"When Can I Start?"
The Hype
Arrow has had a strong start i it's third season, but it has a lot yet to accomplish, the series dynamics have changed a lot ad we have may unanswered questions, last week episode was a little slow (but not in a bad way) so lets expect some more action and a faster pace.
The Review
This weeks episode has a pretty straightforward set up, Oliver is going to get his sister. Thea Queen has been out of the picture for 5 months (3 episodes) and I wouldn't say that the series was hurting without her, but i'm very glad to see her return. It turns out shes spent her time in South America being trained by Macolm Merlyn her estranged father and our big bad from of season 1. I never thought Merlyn would have made it this far in the series, I expected his appearance in the season one finale to be his last, but i'm glad he stuck around and i'm sure he'll make for some intense scenes later on.
We don't get a whole lot of it, but the action continues to be top notch this season, and with yet some more creative and cool arrows. We finally get introduced to the gentlemen who will go on to become Wild Cat, unfortunately the scene wasn't for him but for Laurel to get introduced into the fighting world and have someone to train her when Oliver inevitably shoots her down.
It was great to get some background on Thea's time in South America. The scene reuniting her and Roy was extremely well done and satisfying on all counts. Not only am I glad to see Thea back as part of the series, but her new tough and mature persona is very refreshing and I think is going to work great in the show overall. Laurel finally embraces her vigilante side and goes out for some good old fashion street justice. This, for good reason, doesn't go her way, sending laurel bruised and beaten to Starling General. I expressed earlier my concern with every character becoming a well trained vigilante, and although i'm still not too keen on Laurel becoming the Black Canary, but I love how the show is tackling it so far.
The acting this week is excellent all around, especially compared to previous episodes. Ray Palmer continues to be an asset to the series, and him discovering these advanced technologies blue prints may be leading up to his origin as The Atom. The strain on the Lance family is really emphasize this week. Laurel seeing her sister die, seeing her father in a hospital bed and in turn ending up in the same place.
The Verdict
Arrow is keeping up a great momentum as we delve deeper into the third season.
7.5/10
7.5/10