By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg
The Story: The Arrow that saved Christmas.
The Review: You should know that I’m a total sap for Christmas, which makes me and people like me something of an oddity in a world where people mostly see the cynical, materialistic, socially conditioned side of the holiday—but I don’t care. Even if you don’t celebrate it, you have to appreciate that Christmas, in its purest form, is about finding ways to give and care for the ones you love, and that’s always a good thing in my book.
In the gritty confines of Arrow, it seems unusual, then, for the spirit of Christmas to rear its head, particularly from no other than the driven and hardened Oliver Queen. Who’d expect him to get so sappy about his dad’s old Christmas parties when he’s so focused on crushing corporate moguls? At any rate, Ollie’s eagerness to revive his family’s holiday tradition brings out a sweet, lovable side to him that’s in short supply these days, although when things don’t go the way he plans, his eagerness quickly turns into resentment.
This kind of unpredictable temperament reminds me how much I like Ollie’s character least on this whole show. Heck, I somehow even like Detective Lance better, even though he mostly serves as a catalyst for the plot rather than someone who actually drives the plot himself. Paul Blackthorne does have this perfectly calibrated blend of sneering gruffness and heart of gold, where he can be utterly convincing either in a rage or on the verge of tears.
For that reason, it feels credible, this developing alliance between the Hood (finally dubbed “Green Arrow” in this episode) and Lance. Deny it all he wants, but Lance has irrevocably sided with Ollie by sticking up for him amidst this copycat nonsense and lending him support on the investigatory side.
Speaking of that copycat, the reveal of his true identity is rather well done. It surprises you, but then when you reflect on some of the details of episode seven, it makes a lot of sense. The best thing about this rival archer is that he pushes Ollie to take his mission personally, rather than just an obligation. It’s been pretty difficult to get invested in the criminal elements of the show, since the writers have done a poor job making it seem truly important or urgent. Actually, I still feel that way. Even though Moira and Malcolm hint at some devastating step of their plan to remake the city in six months, it just seems distant and unthreatening, since you haven’t actually seen any real horrors their secret group has inflicted on their metropolis.
Since this is a Christmas episode, surely there’s got to be a merry ending in there somewhere, right? And while you do get one, it feels mostly unearned, considering how none of the conflicts among the Queen family have really been tied up and especially considering one of the major betrayals one of them inflicts on another. The show does take a step in normalizing relations among the Queens: basically, they’ll have to accept the weirdness plaguing each of them and try not to ask too many questions. That seems to fit the general tone of the series.
Conclusion: Although uneven and somewhat bland, the episode does manage to redeem itself with a few bright points. Call it Christmas magic.
Grade: B-
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – While having lunch with Ollie in a diner, Thea muses, “I think there should be a national holiday for the guy who invented French fries. Or at least a statue or something.” I wholeheartedly agree and it should begin at once and we are all scoundrels for not doing it sooner. There’s a statute of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Surely the man—or woman, you never know—who invented the most brilliant way of treating a potato ever deserves as much honor as the man who oversaw the creation of the most merciless and devastating ways to make war.
– You gotta love the Windows 8 product placement ads. I’m sure Arrow’s several million viewers will be ready to jump on board after seeing Felicity fiddle with that OS so often.
– After plying Felicity for information, Ollie, as an afterthought, wishes her a merry Christmas.
“I’m Jewish.” Oh, Felicity—please never stop making things awkward.
Grade
Conclusion