The post Arrow S3.19 “Broken Arrow” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>Deathbolt may be a sketch of a character but his appearance is clearly signposted as a gamechanger for Arrow and The Flash. He’s the first metahuman we’ve seen who didn’t originate in the dark matter explosion that gave us the scarlet speedster. You can feel a narrative shackle being lifted here, potentially allowing the small screen DC Universe to expand in all sorts of intriguing directions.
Arrow Trivia
Deathbolt first appeared in the pages of All-Star Squadron 23 in 1983. He’s the creation of Roy Thomas, who also gave us the Vision and Ultron in The Avengers.
Ray Palmer continues to be an effective foil to Oliver. There’s something winning about his bright-eyed belief in tech. “Super powers are based in science,” he declares. “And I am a man of science.” Those two lines honour the comic book origins of the character – along with the Silver Age Flash, the Atom was a superhero born of late ‘50s futurism rather than pseudo-magic, and it’s good to see that explicitly referenced here. Amusingly Ray sounds like a comic fan when he enthuses about the idea of a “team-up”, though Oliver controlling the Atom suit Wii style isn’t quite the classic comic book template for superpowered mash-ups…
Good to see Colton Haynes finally get some decent material (ironic if he really is leaving…). His confrontation with Lance in Iron Heights is one of many good character moments, teamed with a brutal, well-choreographed prison brawl (there’s something darkly amusing about the sight of Roy seemingly expiring beneath a sign saying “Unruly behaviour will not be tolerated”). His death and subsequent resurrection is a cool bit of stagecraft. The fact that his death is a fake-out means that Thea’s can’t be, right? Or is that what they want us to think?
Wry smirk of the week: Lance questioning Oliver’s choice in lair décor with the words “You actually put those things on display?”
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Best Line
<strong>Ray:</strong> “How many abandoned warehouses are in this city? I’m genuinely curious.”
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
More Trivia
No, Gantner and Yount aren’t obscure comic book creators. This is a tribute to Jim Gantner and Robin Yount, superstar baseball players on the Milwaukee Brewers team in the ’80s. But Dixon Canyon has to be a nod to <em>Green Arrow</em> writer Chuck Dixon.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Did You Spot?
Opal City is an established metropolis in the DCU, first seen in 1994 (though a ship named the SS Opal City appears in a 1959 Superman story, fact hounds). It’s the home of Starman, Black Condor and the Elongated Man, among others.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Did You Also Spot?
Strangely amused by the sight of a placard reading “Cops Not Costumes”…
Arrow is broadcast in the UK on Sky 1 HD on Thursday nights, and in the US on Wednesday nights.
For more on top sci-fi TV shows like Arrow, subscribe to SFX (opens in new tab)
Jake Coburn, Ben Sokolowski, Brian Ford Sullivan
Douglas Aarniokoski
As Roy is incarcerated in Iron Heights Oliver and Ray must join forces to fight a new metahuman menace stalking Starling
The post Arrow S3.19 “Broken Arrow” review appeared first on Game News.
]]>The post Arrow S3.10 Left Behind review appeared first on Game News.
]]>It was such a gut-punch of an ending that “Left Behind” can be forgiven for not entirely squaring up to its promise. Fan theories confidently assumed the immortality-bestowing Lazarus Pit of Nanda Parbat would play a part in Oliver’s survival – a piece of speculation shot down by Stephen Amell himself – but “Left Behind”, as its title tells us, is more concerned with the void created by our hero’s absence than the miraculous smoke and mirrors of his resurrection. It keeps Oliver in the limbo land of Hong Kong flashbacks while foregrounding Starling City and the characters who have to deal with his loss.
Did You Spot?
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” says Ray Palmer. “Start small.” Cute choice of words from the man destined for a miniaturised crimefighting career as the Atom. Maybe next week he’ll tell us he needs to see a shrink…
And Team Arrow appears to be coping surprisingly well as the episode begins. We find them in situ, embroiled in one of the show’s characteristically muscular action sequences, a freeway chase punctuated with fireballs and truck-stunting. The tone is lighter than you might expect – Roy’s enjoying riding a “sick” bike while Digg gets to be the Arrow, togged up like the world’s most reluctant cosplayer.
As the episode unfolds we see the cracks and faultlines begin to splinter. Felicity clings to her faith in Oliver, reeling off a litany of the threats he’s faced down. Diggle’s more pragmatic, telling her they need to confront the possibility that Oliver’s not coming back. Oliver’s absence soon becomes a flaming crucible for all the show’s characters, from Malcolm to Thea, Ray Palmer to Laurel, and it’s notable how quickly the team crumbles without his leadership. “Left Behind” may move Oliver to the margins but it’s an episode that restates just how crucial he is to the series, and that’s a welcome touch in a show that’s begun to field one of the most crowded ensemble casts in television.
And then there’s Vinnie Jones, so close to uttering the deathless words “I’m Brick, bitch!” He brings an unlikely touch of geezerish menace to Starling City – let’s face it, a bulletproof Vinnie Jones is the very last man whose pint you’d want to spill in a Watford boozer – but he acquits himself as a formidably physical antagonist, not quite the searing criminal mastermind of the comics but more than tasty when it counts, slapping an underling with fists like butcher’s slabs in one of Arrow’s more startlingly violent moments.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Trivia
The name Judge Pittson is a sly shout-out to Todd Pittson, <em>Arrow</em>’s production manager since 2012.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Trivia 2
Danny “Brick” Brickwell – Shithouse to his friends, presumably – first appeared in <em>Green Arrow</em> 40 in 2004. Created by Judd Winick and Phil Hester, this metahuman crimelord was a member of the Secret Society of Supervillains. There was a passing reference to him in the first season of <em>Arrow</em>, continuity fiends.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Back In Black
So Laurel assumes the mantle of Black Canary, as we always suspected she would. In DC Comics canon the character experienced a generational handover rather than a sisterly one, from Dinah Drake to her daughter, Dinah Laurel Lance.
(opens in new tab)Image 1 of 4
Best Lines
<strong>Malcolm:</strong> “I’m sorry to interrupt.” <strong>Felicity:</strong> “We really need to change the locks.”
Arrow is broadcast in the UK on Sky 1 HD on Thursday nights, and in the US on The CW on Wednesday nights.
Marc Guggenheim & Erik Oleson
Glen Winter
Its three days since Oliver disappeared and Team Arrow must face the threat of a deadly new underworld figure without their leader
The post Arrow S3.10 Left Behind review appeared first on Game News.
]]>