We encounter the Earthquake Device, an Al Ghul and the Clock King in our latest verdicts on Arrow!Over in the United States, tomorrow will see the broadcast of The Promise, the fifteenth episode of Arrow Season Two, and an instalment that could potentially shake up the series' status quo more dramatically than ever before. Today, then, it's only fitting that we recap the three most recently-aired episodes of The CW's superhero drama and provide our definitive verdicts on each of them.
Read on below to discover our thoughts and conclusions on Episodes 12-14, i.e. Tremors, Heir to the Demon and Time of Death:
- TREMORS (3/5)- As any fan can probably tell immediately from reading its title, the mediocre Episode 12 wraps up a seemingly unresolved plot thread from Season One in the shape of Malcolm Merlyn's earthquake device (this narrative element marking yet another area in which the series bears an uncanny resemblance to Batman Begins). John Barrowman's Merlyn is once again strangely absent from proceedings, and this reviewer can't help but think that his presence might have elevated what is often an inconsequential forty-minutes or so of entertainment. All the same, the gradual development of Roy's ego and sense of responsibility in the wake of his Mirakuru-induced super powers is fascinating to witness, not to mention its resulting in the umpteenth character to learn the truth behind the Arrow's day-to-day identity. Tremors may leave us wanting in terms of progress on the Season Two arc front, yet it still achieves its goal of laying the foundations for an altered character dynamic between the Queens and the Lances, as well as ensuring that Arrow won't be suffering from deja vu regarding the Undertaking, with the device that caused the tragic event in Season One's climactic instalments having been blown to smithereens here.
- HEIR TO THE DEMON (5/5)- Selecting the little-known Nyssa Al Ghul as the first physical manifestation of Ra's' influence upon events in Starling City is perhaps the riskiest move the Arrow team have attempted yet, but it pays off in full force from the get-go. Not only is Nyssa's introduction in the pre-titles sequence one of the most enthralling condensed action setpieces in the show's history, it instantly sets the tone for an episode which represents a series game-changer in more ways than one. Foremost of the changes at hand is the apparently permanent return of Sara Lance and her semi-super alter-ego the Black Canary into Oliver's life, a development which is sure to have powerful emotive ramifications down the line (as evidenced in Time of Death- more on that in a moment!) and emphasises once again the stark contrast between The CW's flexibility with their show's character ensemble and ABC's rigid maintenance of a stoic, oft-unsympathetic team of know-it-all's over on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD right now. As if all of that weren't enough, we even get another appearance from Doctor Who and E.R.'s Alex Kingston, whose ever-ambitious mother Dinah Lance has previously been criminally under-used in Season One episodes, but who now has more than a few moments in the spotlight to shine and dazzle as spectacularly as ever. The show's producers are already tipping The Promise to be on a par with or superior to last year's season finale, yet quite frankly, it's Heir to the Demon that they truly need to focus on matching and surpassing, since this masterpiece of an episode is quite possibly the greatest singular instalment of Arrow yet.
- TIME OF DEATH (4/5)- We all love a thrilling cliffhanger from time to time, and if nothing else, Time of Death fulfils that criterion is exemplary measure come its denouement. Indeed, the episode's structure seems fundamentally intended to complement the rug-sweeping moment which rounds off its narrative, such that at times it feels as if writers Wendy Mericle and Beth Schwartz placed so much of an emphasis upon that aforementioned twist that a few of the other central plot threads fall by the wayside during its final act. Kudos to Emily Bett Rickards, though, who plays the role of the similarly sidelined and neglected Felicity stunningly, matching Caity Lotz's refreshed performance as Sara with an emphatic vigour that's impossible to miss. New on the scene is the Clock King, a B-List DC adversary who seems set to stick around for the foreseeable future, and thankfully is afforded substantial personal depth as a character by Mericle, Schwartz and guest star Robert Knepper that allows him a degree of sympathy from the audience rather than the detached, pantomime-esque representation of some of the show's past villain-of-the-week constructs. Of course, it's the exhilarating scene in which Slade cunningly reveals his survival to Oliver through a chit-chat with Moira about her mayoral campaign that secures Episode 14 its success, the only flaw in the framework of such a revelation being that it forces the seven days until The Promise to seem akin to an eternity...
For all the latest news, reviews and previews of upcoming episodes of Arrow and other US dramas, keep it On-Screen in the weeks ahead!
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