Arrow "The Climb" Review

The League of Assassins gives the Arrow an ultimatum to track down Sara's killer or to have 50 people of Starling be killed in an all new Arrow. (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law) returns to Starling City and tells Oliver (Stephen Amell) that her father, Ra’s al Ghul (guest star Matt Nable) has given Oliver 48 hours to find Sara’s killer or the League of Assassins will start killing the citizens of Starling City. Laurel (Katie Cassidy) is stunned when her father (Paul Blackthorne) delivers a very special Christmas gift – her mother, Dinah (guest star Alex Kingston). Meanwhile, Ray (Brandon Routh) tries to make amends with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Oliver sets a meeting with Ra’s al Ghul.

High Points

• The Holiday theme from Flash continued onto Arrow
• The League of Assassins gives Ollie 48 hrs to find Sara's Killer 
• Katana and China White throw down back in Hong Kong
• Ollie discovers Thea has been taught to kill by Merlyn
• Merlyn strong arms Ollie into cleaning up his blood debt with the League
• Sara's Killer is revealed: THEA!!!! (What will her DJ boyfriend think?!!)
• Ray Palmer's tells us his backstory to Felicity (Raylicity is the new hotness)
• Bring on the ATOM!
• OMAC tease! 
• Ollie claims he killed Sara and demands a trail by combat
• Ra's Al Ghul hasn't been challenged to a trial by combat in 67 years. (Lazarus Pit??)
• Ollie vs. Ra's (Another amazing fight by Arrow's stunt team)
• Shirtless Sword-fighting is the best sword-fighting.
• The ending. He is called the Demon's Head for a reason.

There's always gonna be another mountain Ollie!

Ollie was like..

Low Points

• Dinah Lance returns to Starling to prove once again that Laurel isn't the worst character on Arrow, it's her asswipe of a mother.
• Fight scene with Thea looked a bit odd
• Maseo's revealing as a member of the League was a surprise, but I can't help feeling it  could have been built up a bit more.
• When is Roy gonna be allowed to have a plot line that lasts longer than one episode? (Or do absolutely anything for that matter?)

Rule #1 when sword fighting Ra's Al Ghul: Always bring Batman

Verdict: Arrow's midseason finale had a lot to live up to. The last two midseason episodes had been exceptional ( S1: Malcolm Merlyn revealed as the Dark Archer after an epic fight/ S2: Slade Wilson revealed as season's big villain) and yesterday's The Flash was tremendous, so this hour had some big shoes to fill. Now the overall storyline for this season has moved at a slug's pace, dodging the main mystery at hand "Who killed Sara Lance?".  Finally Sara's killer has been unmasked. It was Thea Merlyn (under Malcolm's manipulation), who dusted our favorite Canary! Perhaps this revelation wasn't was not quite as exciting as The Flash's final minutes last night (HOLY SHIT WAS THAT AWESOME!) yet it did put Ollie in quite a predicament. Try to convince the League that Merlyn coerced Thea into the murder and risk the League killing her or take the rap himself to try to wipeout Thea's blood debt. In the end Ollie chose to protect his sister and was forced to confront Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins on his own. Then Ollie fell to godliness of the Demon's Head. Now our hero's fate is up in the air. Overall "The Climb" gets a 8.5 out of 10 for Oliver's great emotional arc and a killer final battle.

The only reaction to Ollie falling

The most likely scenario has to be Ollie goes for a bath in a Lazarus Pit, right? Arrow can't really be dead forever, right? RIGHT?!!

Thanks for reading! Did you suspect Thea? Will Oliver bath in a Lazarus Pit? Sound off in the comments with what you think. And make sure to follow the site for all your comic book related news or follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers

Time to suit up Ray, it's your show now!

Arrow "The Magician" Review

Nyssa Al Ghul returns to Starling in search of Sara and the Demon's Head makes his first appearance in the 50th episode of Arrow. (SPOILERS!!)

Synopsis: A furious Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law) confronts Oliver (Stephen Amell) about Sara. When Oliver learns Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) is alive, he suspects Merlyn killed Sara. Oliver and Nyssa join forces and go after the Dark Archer, intent on bringing Sara’s killer to justice. Laurel (Katie Cassidy) keeps her distance from Nyssa, as she blames her sister’s death on her involvement with the League of Assassins. Meanwhile, Oliver and Roy (Colton Haynes) work on repairing their respective relationships with Thea (Willa Holland), who has returned home. Nyssa discusses Oliver with her father, Ra’s al Ghul (guest star Matt Nable).

High Points

• Nyssa (the beautiful Katrina Law) returns to Starling
• I need to write all my future secrets in Ghost Ink
• Guess Who's back (Malcolm Merlyn)/ Tracer arrow
• Arrow vs. Nyssa vs. The Dark Archer
• Cross Merlyn of the list of potential Sara suspects
• Nyssa punching Ollie was awesome
• Laurel (Katie Cassidy) is taking names in the gym
• Enjoying secret relationship between Thea and Malcolm
• Enter Ras Al Ghul (Welcome Matt Nable)
• Ollie has made a powerful new enemy

Just a couple of eskimo bros 

Low Points

• Slowest episode of the season thus far (Moved the overall story along just a tad)
• No Felicity or Ray Palmer
• Flashbacks were lackluster (Even when Amanda Waller showed up)
• Oliver Queen sucks at negotiating with children (Just two pieces of candy you cheap fuck?)

Verdict: From the way it was promoted by the creators and actors I expected a bit more from the show's 50th episode, but even when Arrow is slow, it's still highly entertaining. Ollie made a firm decision against killing Malcolm Merlyn which put him at odds with Nyssa Al Ghul, her papa, and the League of Assassins. So the season's main conflict is now set. Also Thea is continuing to lie to Oliver about her ties to Merlyn. It is interesting to see Thea keep a secret from Ollie for once. One thing in particular though I thought was missing this week were moments of levity usually provided by Felicity or Ray Palmer. This was an intense hour and the audience could have used some more brief humor (even though Dig did have one of his patterned one liners) to break up the tension. Finally I would be remiss not to mention how awesome that 3 way archer battle (however brief it was) and the introduction to Matt Nable's Ras Al Ghul were. Those two moments were the highlights of the week. As we look ahead, much more League of Assassins is sure to be in store, long story short I'm just sitting here in excitement for when Ollie and Ras to have a showdown. Overall "The Magician" gets a 7.0 out of 10. Certainly wasn't Arrow at it's best, but it helped set up the season-long conflict and had a few highlight reel moments.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Matt Nable's Ras Al Ghul? Did you like Arrow's 50th episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. 

Arrow "Sara" Review/Thoughts

Team Arrow deals with the emotional fallout after the *SPOILER* death of Sara Lance/Black Canary during this week's Arrow. SPOILERS!!

GTs with Team Abs

High Points

• Huge emotional fallout for all of Team Arrow
• The hunt for Sara's killer is on
• Ollie's can't grieve so the others can
• Introduction of Komodo from Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow run
• Motorcycle Jousting with Komodo
• Brandon Routh adds fun dynamic as Ray Palmer
• Great final showdown with Komodo
• Flashbacks deal with a classic Amanda Waller scenario
• Burying Sara
• Daddy Diggle naming his daughter Sara
• Badass Thea Merlyn!!
• Continued theme of Identity

Low Points

• Laurel's breakdown and revenge attempt
• Nothing good ever happens for Det. Lance
• Would have liked to see more of the Tommy flashback

Verdict: This episode was appropriately titled "Sara" because the majority of it dealt with the emotional fallout of Team Arrow from the death their good friend. Sara really craved herself a big role in the Arrowverse in her season on the show and her death affected everyone in different ways. Felicity cried a lot. Diggle honored her by naming his baby girl Sara. Roy thought of Thea. Laurel went apeshit (as usual) and made dumb decisions. But for Ollie his identity came into question again. Can he be regular guy Oliver Queen and the Arrow? He can't be a human and mourn his friend (and former lover) because as he says the Arrow is the person they all look to to be strong and always on task. It's the question of the season and once again comes is woven into the story here seamlessly. The villain of the episode Komodo was a lot different from his comic counterpart but is still alive so he could definitely make more appearances coming up. Meanwhile in the flashbacks we got a classic situation of Amanda Waller being a huge bitch (she makes the tough decisions). It was a good way to segue into what sorts of activities Ollie will be up to while in Hong Kong. Lastly we get a cool glance at a badass Thea and Papa Merlyn. Excited to see where those two fit in this season. Overall I give this episode an 8.5 out of 10. It may have not been the most action packed episode, but it showed us how much Sara meant to this cast of characters. The hunt for Sara's killer will definitely continue to be a huge storyline for this season. Could big bad Ra's Al Ghul be behind it? We shall see.

Thanks for reading. Who do you think killed Sara? What did you think of Arrow's second episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. 

Arrow Jukebox Pick of the Week: This song goes out to our dearly departed Sara. Miss ya love...