TV Retrospective: Arrow season 2 episodes 19-21 review

We're nearing the end of these now, but let's take a penultimate look into past episodes of Arrow, as we cover episodes 19, 20 and 21

Episode 19 - The Man Under the Hood

So, Oliver makes a big play to stop Slade using his company’s applied sciences to threaten the city, using that oh so convenient skeleton key. Didn’t Kord want that back? They set a number of explosives and blow the place sky high, and it’s a wonder the guard didn’t get killed given how they dragged him about 5 feet out the building.

Meanwhile Laurel is actually showing some intelligence, and not taking Slade at his word, point Laurel over Thea. So, a lawyer pays the Queens a visit, saying that as CEO, Isabelle has diluted their stock holding so it’s basically worthless. I know a little about finance, but I’m not a business expert by any sense of the word, so… What? To protect their assets, the Queens need to move them into a new, untouchable account, but they need Thea to sign, and she would be an idiot not to, club owner or not, it doesn’t help to have money backing you up.

Slade decides to pay a visit to the Arrow cave, kicking the asses of all 4 of them, and landing Oliver and Sara in the hospital, and Laurel begins to put the pieces together. Oh… and I forgot that Thea is a massive idiot when she’s upset, she refuses to sign the treaty, and now Slade has the skeleton key, yay.

So, the Star Labs facility in Starling is being shut down, but Slade wants in first. Oh, and a Doctor Light reference, how quaint. Still, Slade got what he wanted; a means of replicating the serum into multiple people at once, but the blood drain will apparently leave Slade vulnerable.

So, Oliver pays Isabelle a visit, with stuff about her past being Robert’s soul mate (which borderlines on paedophilia given how young she must’ve been if she’s under 30 now) and being removed when Thea fell of a horse, despite being reminded that Thea isn’t his daughter, he knew. Security escorts him off the premesis. You know, he may not be a CEO, but diluted or otherwise he’s still a stockholder.

Meanwhile Quintin finds himself in a sticky situation when a prisoner gets his hands on a set of keys (because security is still sh*t at Iron heights) and starts beating him, interrupting a session with the between Laurel and the Arrow.

Laurel prepares to reveal who the Arrow is to her father, but Quintin tells her he no longer wants to know. Thankfully Laurel uses her knew skill of blackmailing the DA to get her father released another way.

Oliver tries to tell Thea that Robert knew, but receives an unwelcome interruption, Slade’s beginning to activate the machine. The infiltration goes as planned until they realise that Roy is the one hooked up to the machine donating the blood. Ollie shorts out the power, and takes Slade down with some explosives, Dig takes out Isabelle, and they rescue Roy. The truth finally comes out, and Thea doesn’t care, like I said, she’s an idiot when she’s upset.

Oliver has a vial of Mirakuru, which they can reverse-engineer to make a cure. Slade meanwhile has revived Isabelle , and now has a massive private army, things will only get better from here

On the Island, Ivo tells them about the cure, and Oliver kills him, and that’s it.

Rating 8.5/10

Episode 20 - Seeing Red

Yay, we’ve ditched the ‘My name is Oliver Queen’ speech

Felicity and Diggle are concerned about Isabelle not appearing on the recently deceased list, but Roy escapes, and has gone completely out of his mind.

Just as Moira gives a speech about parenting, Thea interrupts, awkward…  Oh, Sin exists again, haven’t see her since we got her origin story, but here Roy beats up some guys that like her, and accidentally hits her as well.

Sin reveals this to Sara, and she’s more than a little pissed off, but Roy invades her clock tower base, because we need reminding that it exists. Roy kicks both their asses, and kills a cop and seriously injures another in front of Sin (this by the way, is the last episode we’ll be seeing her for a while)

Oliver needs medical attention, and a Doctor gives it to him as a thank you for his efforts in stopping the Chinese triads in episode 2. Sara now believes that Roy is too far gone and the only option is to put him down.

Roy is having hallucinations about Thea, Thea telling him to kill her. You know Roy is a lot better an actor when he’s not talking, much like Hayden Christiansen. Anyway, it’s time for Oliver to talk to Moira and stop her from standing down and OH FOR GOD’S SAKE, if you gave Moira more clues to your secret identity, you’d have it plastered all over you face Ollie, no wonder she’s worked it out for herself.

Moira makes an impressive speech for one made up on the fly, and Thea makes one of her own, drawing Roy to the verdant. Sara was ready to take the kill shot, but the Arrow shoots first, knocking him out with pit viper venom. Sara decides that this proves she’s no good for Ollie and needs to leave ‘to see an old friend’ I have no idea who this is, surely it isn’t Nyssa.

Thea, Oliver and Moira leave together, and this episode is not over yet. You know, I’m sort of sick of this “lying to protect them from enemies” bullsh*t Oliver continually spouts. You are Oliver Queen, if someone discovers your secret, your family’s in danger regardless of their knowledge of that secret, as is about to be proven as Slade attacks the car. Moira offers her life to save the lives of her children, and Slade obliges.

No Island flashbacks this week, we instead see how Moira is willing to do the darkest things in order to protect her children (again) but it does develop an interesting plotline for later. Oliver unintentionally got a girl pregnant, Moira offers her $2 million for her to claim she lost the baby and never speak to Oliver again. I wonder if his name would turn to be Connor, and her last name Hawke. Just a thought.

Rating 9/10

Episode 21 - City of Blood

So the funeral passes, and Sebastian blood is sworn in as Mayor. Oliver is not at the funeral. Thea isn’t happy. Sebastian says some words to Laurel that get her instincts blaring again. Sebastian was never to be trusted. Oh, and it’s revealed that Isabelle is still alive.

Walter and Thea talk, Thea blames Oliver for the murder, if he had told them the truth, they could’ve been forearmed. Unable to find Oliver on their own, Diggle takes his queries to Amanda Waller.

Waller knows enough about Oliver and tries to find him, meanwhile Isabelle tells Thea to vacate the Verdant. It’s owned by Queen consolidated. Laurel pays Sebastian a visit, and bugs his computer, and find a press release about Moira’s death written before she died.

Waller finds Oliver in a secondary facility (if the description for the coming episode of Arrow is correct, it’s probably his base while he was there working for ARGUS) Oliver says he’ll surrender himself to Slade

Thea wants to leave Starling City, Ollie finally talks to her, and agrees it’s a good idea as she has a pure heart that he doesn’t want her to lose (… well, that plan went south) Oliver calls Isabelle to surrender, but he’s intercepted by Laurel, who finds a key weakness in Slade’s armoury. Sebastian Blood, who’s planning to… something with the Mirakuru soldiers (seriously, what is his plan? I know Slade is a bit of puppet-master, but Sebastian already control’s the city, he’s the Mayor)

So, it’s time to make moves. Oliver confronts Sebastian, whilst Diggle and Felcity interrogate his body-guard (in the best interrogation scene I’ve ever seen) Oliver tries to warn him about Slade, but apparently the Mirakuru army is needed to make the city ready for his vision or some such bullsh*t

So it’s time for Slade’s plan to begin in earnest, as Brother Blood rallies the troops, Diggle prepares to blow the roof as it were, but Isabelle is waiting for her, meanwhile, a couple of men are waiting for the Arrow, and there’s one in the police precinct and the train station as well, Slade thinks of everything.

STAR Labs make the call, they have the Mirakuru cure

On the Island, they board the submarine, but in order to free it they need to fire a torpedo, which are manually controlled. Fortunately there’s a red-shirt willing to do the job, Oliver sends Sara up, but it doesn’t seem to work, Sara is kidnapped.

Rating 9/10

Join us for the final Arrow retrospective where lots of sh*t blows up, and Sebastian is an idiot

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Images used in this review are from Arrow and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use.