Arrow: Episodes 21-23 Review Roundup

Our catch up reviews of the final three episodes of Arrow's first season!
When On-Screen returns proper on June 19th, we'll be bringing you a lot of reviews of releases you may have missed during this intense revision and exam period. For now, though, we're going to kick preliminary proceedings off by bringing you up to speed with our definitive verdicts on the final three episodes of Arrow Season One. Without further ado, then, here are our three reviews:

• THE UNDERTAKING (4.5/5)- This third-to-last episode blended the current story arc of the show involving the mysterious Undertaking with some effective flashbacks to recent conversations between Oliver's dad and Malcolm Merlyn before the former father figure's demise. John Barrowman in particular was on top form here, bringing across with venemous realism the retribution of a man whose life has been filled with painful regret. There was a genuine sense of direct pacing and anticipation mounting massively for the finale here, which is about as strong an accolade as The Undertaking ever needed.
• DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (4/5)- Whereas the previous episode very effectively mounted tension for the dark days ahead, Darkness perhaps stumbled a little in treading water until the final outing of this season. All the same, while the island flashbacks were needlessly distracting and the progression of the Oliver-Laurel-Tommy love triangle was handled in a manner a little too akin to a soap opera, there were nevertheless enough intriguing developments here to still gain our interest for the action-packed finale ahead.
• SACRIFICE (4.5/5)- And what a finale Sacrifice was. Despite a somewhat too open overall 'ending' (i.e. a massive cliffhanger, perhaps too open-ended), this climactic episode was brimming with pure action and emotion, managing to pay off the loyalty of long-term fans while also still appealing to the interests of relative newcomers to the show. Arrow is clearly on a high at this point in time, and it only remains to be seen with Tommy's death just where the action will head next season!

Arrow Season Two will commence broadcasting on Sky1 this Autumn, and you can be sure already that we'll be bringing you, dear reader, reviews of all the latest episodes in the future.