The Review at the End of the Universe
“Thanksgiving” Arrow celebrates thanksgiving with an arrest, a change in leadership, setting up and ongoing plot and general friction within the team. This episode is where things feel like they’re starting to come to a head. It’s about the right time in the season for some of the setup to start paying off to prevent…
“Promises Kept” Arrow continues the Slade Wilson centric story started last week as Diggle’s emotional and physical issues start to cause problems for the team. The decision to move Oliver Queen into the background with Diggle taking on his mantle as Green Arrow was a brave idea since this show has been heavily defined by…
“Deathstroke Returns” Arrow explores the backstory of Slade Wilson when he asks Oliver for help finding his son and delivers the long delayed reveal of Vigilante’s identity. The relationship between Oliver and Slade has consistently been one of the more interesting things this show has to offer. It was established last season that the Mirakuru…
“Reversal” Arrow introduces a mastermind villain for the season and focuses on Felicity being overwhelmed by her various responsibilities. The title “Reversal” refers to the role reversal between Oliver and Felicity that defines this episode. Felicity is the one pulled in different directions by her commitments while Oliver is the one left to have dinner…
“Next of Kin” Arrow toys with a new status quo when Diggle takes up the mantle of the Green Arrow as Oliver adjusts to life without a double identity. I mentioned last week how much potential the idea of Oliver passing the torch to someone he trusts while still being on the show has and…
“Tribute” Arrow deals with identity as a concept following Oliver being potentially outed as the Green Arrow last week. This episode deals with identity in a very literal sense -with the investigation into Oliver Queen- but also in a broader sense. I’ll cover the literal first because it’s the most simplistic. Arrow has done this…
“Fallout” Arrow returns for a sixth season and answers the mystery of who survived the destruction of Lian Yu at the end of last season. Opening season 6 was always going to be an uphill struggle for the writers of this show. Season 5 was a creative high and the finale numbers among the best…
The DC TV Universe -sometimes referred to as the Arrowverse or the Berlantiverse- will soon return for another dose of superhero insanity. Before that happens; Kneel Before Pod just do a series of episodes on the previous seasons. The concluding chapter is Arrow season 5 where Craig and Chris do a quick round-up of their…
“Lian Yu” Arrow closes off its fifth season by focusing on Oliver’s final battle with Adrian Chase and bringing an end to the flashbacks. Last week set the stage for the conflict by outlining the stakes and setting up Oliver’s temporary team with the enigmatic cliffhanger showing him asking Slade Wilson for help. The opening…
“Missing” Arrow sets the stage for the season finale when the next phase of Adrian Chase’s plan is set in motion and Oliver struggles to counter it. One of the most frustrating tropes in modern genre storytelling is the villain being caught because it’s part of their plan. It can be clever when executed correctly…
