‘Arrow’ 2.01 Episode Recap and Review: City of Heroes

Arrow is back and more ab-tastic action-packed than ever!

Despite having worked for five long years to escape, the first place Ollie goes to lick his wounds after the events of the season finale is Lian Yu. Thank heavens it’s become considerably easier to find since his escape, as Diggle and Felicity head out to track down their lost hero. Once Oliver’s been reintroduced by means of a daring, shirtless rescue, Digg and Felicity are able to convince him to come back to save the family business.

Back in Starling City, Thea’s running Verdant and still dating Roy, who’s attempting to be the new Hood. Mo is in jail (big shock there). Laurel is working for the District Attorney’s office, and Papa Lance has been busted back down to beat cop. The Glades have gone even more to hell since the earthquake, and a few of the residents have taken up hoods and guns in an attempt to take vengeance on those who caused the disaster. Of course, now that Ollie is back in town and at the head of Queen Consolidated, that makes him Hood Enemy #1.

The Bad Hoods bust into Queen Consolidated during a board meeting in which Isabel Rochev, head of Stellmoor Industries, is inches away from acquiring the Queen assets. Ollie manages to escape, and is still pretty vocal about not wanting to put on the Hood again, largely because of Tommy’s death. When the Bad Hoods crash Verdant and take Thea hostage, Ollie starts to change his tune. He’ll swing back into action from his newly-pimped Arrowcave, but with a crucial change: Oliver is going no-kill. The dramatic obligatory fight scene ends with Thea safe once more and the bad guys tied to a fence for Papa Lance to find.

The theme of the last few scenes is family, as Thea comes to terms with what Mo did and finally goes to see her in lockdown. Oliver has a family-related revelation of his own. The only way to save Queen Consolidated is to go to another family member: his stepfather, Walter. Walter is currently the CFO of Starling Bank and is more than willing to use the funds at his disposal to buy the remaining shares of Queen Consolidated to keep it out of Stellmoor’s hands.

We can’t leave without one more action scene, though. Roy is still trolling the Glades for damsels to save when he comes across the perfect opportunity, but three gang members on one is a little much for the would-be hero. He’s rescued at the last minute by a strikingly familiar (to the comic book readers) figure in black leather. Looks like Black Canary is finally in town!

Oh, I think I like the way the writers of Arrow are going with this character arc. It’s my understanding that the comic book Green Arrow has been largely no-kill from the get go. I really love that now they’ve not only brought Ollie around to that way of thinking, but they’ve given him a solid reason for it, as well. I’m also excited by Felicity’s growth in the off-season. She was a favorite last year, and it looks like she’ll only be getting better from here on out.

Now, can someone please explain the Black Canary appearance to me? We’ve met Dinah Lance. We know Laurel “Dinah” Lance. Seeing as how the credits state that neither Alex Kingston nor Katie Cassidy are currently playing Black Canary, who the dickens was that? And why did she look like Marvel’s Black Cat?

Questions to be answered next episode, I suppose.

Best Quotes:

Roy: “What I lack in height, I make up for in wicked good hearing.”

Thea: “If I hug you, are they going to shoot us?”

Things to Ponder:

  • I’m seriously looking forward to the moment when Laurel finds out Ollie’s secret identity. There’s going to be some scenery chewed.
  • Are we going to be able to get Mo out of this one? Here’s hoping!
  • God bless you, Felicity, for keeping the Salmon Ladder.

Review By: Jennifer Steele

Responses

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  1. It has already been spoiled from many sources that the Black Canary will actually turn out to be Laural’s thought drowned younger sister. This is bot really a rabbit out of the hat because the idea that she might have survived the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit was suggested last season.

  2. Thanks for the news! CW will be seeing my Skeptical Eyebrow if Sara being Black Canary doesn’t somehow lead to Laurel taking up the mantle.