"I Thought He Was Green"
The Hype
"The team tries to protect the city in the Arrow's absence and fear the worst may have befallen their friend. But Felicity refuses to believe Oliver could be dead, until Merlyn pays the team a surprise visit. Meanwhile, Ray tests a part of his new suit; and Laurel takes up the mantel of the Black Canary"
WARNING: Full Spoilers for episode 309 "The Climb" Follow
Last we saw Oliver Queen he was not in the best of situations, stabbed and thrown off a cliff, the Arrow is presumed dead. This could be a dramatic twist that rocks this new TV universe. However my money says this is a smart move to not only build suspense and have an excellent cliffhanger for a mid-season break but could also be a convenient way to put Oliver on the bench for a while so our budding new heroes The Atom, Wild Cat, and the new Black Canary have some breathing room. Arrow seems to be building towards a huge finale with Ra's Al Ghul and the slow burn method is defiantly working in it's favor.
Click Here to read The Flash 1x10 "Revenge of the Rogues" Review
The Review
I love when an episode jumps right into the action. This week we see how Team Arrow functions (or doesn't) without their titular member. With Oliver presumed dead we find diggle felicity and roy question weather to continue on without oliver as Thea searches for his brother and Malcolm Merlyn tries to cover his ass. It's expected to have a good amount of drama in an episode like this, but the action doesn't suffer, there certainly isn't a lot of it but everything that is done works extremely well.
We finally get to see (some) of The Atom suit in action. Ray Palmer doesn't have a big part this week but all his scenes are amazing and he's really showing off his talent. In fact, all of the performances were especially good this week. Arrow's characters have developed a certain charm and nuance that shows like The Flash have yet to achieve. Not that I want my predictions to be incorrect but i'm glad Arrow took Oliver's absence as an opportunity to let the supporting cast shine rather than launch new characters.
The Music was another thing that really improved this episode. Arrow has all the marks of a show that has really found it;s footing, and the confidence shows. The reveal of Oliver's body was a harrowing scene and the sequence overall was excellent. The villain this week, "Brick", had very little development but was cool none the less. His whole guns vs fists gave him a comic-booky element while still remaining grounded. Finally we have the on screen debut have Laurel Lance as the Black Canary. I feel that iv finally gotten over my reservations of laurel becoming a vigilante and although we only got a glimpse i'm far from disappointed.
The Verdict
8.0 Very Good