Arrow Arrow Season 3 Episode 14 the return

[DigificWriter]

Episode was trash. Completely forgettable.

How can you call an episode that is the first one this season to really feature a flashback story that means something 'forgettable', especially when it fills in a bunch of backstory blanks?

We learned a few weeks ago that Susanna Thompson had been asked to return , and I'm betting that this was the episode she would've been in had she said 'yes'. It felt weird not having her and/or Walter present in some capacity, especially since we saw pretty much every other significant character from Season 1 show up in some fashion, but that's the only dig against what was by and large a really effective use of the flashback motif that's been a staple of the show since the Pilot.

It was neat to see Slade return, but I do wish that the present-set stuff with him, Oliver, and Thea on Lian Yu had been given more context. Thea forcing Oliver to tell her that she'd killed Sara while under the influence of a hypno-drug was quite well-handled, though, as was the bit where Oliver has to rescue Thea from a booby-trap, after which Willa Holland gets to deliver the line of the night in “What kind of psycho would put that thing there?", which in turn led to Stephen Amell's perfectly-delivered "Me." That exchange might've been spoiled by the promos, but it was no less humorously effective, and was a nice callback to the less-complicated days of Oliver and Thea's sibling relationship, which was a nice touch in light of the episode's aforementioned flashbacks.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that tonight's episode was the best of the season, primarily because of the flashback stuff and the way that it filled in a few missing pieces that we didn't know about re: Oliver's return to Starling and his actions in Season 1.

 

[Herolee10]

Wow; I'm actually surprised. I just saw the episode and I gotta say, they did one thing that I had thought to be impossible awhile ago: redeem Thea (in my eyes at least).

Up until last week's episode, Thea was just growing to be the most irksome character due to constant poor usage and writing for her character, namely on how they had her supporting Malcolm when she was more than aware of his past crimes.

And granted, while it was by no means a smooth transition, they finally made Thea open her eyes regarding Malcolm, let alone the issue regarding her unintended involvement with Sara's death. So for that, I give them kudos.

I was also actually surprised that they would introduce Diggs's brother in this episode. So I'm assuming that they'll be using that actor for any flashbacks regarding the circumstances of his assassination by Deadshot and connection to HIVE.

And I honestly don't blame Captain Lance for reacting the way that he did to Laurel (in the present day) and it was actually nice that they finally tied up the loose thread on where (off island) Oliver got his info regarding his dad's journal.

 

[bes628]

How can you call an episode that is the first one this season to really feature a flashback story that means something 'forgettable', especially when it fills in a bunch of backstory blanks?

We learned a few weeks ago that Susanna Thompson had been asked to return , and I'm betting that this was the episode she would've been in had she said 'yes'. It felt weird not having her and/or Walter present in some capacity, especially since we saw pretty much every other significant character from Season 1 show up in some fashion, but that's the only dig against what was by and large a really effective use of the flashback motif that's been a staple of the show since the Pilot.

It was neat to see Slade return, but I do wish that the present-set stuff with him, Oliver, and Thea on Lian Yu had been given more context. Thea forcing Oliver to tell her that she'd killed Sara while under the influence of a hypno-drug was quite well-handled, though, as was the bit where Oliver has to rescue Thea from a booby-trap, after which Willa Holland gets to deliver the line of the night in “What kind of psycho would put that thing there?", which in turn led to Stephen Amell's perfectly-delivered "Me." That exchange might've been spoiled by the promos, but it was no less humorously effective, and was a nice callback to the less-complicated days of Oliver and Thea's sibling relationship, which was a nice touch in light of the episode's aforementioned flashbacks.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that tonight's episode was the best of the season, primarily because of the flashback stuff and the way that it filled in a few missing pieces that we didn't know about re: Oliver's return to Starling and his actions in Season 1.

Long Story short, I just didn't care/ was not invested into the flashback narrative of the episode. And then they wasted Slades return.


I will say it was cool meeting diggs brother but Tommy, laurel, det lance, thea were whAtever.

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

They probably choose to show "Andy Diggle" because this show they have not forgotten about HIVE and we want to see him at some point

 

[zenith16]

He didn't tell her in a flashback...

your right I re watched it to make sure it was present cause he has less hair due to it being shaved.

 

[zenith16]

So Ollie gets recruited by the military but isn't ordered to shave his hair? There's no way they make him cut it and then it grows back twice the length in the same amount of time.

seeing he wasn't really military or the fact some certain special forces (if they have to live in certain area's & blend in don't have to shave their hair these days it makes sense

They went to the island for training, barely trained, had a short tussle with Slade, then went back home. Well, at least all secrets are revealed now. So hopefully in the future we won't have anyone whining about keeping secrets anymore.

I don't know why this is being said when there still the video tape of thea killing sara which have Nysaa racing after her if Malcolm ever dies. which thea has yet to be told that there is a video of her doing that.

or the fact slade is still harping on shado which Ollie can end now that poor sara's dead. tell him the dumb ass doctor killed shado cause of his twisted version Russian roulette or similar to it . Well that latter part it was already twisted to start with .

 

[Boy Scout]

The Good:

- Slade.

- Paul Blackthorne.

- Seeing Queen Consolidated/Queen Manor again.

- Oliver dislocating (?) Thea's arm to reach the release switch.

- The flashbacks. It felt nice to get a taste of classic Arrow.

- The Thea/Malcolm confrontation. This is the episode where Thea should've first lost her faith in Malcolm.

- The Quentin/Laurel confrontation.

- Amanda Waller being given a little more dimension. She actually appeared to be slightly afraid of her superior(s).

The Bad:

- As nice as it was to see Slade again, I felt like he was wasted. He should have been in an episode where he could have been given more attention. I also expected (because of the producers' comments) to see his and Oliver's relationship change in some way, but it didn't. Like...at all.

- Robert Queen's video. It felt rushed, unemotional, and uninspiring.

- Oliver didn't run into (or think to alert) a single maid or guard sneaking into or out of Queen manor?

The Okay:

- I didn't think it was necessary to see what Diggle and Felicity were up to in the past.

- How was Malcolm able to orchestrate Slade's release?

7.5/10. Much better than episodes twelve and thirteen.

 

[zenith16]

The Good:

- Slade.

- Paul Blackthorne.



- Amanda Waller being given a little more dimension. She actually appeared to be slightly afraid of her superior(s).

lol I'm not sure about that last part with waller.

The Bad:

- As nice as it was to see Slade again, I felt like he was wasted. He should have been in an episode where he could have been given more attention. I also expected (because of the producers' comments) to see his and Oliver's relationship change in some way, but it didn't. Like...at all.

It could have if Ollie finally told him that Dr. Ivo killed her with the chose of one of the two women with his itchy trigger finger. as I said above you sice slade said he's still harping: about cause oliie won't tell him what really happened? seriously yell it at him Oliver.

The Okay:

- I didn't think it was necessary to see what Diggle and Felicity were up to in the past.

- How was Malcolm able to orchestrate Slade's release?

7.5/10. Much better than episodes twelve and thirteen.

nah his brother might have been necessary we know what he looks like we'll have to see what happen later down the line.


now people know Malcolm's training is like. & it ain't helpful.

 

[Mikelus]

Decent episode, but I agree Slade was wasted, still whining about Shado, so nothing new, the producers "new direction" for him was BS.

I thought he was going to admit he was wrong about blaming Ollie and leave the island to become a mercenary, that would've been more interesting.

ARGUS security sucks, and the button being so conveniently close to the cell, really? Arrow "logic" strikes again!

The Felicity scene was pure pandering to shippers, completely unnecessary, you could cut it out, it changes nothing.

The rest was good though, this was easily Thea's best episode yet, the scenes with Tommy were cool, Laurel and Quentin were great, Oliver and Maseo too. Next episode looks great, hopefully it will deliver.

 

[Snow Queen]

Honestly all I can get out of this episode is: ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It...it existed. It wasn't good, it wasn't that bad, it just exists and I can't feel strongly one way or the other. Still hate the Shado stuff, the Olicity moment was horrible, didn't care about the flashbacks still, there were other issues too, but the rest of it I just...eh. It's...eh.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I kind of wish they wouldve dropped Theas age in the flashback, there have been some back and forth at other places about what year in the flashback we are in. Is it Ollies 3rd year of being gone already? Or is it still in year 2?

 

[Snow Queen]

Oh and I didn't buy Willa Holland as 15 for a moment.

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

They should have cut the Felicity scene it could have used on a Slade scene......damn fan service!

Laurel/Quentin relationship is horrible and I don't know how this will be repair

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

I kind of wish they wouldve dropped Theas age in the flashback, there have been some back and forth at other places about what year in the flashback we are in. Is it Ollies 3rd year of being gone already? Or is it still in year 2?

It year 3 or one season=1 whole cycle

 

[Herolee10]

I'm hoping that now that China White has been dealt with in the Past Flashbacks, that they'll hopefully introduce the LOA as a obstacle for Oliver in the past...in some form, in order for the flashbacks to tie in better with the present day story line.

In season 2, Oliver was seemingly aware of Ra's Al Ghul's existence and told Diggs that he had heard several stories about Ra's actions in the past...so I'm hoping that it'll be revealed that he had done so during his time serving as a operative for the US army.

 

[antsman41]

It year 3 or one season=1 whole cycle

Yeah... every season of flashbacks is "5 years ago".

S1 : 2007-2008 :: 2012-2013
S2 : 2008-2009 :: 2013-2014
S3 : 2009-2010 :: 2014-2015
S4 : 2010-2011 :: 2015-2016
S5 : 2011-2012 :: 2016-2017

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

I'm hoping that now that China White has been dealt with in the Past Flashbacks, that they'll hopefully introduce the LOA as a obstacle for Oliver in the past...in some form, in order for the flashbacks to tie in better with the present day story line.

In season 2, Oliver was seemingly aware of Ra's Al Ghul's existence and told Diggs that he had heard several stories about Ra's actions in the past...so I'm hoping that it'll be revealed that he had done so during his time serving as a operative for the US army.

well I sure they will have to mention it eventually perhaps next episode with the league of assassin and ra's al ghul being involved......

but seriously the military don't have some secret bunker to debrief in but forcing Oliver to go back to China.....

 

[kedrell]

First impressions: rather average episode for this show in this season. Definitely not the worst as there were plenty of decent developments not the least of which was Thea learning the truth about her killing Sarah. But at the same time there really wasn't any real oomf or pizazz to this episode either. For me Slade Wilson lost whatever made him interesting quite a while back so adding him to this episode didn't cut much ice with me..

I guess a 6.5/10 sounds fair.

 

[Hunter Rider]

One of my favourite episodes ever, I really liked how the timelines all crossed paths and how the things Ollie saw helped shape the bigger picture for him.

Everything with Ollie, Thea and Slade on the island was awesome, it was great seeing Thea finally get fully in on everything, including some action! I've been looking forward to when Ollie and Thea can have an honest relationship and this ep really cemented things there, hopefully she will be on the team by the seasons end.

The action was good as always, the way Ollie took out China White's car was badass and I loved the Ollie & Thea vs Slade fight and that it ended with a role reversal of the scene where Slade killed Moira.

Interesting comments from Slade at the very end about how much more Ollie can lose, he still gets in his head better than anyone. I was also glad to see a good reason for how he'd gotten out. Merlyn gets more messed up as he goes along!

One thing they do need to do though is let flashback Ollie get a haircut, that horrible wig is out of control.

 

[Human Torch]

I'd like to have seen Slade get away at the end,but he'd cause an immediate problem for Ollie,who has too much on his plate already.

LOL at everyone hating on Felicity's 5 second cameo. Digg's wasn't necessary either. It was just a cute nod,nothing to get worked up about.

 

[Spider-Ock]

A really really enjoyable episode.

The Good:

1) The Final Confrontation with China White. (she's gone!! finally!!)
2) Lance in flashbacks -- really justified the reason why Laurel did not tell him about Sara's death in the first place
3) The Nods -- (Dig and Felicity's cameo, the whole Grease Paint gag)
4) Slade and Tommy's return!
5) The Three-Way Fight between Thea, Ollie and Slade
6) Thea finding out the truth and finding a valid reason to hate Malcolm

The Bad:

1) Ugh...the whole breaking out thing. It's just unintentionally hilarious and the stuff that only Arrow can think of.
2) No drastic change in Slade's character and his relationship with Oliver.

Overall, I'd give this one a 8.5-9.0/10. Having said that, I am not really looking forward to the next one. It just feels like a retread of the Magician again. Plus, I don't really think that Ra's Al Ghul has been set up to be a compelling villain in the first place. I have read the Denny O'neil comics and this guy is just too scruffy and doesnt look like he even showers.

 

[Herolee10]

Is it weird that I find Season 1 Felicity to be more appealing than Season 3 Felicity?

 

[Snow Queen]

Is it weird that I find Season 1 Felicity to be more appealing than Season 3 Felicity?

No, because you're right.

 

[TheHighlander]

lately im feeling olliver is a punching bag... he is getting beat way too often... for a guy that supposedly beat deathstroke, this time ds owned him... talk about payback...

 

[Primal Slayer]

Not like Oliver wasn't injured during his fight with Slade. He got bested by Slade and totally got his butt kicked with Ra's, I wouldn't say that is a bad thing.