Arrow S06E01 Review: Everyone Lives

Arrow, Season 6, Episode 1: Fallout

I'm not the most excited for Arrow's season six premiere in no small part because I kind of know that the big explosion at the end of season five won't kill everyone. And it'd be a bad climax if it did. Of course, thankfully the show manages to work in some compromise between having everyone come back safely and having some lasting consequences from the big explosive climax. Samantha dies, as practically everyone expects her to. Some characters' fates like Evelyn Sharp, Talia and Nyssa (plus Malcolm and Boomerang, of course) remain ambiguous in the episode, but everyone else that mattered survives. The flsahbacks in this episode basically go back to the end of season five's finale, explaining the events that happened.

So, going through the losses? Wild Dog loses his daughter to a foster home, although Oliver is pulling strings in order to get a new hearing. Diggle apparently is so traumatized by the shooting that he's refusing to shoot to kill? Thea is hospitalized and taken out of the show (again). And Oliver is now estranged from his son, who partially blames him for the death of his mother. A good chunk of the episode's B-plot is Oliver (with the aid of the maid Raisa) trying to reconnect with his traumatized son while still trying to juggle being a vigilante protecting Star City. Which isn't unexpected, but pretty well-delivered with some tender moments from Stephen Amell.

The main plotline involves the team taking down random terrorist Alex Faust (I am so disappointed that they were talking about Faust for the first few seconds and expected Felix Faust to return from Constantine, but it's this random bloke) and later facing off against Black Siren, who's resurrected. On the way, Quentin has to struggle with the fact that he shot his own daughter back at Lian Yu to save Dinah, and now Black Siren's out for revenge against everyone. With the help of a mysterious benefactor (Michael Emerson, right? Because you can't just cast Michael Emerson and not make him the main villain) she's up and running again. At the end of the episode, Black Siren and her mysterious benefactor appears to have leaked Green Arrow's identity to the whole world with footage from the stolen T-Sphere prototype, which... isn't terribly groundbreaking, but at least this time there's actual proof and there's a... chance that this would be something new?

She manages to blow up the police precinct and part of the Arrow Base, but ultimately gets defeated and driven off, although not before taunting Quentin. It's a bog-standard plotline, to be honest, because the pilot is more concerned about setup, but I cannot ever get tired of scenes of Quentin having to deal with a daughter-related problem. (Another problem I have with the Legends of Tomorrow season three premiere is not having Sara actually talk to Quentin during her downtime. Or, really, join up with Team Arrow at all.) Paul Blackthorne is such a great actor. Katie Cassidy is also having way, way too much fun as the hammy Black Siren, too.

Wild Dog gets a cool new outfit, Mr. Terrific gets some great mileage out of his T-Spheres, and we get some cool fight scenes especially at the highway. Slade gets a scene that neatly writes him out of the show (he's gone off to talk to Joe!) but opens a way for the return of Arrow's unique take on Deathstroke. Oliver also seems to have an identity crisis coming up soon, although not Mayor Oliver Queen versus Green Arrow, but rather Daddy Ollie and Green Arrow. 

The episode's biggest weakness, I think, is that it's more-of-the-same. Oliver being outed as Green Arrow, a mysterious villain, a character struggling with whether to shoot to kill, Quentin dealing with his daughter, Oliver's identity crisis, Thea in a hospital... it's all beats we've gone through before. So yeah, while the setup is neat and the episode is great, some reviews out there note that it seems like it's going through the motions. And sitting at its sixth season, I'm curious and really hoping that Arrow can deliver us something new with the characters without just making it another vigilante season. 

DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• Black Siren comments at one point that she would've gone with fishnet stockings in regards to Dinah's suit, a reference to the comic-book Black Canary's iconic look.
• Raisa is the maid who shows up in some early season one episodes before disappearing. I'm genuinely surprised I still remember her, actually.