Star City continues to be under siege. This time it’s not a metahuman attack or even The Ghosts but corrupt members of the Star City Police Department, taking advantage of the chaos and disorder. Oliver and Team Arrow are trying to save the city from within, as Oliver announces his candidacy for Mayor.
The Positive
Star City is crumbling, and a corrupt group of cops are taking advantage of the chaos. I like that the villains this time around were not another supervillain or metahuman that Team Arrow has to deal with, but rather a symbol of the corruption and decay that has taken root in the city. This balances well against the story of Oliver running for Mayor as we see just how bad things have gotten in Star City. In the previous episodes, we have been told that things are bad, but we never quite saw it, only the brief scene in the first episode when Oliver returns to Star City.
This episode had some great emotional moments, some secrets got revealed and some hard truths had to be faced.
Captain Lance has several emotional scenes with Laurel as she reveals what happened to Sara. Lance seems to be on the same page as everyone else in thinking that this was a terrible idea, but Laurel seems to be convinced Sara is still in there.
The truth about Lance and Damien Darhk comes to light. I still don’t fully buy the fact that Lance would team up with him, but he does his best to convince Oliver and us that he didn’t know who Darhk really was at first. We see here just how much Oliver has changed, it’s not so much that he is angry with Lance, more disappointed in Lance.
Felicity and Curtis finally got some good scenes together. I don’t know why he hasn’t been working for me in the past, but I think he finally got some good material to work with.
The Negative
I’ve been enjoying the flashbacks so far, but it’s hard to tell where they are going with it. In previous seasons, we had an idea of what Oliver was doing there, but other than putting him back on the island I’m not sure what they are trying to accomplish here.
We get a new Arrow-cave (or Quiver if you will) but it is plagued with electrical and computer problems. With how fancy the building looks, it’s hard to tell if this is a piece of some larger mystery or if it’s just shoddy workmanship.
The Verdict
Everyone involved with this episode really seemed to step up and deliver. The actors delivered some strong performances and really brought a strong emphasis on character. It feels like the creators have a much clearer idea of where the story is going than they did last season, although the flashbacks seem to lack a clear direction.
