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Five Thoughts on Arrow’s “The Return” [Review]

By | February 19th, 2015
Posted in Reviews | 4 Comments

This episode manages to combine my two least favorite aspects of Arrow: the island and the non-island flashbacks. Should we a wickedly fun hour of TV!

1. Oliver, you had one job…

…and that was to not tell Thea that she killed Sara. This has no benefit to anyone – literally, no one’s life is better now that she knows this. Thea’s life is ruined, if/when Quentin finds out, he won’t react very well, Oliver gets to see his sister go through serious mental trauma – is it that hard to lie to Thea? Does she sweat sodium pentothal or something? Oliver lies to everyone all the time – his whole fucking life is a lie, but he can’t lie here?

And look, I’m a guy who is all about honesty, but both in the lives of the characters in the story, and in the structure of the show, Ollie telling Thea makes no sense. That was the one kernel of information that was keeping Thea interesting – at this point, she hates Merlyn as much as Ollie does (boring), she feels guilt for what she’s done, like Ollie does (boring), and she will likely now let her day job suffer to be a vigilante, like Ollie does (boring).

I’m not saying that Verdant would necessarily my hang out choice if I lived in Starling, but with DJ Dip Shit off the schedule, will the so-on-the-nose-it-is-practically-a-booger green lighting be enough to bring in new patrons?

2. So, Season 2 sort of feels silly now, right?

Throughout all of season 2, we are led to believe that Slade Wilson is a beast that, even without mirakuru (there’s a word I haven’t typed since 2014!), he would still pose a serious threat to whoever he was facing. Flash forward to season 3, Slade is back, and the biggest obstacle Oliver has to defeating him is…a booby trap he, himself, installed there 5 years ago, when his island routine went from “survival” to “fucking with future visitors?”

I know that Slade always winning was frustrating last season, but it showed what a great nemesis he was/is for Ollie. Having him pop up here, dressed like a draft dodger looking to avoid Hanoi, didn’t show how much Ollie has grown since Slade left, or how adept Thea now is at combat, nor did it even show how Slade’s time in prison dulled his senses. All it showed was that, with a few lazy writing moves, an entire season can be cast in an incorrect light.

Season 2 represents the peak of the show’s powers – embrace what made that work, rather than shit all over it for a one episode diversion.

3. Two notes on two beautiful people

Ever notice that Colin “Tommy Merlin” Donnell looks like a young Jon Hamm? Maybe they can get him for Better Enlist, Dick!, the new AMC spinoff to Mad Men.

Felicity was on screen for about 10 seconds, delivering what must be some of the dumbest dialogue she’s ever had on the show, and she still stole my heart. DAMN YOU SMOAK!

4. Starling City, 2010

Things I learned about Starling City in 2010 from watching tonight’s Arrow:

– A hood really did cause face blindness, unless you’re a stoned out drug dealer who has never met the person in question

– People were really into just saying their feelings, out of context and apropos of nothing, to people who aren’t really important to them

– Tommy Merlyn just sort of lurked around the graveyards and alleyways of his city a whole lot

– Quentin Lance’s hairline was glorious

– People were really into the “we want hair that looks like a wig” thing

– Some key actors from Arrow‘s past had no interest in a cameo celebrating this forgotten year in Starling’s history

5. Will Quentin Lance be season four’s big bad?

This episode was pretty much as low stakes as you can get on this show, but the scenes with Laurel and Quentin provided some interesting moments, namely the idea that, to Quentin, Laurel being the Canary is an almost unforgivable sin. To him, Laurel choosing vigilantism is akin to her playing chicken with a train, and Quentin already lost one daughter to that game. There was some real emotion, and some real depth of character that was show for the elder Lance here.

It also sets up a situation where he gets selfish, and decides that Starling doesn’t need vigilantes as much as he needs Laurel. And yes, that would be a redux of Season One, but with Quentin’s knowledge of the Arrow gang today, he might actually be able to stop them.

Let me what what else you loved about Starling in 2010 in the comments!


//TAGS | Arrow

Brian Salvatore

Brian Salvatore is an editor, podcaster, reviewer, writer at large, and general task master at Multiversity. When not writing, he can be found playing music, hanging out with his kids, or playing music with his kids. He also has a dog named Lola, a rowboat, and once met Jimmy Carter. Feel free to email him about good beer, the New York Mets, or the best way to make Chicken Parmagiana (add a thin slice of prosciutto under the cheese).

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