, Chase, has an intimate moment (aka they sleep
together. Come on, Thea!), but right after, Thea realizes he aims to drug her.
She fights him off, but Chase is a better fighter than she anticipated.
Roy—Arsenal—breaks down the door to come to her rescue, but it isn’t until
Merlyn arrives that Chase is pinned down. But the two-timer takes poison and
dies before they can question him. (well, that escalated quickly)
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
Finally, Oliver and Laurel narrow down where Zytle has
retreated to. They release hostages he has taken, but Laurel is infected with
Vertigo once more. She fights against the hallucinations of her sister and wins
by beating Zytle senselessly. After finding approval with Oliver, Laurel tells
her father about Sara’s death.
In the flashbacks, more happens between Oliver, Maseo, and
Amanda Waller. Oliver tries to contact his family, but his caught and
questioned by ARGUS about Maseo’s location. After a lot of torture and threats
against his sister, Oliver reveals the location, only to find Maseo lied in
case. However, Maseo is caught and Waller sends Oliver and Maseo to hunt down
China White… In Starling City. (duh-duh-DUN!)
Episode 14: The Return
Air date: 2.18.15, The CW
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
As part of their training, Malcolm Merlyn demands Oliver and
Thea face one of Oliver’s biggest fears: the Island (Lian Yu). So the two head
to the island, only to find out that a prisoner on the island (via ARGUS) has
escaped. It’s none other than: Slade Wilson (You remember: the deep voiced,
scruffy-looking, terrible man that has a death wish against Oliver and killed
his mother as well as kidnapped Felicity. Aka Deathstroke. Yeah, that guy.)
Once Oliver learns of Slade’s escape, he immediately goes
into protective mode over Thea. But they are captured by Slade and end up in
Slade’s empty prison cell. After a lot of discussing and fiddling, they find a
way to escape.
Eventually, Oliver reveals to Thea that she killed Sara—by
Merlyn’s crafted plan. Slade returns and the three fight it out. Thea ends up
with a gun pointed at Slade and debates about pulling the trigger. Slade taunts
her and Oliver tries to convince her this is not the way to get justice for
their mother’s death. The scene goes black and there’s a single gunshot.
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
However, Thea does not kill Slade. She only shoots him to
wound him so they can return him to the locked prison cell. Thinking they have
completed their mission, Thea and Oliver return home.
Merlyn arrives to talk—and Thea confronts him about Sara’s
death. She announces she will do what she must to fight Ra’s but she will never
consider herself Merlyn’s daughter again.
In the flashback, Oliver returns—undercover—to Starling City
with Maseo. They track down China White, who is selling half of the Alpha/Omega
drug to the highest bidder. In the meantime, Oliver checks in on his family and
friends—especially Thea. She’s buying drugs and attending adult parties. Tommy
Merlyn (Oliver’s best friend who died at the end of season one) and Laurel make
appearances in the flashback—much to Oliver’s pain. After Thea buys more drugs,
Oliver follows the drug dealer and demands he stop contacting her. The drug
dealer realizes he’s Oliver Queen—who is supposed to be dead—and Oliver kills
him. Maseo finds Oliver and they complete their mission with China White.
At the end of the flashback, Oliver finds a video from his
father that explains the list of names in the book he gave him and encourages
Oliver to save his city.
Episode 15: Nanda Parbat
Air date: 2.25.15, The CW
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
Nyssa (Ra’s Al Guld’s daughter) learns that Oliver is alive
and demands Ra’s do something about it; instead, he simply tells her Oliver is
not Sara’s killer. But Nyssa still demands payment in death for Oliver’s combat
against Ra’s.
Thea confesses to Laurel that she murdered Sara. Laurel
insists Thea had no control over the situation and conveniently doesn’t blame
her. Instead, the two make plans to hand Malcom Merlyn over to Ra’s and Nyssa.
When Oliver finds out, he is furious (again) at both of them. They need Merlyn
to defeat Ra’s. In addition, he is convinced Thea will live to regret sending
her father to his death—guilt she will never overcome (and he would know since
he still feels overwhelming guilt about his own parents’ deaths).
Oliver chases after Nyssa and Merlyn—only to be distracted
by Nyssa. Merlyn is taken away from the League of Assassins but Oliver defeats
Nyssa and takes her hostage. He learns of Merlyn’s location—Nanda Parbat—from Nyssa
and is determined to rescue Merlyn from Ra’s clutches. Diggle joins him on this
quest.
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
Meanwhile, Felicity visits the MIA Ray Palmer (yeah, I was
starting to wonder why he didn’t appear in previous episodes. Looks like it
wasn’t just a random mistake). He’s been hiding out in his lab trying to
perfect his A.T.O.M. suit. She hacks his computer database and changes his
password in order to have leverage to get him to eat a proper meal, take a
shower (and shave), and get adequate sleep. He agrees.
Oliver and Diggle arrive at Nanda Parbat and find Merlyn
held over a death trap. He tries to warn them of this being a setup but Oliver
and Diggle are captured before they can get out. While in chains, Oliver comes
clean to Diggle that he wanted to release Merlyn not only for Thea’s sake but
his own. He didn’t like that Ra’s beat him.
 |
| Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums |
Back in Starling City, Thea is remorseful over the thought
of her killing Sara. Roy tries to comfort her by telling her about the police
officer he killed while under the influence of Mirakuru. Thea then visits the
caged Nyssa in the Arrow cave (bunker? Hideout?) and reveals to her that she
was Sara’s killer. She proceeds to unlock Nyssa’s prison cell and hand her a
sword, telling her to get revenge on Sara’s killer.
After Ray Palmer showers, naps, and eats a hearty meal, he
and Felicity end up in bed together (come, ON! Whyyy?) But since he did what
she asked, Felicity has given him the password. And Ray slips out of bed while
Felicity sleeps and finishes his work on the A.T.O.M suit. He goes for a test
flight.
(via tumblr)
Ra’s confronts Oliver and Diggle and Oliver pleads for Diggle’s
life. But Ra’s doesn’t want to kill Oliver; he wants Oliver to take over as
leader of the League of Assassins. He want Oliver to be the next “Ra’s Al Guld.”
End episode.
Whaaat?
My reaction precisely. If anything about this season
is true, it’s that one plot twist after another has been thrown at me. I was
freaking out when Sara was killed, when Ray Palmer arrived, when Oliver teamed
up with Barry Allen, and when Oliver was stabbed and kicked off a cliff. I was
screaming with joy when Laurel became Black Canary, when Oliver came back to
life, and when Oliver finally revealed the truth to Thea. And now this? Leader
of the League of Assassins?
What will Oliver choose (and does he really have a choice)?
Arrow returns March 18th. Until then, we can only
eagerly await for Oliver’s response and the rest of Season 3 of Arrow.
Also there’s a possibility the CW might be starting a
spinoff superhero TV show to crossover with both Arrow and the Flash. It’ll
take side heroes and villains—such as Ray Palmer, Sara Lance, Firestorm, and Captain Cold—and
create all new story lines with them. They’ve also hinted at introducing new
heroes that have never been seen on (live-action?) TV before! Check out more here.
-Jaime
0 comments:
Post a Comment