Arrow "The Offer" Review

Ra's Al Ghul offers up the position of the Demon's Head, while Ray Palmer offers up the promise of steak dinner in an all new Arrow. (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Still weighed down by his last meeting with Ra’s al Ghul, Oliver returns home to find a new villain and his crew have started terrorizing Starling City – Michael Amar AKA Murmur, a man whose mouth has been sewn shut. Meanwhile, Laurel and Nyssa bond over their issues with their fathers and Nyssa make Laurel an offer. Thea is forced to come to terms with her father after Oliver brings Malcolm to the loft to recover, and Lance shuts out both Laurel and the Arrow.

High Points

• Thea feels strong guilt for Sara's death. She has really been put through the ringer.
• Nyssa Al Ghul beats on Roy and Laurel in the Arrow Cave.
• Lazarus Pits exist and Ra's has been using them. (Why couldn't this have been revealed by reviving Ollie in one?).
• When Black Canary, Arrow, and Arsenal all team up, I get tingles in my bathing suit area.
• Officer Lance expressed his anger with the Arrow for not telling him about Sara's death and how Laurel has now become the Canary. Paul Blackthrone always does great with this kind of emotional material. Him and Joe West really need to meet up sometime and vent about these damn superhero kids of theirs.
• Ray Palmer is suave as hell. He makes me want to go on a steak dinner with him.
• Ollie got friend-zoned.
• Thea's mid drift is back and better than ever.
• Daddy Diggle always has to play the role of Oliver Queen's psychiatrist. Where would the Team be without him.
• Malcolm tries to be a supportive dad by telling Thea to kill him. #FatherOfTheYear
• Felicity gives one of her old school pump up speeches. #OldSchoolFelicity
• Cops are absolutely useless in the Flarrow universe and its hilarious. #FuckThePolice
• Nyssa saves the day!
• Awesome action set piece at the precinct Laurel, Arsensal, Arrow, and Nyssa kick some mute ass.
• Oliver Queen doesn't dance. "You know I don't dance".

• Ollie rediscovers why he is a hero.
• Laurel and Nyssa are gonna train together. Laurel has become a great character. Her, Nyssa, and Thea have really become #TeamDaddyIssues.
• Thea like anyone would seeks the comfort of Roy Harper. 
• Ra's is posing as the Arrow to try to hurt Oliver's reputation.

Decisions ... Decisions

Low Points

• Boring opening that had Ollie chat with Ra's about shit we already knew.
• Can someone explain how Ollie "defied death"? Was it really just because it was cold.
• What the hell is Ollie talking about when he said "All the guys we put away are back out"? You stopped plenty of people who are still locked up (ex. Slade, Boomerang, Brick).
• Ollie is actually considering Ra's offer just so we can fill up an episode.
• Murmur went out with a whimper. He was a villain who couldn't speak, so it was not surprising he wasn't overly compelling.

Live look at Murmur getting booked at the precinct.

Verdict: For a month, I have been ranting and raving about how Arrow continues to steal elements from Batman's universe. When Ra's Al Ghul offered Ollie the position as leader of the League of Assassins, I lost my shit. Shouting complaints to anyone who would listen. And then I began posting this picture anyplace that would listen to my tirades.

But as most fanboys do, I think I overreacted. The ending of "The Offer" just sent this story into a direction that I didn't see coming. Instead of Ollie rejecting Ra's offer and the League subsequently launching an attack on Starling, the writers threw us a curveball by having Ra's Al Ghul impersonate the Arrow. It was a cool twist that was reminiscent of a Batman/Ra's storyline. The Demon Head's late nights in the hood will definitely affect the Arrow's reputation in Starling and lead to a much more interesting clash between the League of Assassins and Team Arrow. 

          As for the rest of the crew this week, many of our favorite characters were left to deal with their daddy issues. Laurel is having trouble with Lance after she repeatedly lied to him. Thea wants to kill her dad, Malcolm. And Nyssa is pissed that her dad would choose an outsider over her to lead the League. Each character sought comfort in someone to talk about their issues which led to the awesome team up of Nyssa and Laurel. This will be huge for Laurel. She can finally receive some hardcore training and be ready to kick ass on the streets just like Sara did. Not to mention it will get Ollie to stop saying she needs more training.

         For the villain of the week, Murmur didn't factor in much. He couldn't speak so it's not like he would be able to say anything anyway. Unlike The Flash's Weather Wizard from last night, Murmur made zero impression. Just don't bring this weirdo back.

          "The Offer" did not have a final 10 minutes like last night's The Flash, but it did offer a twist of it's own. So by surprising me with their direction, Arrow gets a solid 7.5 out of 10. Who is excited for the return of the Suicide Squad next week?!

Thanks for reading! What do you guys think of Ra's pretending to be the Arrow? Have you ever been friend zoned? Would you get a steak with Ray Palmer? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in next week for "Suicidal Tendencies". 

2nd Annual Capey TV Nominations!

The 2nd Annual Capeys:

TV Nominations

As I said yesterday the Capey's are now divided into 3 separate categories: Movies, TV, and Comic Books. Today the boob tube gets it's due. Comic book TV shows have taken over everyone's DVR schedules this year. Whether it's old favorites like Arrow and The Walking Dead or newbies like The Flash and Gotham everyone is watching something comic related. So with so many shows, expect the winners to have fought vicious battles in order to come out the victor. People saying winning a Capey means you have really made it. So get in the spirit of Award season by voting for your favorite show in the comments section or on Twitter. Good luck to all the candidates.

Time to reveal the nominees!

Comic TV Show Of The Year

Arrow (CW)

Gotham (Fox)

The Flash (CW)

Agents Of S.H.E.L.D. (ABC)

Constantine (NBC)

The Walking Dead (AMC)

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy Show

Supernatural (CW)

Game of Thrones (HBO)

Orphan Black (BBC)

Sherlock (BBC)

Black Mirror (BBC)

Best Lead

Oliver Queen/Arrow (Steve Amell)

Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin)

Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg)

Jim Gordon (Ben Mckenzie)

John Constantine (Matt Ryan)

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln)

Best Supporting

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)

Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards)

Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanaugh)

Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue)

Skye "Daisy" Johnson (Chloe Bennet)

Best Villain

Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor)

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Manu Bennett)

Lenard Snart/Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller)

Those Terminus Pussies

Reverse Flash (Yet To Be Revealed)

Best Episode of 2014

Unthinkable (Arrow)

Man in The Yellow Suit (The Flash)

The Grove (The Walking Dead)

Turn, Turn, Turn (Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Flash vs. Arrow (The Flash)

Best Animated Show

Ultimate Spiderman (Disney XD)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nickelodeon)

Beware the Batman (Cartoon Network)

Teen Titans Go! (Cartoon Network)

Star Wars Rebels (Disney XD)

The Worst of the Worst (The Gotham Award)*

Fish Mooney

Edward Nygma's Terrible Riddles

Destroying The Rogue's Gallery

Barbara Kean's Infidelity/Annoyingness

The Spirit of the Goat (Worst Episode of TV ever)

Most Exciting Future Show

Supergirl (CBS)

Daredevil (Netflix)

Krypton (Syfy)

Titans (TNT)

The Atom (CW)

What Deserves A Show

Moon Knight

Green Lantern

Suicide Squad

Nightwing

The Punisher

The awards will be given out on our podcast later this week. Thanks for reading and congratulations to all the nominees. Tweet at @Caped_Informers or tweet me @cstrand73 to tell us who should win what or sound off in the comments.

*Our apologies if you love Gotham, it's just not our cup of tea. So be prepared for us shitting on it in our podcast. Because truly we have nothing better to do and Gotham sucks.

UPDATE!: As I wrote this Gotham got renewed for it's second season. In short fuck me.

What commonly happens after you win a Capey

This blog is getting sexual and I love it

Arrow Midseason Recap/Review (Spoilers!)

Arrow Midseason Recap/Review

Our favorite Emerald Archer returns from his midseason break next week (and hopefully from the dead too), so I thought there was no better time than now to go over the first half of Arrow's third season. Let's get to it.

High Points (Ep. 1-9):

• Roy is now a full-fledged sidekick.
• The theme of Identity: Can Ollie be both the Arrow and Oliver Queen.
• The shocking death of Sara Lance at the end of Ep. 1.
• Emotional fallout from Sara's death hit Team Arrow hard.
• Komodo from Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow run gets introduced.
• Motorcycle Jousting should be in the Olympics.
• Brandon Routh has added heart + humor to the cast with his fun portrayal of Ray Palmer and his interactions with Felicity are always hilarious.
• The angry hunt for Sara's Killer led to many different suspects.
• Awesome DC easter eggs spread through all nine episodes.
• Thea's transformation to a badass through her studies with Papa Merlyn.
• Ollie and Roy's relationship has grown from "He's just my sister's BF" to "Bros".
• Laurel has begun her path to become Black Canary.
• The gorgeous Nyssa Al Ghul came back and she was pissed about Sara's death.
• Ollie's inability to find Sara's killer puts him at odds with the League of Assassins.
• Enter the Demon's Head, Ra's Al Ghul.
• Felicity's Mom has got it going on (MILF TO THE MAX!).
• Flashbacks to Felicity's hacker past at MIT filled in some blanks about her backstory.
• Roy recalls that he killed a cop in last season's "Seeing Red".
• It's Cupid, stupid! But seriously she was a sexy and unique villainess.
• Ray Palmer has plans for his ATOM suit and now has dwarf star matter as well.
• THE ENTIRETY OF THE FLASH/ARROW CROSSOVER!
• Even though it's in The Flash's episode that incredible Flash vs. Arrow fight.
• Captain Boomerang is another worthy addition to the Flarrow rogues gallery.
• Ollie and Barry's seasoned vet to super-powered rookie relationship.
• Merlyn sets up Ollie to clear his blood debt with the League of Assassins.
• THEA KILLED SARA! (Under mind control, but still!)
• Ollie vs. Ra's in a trial by combat.
• The death of Oliver Queen!

My sediments exactly

Low Points (Ep. 1-9):

• New Vertigo was a Scarecrow ripoff.
• All of the Hong Kong flashbacks have been weak. Katana and Maseo have been extremely underdeveloped which led to the latter's reveal of being in the modern day League of Assassins be very underwhelming. Tommy popping up was the lone bright spot.
• Laurel in her anger over Sara's death makes several stupid decisions.
• Nothing good ever happens for Det. Lance. He is this show's punching bag.
• Being in Corto Maltese really detracted from attempting to find Sara's killer.
• First half has been a real slow burn especially with the League of Assassins.
• Felicity used to date a hacktivist pussy.
• Certain episodes in particular Ep. 3-6 did very little to move any main stories along. Also besides Merlyn, these eps had terrible bad guys involved. Brother Eye, Shaw (The Manhunter), and that dumbass attempting to frame Ted Grant all sucked as antagonists.
• Ollie was a huge hypocrite in regards to Ted Grant being dangerous because he was a former vigilante who killed people. Re-watch Season 1 Ollie. You filled a fucking graveyard.
• No Suicide Squad or Deathstroke.
• No one and I mean no one gives a shit about Thea's new DJ boyfriend. Unless the rumors about him working for Merlyn or Ra's are true, then I will give at least one shit.
• Not enough emphasis on Roy. 
• Dinah Lance is the biggest shithead to ever walk the fake universe of Arrow.

What I do on Wed. nights without Arrow

Best Episodes So Far:

1. "The Brave and The Bold": The Flash/Arrow crossover was a massive successful. Everyone knew going in that pairing Barry and Ollie together was going to be awesome and that fight between them did not disappoint. So "Brave and the Bold" had the job of continuing that level of epicness. It did so by giving Arrow one of it's best baddies this season in Captain Boomerang. Boomer was no joke and was on a war path to take down A.R.G.U.S. This led Arrow and Flash into action thereby delivering some of the coolest action sequences of this season.

2. "The Climb": The trend of TV in 2014 was to have a "trial by combat". On Game Of Thrones, the Mountain and the Viper had an epic showdown to determine the fate of Tyrion Lannister. It was a fun fight with a crazy unexpected outcome. So how was Arrow going to top that trial by combat? By having their own fun fight that has an even more unexpected outcome. Ollie got killed. It was a moment that Arrow fans never expected to see. In the end it just goes to show that you don't fuck with the Demon's Head. Overall this episode just showcased how scary powerful Ra's Al Ghul really is and how Oliver pails in comparison to his might. Obviously Oliver will have to come back somehow (Lazurus Pit is everyone's guess), so it will be interesting to see if the League still has a problem with Starling City's vigilante when he returns. 

Worst Episode So Far:

1. "Guilty": Oliver was acting like a major hypocrite. Wildcat's old partner was trying to frame him, yet we didn't care. The story felt like it could have been resolved in the first 10 minutes. Whatever negative tidbits you have to say about "Guilty" are probably 100% on the money. Just a filler hour of TV with a lameass bad guy. Only high point for it, was the boxing glove arrow.

Biggest Surprise: Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer has been an excellent addition to the Arrow roster. At first I thought he would be a throw away character that was trying to take over Oliver's company much like Summer Glau's Ravager was last year, but instead Ray added humor + heart + levity to a show that desperately needed some. His character has been coming along nicely and I for one am definitely looking forward to him suiting up as The Atom in the second half of season 3.

Biggest Disappointment: Until I watched "The Climb", Ra's Al Ghul, or his lack there of, was going to be the biggest disappointment of the first half of season 3. Now that honor instead goes to the Hong Kong flashbacks. Early on in the show, flashbacks were one of Arrow's greatest strengths. They helped inform the story at hand while simultaneously giving the audience an interesting backstory on what happened to Oliver in those 5 years that he was away. The revelation at the end of last season that Ollie was not on the island the entire time he was away made me excited for what the show would going to do with it's new Hong Kong setting. To be frank, they haven't really done shit with it. Tatsu/Katana and Maseo have very little development other than that they love their son. When flashbacks were with Slade, Shado, and Sara, the audience learned a lot about who thee characters were and bonded to them. That's what made Slade's transformation that much cooler, you cared about him. Nobody cares about Maseo or Tatsu yet. Maybe the second half of the season will showcase who these characters are a little bit more.

Best Fight So Far: 

1. Ra's vs. Oliver: The Demon's head easily destroys Ollie in perhaps the coolest way possible.

Honorable Mention: This fight happened on The Flash, but it was so badass that it should still count here. #Flarrow

Verdict: Arrow's first half gets a 7.0 out of 10. Now some people may feel that score is a little low, so let me explain. Arrow reached awesome heights last year and I'm going to hold them to that standard. Off that bar that they set, this season has been good, not great. Of course there were plenty of highlights, but I expect the second half of the season to be on par with Season 2. Oliver's death sets up a ton of possibilities for the season's second half so there is no reason not to expect greatness from this next set of episodes.

Most Excited For (Ep. 10-23):

• Mob boss Brick is coming to Starling! Played by Vinnie Jones who famously said "I'm the Juggernaut, BITCH!"
• Roy and Diggle stepping up in Oliver's absence.
• Appearances by Suicide Squad and Deathstroke.
• More League of Assassins.
• Another Flash appearance?

Okay, that's all I for ya. Stay tuned for Arrow return on Jan. 21st and make sure to follow us on @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73 for all your comic book related news. Thanks for reading!

If you want individual reviews for each of the first nine Arrow episodes click the links below:

The Calm

Sara

Corto Maltese

The Magician

The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak

Guilty

Draw Back Your Bow

The Brave and The Bold

The Climb

Stephen Amell's Cousin Robbie Amell Joins 'The Flash'

Many new additions have been being added to Arrow for season 3 and now we have an addition to the spinoff. Robbie Amell will be joining the cast as Ronnie Raymound, also known as Firestorm, and will have an important in how Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin) becomes the Flash.

Keeping the family name in the business, Robbie Amell, cousin to Steve Amell who plays Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow in the Arrow hit show, will be a great addition to the cast. He had a short lived run on a previous show, The Tomorrow People, but I believe this role has his name all over it. He definitely has the heart to act in this role and he was born to play Firestorm

For the people who don't know, Firestorm was formed by the fusion of two people, a young high school student Ronnie Raymond and an award winning physicist Martin Stein, during a nuclear lab accident where Ronnie took over the controls with Martin being a small voice of reason in his head. They do change Ronnie's back story in the TV series, having him as a maintenence worker at STAR Labs with Caitlin Snow (played by Danielle Panabaker) as his fiance, but it shouldn't change much of the original story of Firestorm.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

New DC All Access

Check out a brand new DC All Access. There is some cool interviews with the Arrow cast, but total layup questions on the trivia contest.

Source: DC Comics

More Harley Quinn on 'Arrow'?

Stephen Amell (Arrow) recently spoke about the Joker's wacky sidekick at Phoenix Comic Con.

"I don't know if she's going to be involved in Season Three, but the high-pitched voice in Episode 16 was absolutely Harley Quinn," "I didn't know about any of this, by the way, because I wasn't in that scene. But I'm a fan and I remember seeing that preview and feeling like I should have known that this was going to happen!" "I also know that there was an additional scene with that character in the finale -- again, still in the cell, still with her back to us -- but it had to be cut for time."

Season 3 needs a Suicide Squad led by Harley just because I say so. Arrow begins shooting their next season next month.

Source: ComicBookMovie

I wish Mr. J would blow me a kiss.

Arrow Season 3 Updates!

So as we all know, Arrow's Season 2 just ended last week. So to build anticipation for Season 3 some of the cast was recently interviewed by TVLine.com. Here's some of the things they discussed.

1. So obviously the speculations begin with who will take over the big bad spot while Slade is locked away in jail. In my opinion I hope it's Komodo. I recently started reading Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow and Komodo is one bad motherfucker. I would love to see him come to Starling City and all sorts of madness.

2. Thea obviously went off with her new daddy but does that mean she's coming back as a bad ass? John Barrowman who plays Macolm Merlyn thinks so. It's a pretty safe bet Thea is going to become much more bad ass then we have seen.

3. Lastly and probably the lost exciting news, Miss Katie Cassidy has hinted that she will be taking over the black leather and Canary status. YES YES YES! This will be amazing what more could you possibly ask for?

All in all I'd say season 3 is slowly becoming more amazing by the minute. Make sure to check back here for more Arrow updates as they come in.

Source: TV Line

A Few Notes from Christian: 

1. I want my main man Brick as a villain at some point this season, continue the meta-human trend.

2. Thea becoming learning to fight will be interesting. A possible Season 3 finale showdown of Malcolm and his disciple Thea against Ollie and his sidekick Roy. Feels would be all over the place.

3. Laurel becoming the real Canary pleases me. I became less enamored with Caity Lotz as season 2 went on so hopefully Laurel's Canary will have a better lasting impact. This also brings in a possibility of Ted Grant, Catman, coming into Starling to train Laurel. DC comics heaven. I also have begun to enjoy Cassidy's acting more and more. Adding her to the Arrow cave will do wonders for her character's arc. Less pills and booze and more salmon ladder bars.

Arrow Full Season 2 Review/Thoughts

On Wednesday night CW's Arrow concluded it's 2nd season. Wow, the Emerald Archer's show really blew us all away this season. So time for an end of the season review. Top Episodes will contain no spoilers, but Thoughts and Final Review will.

5 Best Episodes:

Broken Dolls

Seeing Red 

The Promise

Three Ghosts

Heir To The Demon

3 Weak Episodes:

Birds Of Prey

Deathstroke

Blast Radius

Spoilers Ahead!

What We Liked About This Season:

• Ollie refusing to kill
• Black Canary
• Formation of the Suicide Squad
• Rise and Fall of Deathstroke
• Unique introduction to meta-humans
• Inclusion of the League of Assassins
• BARRY ALLEN!
• Roy added to Team Arrow
• Every word spoken by Felicity Smoak
• Ollie's Mask
• Return of Malcolm Merlyn
• The Worst Mayoral Race ever
• Officer Lance becoming the Gordon to Ollie's Arrow
• Loss of the Queen Fortune
• Thea Queen's farther arc
• Flashbacks involving Slade's descent into madness 
• Expanding the DC TV universe such as inclusions of Cyrus Gold and Brother Blood
• The Final Showdown Between Ollie and Slade
• Keeping Slade alive

What We Didn't Like About This Season:

• The overall acting from the Lance Sisters
• Laurel's alcoholism
• Weak one episode villains like Shrapnel 
• Not Enough Diggle
• Ollie and Sarah's Will They-Won't They
• Ollie and Felicity's Will They-Won't They
• Second half of the season's Amazo flashbacks were mostly weak
• The Sizzle of Sarah's Black Canary real fizzled by season's end
• The return of Jessica De Gouw's Huntress
• Roy's trip to a homeless shelter and subsequent capture

Best Fights:

Arrow vs. Nyssa in the episode 'Heir to the Demon'

Arrow vs. Deathstroke (Present)/Ollie vs. Slade (Flashback) in the episode 'Unthinkable'

Best Lines of the Season:

Felicity: "I may be a bitch, but I'm a bitch with wifi."

Ollie: "I detest swimming."

Slade: "Remember I made you a promise, kid."

What To Add for Season 3:

Bring Ras Al Ghul to Starling

Expand the Suicide Squad

Crossover with Flash

NIGHTWING!!

Continue to slowly incorporate meta-humans

Overall Review: Season 2 of Arrow brought Ollie further down the path of becoming a true hero. He gave up on killing his enemies and was forced to face an enemy that he mistakenly created from his past. Slade was the foe worthy of a full season arc. He brought meta-humans into the show naturally and created almost more trouble than Ollie could handle. Slade broke Ollie down to his core and showed us what Oliver Queen is really made of.
           The inclusion of Barry Allen and other DC nuggets added even more excitement to Ollie's journey. Such additions like The League of Assassins and Suicide Squad expanded the DC TV universe and make for exciting future villain possibilities. As for Amanda Waller, she can make an interesting antagonist for the flashbacks and present timeline of the show.
          Diggle and Felicity continue to be the best side characters. Felicity is funny and consistently provides Ollie with pump up speeches. As for Dig, I wish we got more of him. Sometimes he was pushed aside for other characters to shine, but when he finally did get the spotlight we got great eps like Suicide Squad. In addition, I love how Paul Blackthrone's Officer Lance has become the Commissioner Gordon of the Arrowverse.
          Laurel and Sarah Lance were the weakest actors on the show. Now that being said, it does not mean that they didn't have their bright spots. Particularly Katie Cassidy's Laurel learned of Ollie's secret and became a more overall useful character for the future of the show. Caity Lotz's Black Canary on the other side of the spectrum could serious ass.
          So for all it's exciting action, excellent villains, and interesting characters stories, the Informers give Season 2 of Arrow a 9 out of 10.

The Dark Archer Made a Series Regular For Arrow Season 3

Arrow actor Steve Amell tweeted out a photo with actor John Barrowman, plays Malcolm Merlyn, confirming that Barrowman will be upped to series regular for season 3 of the CW superhero hit show. Could this mean the Dark Archer is again the main villain for a season? Possibly, but I hope it leads the show to casting a Ras Al Ghul, who is supposedly angry with Merlyn. The League of Assassins against the Arrow squad for season 3. Slam Dunk!

Just imagine the League of Assassins shows up and this guys swings in to help the Arrow kick some ass.

DC All Access Goes BTS on Arrow

In this week's all new DC All Access we get all Green Arrow based episode including a behind the scenes look at CW's hit show Arrow. Jeff Lemire also stops by to talk to Tiffany about his Capey winning comic Green Arrow's current story arc. Lots of Emerald Archer coming at ya!

By the way did anyone catch Arrow's costume designer mention she would like to make a Batman costume. Could that be a hint that Batman is coming to visit Starling City? Probably not, but I am gonna take it as a 100% chance that is. Watch more DC All Access on Youtube and subscribe to DC Entertainment.