Jessie Robertson reviews the eighth episode of Arrow season 5…
The one where Ollie meets his Force-Ghosts….
So it’s been 100 episodes for Arrow… I’ve been with you since I believe episode 40 or 41 and it’s been a wild ride. Normally, I would hate for a centennial program to fall into crossover week but tonight’s storyline was a perfect mixture of the past , present and future of Arrow that melded together like a rich fondue (pass the crostinis, please!). If you’re keeping up, last night on The Flash, five of our heroes were kidnapped by the Dominators; as “the nerd crew” finds out, they were held in a stasis chamber, very Matrix-like, in the Dominators space ship; what they dreamed or lived through subconsciously was not too unlike Lost’s final season the Flash-Sideways. It was a of a life that never came to pass, but one that could have easily have been. Oliver never boarded the Queen’s Gambit, nor did Sara. Robert Queen became Mayor of Starling City. Oliver got engaged to a still alive Laurel. Tommy became a doctor in Chicago saving lives (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Ray and Felicity ended up together. And maybe most significantly, John became the Hood in this reality. It’s all shades of a life that could have been, that felt real enough to fool them, but as the memories of their real lives fade in, they start to open their eyes. And yes, this is where that Deathstroke cameo takes place; and yes, his Dream-Stroke is a real pushover.
As our heroes began to wake up, of sorts, realize that these aren’t the lives they are meant to be living, I was waiting for the good drama of people that had passed in Oliver’s life to pull back on him and make it hard for him to do what he knew needed to be done. But, in a surprise turn, it was Thea who was the holdout. So much clicked for me with her character in that instance because in so many ways, she is still a young girl who never really got to grow up normal; her brother and father missing for five years, her father ending up dead, losing her mother two years later, finding out who her real father was before being whisked away and trained as an assassin, killed, brought back with a vengeful bloodlust, I mean, did she ever get a wild spring break in Cancun? It was hardest for her to leave this reality and she almost didn’t.
Yes our heroes do escape (with help from the Waverider and Nate) but the journey inside their own heads was a worthy ride during this massive crossover; sure , we got bits with the other heroes. Tonight, Supergirl gets one on one dialogue with Wild Dog, a young man who looks at metahumans and superpowers like don’t have ’em, don’t want ’em , don’t need ’em; that is until a lady with electric powers nearly fries him before a speedster saves his life. It was the quickest 180 spin you’ll ever see. Still, a fun segment. One flawed moment came when Cisco strutted in like a badass, talking down to the new team on Arrow, which didn’t feel right for his character. We will pick back up tomorrow when the heroes find themselves stranded in space and putting together why the Dominators took those five was a cool revelation.
9/10- more so than last night, this was an interesting journey that didn’t feel over crowded or bogged down and actually, in the end, helped fuel the story for what is sure to be a special effects bonanza tomorrow on Legends.
Jessie Robertson
Originally published December 1, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
