Arrow "Uprising" Review

Arsenal and Black Canary come up with a last ditch effort to save the Glades from Brick as his connection to Malcolm Merlyn is revealed. (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Still without Oliver, the team is forced to consider Malcolm's offer; more details of Malcolm's life are revealed.

High Points:

• Really enjoyed the Malcom Merlyn flashbacks. Always interesting to see the flashbacks use someone other than Ollie.
• The team work between Arsenal and Canary is really growing on me. Together they have proved they can kick some serious ass.
• Robert Queens returns in some flashbacks!
• Diggle continues to prove to be the moral center and daddy figure of the team.
• Felicity is a genius and her brilliance is a key driving force for Team Arrow.
• The Glades fight scene was an incredible bit of TV. Christian and I both agreed it had some resemblances to The Dark Knight Rises. You don't usually see things like that on network TV, unless its Game of Thrones.
• Wildcat vs Brick was a hell of a brawl. Watching Wildcat fight was a lot of fun.
• Welcome back Ollie Q. Such a badass way to come back and tell your city "they did not fail" in his absence. 
• If you're not excited about Merlyn training Ollie, you must have no pulse.

I hope Malcolm teaches Ollie these moves

Low Points:

• Felicity, I'm sorry but you are starting to become the Lana of this show. All you do is whine and complain about everything. Shape up, you're a member of Team Arrow there are no complaints.
• The actor who played a young Tommy Merlyn was awful.
• Would have liked to have seen an explanation to how Ollie's healing process. That whole sequence happened very fast, yet nothing was explained.
• No Ray Palmer this week. He's been a reason to come back week after week, but I guess all the greats need a week off.

Felcity and Ollie in the final moment tonight

Verdict: Well you couldn't have asked for a better episode this week people. Action, suspense, top notch flash backs, and the return of a hero. All ingredients for a perfect Arrow filled cake. The flash back scenes were a great addition to the characterization of Malcom Merlyn. We often don't get to see any other back stories besides Ollie's so I very much enjoyed it. All the events of the present though led to Ollie asking Malcom to train him for a rematch against Ras Ah Gul. Personally, I love this. You mean to tell me two bad ass archers are now going to be training together, learning from each other, and becoming more bad ass. What's not to love (unless you're Felicity). I guess the only question I have is what does this mean for Team Arrow now? We saw in tonights episode, a whole range of emotions about having to team up with Merlyn to stop Brick. Does that mean that they are going to be hurt Ollie is now working beside him?  Also tonight we saw the debut of Wildcat as a vigilante. Very cool addition to the Arrowverse and his fight with Brick really proved what a great fighter he is. Ya did he get his ass handed to him? He did, but he'll be back my friends, he will be back. On a final note I want to touch on this whole Felicity nonsense. As I mentioned in the "low points" section she has become such an annoyance and whiner. She get's all the air time while taking away from Big Daddy Dig and others who deserve it. The CW likes to do this with all their shows, and I get that, but this is too much. As I digress, I'm happy Ollie is back, and I'm excited too se what comes next for these guys. 

All in all I give tonights episode a solid 8.5 out of 10! 

Thanks for reading guys. How did you like tonight's episode? Do you like Ollie training with Merlyn? Feel free to comment and tweet at us @Caped_Informers. Make sure to tune into next week's episode "Canaries". 

Editor's Note: Ollie lied to Thea about meeting up with an old buddy in Bludhaven and getting thrown in the slammer. I hope that friend would be Dick Grayson. Ollie and Dick would slay all the red heads in the DC-CW universe. Best tag team since Gronk and Edleman.

Arrow "Left Behind" Review

Arrow is back! Lets not waste time and get right into. (Spoilers!)

Episode Description: As Diggle, Felicity and Roy start to fear the worst after Oliver's disappearance, Merlyn pays them a surprise visit; Ray experiments with part of his new suit; Laurel takes on the role of the Black Canary

High Points:

• Right out of the gate we get a tease of the green suit only to be revealed as Big Daddy Dig
• The team up between Roy and Dig is the type of stuff that could make even the manliest of men cream their pants.
• Vinne Jones who you may know formally as "The Jaggarnaut" played an excellent Daniel Brickwell aka "Brick"
• Brick challenging people promising them they will make it out alive if they win is probably one of the most bad ass things we've seen since Slade Wilson was in town.
• Ray Palmer as a character is amazing. Really excited to see his storyline play out.
• Thea continues to train and become more and more of a warrior.
• Thea's stomach refuses to be covered up in this show and I don't think anyone is complaining. 
• Learning the true fate of Oliver and why Maseo decided to saved him was a lot of fun to watch and it made me feel all the warm and fuzzy feelings you get when touching moments occur.
• We got the first taste of Laurel Lance's "Black Canary" and it did not disappoint.
• Katana and Maseo save our favorite Emerald Archer.

Low Points:

• Within the first 5 minutes of the episode, our good friend Detective Lance or Captain Lance as it is now not only loses his perp, but loses a cop on his force. Please for once can this show do something right for him? It's been three season this guy needs some luck.
• At times the episode seemed to be very slow and dry. Yes I know things have to be explained,  but I felt bored at some points.
• Bitch move by Felicity telling Ray what his fiance would have wanted him to do. Ray was right, it's not her place to say anything.
• Speaking of Felicity, Christian and I agreed that as hot as she is, they need to show less of her. She's a great character, but gets way too much air time. We don't want you to end up like Lana in Smallville. #SaveFelicity that is all!
• The episode needed more Dig and Roy team up scenes. In Oliver's absence they have really stepped up to the plate and taken over Team Arrow, but we want more.
• Malcom breaking the news to Team Arrow about Oliver's death and the reactions of the room was very crushing to see.
• Would have liked to have seen more scenes with Brick, but I guess that will come with time. 

Verdict: After a crushing blow (no pun intended) during the mid-season finale of Arrow, it was a tough one to predict how this next episode would play out. First off, it was great to see both Diggle and Roy step up and become the leaders of Team Arrow. Obviously everyone is worrying about Ollie, but they know that the city itself and protecting the city is what Oliver would have wanted. Dig has a great line in the episode that describes their partnership and what is left of Team Arrow perfectly "This is our work, this is what Oliver has set out to do. We have to do this" Leave it to Big Daddy Dig to pull on the heart strings. So now we move to Ollie's story. I must admit in my mind I knew he would be back but not the way they portrayed it in the show. A mysterious man, dressed in a black hood takes Oliver's body on a sled and drags him to a shed. Later to be revealed as Ollie's old friend and mentor Maseo. Then Katana is also revealed, but it seems that her and Maseo being together seemed unexpected for Ollie. Which leads me to believe that she will be found in the Hong Kong flashbacks, but perhaps the happy couple will not stay together. On a final note lets briefly talk about the first look at Laurel's Black Canary. I have no complaints. The suit looked great, she looks great, she's got the attitude, and plus the sonic canary was a great DC animated TV solute and I loved it.
All in all I give tonights episode a solid 7.5 out of 10!

PS.....HE'S BAAAHHHCKK!

What did you think of tonight's episode, and what do you think will happen with the remainder of the season? Feel free to comment and tweet us @Caped_Informers and let us know what you think! Stay tuned for next week's episode "Midnight City"

Rian Johnson To Direct Star Wars Ep. VIII!

Rian Johnson (Brick) will write/direct Star Wars: Episode VIII  according to Deadline. That means JJ Abrams, who is currently directing Episode VII, will leave the franchise after finishing his installment. Johnson is best known for his 2012 sci-fi flick Looper and for directing episodes on AMC's Breaking Bad. His credits on BB include the episode "Fly" and the heartbreaking "Ozymandias".

I'm a huge fan of Johnson's work especially Brick. A hardcore sic-fi director who is just an awesome addition to carry the Star Wars legacy. I sense some Empire Strikes Back amazingness from this sequel.

Source: Deadline
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