Arrow Season 2 Countdown: Ranking Episodes 13-4

Opinion Recaps & Reviews October 7, 2014 Matt Tucker

In anticipation of the Season 3 premiere, Matt Tucker counts down his ranking of the episodes of the superb and densely packed Season 2....

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Number 8: “Deathstroke”

Season Episode: 2.18
Series Episode: 41
Original Airdate: April 2, 2014
Credits: Guggenheim & Greenberg (writers); Bee (director)
Synopsis: Slade is done waiting and puts his plans against Oliver into action. He abducts Thea but uses it to tell her that Malcolm is her father and Oliver knew, driving a wedge between them. As Oliver searches for Thea, Slade uses the distraction to free a busful of hardened inmates, planning to turn the into Mirakuru soldiers. Oliver discovers that Isabel has been working for Slade from the beginning, and he begins to realize just how much Slade’s machinations are insinuated into his life the last few months.
Guest Characters: Sara Lance/Canary, Sebastian Blood, Shado, Isabel Rochev, Anthony Ivo, Anatoli Knyazev (David Nykl), Hendrick von Arnim (Artine Brown)

From Derek’s Review: “Unlike many characters’ motivations, and even his own motivations a year ago, Oliver truly has the best intentions. But those are what the road to hell are paved with … and in ‘Deathstroke,’ every single one of these intentions are twisted into pressure points that Oliver himself has or is on the verge of setting off.” (more)

From Matt’s Second Opinion: “This season, though, has always been about Slade vs. Oliver. ‘Deathstroke’ made clear that every single plot — perhaps even Waller and her A.R.G.U.S. stuff — has been related to and completely in service of that concept. This wasn’t the first showdown episode that was expected, but what we got was so much more.” (more)

We’d been waiting for Slade to strike, and here it came. Yet, it was far more devious than we’d expected. It started with the apprehension of Thea, which seems like a fairly standard tactic. Then… he let her go. His concept wasn’t to physically harm anyone, at least not yet. Slade wants the complete destruction of Oliver — mind, body, and soul — but also of Oliver’s world, what he’s built. Telling Thea that Malcolm is her father was a gut punch, but it’s an even more insidious move because he tells her that Oliver has known all along. Later in the episode, he tells Laurel flat out, in no uncertain terms, that Oliver Queen is the Arrow. These are all calculated moves meant to turn those closest in Oliver’s life against him, and it’s a far darker ploy than simply hurting them individually.

But Slade’s not done. He uses this, and Thea’s abduction, as subterfuge to recruit an army of inmates to inject with Mirakuru. The methods to Slade’s madness are astoundingly impressive, especially as we begin to truly realize just how much of everything that’s gone on in the season has been manipulated by him. Oliver susses out that Isabel has been working for Slade and that everything with Queen Consolidated has been part of his plan from the beginning. Sebastian Blood’s wooing of Laurel ties into a promise by Slade to hurt Sara as much as he hurts Oliver.

As much as it was talked about the season being about Oliver becoming a hero, which is certainly a major thread, the year is really about Slade vs. Oliver. Seeing how all threads tie-in to that simple dynamic was the pure joy of this hour, and really secured the effectiveness of Slade’s villainy.

Number 7: “Seeing Red”

Season Episode: 2.20
Series Episode: 43
Original Airdate: April 23, 2014
Credits: Mericle (writer); Aarniokoski (director)
Synopsis: Rescued from being the source of Slade’s Mirakuru blood to turn soldiers, Roy awakes from a coma enraged. He goes hunting for Thea, and Team Arrow attempts to stop him. He hurts Oliver and kills a cop in his rage, and Sara is convinced to have to kill him. Oliver convinces her otherwise. Thea learns what happened to Roy from Sin and uses Moira’s mayoral press rally to lure Roy out. Roy goes to Verdant to see Thea, and Oliver and Sara are able to subdue him with snake venom poison. Moira wins the election and reveals to Oliver she knows he is the Arrow. As Thea joins her mother and brother in the car to talk about repairing things, they are attacked by Slade. He gives Oliver the same option as the island, but this time choosing between Moira and Thea. Moira sacrifices herself to the horror of Oliver and Thea. In the past, Moira learns Oliver got a girl pregnant and takes care of it.
Guest Characters: Sara Lance/Canary, Sebastian Blood, Sin, Mark Francis, Mother of Oliver’s Child (Anna Hopkins)

From Derek’s Review: “Despite what the episode does for most of its running time, it’s that final bit of understanding and the last look at Moira’s heroic side that makes the death all the more tragic, and bestows a newfound focus and momentum for this season’s final episodes.” (more)

From Matt’s Second Opinion: “Overall, ‘Seeing Red’ carried on a wonderful trend of a very character-focused second half to the season, and that made both Slade’s move and Moira’s death all the more shocking and impactful.” (more)

Not to be outdone, Slade executes the next part of his plan to perfection, leading to the murder of Moira in front of her children. This was always going to be her outcome, the result of the situation she built for herself. While the flashbacks are, at first, a bit curious with everything else going on in the episode — primarily with Roy — that come to make sense in the end. Moira always felt that everything she did was for the protection and betterment of her children, even if much of which she did was misguided. She giving her life up to Slade fits with that.

Thea blowing up at both Moira and Oliver about her real father let mother and son reconnect after so much recent strain in their relationship. Moira got to see Oliver suck up the majority of his sister’s venom, even though he only recently learned the truth himself. Moira saw her own sacrifices in him, and that’s when she decided to reveal she knew he was the Arrow and how proud she is of him. That would seem to sign her death warrant, and yet the violent car crash followed by the emotional scene where she’s finally run through by Slade were quite shocking.

Perhaps not as shocking as the reveal that Oliver has a kid out there. To further demonstrate Moira’s state of mind when it came to her children, she paid off the mother and made it go away. Those kinds of things don’t just go away, so there’s a significant thread hanging out there. It’s these revelations and seeing the connection between mother and wayward son in the past that really cause this episode to shine.

Number 6: “Suicide Squad”

Season Episode: 2.16
Series Episode: 39
Original Airdate: March 19, 2014
Credits: Shimizu & Miller (writers); Teng (director)
Synopsis: Diggle gets pulled into working with a group of criminals formed into a special ops group for ARGUS by Waller. The group — Diggle, Lyla, Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel, and Deadshot — targets a terrorist, who Diggle onced saved while on tour in Afghanistan, planning to use a neurotoxin. They discover the cache of neurotoxin is too large and that Waller had planned to use drones targeting killswitches implanted in each of the criminal’s heads to blow up the facility; essentially a suicide mission. Diggle and Lyla change the play, taking out the target and getting the squad to safety.
Guest Characters: Sara Lance/Canary, Shado, Floyd Lawton/Deadshot, Lyla Michaels, Amanda Waller, Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White), Mark Scheffer/Shrapnel (Sean Maher), Ted Gaynor (Ben Browder), Alexi Leonov (Eugene Lipinski), Gholem Qadir (Lee Majdoub)

From Derek’s Review: “But it does posit why Diggle is around, mostly by throwing him neck-deep into the morally gray stuff he railed against last year. Felicity may be the pure moral center of Team Arrow, but as we see from his flashbacks and reactions this week, Diggle is a different kind of heart; he’s seen the horrors on both ends of the spectrum. His perspective is one of experience and realism, that the ends can justify the means, but only if those means don’t cross a line.” (more)

From Matt’s Second Opinion: “That said, it was fun to see this team in action, Harbinger and Freelancer included. It offered a different flavor to the series, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Diggle put in a little more time with the Squad in the future. Plus, a nice little nod to a certain demented ex-psychiatrist held in the cells, as well.” (more)

A fantastic Diggle-centric hour also offers us a completely new team dynamic from what we’re used to seeing on the show. This is more spy and counterintelligence kind of stuff and it was an exhilirating aside from the normal affairs of the show. Seeing Diggle and Lyla working together and reconnect was touching and offered more depth for both. Plus, we got to flashback on Diggle again, and really got to see how he forged his moral center amdist all the grey stuff he did in the military that allows him to be effective with Team Arrow.

It also deals with some fairly weighty issues about redemption and doing good, even if you’ve lived a bad life or are a bad person. This builds upon some of the threads and themes that were at play in “Keep Your Enemies Closer” earlier in the season, and the ever-evolving relationship between Diggle and Deadshot continues to prove a fascinating little side bit of business.

This was about Amanda Waller’s deviousness, though, and it’s perfect way to add context for her when she becomes more valuable as the season goes on. Many of us are familiar with “the Wall,” her methods, and motives from the comics, which made the reveal less than surprising. Yet, it was necessary, and it stepped up this Waller’s game. The Suicide Squad translates well to the screen and this was a very effective use of the idea, even if the components of the team weren’t altogether the most thrilling. Practical scenery Shrapnel is sacrificed early to demonstrate the seriousness of their situation. Good riddance to a rather innocuous character.

It’s the antagonistic nature between Waller and Diggle that really stands out here, and it’ll be interesting to see that develop further. The big shock, though, is the reveal that Oliver and Waller know each other. That sets many far-reaching things in motion.

Number 5: “The Man Under the Hood”

Season Episode: 2.19
Series Episode: 42
Original Airdate: April 16, 2014
Credits: Berlanti & Johns (story); Kreisberg & Shimizu (writers); Warn (director)
Synopsis: Team Arrow blows up Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences to prevent Slade from making the Mirakuru. Slade steals the Clock King’s electronic skeleton key and uses it to break into a S.T.A.R. Labs facility for a specialized blood transfusion device. Felicity traces the device when it goes active, and Oliver discovers that Roy is being used to create serum from his blood. Oliver fights Slade and Isabel to free Roy. Diggle shoots and kills Isabel, but Slade is able to use his blood to revive her. Roy is left in a coma. Oliver and Sara believe Ivo was developing a cure and want to test it on Roy. Felicity extracts Mirakuru from his blood and turns it over to S.T.A.R. Labs friends to synthesize the potential cure. Knowing Oliver is Arrow, Laurel realizes that Canary is Sara.
Guest Characters: Sara Lance/Canary, Isabel Rochev, Anthony Ivo, Kate Spencer, Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker)

From Matt’s Review: “The show is notoriously built on an edict of burning through plot, not holding things back when they naturally appear in a story and push the overall narrative forward. They’ve not shied away from that in the least, but they’ve also really slowed things down to focus on the effects of the highly-strained relationship between Oliver Queen and Slade Wilson. It’s an intoxicating mix that would, on the surface, seem to be at odds but actually makes for a very potent fixation that identifies this as the most defining relationship of Oliver’s life.” (more)

From Derek’s Second Opinion: “Individually, all of these developments work, but as a cohesive episode ‘The Man Under the Hood’ doesn’t really function as more than a collection of things happening on Arrow. Even without a terribly solid thematic thread flowing within the episode, though, it’s still as enjoyable as expected from an entry so late in the season, and will likely work better once the season is seen as the sum of its parts.” (more)

This episode is all about escalation through character, which makes it a bit quieter amongst the larger episodes surrounding it, but also makes it exceptionally effective. Laurel, instead of angrily confronting Oliver about being the Arrow, ruminates on the information, helping to unlock so new courses of action in her own mind. That also helps her realize Sara is the Canary, which seems to empower her.

As Oliver’s life is torn away piece by piece, them blowing up Applied Sciences a nice visual representation, he gets elemental. In a sense, he’s brought back to the island within himself, and that will actually serve him well as the final showdown with Slade approaches. He learns from Isabel that, not only did his father have an affair but that he had planned to ditch the family to be with her. This gives legitimate, if very skewed, motivation to Isabel. What’s more, Robert knew that Thea was Malcolm’s, and ultimately he decided to stay with his family because of his children. Oliver telling Thea that escalates her story, feeling further betrayed.

With his base army now available, Slade escalates things, having gotten ahold of Roy, who was cast out by Oliver, and using him to farm Mirakuru blood for the inmates/soldiers. In the same vein, when Isabel is shot dead, Slade resurrects her with his own Mirakuru-infused blood, elevating her into something more.

What’s more is Team Arrow continues to lose at many turns, and that escalates the stakes for the impending finale. This is the relative calm before the storm and it enriches everything that is to come.

Number 4: “Three Ghosts”

Season Episode: 2.9
Series Episode: 32
Original Airdate: December 11, 2013
Credits: Berlanti & Kreisberg (story); Johns & Sokolowski (writers); Behring (director)
Synopsis: Barry is able to save Oliver’s life with rat poison, but it has the side effect of hallucinations that appear to Oliver like the three ghosts in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Oliver is furious that his secret was revealed without his permission. Barry offers to help identify Oliver’s attacker. Roy investigates a psychiatric firm who gave donors at a blood drive psych evaluations and gets captured by Cyrus Gold. Barry tracks Gold down to a lab and Oliver goes after him. Sebastian Blood, in mask, and Gold have Roy tied up and injected with Mirakuru. Oliver breaks in, eventually takes down Gold and frees Roy, who he now must keep an eye on. In the past, Ivo gives Oliver a choice between killing Shado or Sara. When he steps in front of the gun to protect Sara, Ivo shoots Shado. Slade springs to life, his injuries healed. He runs to help Shado and finds her dead.
Guest Characters: Sebastian Blood, Barry Allen, Sin, Shado, Cyrus Gold/The Acolyte, Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell)

From Matt’s Review: “This year, the show hit the ground running, and while there are a few things that haven’t quite hit during these first nine episodes, the strength and command of the series really shined through. That made this episode a bit of a victory lap. Yet, instead of celebrating, they’ve ratcheted everything up, and most pleasingly through natural and earned developments.” (more)

The midseason finale does a superb take on the Ghosts of Christmas by offering Oliver three hallucinations to help him on his path. Shado attempts to get him to be selfish, to save and protect himself by giving up his quest. Oliver toys with the idea, especially embodied in this lost love, but one of the facets of a hero is to let go these personal desires and drives, and he is resolute in letting her go. The Slade ghost represents Oliver’s fears and doubts, and he gets his butt handed to him. Much like with the personal, though, he’s able to quickly move past this.

It’s that last ghost, in the form of Tommy, that becomes the toughest for him. It’s not just about the guilt he still carries over his friend’s death. It’s about accepting he is a good person, that he is doing good, and that he can be a hero. He has to finally give over to that, and despite the catharsis, it was a nice touch to use Colin Donnell because it was so personal and emotional of a thing to accept.

Much like it’s spiritual predecessor Smallville, Arrow knows how to do premieres and finales very, very well. The cliffhangers it tends to set up prior to extended hiatus in the winter and spring make best use of the conceit. Hearing what could happen with the Mirakuru, getting a taste of that with Slade’s revival in the past, and knowing that Roy survived the injection leaves a heavy weight and anticipation, especially with the six weeks without the show that were ahead of it when the episode aired. It was an intriguing take on the Speedy heroin storyline from the comics and helped to alter Oliver’s and Roy’s relationship into something much deeper.

Then, of course, there’s Barry. The great thing about their use of Barry is that it wasn’t just a glorified cameo. There are aspects to Barry’s personality that could serve Oliver well if they rubbed off. In a sense, him providing a mask for Oliver to use so that he can step out of the shadows a bit more, speaks to those positive aspects he can take from Barry. It’ll be interesting to see the dynamics of heroism these two play off of one another as Barry comes into his own new-found abilities and course in life.

For a little retro fun, you can also check out Matt’s ranking of Season 1 episodes from last year.
Season 1: Episodes 23-19 • Episodes 18-14 • Episodes 13-9 • Episodes 8-4 • Top 3 Episodes

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