Arrow S08E05 Review: Tovarisch

Arrow, Season 8, Episode 5: Prochnost

Been a while since we last saw Anatoly, huh? And it really puts into perspective how much the show's been through and how the show and the characters in it have evolved over time. And while it's something that a lot of more hardcore DC fans have decried -- particularly the changes to characters like the Laurels and Anatoly, who basically carved out their unique niches in Arrow -- and while it's not something that works all the time, when you get an actor as charismatic as David Nykl, honestly, this show's version of Anatoly Knyazev has essentially replaced the genuinely one-note KGBeast from the comics in my head. And it's fun to see that he's basically became a 'fun uncle' making Shirley Temples and margaritas in his bar after the whole nonsense with Ricardo Diaz.

Honestly, I've loved Anatoly so much in his tenure in the flashbacks as a wacky ally, in the early seasons of Arrow as a strange wildcard and a token-ally villain, in the middle seasons as this plot device that always helps Oliver but grumbles about it, and even during his tenure as a villain in season 6 and 7. After helping Oliver bring down Ricardo Diaz, it's a pretty natural conclusion to Anatoly's character arc, really, and to see that he's not just living a happy life, but genuinely treated as a proper brother, so to speak, to Oliver... it's actually something I'm super happy about.

I'm genuinely not sure how many of these plotlines are going to be really covered throughout the four-part Crisis on Infinite Earths, or how many of them are just going to be relegated to the post-Crisis episodes that'll round out the final season of Arrow. But it's nice to have a fair amount of the hanging threads be tied up in these earlier episodes. It's honestly just a bit of a check-in with Anatoly as they go on their little jaunt to Russia in order to get the next plot device -- a Pulse-Wave Generator, some sort of super-weapon that they need to survive the Crisis. Only it's in the hand of some random Russian general.

The Russian plot is honestly nothing particularly exciting to write about. It's a mite less campy than the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Talia from the previous episode, but it's mostly just a couple of neat call-backs to previous sets from anything Oliver did in Russia -- I thought the bell-ringing bit was particularly unnecessarily shoved in. But Anatoly Knyazev is such a delight to have on-screen at all times, and the emotional thorough-line of Oliver's attempt to connect with his children while simultaneously so deathly afraid of them thinking less of him if they ever knew about his involvement with Bratva... it's surprisingly human, and Oliver's brusqueness and his panic at the fact that the future children who he's just starting to develop a healthy relationship with might hate him over it. Obviously, Anatoly (and Laurel-II a little bit) ends up talking Oliver down and he ends up bonding with his kids over his time in Bratva. It's a neat episode in that regard.

Also, I think this is the first episode in a long while where I felt like Mia Smoak is starting to grow as her own character. I haven't really criticized her because... well, because I'm kind of indifferent about her? In the previous season she just skirts this line of being interesting and likable, but also not really having much to her beyond being a one-dimensional "tough badass superhero lady" and "parental issues". Which is a nice basis for a character, but we do get a genuinely great moment of acting when she basically sort of breaks down a little, showing just how much she hold Oliver Queen at this high pedestal, and how she intellectually understands but emotionally still can't accept that Oliver gave up his family to save the world. Also, the whole "let Zoe die" thing is still haunting her, and every time she sees what she thinks are 'real' heroes like Black Siren and Green Arrow, she is reminded of that failure. It's neat stuff.

Also, we're sort of having a neat "gather all the band together" sequence. Time will tell if we'll have all of them show up on-screen in a huge CW Justice League Unlimited moment like what we did for Crisis on Earth-X, but it's so nice to see Diggle show up and re-recruit Roy Harper to their midst after running away post-Lazarus-bloodlust in the previous season, which honestly is kind of a plot line that really went nowhere. Also it's basically a confirmation that we're going to be making sure that the future that Mia, William and Connor came from is a completely separate storyline, since Roy isn't a hermit in Lian Yu but has actually been roped back into the relatively emotionally healthier Team Arrow.

There's also a huge B-plot with Laurel-II talking with Lyla, and we're not sure what the hell is going on. I mean, the audience sort of knows that the Monitor is a good guy... right? So maybe Team Arrow is just being paranoid? Or maybe they're pulling another Adrian Chase and making the Monitor either a fake or evil? In any case, Lyla Michaels has thrown all of her chips into the Monitor, willing and ready to do whatever the Monitor asks her to do and it sort of makes sense, honetly, it's basically the ARGUS-head role taken up to eleven. But after Laurel-II has a couple of great conversations with fellow former Legion-of-Diaz member Anatoly, as well as trying to be a sarcastic mentor to Mia (it's very appropriate, that, like Mia, Laurel-II has some serious doubts that she's cut out to be a hero like Mia paints her future self to be), Laurel-II realizes that she doesn't want to be a traitor to Team Arrow at any costs. This leads to an interesting cliffhanger as Laurel-II spills the beans to Oliver and Diggle, and they confront Lyla with her hand in the cookie jar, figuratively speaking. Except Lyla is ready with... tranquilizer darts or something? It's an interesting cliffhanger, and with two episodes left leading up to the Crisis, I guess it's going to be a neat one as they presumably learn about the whole Crisis thing and the Monitor's role in all this? Anyway, a very solid episode.

DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• A lot of the Russian stuff, including Oliver's time as a Bratva member, the "Kapiushon" identity, and the Bratva's ring-the-bell exercise, are all lifted from the season five flashback storyline. "Prochnost" and Oliver's relationship with Anatoly came from all the way back in the first season, though, whereas the 'living is not for the weak' line between Anatoly and Oliver came from their meeting abroad the Amazo in season two.  
• The first time Roy exited the show only to came back in late season 3, he was also hiding a a mechanic called Jason. 
• Trick arrows make a return after being absent for a while! We get to see explosive, acid and bolo arrows. 
• The fictional country of Bialya is mentioned off-handedly in this episode.