Arrow Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Restoration
Carissa Pavlica
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A little bit of everything was restored on the latest installment of Arrow, including the lunacy of one Malcolm Merlyn.
While Laurel took Sara's body to Nanda Parbat for revival, Felicity did her best to breathe life into the bond between Oliver and Diggle.
It seemed there was some audience catering in play on Arrow Season 4 Episode 3, as the fan favorite phrase "Original Team Arrow" was tossed around quite a bit during the same hour the preferred Canary arose from the dead.
Was that a coincidence? Who knows. But we'll chat about it a bit, including how it all panned out during the installment. There was a big surprise out of Nanda Parbat, too. It seems the vacation destination is about to close its doors forever, unless the Lazarus Pit has the power to self-regenerate.
First up, Oliver and Diggle have finally worked out their differences. Felicity being her usual spunky self and forcing the two to get down to brass tacks over their inability to see eye to eye certainly helped, but not as much as the two of them alone in the field without backup.
As much as everyone likes to moan about there being too many superheroes roaming the streets of Star City, dammit, there are a lot of bad people in that town. If even two things are happening at one time, that's one too many things for a three man team. It was very obvious that neither Green Arrow or the Digster (or whatever he's calling himself), can go up against the bad guys alone.
Even before they realized that Damien Darhk was a big bad who killed other big bads, Diggle had already decided to trust Oliver again by letting him in on his two-year investigation into HIVE. That's progress. The baby steps they took along the way, coupled with Felicity's continued reminder that they're the OTA had them feeling like family again by the end of the hour.
That all said, was it really necessary to remind viewers they were aware of the three amigos as the Original Team Arrow every few minutes or so? Once or twice it was cute, but then it started to feel like pandering to the audience. There is already enough infighting amongst this crowd that pointing out the obvious wasn't necessary.
Speaking of warring factions in the Arrowverse, Laurel took Sara to Nanda Parbat for resurrection. This is such a rough issue. There are people who love Sara Lance and want her back, but still think Laurel is being selfish for bringing her back to life. It's like being on an awful carnival ride. We want to get off, but we're going to ride it anyway, because we want the thrill at the end.
We have to live with the fact the writers (I hate inserting "the writers" into a review of fictional characters, but what else is there to do in this case?) chose to change the origin story of the Black Canary and many people fell in love with Canary. But she's getting a second chance at life, even if at the hands of her sister, who those same people may resent (and it's easy to understand why). At least she's coming back. Right?
What I'm finding the most strange about this story is the insertion of Malcolm Merlyn smack dab into the middle of it. I'll never understand that guy. Laurel was content to let it go because he said she couldn't use the Pit. Then Malcolm and Thea had their discussions about soaking in it and what happens.
You will be compelled to kill until you've slain the one who hurt you.
Malcolm
That line sent shivers down my spine. If Sara was raised, she'd want to kill Thea, right? So why in the hell did Malcolm then say if Thea was serious about fighting her bloodlust, she'd offer the same to Sara? I watched the scene again and again and none of it made sense. Of course, nobody is going to write a book about the logic of Malcolm Merlyn and fatherhood anytime soon, so it's to be expected.
Sure enough, when Sara popped out of that Pit, she had her sites set on Thea like a rabid dog. So why does Malcolm want Sara alive to kill Thea? What am I missing?
Now we know why there is a body in a grave when Oliver is standing by it. Sara will be the last person resurrected because Nyssa put foaming bubbles of blood (or something) into the Pit. She ruined it. She could have waited to see if Sara came out OK on the other end of all this before doing something so drastic, but word has it there are other Pits in the comic canon, so in time, maybe they'll be found.
Coming up on Arrow Season 4 Episode 4, Lance is not only going to find out about Sara and tell Damien Darhk, subsequently facing her with a gun to take her out (going to Nanda Parbat?), but Team Arrow will learn Lance has been in contact with Darhk. That can't possibly go well.
Is the call to action about the Original Team Arrow a way to let us know we're losing one of the team members to that grave? I'm really worried about Thea now that Sara is looking at her with such hatred in her eyes. Hey, even Legends can be killers, as we just learned from The Flash Season 2 Episode 3 when Captain Cold wound up in Iron Heights.
The "he" Oliver wants to kill could very well be Malcolm Merlyn. After all, what reason do we really have to continue on with Nanda Parbat now that the Lazarus Pit is closed for business? I can't think of a single one. Malcolm's only remaining tie to Star City is Thea. Would they possibly leave Oliver all alone except for Felicity and his son? Ponder that.
Other Points:
- Curtis pointing out the meaning of Felicity was funny. Like him a lot! And we saw the first of the T-Sphere, although it's just a non-functioning weapon at this point. Good job, Curtis!
- So is Ray Palmer inside the technology at Palmer Tech? Has the poor guy been in there and unseen for over six months? He's going to have some amazing stories to tell.
- Nyssa doesn't have much of a story to tell any longer, does she? There wasn't even a spark of friendship with Laurel remaining.
- I didn't quite get how Double Down's cards killed people when they wounded people in the chest, for example, because they didn't penetrate far enough to be much more than a nuisance. Well, painful, sure. Which is a nuisance.
Let us know if you're OTA or enjoying the newer members of the team and spill your thoughts on Canary and Black Canary. The more the merrier or trim it all back? There's a lot to talk about, so hit the comments and let me know your thoughts! If there's anything you want us to address in this week's Arrow Round Table, drop that in as well and we'll try to get to it.
Don't forget, if you need to catch up, you can watch Arrow online anytime via TV Fanatic and watch a preview of the next episode now!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
