Season 3, Episode 14: The Return
Pretty fucking awesome episode! And not just because of the triumphant return of one Slade Wilson, though that is definitely a contributing factor. Everything that's being dealt with in this episode is awesome. The present-day plot centers on Oliver and Thea getting some bonding time in Lian Yu whilst fighting Slade Wilson, as detached an enemy from the whole League of Assassins plot as can be, and we get some more major internal revelations and some things that shakes up the dynamic of the show. As a present day B-plot we are treated to Laurel having to deal with the aftermath of her lying to her father to the extremes... and I do believe this is one of the first times where I sympathize with both Laurel and Quentin while they're arguing with each other. And I actually feel sad for both of them instead of just one. Even the flashback sequences, which frankly hasn't been the most interesting thing in the show, are top-notch this time around as we are actually shown some character work on Past!Oliver's past and shows a key point in his transition from 'selfish survivor' to 'I will rescue this city'.Let's talk about the flashbacks first, shall we? The Hong Kong plot with Amanda Waller forcibly recruiting Oliver Queen to work for ARGUS and stop a big bioterrorist weapon isn't exactly... interesting. The plot twist with China White is something all right, but they've kind of failed to really make much of it. And while Maseo and Tatsu are relatively interesting characters they are kind of... unengaging. Plus we are struck again with 'oh so the big mystery is what happened to them to lead them to their present-day selves' which is not exactly the best way to create tension because whatever the case, Oliver will return to Lian Yu, China White will still be alive, Maseo will rejoin the League of Assassins, Tatsu will be a hermit and their kid will possibly die. And so far this season the flashbacks have been kind of pointless dredging of the Hong Kong plot onwards with the occasional parallel to present-day plot points.
But this episode's plot, though? Oliver returns to Starling City during his five-year exile, and we see him just spying on his friends and family under the cover of a hood, which actually builds up on the character arcs of the secondary characters. We see the self-destructive drunk Quentin who is a gigantic jackass after Sara's death, which, not only contrasted with the less-self-destructive Quentin of the present day, is also a nice comparison regarding Quentin's different subsets of emotional pain. Also shows just how much chipper and happier he was after he kicked off the drinking habit and whatnot. We saw a bit of Laurel too, but that was generic good-girl Laurel. Though, again, the flashbacks help to make some sense out of Laurel being so adamant to help the little people back in season one, as well as adding some explanation to her Black-Canary-ing in recent episodes. The crux of their characterization happened in the present-day sequences, which I'll talk about in a bit, but the flashbacks certainly helped to build up to it.
We see a bit of Thea just being the wild child that she is early in season 1. Crashing parties despite not being of legal age, buying drugs from sleazebags in front of Oliver's grave... though she mellows out somewhat by the end of the episode. Somewhat. Tommy also gets some great screentime as Thea's sorta-surrogate-older-brother, chasing off the little drug dealer. Tommy's a cool guy. He also dates Laurel for a bit too here, foreshadowing (or call-forwarding?) their relationship in season one, episode one.
It's all a bit of padding, though it's cool to see just how great Thea has grown and I always like to see Tommy again. Shoehorning in Felicity and Diggle, though? Felicity was especially unnecessary and relatively obnoxious because as much as I like her, do we really need her just walking in, mumbling about how hot Oliver is and then exiting stage left? That was a bit on the nose. Diggle at least had the excuse of displaying his disdain for the rich kids (which he mentioned back when he was being Oliver's bodyguard) and we did see Andy Diggle which is something, but do we really need it?
We get Oliver killing the drug dealer in a homage to the neck-snap from the first Arrow episode, which was fully deserved. And we get Oliver finally coming across Robert Queen's message -- thus solving a mystery which I completely forgot in which he told Diggle he found the message not on the island. It was a bit abrupt how we went from Oliver being all emo and shit to finally deciding to fight alongside Maseo, but it's an at least well-done characterization on Oliver's part. Couldn't care less about China White and the Omega/Alpha plot, though... Maseo and Oliver beat up the random guys, I think arrest China White or at least re-obtain the virus (I am not entirely sure) before Oliver is confronted by General Matthew Shrieve, apparently based on a DC character, the leader of the Creature Commandos (which I have never heard of despite my relatively extensive DC knowledge) who recruits him for another mission.
That about wraps things up for the flashback plot, which isn't perfect by any stretch of means but still more engaging than anything the flashbacks have had to offer for the past few months. The present-day island stuff is a lot better, and while Slade is a great bonus the highlight is definitely the interactions of Oliver and Thea. Oliver finally learning to accept Thea as a grown woman instead of a fragile little girl (and seeing just how destructive Thea has been without Oliver around in the flashbacks, it can't be helped) and acknowledging her strengths... that forcible-shoulder-dislocation moment made me cringe. And Thea definitely maintained a nice balance between being persistent and obnoxious when demanding that Oliver tell him about Sara. And she does not take the information well. Thea is fucking awesome, though, the way she and Oliver double-teamed Slade, each of them hanging back while the other takes the brunt, and goes in for cheap shots whenever the other gets winded... her keeping up with Oliver's pace throughout their adventures on Lian Yu...
It is fucking hard to believe that this is the same annoying little brat from season one, is all I'm saying. The flashback does give us a little refresher course on the 'annoying coke-snorting brat' version of Thea, and it is nice to see just how long a way Thea has came.
Also there's the big speech about Thea rejecting Malcolm as her father, but deigning to work with him even as a soldier for the time being. Man, Malcolm must feel like shit being on the opposing end of emotional manipulations for once! But then again, what do you expect, brainwashing your estranged daughter and getting her to kill someone she actually likes? Even fucking Slade knows that's fucked up. And despite how 'good' Malcolm may be, that sin, moreso than the Undertaking or Tommy's death, is one Malcolm will never wash his hands clean of. And I don't think Thea will ever accept him. Like, ever.
Juxtaposed against Oliver's first kill in the flashback is Thea holding Slade at gunpoint with her mind all fucked up with the knowledge that she unwittingly kill Sara, and Oliver makes the perfectly valid point that if Thea kills Slade now his blood will be on her hands. So of course she doesn't.
Also Roy and Thea can totally bond over having killed someone in a mindless rage. Yay for fucked-up relationships!
Slade's big return made me smile, although they really need to give him some new material beyond being all 'Oliver I will make your life a living hell' stuff which was kind of all played out in season two. He's somewhat underwhelming this time around motivation-wise, basically just wanting to fuck Oliver up. There's absolutely no disappointment in the action department, though, as Oliver, Thea and Slade absolutely kick ass against each other. It's also confirmation that Slade's awesomeness and psychosis are not simply because of the Mirakuru. Regardless I'm happy that he's back, but I really wished they did more with him other than to have him be a catalyst for Thea's characterization. There's the ominous warning that he'll threaten Felicity in the end, but other than my personal love for Slade it's kind of a lukewarm return.
The scene with Laurel and Quentin is pretty awesome, and for once I can get both sides of the argument. And Laurel isn't really being that big of a whiny bitch and is just taking it all in because, well, as Quentin points out what Laurel did to him was rather fucked-up. Not simply because that Laurel hid Sara's death from Quentin, but also for lying to him. So many times. Up to the point that Laurel impersonated Sara. There was some talk about alcoholism and it's nice to see Laurel having outgrew hers, and Quentin not being a hypocrite and acknowledging that he needs to get help about it. Quentin just sounds so broken over Laurel's betrayal, and it's a rather heartbreaking, if natural, progression of their character arc. Certainly invested in this part of the show more than ever, which isn't what I thought would be the case.
That said, it's taking a hell long time for Ra's Al Ghul to make his move, doesn't it? There's some nice character development for all present, a lot of nice continuity shout-outs (all the actions done in the flashback that corresponds to the characters' season-one personalities, the graves on the island, Robert Queen supplying Oliver with his catchphrase, the reference to Captain Boomerang)... the tighter focus on Oliver, Thea, Laurel, Quentin and Slade (and the Hong Kong cast) meant that the rest of the main cast get sidelined, though. Diggle and Felicity get glorified cameos, and neither Roy or Ray Palmer makes an appearance.
It's a pretty great episode nonetheless, and despite its problems I really enjoy it. Bring on the finale of this season, because I really want to see Team Arrow fight the League of Assassins! Also, set Slade loose on some shit because I really want him to do more substantial stuff.
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