Arrow
Episode 14: The
Odyssey
Mini-Review
By: Carlos Uribe
Arrow
is a show about the Green Arrow, a vigilante who seeks justice. It is
based on the DC comic superhero Green Arrow.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
That
opening scene was awesome. Oliver has gone to question his mother as
the hood. What happens next is Moira uses her kids to beg for her
life. This convinces Oliver that his mother isn't a terrible person
and he lays his guard down. This allows Moira to get a gun out and
shoot him. He does take a bullet but he's able to escape before
security can show up. He enlists the help of Felicity to take him
back to his secret base so that Diggle can save his life. He blacks
out for the rest of the episode as they try to remove the bullet and
stabilize him. There's a lot of parts where the show tries to create
tension by pretending that he might die. It doesn't really work
because this isn't the kind of show that's actually going to kill
it's main character. It was also unnecessary since the flashbacks had
enough tension to drive the narrative. At the end, Oliver is able to
wake up and start his recovery. Felicity has temporarily joined the
group because she wants to help them rescue Walter. She's not
convinced about their crusade but she wants to help her former boss.
Oliver has decided that his mom is no longer a suspect since they're
not sure she's involved and because she used her kids to beg for her
life. That's basically all the plot development in the present day we
get this episode: Oliver gets shot but he decides to stop treating
his mother as a hostile. This is a plot decision that makes sense
since it reverts the plot to the status quo but it's a disappointing
one. At least it made actual sense rather than forcing the decision
on the character for the sake of the plot. So not a lot actually
happened but this episode concentrates on the past. It makes sense
that having the main character be blacked out would be a perfect
excuse for the episode to concentrate on developing the flashback
plot.
I
haven't really paid that much attention to the island flashbacks
recently because the developments have been moving too fast but only
over a few scenes. We had learned that Yao Fei has joined the
mercenary group but he keeps looking out for Oliver. Oliver was sent
to an airstrip where he discovered a man named Slade. This man
provided Oliver with the opportunity to leave the island by taking
over an airfield. This episode basically picks on that plot thread.
Slade tries his best to prepare Oliver before they have to go on the
mission. The tension in this flashback works for a simple reason.
It's obvious that Oliver isn't going to die because he's alive in the
future. His survival isn't what's at stake here. What is at stake is
the possibility of him leaving the island. We knew from his off-hand
comment to Diggle that he might not have spent the five years on the
island. This opens up the possibility that he might actually get off
the island at some point. This possibility means that the two might
actually be able succeed in his mission and leave the island. This
doesn't happen because Slade reveals his plans to firebomb the island
to defeat the mercenaries. Since that would involve killing Yao Fei,
Oliver decides to try and warn him. This basically results in the two
missing the plane and getting stuck on an island. Oh, did I mention
that in Oliver warning Yao Fei, they managed to piss off the
mercenaries? They're life is now in danger but there is one
difference. Oliver was able to prove that he's picking up skills when
he takes out a guard and aims a gun at the mercenary boss. They might
just have a chance to defeat these mercenaries. The real question is
what they're doing on the island. They clearly have a nefarious plan
because somebody is paying them for their mission.
The
Odyssey was a pretty exciting episode of Arrow. The flashback plot
dominated the episode and it kept me engaged. While I was always
interested in what happened over the five year period that Oliver
spent on the island, this is the first time where I'm finding what
happened to be truly engaging. Seeing the character be forced to
transform from a selfish playboy billionaire into a cold soldier is
turning to be one of the most compelling elements of the show. The
decision for Oliver to not treat his mother as a suspect is a
disappointing one but it makes sense and is actually justified
through the episode. Overall, a solid entry.
Other Notes:
The
actual conversations between Diggle and Felicity was some of the best
work this show has done in regards to developing characters. Diggle's
story about the warlord helped justify what he's doing helping Oliver
while we got closer to understanding the awesomness that is Felicity.
Arrow
has been renewed for a second season. I'm happy with this news. The
show isn't where I would want it to be in terms of quality but it's a
fun show to watch. It's a bit difficult to review so there's a small
chance the second season won't be reviewed.
Felicity
is a recurring character this season but the actress playing her will
be promoted for the second season. That's pretty amazing news.
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