Arrow Season 5 Episode 7 Review: Vigilante
Paul Dailly
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Who would have thought that Evelyn Sharp would wind up being a villain?
That's certainly one of the bigger questions after Arrow Season 5 Episode 7 and no, we're not talking about a reveal as dull as the one that Quentin Lance was allegedly Prometheus.
Evelyn being a villain was a thrilling twist. She is just too nice, and while I respect she was only being nice to make us shocked when it was revealed, I wish it hadn't happened. It does, however, open up a whole raft of ways the storyline can progress.
Here I was thinking Wild Dog would be the first person to turn on the team, but I was wrong on that one. It remains to be seen just why Evelyn is working with Prometheus, and I can't wait to find out how it all plays out.
All of the stuff with this new vigilante in the ski goggles was interesting and all, but it would have been better to find out who it was. We now have two villains behind a mask and that could easily get tiring.
I'd like to think Prometheus is somehow linked to the Russia storyline, but this show can easily throw logic out the window without so much as a second thought. The writers have definitely learned from their mistakes on Arrow Season 3 and Arrow Season 4.
Arrow Season 5 has been surprisingly good, and I hope the show can stay this way for the whole season. That's a big ask, but we have the 100th episode coming up and it serves as part of the 4-part crossover event.
Elsewhere in the hour, Oliver was getting too close to Susan, and I can't help but think he's setting himself up to be ridiculed in the media. That subtle dig about the Twitter war with someone from Russia was clearly a way for her to see how he reacted to Russia being brought up.
It's really tough to watch her going after him.
She is looking for that story that will make her a worldwide phenomenon, and she's going the right way about getting it. Taking Oliver for a drink was the first stage in her master plan to exploit his past for her own personal gain.
She'll probably make a silly comment about being good at her job when she's through with him.
Oliver: What do you know about that?
Susan: I believe it's being good at my job.
It seems like a storyline ripped straight from a daytime soap, but it also seems like the only logical way for this storyline to progress. I'm all for Oliver finally moving on from Felicity, but Susan is not the person to move on with.
You heard it here first, Mr. Queen.
I did take issue with just how easily Oliver managed to forget all of the drama she caused back at the start of the season. Maybe he knows he needs to keep on her good side or something.
If they do become serious, I'll be sitting here with popcorn to see the reaction on Felicity's face.
We really, really, really need to talk about Quentin Lance. My heart bleeds for the guy. He's probably lost count of how many times he's lost his daughters, but everyone has a breaking point.
All of the scenes with him and Thea were electric. I knew Thea wouldn't entertain the thought that he was Prometheus. She knew he didn't have it in him to turn on those closest to him.
Whether this steps up the search for Prometheus or not, I don't know. For now, Lance is in rehab and probably won't be out for quite some time. It was nice of Thea to promise him the world for when he inevitably gets out and is back on the wagon.
However, her telling him that his deputy mayor role will still be there for him seemed a bit like an empty promise. I mean, it's not like Thea will be able to keep up with his workload while he's away.
"Vigilante" was another solid episode of this CW drama. The show has gone from strength-to-strength this year. Ditching the Olicity relationship and adding the recruits has been a blessing.
Other tidbits from the episode:
- Wild Dog hatching a plan with Lyla to let Diggle see his kid was great. It's not very often Wild Dog does anything good, but he really came through this time.
- Oliver really has an arrow for every situation. Look at the way he shielded that window.
- The flashbacks this season have been the most coherent out of any featured on the other seasons.
- When will Katie Cassidy be returning? She has the CW DC series regular deal and we've barely laid eyes on her.
Remember you can watch Arrow online right here on TV Fanatic. Get caught up right now via TV Fanatic.
Have a look at the teaser for Arrow Season 5 Episode 8, which airs November 30 on The CW!
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
