Oh, how I love the yearly trips to Russia. This time, Team Arrow had to take care of General Walker as he was caught dealing nuclear weapons in Star City's sister city in Russia.
The flashbacks have been exciting thus far, but I liked that tonight's episode chose to implement them in a more fluent way. In fact, it was actually flashbacks to other points in the show's history that could have informed us more so tonight. There weren't forced quotes or lessons Oliver learned in the past that appeared magically in the present like there usually is. Instead, the flashbacks just enhanced the present with an added focus put on Russia.
Not everyone made the trip though as Rene and Quentin had to fight off the feisty interviewer Susan Williams with Quentin's return to Oliver's office. Boy it's been awhile since Quentin has had any role in an episode, and pairing him with Rene was brilliant. Finding out Quentin inspired Rene to be a better person way back in the day was a nice touch, even if it did feel like yet another thing taken right from The Dark Knight trilogy. No matter, I would like to see more of these two going forward.
Part of the reason why I like these Russia episodes so much is that they feel aesthetically different from the main show. For some reason, the writers have an easier time using the entire team's strengths better in Russia than in Star City. Seriously, even Rory had some nice moments tonight. Or maybe I'm just tired of Ragman so I was happy to see him depart. The episode also played well as a foil to the flashbacks as we got to see Oliver act more like he usually does in the flashbacks (torturing and taking chances with Bratva) and vice-versa (Oliver suited up as Arrow in flashbacks). Speaking of which, I'm really enjoying Talia, but I'd like to see further explanations as to her ultimate purpose.
The only time the episode failed for me was when Felicity continued to her take on the "Dark Felicity" persona. Oliver's speech about moving past his mistakes worked on Diggle but apparently not on Felicity. I've defended her when I felt the criticism wasn't valid, but this is something I can't get behind. Does anybody honestly care about her hacking vigilante stuff? I'm so tired of stupid secrets within the team. Overall though, this was an improvement on the last two mediocre episodes. Dinah, Talia, and Susan have been welcomed additions to this show, and tonight highlighted those additions.
+Russia is always fun
+Quentin & Rene
+Dinah fitting in well
+Everyone got their chance
-Come on now, Felicity
8.6/10
The flashbacks have been exciting thus far, but I liked that tonight's episode chose to implement them in a more fluent way. In fact, it was actually flashbacks to other points in the show's history that could have informed us more so tonight. There weren't forced quotes or lessons Oliver learned in the past that appeared magically in the present like there usually is. Instead, the flashbacks just enhanced the present with an added focus put on Russia.
Not everyone made the trip though as Rene and Quentin had to fight off the feisty interviewer Susan Williams with Quentin's return to Oliver's office. Boy it's been awhile since Quentin has had any role in an episode, and pairing him with Rene was brilliant. Finding out Quentin inspired Rene to be a better person way back in the day was a nice touch, even if it did feel like yet another thing taken right from The Dark Knight trilogy. No matter, I would like to see more of these two going forward.
Part of the reason why I like these Russia episodes so much is that they feel aesthetically different from the main show. For some reason, the writers have an easier time using the entire team's strengths better in Russia than in Star City. Seriously, even Rory had some nice moments tonight. Or maybe I'm just tired of Ragman so I was happy to see him depart. The episode also played well as a foil to the flashbacks as we got to see Oliver act more like he usually does in the flashbacks (torturing and taking chances with Bratva) and vice-versa (Oliver suited up as Arrow in flashbacks). Speaking of which, I'm really enjoying Talia, but I'd like to see further explanations as to her ultimate purpose.
The only time the episode failed for me was when Felicity continued to her take on the "Dark Felicity" persona. Oliver's speech about moving past his mistakes worked on Diggle but apparently not on Felicity. I've defended her when I felt the criticism wasn't valid, but this is something I can't get behind. Does anybody honestly care about her hacking vigilante stuff? I'm so tired of stupid secrets within the team. Overall though, this was an improvement on the last two mediocre episodes. Dinah, Talia, and Susan have been welcomed additions to this show, and tonight highlighted those additions.
+Russia is always fun
+Quentin & Rene
+Dinah fitting in well
+Everyone got their chance
-Come on now, Felicity
8.6/10