The latest half of season 3 of Arrow has been one whirlwind of awesome to the next. Oliver’s back from the dead, Laurel is officially Black Canary, and Ray Palmer is only a few steps away from perfecting his A.T.O.M. suit. Can it get any crazier? Sure!

In the fashion of how Sarah Munson recapped most of theAgent Carter episodes, I’m going to recap the latest three Arrow episodes to prepare for the show’s second return this season (it’s currently on a few weeks break and will return March 18th). As Sarah stated: I’ve only seen each episode once, so don’t call your local city vigilante to tell me “I’ve failed this fandom.” And I’ll be lightly recapping each—spotlighting the most important parts.

Episode 13: Canaries

Air date: 2.11.15, The CW

photo from Arrow's Official Facebook page

Oliver has just returned to Star(ling?) City and has learned about Laurel taking up the mantle of Black Canary. He’s not happy. Diggle and the other team members support Laurel since she was around to help the city during Oliver’s absence.

Malcolm Meryln tells Oliver he thinks the only way to truly defeat Ra’s Al Guld is for Thea to join them in training—that way they can work together to take down the ancient master. Oliver knows this must mean he has to tell Thea about his work as the Hood/Arrow (still don’t know what they call him now). Her initial reaction is wonderstruck. She’s amazed that her brother had been the one to help so many people out.

However, at the same time, Zytle—known as Vertigo and the man behind the hallucination-inducing drug—escapes from prison and begins to set up his work once again. Laurel as Black Canary decides to take him on—only to get affected by the drug. When the hallucinations start, she sees Sara in full Canary gear taunting her. She fails and is only saved when Arrow and Arsenal (Roy for anybody wondering) arrive. Zytle escapes.

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

After Laurel is tended to and the drug wears off, she faces her fear by talking to Felicity. She fears she cannot live up to her sister’s legacy, but Felicity encourages her to find another reason for being Black Canary. Sara had more than one reason to wear a mask; Laurel should find a deeper reason for doing so as well. (Yay for Felicity! Yay for Woman Talk! Yay for strong female relationships in a TV show!)

Thea and her DJ, Chase, has an intimate moment (aka they sleep together. Come on, Thea!), but right after, Thea realizes he aims to drug her. She fights him off, but Chase is a better fighter than she anticipated. Roy—Arsenal—breaks down the door to come to her rescue, but it isn’t until Merlyn arrives that Chase is pinned down. But the two-timer takes poison and dies before they can question him. (well, that escalated quickly)

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

Finally, Oliver and Laurel narrow down where Zytle has retreated to. They release hostages he has taken, but Laurel is infected with Vertigo once more. She fights against the hallucinations of her sister and wins by beating Zytle senselessly. After finding approval with Oliver, Laurel tells her father about Sara’s death.

In the flashbacks, more happens between Oliver, Maseo, and Amanda Waller. Oliver tries to contact his family, but his caught and questioned by ARGUS about Maseo’s location. After a lot of torture and threats against his sister, Oliver reveals the location, only to find Maseo lied in case. However, Maseo is caught and Waller sends Oliver and Maseo to hunt down China White… In Starling City. (duh-duh-DUN!)

Episode 14: The Return

Air date: 2.18.15, The CW

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

As part of their training, Malcolm Merlyn demands Oliver and Thea face one of Oliver’s biggest fears: the Island (Lian Yu). So the two head to the island, only to find out that a prisoner on the island (via ARGUS) has escaped. It’s none other than: Slade Wilson (You remember: the deep voiced, scruffy-looking, terrible man that has a death wish against Oliver and killed his mother as well as kidnapped Felicity. Aka Deathstroke. Yeah, that guy.)

Once Oliver learns of Slade’s escape, he immediately goes into protective mode over Thea. But they are captured by Slade and end up in Slade’s empty prison cell. After a lot of discussing and fiddling, they find a way to escape.

Eventually, Oliver reveals to Thea that she killed Sara—by Merlyn’s crafted plan. Slade returns and the three fight it out. Thea ends up with a gun pointed at Slade and debates about pulling the trigger. Slade taunts her and Oliver tries to convince her this is not the way to get justice for their mother’s death. The scene goes black and there’s a single gunshot.

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

However, Thea does not kill Slade. She only shoots him to wound him so they can return him to the locked prison cell. Thinking they have completed their mission, Thea and Oliver return home.

Merlyn arrives to talk—and Thea confronts him about Sara’s death. She announces she will do what she must to fight Ra’s but she will never consider herself Merlyn’s daughter again.

In the flashback, Oliver returns—undercover—to Starling City with Maseo. They track down China White, who is selling half of the Alpha/Omega drug to the highest bidder. In the meantime, Oliver checks in on his family and friends—especially Thea. She’s buying drugs and attending adult parties. Tommy Merlyn (Oliver’s best friend who died at the end of season one) and Laurel make appearances in the flashback—much to Oliver’s pain. After Thea buys more drugs, Oliver follows the drug dealer and demands he stop contacting her. The drug dealer realizes he’s Oliver Queen—who is supposed to be dead—and Oliver kills him. Maseo finds Oliver and they complete their mission with China White.

At the end of the flashback, Oliver finds a video from his father that explains the list of names in the book he gave him and encourages Oliver to save his city.

Episode 15: Nanda Parbat

Air date: 2.25.15, The CW

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

Nyssa (Ra’s Al Guld’s daughter) learns that Oliver is alive and demands Ra’s do something about it; instead, he simply tells her Oliver is not Sara’s killer. But Nyssa still demands payment in death for Oliver’s combat against Ra’s.

Thea confesses to Laurel that she murdered Sara. Laurel insists Thea had no control over the situation and conveniently doesn’t blame her. Instead, the two make plans to hand Malcom Merlyn over to Ra’s and Nyssa. When Oliver finds out, he is furious (again) at both of them. They need Merlyn to defeat Ra’s. In addition, he is convinced Thea will live to regret sending her father to his death—guilt she will never overcome (and he would know since he still feels overwhelming guilt about his own parents’ deaths).

Oliver chases after Nyssa and Merlyn—only to be distracted by Nyssa. Merlyn is taken away from the League of Assassins but Oliver defeats Nyssa and takes her hostage. He learns of Merlyn’s location—Nanda Parbat—from Nyssa and is determined to rescue Merlyn from Ra’s clutches. Diggle joins him on this quest.

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

Meanwhile, Felicity visits the MIA Ray Palmer (yeah, I was starting to wonder why he didn’t appear in previous episodes. Looks like it wasn’t just a random mistake). He’s been hiding out in his lab trying to perfect his A.T.O.M. suit. She hacks his computer database and changes his password in order to have leverage to get him to eat a proper meal, take a shower (and shave), and get adequate sleep. He agrees.

Oliver and Diggle arrive at Nanda Parbat and find Merlyn held over a death trap. He tries to warn them of this being a setup but Oliver and Diggle are captured before they can get out. While in chains, Oliver comes clean to Diggle that he wanted to release Merlyn not only for Thea’s sake but his own. He didn’t like that Ra’s beat him.

Photo from the CW'S Arrow photo gallery albums

Back in Starling City, Thea is remorseful over the thought of her killing Sara. Roy tries to comfort her by telling her about the police officer he killed while under the influence of Mirakuru. Thea then visits the caged Nyssa in the Arrow cave (bunker? Hideout?) and reveals to her that she was Sara’s killer. She proceeds to unlock Nyssa’s prison cell and hand her a sword, telling her to get revenge on Sara’s killer.

After Ray Palmer showers, naps, and eats a hearty meal, he and Felicity end up in bed together (come, ON! Whyyy?) But since he did what she asked, Felicity has given him the password. And Ray slips out of bed while Felicity sleeps and finishes his work on the A.T.O.M suit. He goes for a test flight.

(via tumblr) 

Ra’s confronts Oliver and Diggle and Oliver pleads for Diggle’s life. But Ra’s doesn’t want to kill Oliver; he wants Oliver to take over as leader of the League of Assassins. He want Oliver to be the next “Ra’s Al Guld.”

End episode.

Whaaat? 

My reaction precisely. If anything about this season is true, it’s that one plot twist after another has been thrown at me. I was freaking out when Sara was killed, when Ray Palmer arrived, when Oliver teamed up with Barry Allen, and when Oliver was stabbed and kicked off a cliff. I was screaming with joy when Laurel became Black Canary, when Oliver came back to life, and when Oliver finally revealed the truth to Thea. And now this? Leader of the League of Assassins?

What will Oliver choose (and does he really have a choice)?

Arrow returns March 18^th. Until then, we can only eagerly await for Oliver’s response and the rest of Season 3 of Arrow.

Also there’s a possibility the CW might be starting a spinoff superhero TV show to crossover with both Arrow and the Flash. It’ll take side heroes and villains—such as Ray Palmer, Sara Lance, Firestorm, and Captain Cold—and create all new story lines with them. They’ve also hinted at introducing new heroes that have never been seen on (live-action?) TV before! Check out more here. 

-Jaime

It’s no surprise that Oliver Queen is a ladies’ man. He’s tall, handsome, has lots of money, and you just can’t resist that big smile. Every time a new gorgeous gal shows up, it isn’t long before we witness her and Oliver giving each other google-eyes, then kissing, and possibly… more.

Despite his charms, good looks, and all around ability to swoon every female in the vicinity, he hasn’t had any luck with real romance. I’m talking about the whole “true love” and committed to a relationship for good kind of romance. He’s more of a on the run, let’s have a fling guy, but I have hopes (high, high, hopes) that there’s a chance Oliver Queen might find real romance someday.

Of course, he’s not necessarily considered the most loyal of men either. Since Arrow first started back in 2012, Oliver Queen has had (drum roll please!) eight love interests! Eight! And not all—if any—have turned out well. Among the eight, three are dead, one is in jail, another is paralyzed, and a third isn't mentioned (she’s not even given a name in the show).

That leaves just two with potential for a real romance. Laurel Lance and Felicity Smoak.

Laurel is his ex-girlfriend. They have a loooonng history. They dated before he was shipwrecked on the island for (sort of) five years. He also happened to cheat on her with her sister before the shipwreck. Aka: not cool, dude (but remember, that Oliver Queen was much, much different than the Oliver Queen that dons the green hood and awesome bows).


After Oliver’s grand return, they tried to work things out. But it didn’t stick. Laurel couldn’t trust Oliver, Tommy Merlyn—a mutual friend for both—was around to pick up Laurel’s broken heart, and Oliver also came to the point that being the Hood (aka the old name for the Arrow) took up too much time and kept those he loved in danger. It was sort of a mutual parting, I would say.

Now the two remain friends and work together at times to fight crime in Star City. But the future of their relationship remains… unseen.

In the comics, it’s canon that Oliver and Laurel get married. With only two more seasons of Arrow left (at least from what has been projected, five seasons for five years of Oliver’s absence), it’s hard to see them working it out again. It isn’t too far-fetched though when you think about how easy it was for Clark and Lois to get together in Smallville (especially with the capabilities of “epilogues”). I think Laurel and Oliver could learn to love and trust each other. It’ll take time though, and the events of recent in the show haven’t proven to make that easier.

Which brings me to our second lady in Oliver’s life: Felicity Smoak.

Despite that Felicity was only supposed to appear once or twice (before she was given an actual character on the show), most fans (???) are just as in love with Felicity as Oliver appears to be (aka a lot, like starry eyed, can’t speak to her, awkward fidgeting, etc.). She’s the relatable character to many fangirls. She’s a little nerdy, a little awkward, and a whole lot of cute. She’s smart and pretty much keeps Oliver and boys in check.

Which is why—do I hear the bells?—they’d be perfect for each other (if Oliver would stop being so stiff and worried about danger!). Felicity balances Oliver out with her down-to-earth personality, her caution, and her kindness. She’s what Oliver needs to not only keep going with his crime fighting business, but also to get through each day that ends up being harder than the next.


As a friend of mine said, their relationship should be dubbed “OTP: there was no other choice.” Because after spending a few moments with these two goobers, you can’t help but feel the tension radiating in the room. And even Stephen Amell (who plays Oliver Queen) has confessed to being a "Olicity" shipper himself (if not the biggest shipper aka "Captain Olicity").

Of course, it can’t be that simple. Especially when Mr. tall, dark, and handsome fancy pants, billionaire Ray Palmer arrives and tries to sweep Felicity off her feet (URGHADHFAHFdasf I am not happy about him!!!). Their relationship works—to a point. I still sense she has some feelings for Oliver (especially with that mid-season finale conversation and the looks in their eyes). But right now, it’s all up in the air of what will happen. (Spoilers!!!)

Again, just like Laurel + Oliver = ???, I think Felicity + Oliver = ??? There are hints—have been hints—for the past two seasons about something more in their relationship. They went on a date, he practically declared his love for her twice now (okay, the first time was a ploy to trick Slade Wilson), and in the midst of terrible, heart-breaking news, Felicity believed in Oliver. How can they not end up together? Alas, my shipper’s heart cannot be satisfied yet.

The future remains unseen for Oliver and Romance. It’s safe to say a number of his old love interests probably won’t be back for seconds or thirds. I think we’ve come to the point that there’s only two options for Oliver: Laurel or Felicity.

I adore Felicity and want to sail this ship past shipwrecked waters, but a part of me thinks I would be okay with the canon of Laurel and Oliver (provided he doesn’t kill her himself when he finds out about her being the Black Canary). I just want Oliver to have a chance at real romance and not to witness anybody else he loves die. I don’t think the man can take much more!

-Jaime

What about you? Do you have a particular lady in mind for Oliver Queen? Are you on board the Olicity ship? Or are you set in that Oliver and Laurel have to end up together?

Arrow's "Left Behind" Recap

Mid-Season Premiere

The CW 1.21.15

Spoilers

Last time I recapped Arrow, there was major fangirling happening and figurative heart-clenching and fangirl-dying (you can read my reaction to the  mid-season finale here). After all, it isn't every day that the main character of a TV show ends up dead. Yes, that's right, Oliver Queen is dead and my recap will prove it.

The episode picks up a few days after Oliver Queen disappears to fight Ra's Al Guld. The Arrow team is trying to make up for the lack of Oliver around by fighting crime on their own (Roy takes over as supreme archer and Diggle dons the green hood to keep the presence of the Hood/Arrow [what's his name now?] intact). However, it's been too many days without word from Oliver--and some of the team are suspecting the worst.

Felicity holds that Oliver is alive. He can't be dead. He has to be alive. But after a few meet-ups (or intrusions, whichever you prefer) from Malcolm Merlyn, the truth is revealed: Oliver Queen is dead. And apparently, so is the Arrow because without Oliver they cannot keep saving the city.

In the meantime, Ray Palmer is starting his tests of the A.T.O.M. suit, despite Felicity's warnings of danger (if you want more about A.T.O.M. see the previous Arrow recap).After a few failed attempts at making progress, he tries to get her help with configuring the suit, but after much debate and the news of Oliver, Felicity refuses and walks away from Ray Palmer (I want to scream and shout but it was a very heartbreaking moment. Poor Felicity).

 And a new crime boss--named Brick--appears with one intent: to take over the Glades. He plans to do so by getting convicted men out of jail by getting rid of evidence and witnesses. Laurel tries to stop the criminals from inside the court room, but with the lack of evidence, her hands are tied. Instead comes the moment I (and probably others) have been waiting for since they first revealed the Canary suit: Laurel takes to the streets as Black Canary. And she's awesome for her five second moment.

~pause to gush about Black Canary~

Black Canary is often paired with Green Arrow in the comics (they do have a romantic thing in the comics as well as the show, but in the comics they actually get married, which right now is doubtful for the show but not totally out of the question). She's this super agile martial artists (supposedly able to defeat Batman. I know, right?) with the ability to create sonic vibrations--or a canary cry. I don't believe Laurel Lance has this super-human ability, but she does have some kind of sonic sound device she uses in the first revealing of her.

There's different versions of Black Canary in the comics as well. The first Black Canary is actually Laurel's mother, which was not shown in the show. Instead, Canary was Sarah Lance, Laurel's sister, which probably prompted Laurel to take on the mantel after Sarah's death. The second Black Canary in the comics is Laurel. (I can clearly see why they changed it for the show)

Basically, she's cool and fights crime as well as looks awesome in her suit. Plus, I'm excited to see Laurel not just be an annoying ex-girlfriend of Oliver.

~resume narration of the episode~

The only time we actually see Oliver is in flashbacks to his time in Hong Kong. He's on mission to get rid of the other half of the Omega drug, named Alpha. In the process, Maseo wishes to save his wife, but Amanda Waller refuses. But it is revealed later that Oliver spared a man's life in order to plant a GPS tracker so the man would lead him and Maseo back to Maseo's wife, Tatsu. Maseo claims that if they succeed in finding Tatsu, he will "be forever in [Oliver's] debt."

We also see, during random in-between scene moments, a man clad in black dragging Oliver's cold corpse through a snowy forested mountain (most of it was revealed in the promo trailer for the mid-season premiere). At the end of the episode, it's revealed that the mysterious man is in fact Maseo and he brought Oliver's body to a secret cave place thing. In the secret cave is Tatsu. Oliver wakes up and Maseo claims he brought Oliver there so Tatsu could "bring [Oliver] back to life."

Okay, I totally know this looks like the Lazarus Pit idea, but this picture
just look so freaking cool! I had to include it. :)

Of course, I knew Oliver couldn't be dead permanently. He's the main character in season three of supposedly five seasons (one for every year Oliver was presumed dead). And I wasn't convinced that A.T.O.M. or Black Canary would end up taking over as the lead of the show. This is Oliver Queen's show, he'll live.

But other than that, they didn't explain how he came back (probably to be revealed in the coming episodes, one of which will be aired by the time you read this). People immediately thought it would have to do with the Lazarus Pit because of Ra's Al Guld. However, Stephen Amell and the writers of the show have claimed that Oliver does not come back to life via the Lazarus Pit.

So how did Tatsu bring Oliver back to life? (and how many  more times is Oliver going to "die" before this series is ended?)

Will Laurel be able to pull of Black Canary? And when Oliver returns, what will he have to say about the new Black Canary?

And without Felicity's help with Ray Palmer succeed with his A.T.O.M. project? (My guess is yes, but finger crossed that his plans for the A.T.O.M. suit are completely different from what actually happens after his experimentation.)

We'll find out soon enough.

-Jaime

Arrow's "The Climb" Recap

Mid-season finale

The CW 12.10.14

Spoilers!!

My initial reaction:

*coughs*

Let’s begin with a short synopsis: 

The League of Assassins demand Oliver find Sarah’s killer or they will start punishing Starling City by killing citizens. Evidence leads Oliver to a trial by combat against Ra’s Al Guld.

Onward to the episode:

The episode starts with a glimpse of Oliver climbing a mountain. I assumed this was the flashbacks from his time training in China, but I was wrong. More on that later.

Present time: Oliver gets attacked in an alley by a dark archer and assumes its Malcom Merlyn, only to find out it’s Nyssa al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. He gets knocked out by them (seriously Ollie, how could you let that happen?) and they talk (blah blah blah) about finding Sarah’s killer. Ra’s doesn't have any patience and threatens to kill people in Starling City until the real murderer comes forward. A hood is unveiled of one of Nyssa’s henchmen and ta-da! it’s Maseo, the Japanese guy Oliver stayed with when he was in China (instead of the island). Of course, it’s all confusing and complicated like that.

Laurel ends up telling Thea that Sarah is dead.

Oh and mister tall, dark and handsome, Ray Palmer, arrives to bother Felicity. GET out! Sorry. Okay. Ray and Felicity have a tense conversation about an unexpected kiss that shouldn't have ever happened… and I mean ever.

The team has a super-secret discussion in the arrow cave/bunker… to find Sarah’s killer. Oliver tells them about Ra’s deadline. Felicity jumps right on to her research.

Felicity does some super awesome science stuff to get DNA off the arrow that killed Sarah and the results are in: It’s OLIVER!

WAIT WHAT?!

No! How!?

Oliver immediately assumes Malcom Merlyn is setting him up for Sarah’s death. Felicity begins to research the whereabouts of Merlyn since Sarah’s death.

Flashback time. Oliver uncovered information about a super-virus called Omega. This virus could potentially wipe out an entire city. Oliver and Maseo aim to track down the vial of it, only to find it’s already been taken. I sense this might be important later…

Felicity digs up some information that places both Malcom and Thea in Starling the night Sarah was murdered. And evidence points toward the possibility that Thea might be Sarah’s murderer.

We have to pause in the investigation so Felicity and charming face, Ray, *grumble grumble* can have a deep conversation. We learn about his tragic incident with Slade’s mirakuru men, who killed Ray’s girlfriend. He wasn’t able to save her. (My sources, aka Wikipedia, say that the character of Ray Palmer “might be one of the most brilliant tortured souls imaginable.” Well, congratulations Fangirls, we have a new objective in digging up his tortured past.)

As much as I want to dislike Ray, I can’t. I mean: A.T.O.M. (more on that later)

Oliver asks Thea about Malcom and being in Starling before her official return, and she denies being there. So either Thea is lying or something else is happening. Or both. So the Arrow decides to interrogate her…

But first we get a tender moment with Laurel and her mother (revealing Sarah’s death). And an awesome kick butt moment with Ra’s al Ghul fighting a bunch of hoodie ninja dudes. He orders his daughter to prove to Oliver that he doesn't hold empty threats.

The Arrow arrives in Thea’s apartment … okay, he kicks through the window and asks about Merlyn. What he learns is that Thea can fight… and escape out of buildings. But the attack provokes Merlyn from coming out of hiding and he confronts Oliver in the empty nightclub (at night?).

Oliver puts Merlyn in a choke hold… and pretty much tells him he will kill him. Until Merlyn sends him a video of Thea killing Sarah. Merlyn claims he drugged Thea with a plant thing that makes a person susceptible to suggestion but erases their memories. Merlyn tells Oliver the only way to save Thea he has to face down Ra’s al Ghul in a death match to erase any blood debt, which includes Merlyn’s debt.

Duh-duh-DUN!

(don’t do it, Ollie. Don’t do it!)

In the flashback, they talk about the same drug that controlled Thea, which confirms that Merlyn might be telling the truth about Thea. Maseo’s family is attacked by this white-haired woman and his wife is taken. Exciting things happen in Oliver’s past and present. The double story lines are great at weaving together to show who Oliver is today.

Oliver confronts Ra’s al Ghul, claiming he killed Sarah because she begged him to, and demands a trial by combat. Ra’s, of course, accepts.

And so the random mountain climb scenes start to make sense (especially if you’ve watched the Dark Knight Trilogy. Do I sense a parallel to Batman?) They aren’t flashbacks. They are actually the present. Oliver is climbing the mountain, which is the location of the trial by combat.

Tender moment between Thea and Oliver. Another tense scene between Felicity Ray reveals the A.T.O.M. suit!!! He wants to use it to protect the city and he wants Felicity’s help. Ring any bells?

Let’s pause for a moment to talk about A.T.O.M. He isn’t one of the higher up superheroes (like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, etc.) But he’s still involved in the DC Universe and interacts with such higher-up superheroes. Ray Palmer is the A.T.O.M., who can make himself shrink to subatomic levels while retaining natural strength levels. He gains these abilities by the suit he has, which has the remnants of a white-dwarf star in the belt buckle. He’s also able to have 100% control over his body on the molecular level, which makes him powerful. Now, I don’t know exactly how the suit in Arrow is going to work, but we did overhear him talking about a white-dwarf and this episode revealed the 3D graphic model of the suit in progress. So, exciting stuff is happening.

I can see potentials of another spin-off show like the Flash, if his character and A.T.O.M. suit is received well. Otherwise, there might be something wonderful planned for the second of half of this season. I’m excited to see, as much as I want Ray to leave Felicity alone…

Back to the episode:

Oliver bids his men farewell and then says goodbye to Felicity with the three words that have been hanging between them since last season: “I love you.” 

Oliver reaches the summit and the trial by combat begins. Ra’s al Ghul takes a moment to brood on the cliff edge while Oliver waits with sword in hand.  He monologues about his first kill at age eleven and the purpose of the League of Assassins. Then…

The fight begins in a quiet struggle. No music in the background, just the sound of sword whipping in the air or metal clashing, grunts, falling to the snow, and well… Oliver reacting to pain.

I thought perhaps there was some chance he would win. He was confident, others were confident, this is his show after all. You can’t just kill off the main character in in the third season when the show is planned to have five seasons. But then… Ra’s al Ghul sticks the sword straight through Oliver.

A montage of flashbacks begin as Ra’s gives parting words in another language. Oliver is stoic as he stares distantly. And Ra’s kicks him off the cliff edge and sticks the sword in the stone.

Cue Arrow logo.

When I watched the episode, I sat staring at my computer screen for a good few minutes without a concrete thought in my head as the end credits flipped through.

WhaaaaAAAT?!?!

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?

Even now I don’t have the words for this episode. How can Oliver be dead? And what’s going to happen with everybody else? With Thea? With Merlyn? With Felicity and Diggle and Roy?

The show returns January 21^st. That day can’t come any sooner.

-Jaime

“The Brave and the Bold” Recap

The CW 12.3.14

Spoilers!!!

Just when I thought the first crossover episode was epic, part 2 of the crossover extravaganza steals the thunder from the Flash’s lightning (okay, that was a bad pun).

The case that brought Oliver and Co. (Felicity and Diggle) to Central City is still underway. Kaboomerang (as Cisco names him later) is out for revenge on ARGUS (a super research organization of the government) and specifically Lyla, Diggle’s… something ex-wife (it’s complicated). Barry and co. eventually arrive to assist Oliver in catching this killer.

Onward to the episode:

After “Flash vs Arrow,” I was stoked to see Barry come to Starling City (Star City???) and step into the Arrow’s hood (apologies for the horrible puns).

First, I was excited to see Roy in action with the Arrow. I missed him in part 1. The episode starts off with action and getting right into the thick of things with explosions and dangerous guns being pointed at each other. Fun stuff. Arrow stuff.

We find out right away that ARGUS is interested in this Boomerang man, which leads to some tension between Diggle and Lyla.

But the excitement only skyrockets when ta-da! The STAR labs crew shows up to 1. Talk to Felicity 2. See the Arrow Cave? Bunker? Hideout? Cisco is hilarious walking around the premise and looking at all of Oliver’s gadgets and gizmos. And of course, Oliver’s constant “Don’t touch that” made me smile. Oh, Ollie, lighten up just a little. Please???

And then roll in the action! As Lyla and Diggle are in the ARGUS headquarters, Boomerang man, aka Digger Harkness, arrives and stirs up some trouble. His boomerangs are awesome! And he flips them around and does cool moves. Ahhh! It is so cool! Okay. And terrifying for Diggle’s sake.

Anyway, Arrow and Arsenal (Roy, which I had no idea they called him that until now) go to help Diggle. Caitlin mentions “they’ll never make it in time” and my heart squeaked! Flash could make it time!!

And sure enough, the camera pans back to a view of the city and a little red/yellow lightning bolt zips through the Starling City streets. I was grinning and trying not to scream out loud (because I happened to be watching the episode in a library).

Flash arrives, almost knocking down Thea, Oliver’s sister, in the street, which is comical (she kind of annoys me so her startled look on her face is priceless). Barry sweeps in and catches the boomerangs from Harkness right before they slash Oliver in the face! Yes!

Barry hangs out in the Arrow cave, providing more humorous lines of dialogue and moments between the Central City gang and Oliver’s team.

Finally, Lyla explains what the situation with Digger Harkness is—that he was supposed to be killed years ago after a mission (oh yeah, he was part of ARGUS) and it failed so he’s come to kill Lyla out of revenge. Well, that doesn’t sit well with any of the team, so they decide to hunt him down.

This exposes Barry to Oliver’s not-so-nice tactics to find out information (aka torture, which is fortified by a flashback to Oliver’s time in China with Amanda Waller). Barry is not happy about it and his view of Oliver is suddenly flipped around. I think this is probably one of the best moments of the episode. Barry confronts Oliver about the brutality he’s inflicting, yet Oliver has the opportunity to explain how Starling City is different than Central City, and how the Arrow has to approach cases differently than the Flash might. It’s a real moment that both hurts my heart but also reinforces why I adore Barry Allen.

Their hunt however leads Boomerang man back to the Arrow hideout (bunker? Cave?) and he attacks Lyla, Felicity, and Caitlin! Lots of screaming (internally from me, externally from them). Lyla is vitally injured and Felicity manages to toss some kind of gadget his way to get him away. Go Felicity!

After getting Lyla to the hospital, Oliver and Flash decide to officially team up to hunt down Digger Harkness, but they do it the Arrow’s way. They find Harkness in a train/subway (?) station for the Final Showdown! Dun-dun-DUH!

And the way the whole ending plays out is: perfect. Only Arrow and Flash tag-teaming could have saved the day and the city. While Oliver fights Harkness, Barry has to zip off (ha-ha) to stop five bombs from exploding, sprinkled throughout the city. But here’s the catch: the bombs are linked; when one bomb gets shut off, it’ll trigger all the others. Barry voices the fact that he “can’t be in five places at once.” But then, he realizes he doesn’t have to.

Ta-da! Super speed definitely comes in handy to transport friends around the city to disarm bombs. Barry escorts the members of both teams and they disarm the bombs. Then, he returns to the station to help Oliver. They defeat Harkness (and we get to see it this time) and he is sent to prison.

The episode wraps up with Oliver showing a little love—well, through Felicity that is. They install a mannequin/costume container thing for Barry to stash his suit next time he’s in town. NEXT TIME. Did you hear that? There might be a next time!!! More crossovers!! Yes! Yes! Yes! I need it.

And then Oliver and Barry go off together to have their own personal showdown of who would really win in a fight. Unfortunately, the episode ends right as Oliver starts shooting arrows toward Barry, who has just taken off running. But it was so good.

Ack. These shows are ruining my life. Next up: the mid-season finales, both are calling for some exciting (must I say it: the agony) cliffhangers.

-Jaime Heller

"Flash vs Arrow Episode" Recap

The CW 12.2.14

Spoilers!!!

This past week history, television history that is, was made when the CW’s Arrow and The Flash teamed-up to air a 2-part superhero crossover! For DC comics fans—and any superhero fan—this is BIG. I mean, we haven’t had this much superhero awesome in one show since the Absolute Justice (JSA) episodes in Smallville, which was almost five years ago. Five.

Basically the premise of The Flash is that Barry Allen, a forensic scientist for Central City’s police department, gets struck by lightning during a crazy science experiment gone wrong, and he gains super-human abilities. He can run fast, he can heal fast, and he kick butt fast (okay, maybe that last one is a bit of an exaggeration as he is usually the one getting beat up. For now.) However, he’s not the only one to gain super-human abilities. A whole bunch of “meta-humans” now roam Central City and it’s up to Barry and a team of scientists to save the city. So Barry becomes the Flash.

For Arrow, the premise is a big choppier since it’s on its third season. Basically, Oliver Queen was shipwrecked on this island for five years (or was he?) and he returns with one goal in mind: bring justice to his city, Starling City. To do so, he takes on a hooded disguise and uses a bow and arrow to get his justice. But it’s not so easy and well, lots of good and bad have happened over the past eight years and Oliver is trying to be a better hero every step of the way (but he’s still brooding—what is with the billionaire playboys and brooding? I’m looking at you, Batman).

Whew. Now that is over, let’s get down to business about this super-fantastic-my-mind-is-exploding-with-awesome episode! I mean, we’ve had Barry on Arrow before (season 2 when he was introduced and everybody fell in love so he got his own show) and Felicity (Oliver’s hacker friend and currently something more but nobody will admit it) was on The Flash a few episodes ago (adorable really). But this is bringing both sides together to fight and do awesome stuff. So let’s get down to.

A case brings Oliver and Co. (Felicity and Diggle) to Central City, where Barry is having a little trouble with this meta-human that gets people to focus on their rage and go bat crazy. Thus, he needs a little help and Oliver decides he needs a little training.

Onward into the episode:

Barry starts off talking about feels attacks and I basically had a feels attack about him talking about feels attack (he speaks the language of my people!) He basically was getting to the point that science and emotions go together but also are separate. Mainly he was swooning about Iris again. *sigh* Then the meta-human shows up in this bank and everybody starts going absolutely crazy, breaking things, fighting, and pointing guns at each other. Barry runs in (literally) just in time to save the day and the meta-human escapes.

Of course, nothing is easy because why would it be?

After encountering Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity in Central City (which Diggle’s reaction to Barry’s super-speed was hilarious. I’m glad there was a little human in this episode because it got dark quick), Oliver witnessed Barry trying to track down the meta-human and almost getting himself killed. So like a good mentor, he decides to train Barry…. by shooting him in the back with arrows?!?!

Right? My reaction too. Oliver! What are you doing!? I get your all brooding and disciplined, but dang: did you have to shoot him? Poor Barry…

Felicity returns to Star Labs and catches up with the scientists. I love her relationship with Caitlin Snow… it’s adorable. I’m glad they can have strong, healthy female relationships in this show and nobody has to be bitter rivals! Thank you, writers.

Well, Barry didn’t like Oliver’s training (and who would) so he goes after the meta-human ALONE (no, don’t!) and well, he gets infected with the rage disease thing. Because of his special abilities the infection doesn’t work the same as in normal humans. It doesn’t take affect right away and when it does, there is one angry, super-fast human running about. And it was terrifying.

Barry Allen, up to this point, has been the sweetest, charming guy. I mean, I had about one scene with him in the first season (okay, scratch that, one scene when he was in Arrow) and I was swooning. He’s easily one of my favorite TV characters right now. And I was sickened by how angry he acted. (props to you, Grant Gustin. You go, Grant Gustin).

He yelled, he screamed, he rage run at a car and started beating people up. And then, Oliver arrived to stop him. And that was even worse.

THE AGONY. I mean, Oliver’s been his mentor up to this point. He wants Barry to succeed; he wants to train him to succeed and protect himself. And he can barely stop him. Barry grabs Oliver’s grapple arrow and drags him along at super-speed. And he doesn’t stop.

There’s an entire moment when Oliver is caught up in this whirlwind of ripping-fast lighting run and Barry just goes at him with punches everywhere and he’s completely caught off guard with no way to protect himself. This episode broke through the two shows and brought them together, showing Oliver’s world of mainly normal human beings involved in crimes and Barry’s world of meta-humans.

My heart was racing and I thought Oliver was done for. The only thing that kept me sane was that the two teams (Oliver’s and Barry’s) were back in Star Labs bantering about who would win in a fight and Cisco and Diggle arguing about which hero was better. xD

But Oliver did it, with the help of a few friends, including Dr. Welles (*glares evil eye* I still don’t know what is up with him…)

Once Barry is in his right state of mind, he and Oliver take off to defeat the meta-human. Unfortunately, they don’t show it (after all this episode is called The Flash vs Arrow, so the main conflict was Barry during bat psycho and Oliver taking him down). They just show him locked away in Star Labs.

In the end, Barry and Oliver part with good spirits and few words of encouragement to each other. Unfortunately Barry’s—the Flash’s—biggest fan, Iris (who happens to be Barry’s best friend who he is secretly in love with) decides The Flash is dangerous after all and breaks all ties with him (hey, Iris, before you go blaming Barry better keep an eye on your boyfriend, I sense trouble in his pretty eyes).

Overall, I thought the episode was heart-wrenching and an exciting twist for the show. I’m super pumped that these superhero TV shows are doing so well. And that it’s capable of having crossovers between the two shows (hey TV networks: this is what I've been wanting for years). I’m excited to watch part two. 

-Jaime Heller