This week on Arrow, Firefly strikes Starling City, Detective Lance is amazing, and Tommy throws a fireman party which doesn’t sound like what you think it is.
1). Firefly has the greatest redesign.
To be perfectly frank, I thought John Barrowman’s double role as Evil John Barrowman/Archer-Rival was going to be a tough job for Arrow to outdo. That’s why it was such a surprise that this episode had the single best version of Firefly in any medium. Granted, in the comics he’s Killer Moth’s protege which kind of costs him a couple of points, but here he’s a disgruntled and disfigured fireman who was presumed dead and is out for revenge on the others in his company who left him behind. Granted, his motivation is somewhat shaky. He was put into the John Doe burn unit after being pulled from the wreckage, even though he presumably had his fireman outfit still on so really he should try murdering the doctors and nurses who wouldn’t call the fire department to ask what’s up. Despite this, his huge frame in the fireman’s outfit stepping out of the flames makes for some pretty chilling stuff. Not to mention the actor who manages to sell some really great scenes. He also manages to successfully deliver the title of the episode (“You can’t help me… I’ve been burned“) without sounding painfully chceesy. It’s such a shame, then, that Firefly dies in this episode because I would definitely not mind seeing more of him.
2.) Ollie’s pretty great in this episode too.
After getting his ass handed to him by Archer-Rival last week ( I refuse to call him Dark Archer), Ollie’s feeling pretty down at the start of the episode. He even manages to miss shooting one of his practice tennis balls that he keeps an abundant supply of for some reason. I really hope that pays off in the season finale when he fights Sportsmaster. Anyway, his whole struggle with Firefly leads to him regaining his groove and being ready once again to hunt down the people on the list. The moment that shows he’s back to his prime self is fantastic: Firefly’s about to drop a lighter onto the recently-sprayed-with-turpentine fire chief, but Ollie shoots the lighter out of the way with an arrow. It’s a very cool shot that reminds us of Ollie’s specialization beyond just kicking bad guys. Plus, his plead with Firefly to come freely and get help comes off as a touching scene that shows Ollie’s becoming more than a vigilante: hes also becoming a hero. Granted, everyone in this episode states so anyway so it’s not a very easy point to miss.
3.)There’s still some dumb moments.
Firefly’s method of murdering people is by standing still, spraying them with turpentine, and throwing a match at them. The first and third parts are fairly scary, but the spraying of turpentine just comes off like a dog owner trying to get their dog off the sofa. Also, the final confrontation with Ollie consists of him failing to kill the Fire chief, watching him get away, saying the title of the episode, and then being gulfed in flames by walking into a nearby fire in his fire-retardant suit. He may be the best villain Arrow has had, but the writing staff still has a few kinks to work out. Bonus: Ollie tries to save Firefly from killing himself by saying “NO!” and then doing nothing as he watches Garfield burst into flames. While it leads to the single coolest shot in the series, you have to wonder if Ollie could have pulled him back or something.
4.) Oh right, the other characters.
There’s a whole sub-plot about Tommy being a better person because he organized a fundraiser for the firemen. When this show was announced did anyone else think ten minutes of each episode would be dedicated to the bro best friend redeeming himself without punching a bad guy? Ollie’s mom has a somewhat better arc as she goes from being depressed about Walter’s recent disappearance at the hands of John Barrowman to ready to take his place at Queen Consolidated. While that sounds pretty neat, that entire arc consists of her lying in bed while walk in and tell her to get up so… Did anyone else think an additional 5 minutes of each episode would be dedicated to Green Arrow’s family complaining?
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5.) The Island
This episode’s Island sequence was a bit shorter than the rest. Ollie hides in the jungle after Deathstroke (who I honestly still cannot believe is a character here) kidnapped Arrow Classic. There’s a neat, yet short, scene where Ollie fights a soldier and they both fall off a waterfall. The soldier breaks his back and Ollie steals his uniform and a map of the island from him. Sure it wasn’t the most intriguing sequence but it served as a nice interlude to whatever’s next in store for Past Ollie.
Final thought: This was probably the best episode of Arrow yet. Some things may not have made much sense, but in the end Firefly was the most menacing villain this show has had and seeing Ollie get out of his funk was great to see.
Final Score: 8.5/10 – It’s a real shame Firefly was cancelled died, more episodes should be like this one.
