By: Ben Sokolowski & Beth Schwartz (story)
The Story: To Russia with love.
The Review: Almost every TV series, even the best ones, goes through the same pattern of growth, particularly during the early seasons. The first season is all about setting tone: the characters’ core personalities, the general dynamics among them, the style, pace, and purpose of the show. It’s usually the second season where things get exciting; with the basics out of the way, the writers can focus on having fun and expanding the bounds of the world they’ve created.
Arrow’s second season easily falls into this model as it steadily incorporates more and more elements from the comic book mythos which inspired the show. In addition to passing references to particle accelerators and WWII-era genetic experiments, the show has officially opened the revolving door of DC character appearances, this time allowing Amanda Waller to step through and be her usual coercive self.*
Even though the show uses Amanda as she’s often used, as a plot catalyst, it also instantly establishes her reach and control from the moment she icily informs Diggle, “I know how you and Oliver Queen spend your nights.” That line sets up a clash with A.R.G.U.S. down the line once Ollie starts rubbing shoulders with more of his crimefighting ilk and when that happens, Ollie won’t be pleased to discover Diggle concealed Amanda’s awareness of them all that time.
But those are concerns for another episode, perhaps in another season. For now, the team is occupied with rescuing Lyla, Diggle’s contact at A.R.G.U.S. and also, by the way—spoiler alert—his ex-wife. It’s not the most credible twist (brief, passionate tryst I can believe; not so much marriage), nor is it necessary to drive Diggle and his friends to take the risks they do here. Still, it does slightly heighten the stakes to an episode where there’s already a lot to lose.
The team’s mission in Russia coincidentally lands the same week Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had its own op in a Russia-esque country, which is a good opportunity to make some comparisons in execution. There’s never any doubt in either show that the operatives will make it out safely, with help from their friends. The way each episode plays out reveals the differences in the shows’ level of intimacy and resources. Felicity and Ollie gamely have Diggle’s back from the start, avoiding an obligatory test of loyalty, and their support has more risk and value, given their limited firepower. No one’s going to have a fully equipped warplane to bail them out if things go south, is all I’m saying.
As great a change of pace it is to have a truly Diggle-centric episode, where he leads the bulk of the action and emotional repercussions, the side-effects on Ollie are worth watching as well. At first, the injection of Isabel Rochev into the plot feels like one of those dreary logistical complications the team has to maneuver around, but midway through, Sokolowski-Schwartz manage to twist her inclusion into a longer-term storyline. True, an Isabel-Ollie-Felicity love triangle is hopelessly formulaic, but all three players at least have the maturity to acknowledge the contours of their relationships with each other. Ollie admits to Felicity that in terms of a lasting romance, she would be the preferable choice and she in turn makes her receptiveness very apparent. But that’s not what Ollie’s after right now, having recently rebuffed Dinah’s advances and parted ways (again) with Sarah. A hopeless fling with his also lonely and traumatized business partner sounds like just the ticket, especially since she’s the one pushing for it.
Actually, the show has this habit of playing to convention, then rehabilitating itself afterward. Isabel herself may start out the episode as your archetypical frosty executive, but she’s also astute and not unreasonably direct, which makes her one of Ollie’s more worthwhile conquests. Thea’s decision to break up with Roy to make her mother’s case more media-friendly could easily have been a pointless bit of teen melodrama, but Moira luckily swoops in at the end to nip that lame decision in the bud. And while Deadshot has been a disappointingly mundane killer in past appearances, he shows a faint glimmer of his Secret Six personality here, deftly and aggressively manipulating circumstances and people for his own survival.
Conclusion: Arrow episodes are a bit of a roller-coaster ride of credibility, regularly sinking to moments of utter convention before they confidently pull themselves out, pleasantly surprising you in the process.
Grade: B+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: * I must say, I’m a little disappointed that we get slim, post-relaunch Amanda instead of the chunky original.
– With Sarah out of the picture, the flashback material is once again untethered to the main thrust of the episode, but it does have the very interesting (dare I say, salacious) scene of Shado cuddling with Slade to comfort him in the throes of his very serious burn wounds.