It's been three weeks since Arrow was last seen on The CW. Apparently, there was some global sporting event that kept the network from airing any new episodes of the crime-fighter and his ever expanding crew cleaning the streets of Starling City. At least the last battle 'Team Arrow' fought was a big enough showdown to serve as a mid-mid-season finale with "Heir to the Demon" featuring the series' first encounter with an actual al Ghul, not low level henchmen in the League of Assassins.
Coming face to face with the people hunting her could have ended (poorly for) Sara, not to mention her family and her fellow crime-fighters but instead it allowed for the Canary to come out of the shadows. Of course, not everyone was as welcoming as Oliver or Detective and Mrs. Lance, with Laurel and Felicity both feeling a bit put out by her presence. "Time of Death" continues to explore the complications that resulted from Sara's 'resurrection' while also introducing a well known DCU villain for Team Arrow to stop.
5. Clock King
Speaking of the well known DCU villain of the week, "Time of Death" featured Clock King also known as William Tockman. Tockman was played by the great Robert Knepper, probably best known for his role on Prison Break, and we're introduced to his character mid-robbery as he precisely navigates his grunts, former inmates of Iron Heights, through Kord Industries to grab the skeleton key. But no Blue Beetle. Yet. Why does Clock King desperately need this skeleton key? Well, he's dying of McGregor's Syndrome, just like Mr. Freeze's wife in the atrocious Batman & Robin, and wants some cash to leave for his family. The heroes are able to thwart the next robbery because Tockman's diversion only requires one member of the team to leave the scene.
4. Team Arrow
Like I said earlier, Team Arrow is expanding and that makes taking care of several situations at once much easier than before. Did you happen to see the ad on the side of the #52 Bus that Ollie stops just in time? Looks like the show's universe is getting a Blue Devil movie. And our world can't even get Wonder Woman off the ground. At least DC has some kick-ass female characters on the small-screen with Felicity stepping up this week after questioning her place in the team. I thought it was nice when Dig told her she was irreplaceable even though he will soon be joining another team! Traitor! Nah. His stint in the Suicide Squad is supposedly only temporary. I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the reason that Felicity was even contemplating her worth in the first place... Sara Lance's too-capable Canary.
3. Black Canaries
Even though the Canary showed up in the premiere, Sara's return hasn't really been the focus for Arrow until the last few episodes. "Heir to the Demon" even moved the flashbacks from Lian Yu to Starling City to give us a look at the Lances before the youngest daughter trained in Nanda Parbat or worked at the Oblivion Bar. As I said, her return caused a bit of tension within Team Arrow but that was nothing compared to the (laughable) drama at home with her family. Dinah is still in town, however, has no plans to stay since she's got a cushy job at Central City University as well as a new man. Hm. I wonder is Alex Kingston is going to appear on Flash? What if her beau was a villain? Now I'm trying too hard to tie everything together.
2. SinThea
To be honest, I’m not sure why I stuck these two together but I do like how you get a misspelled other name when you combined their names. Oh, and they have Roy Harper in common. This week made sure to call attention to Thea's nickname when 'Speedy' was asking about the obvious tension between her brother and her mother. Something tells me she's not going to stop asking until she learns that Robert Queen was not her real father. "Time of Death" was also pretty much an origin story for Sin even though she only appeared in maybe two scenes. While Team Flashback was doing some reconnaissance, a plane was shot down and crashed nearby on the island. Before dying, the pilot pulls out a picture of his soon to be orphaned daughter and I'm sure no one was surprised to find out who it was by the time we reached the reveal. But the downed plane did provide the stranded heroes a way onto the freighter.
1. Flashback To The Future
You might have noticed the lack of links on the last entry regarding 'Team Flashback' and that's because the events on Lian Yu, as well as the reveal at the end of "Time of Death," make up the final batch of easter eggs. Most of the time was spent with Sara tending to Sin's father but it began with a still mirakuru'd up Slade Wilson on the hunt for revenge for Shado's murder. Ollie and Sara have yet to tell him exactly how the execution went down, however, I'm sure he'll take that news just fine. In the meantime, the three of them have acquired a parachute from the downed plane and that's how they plan to get aboard the Amazo and get said vengeance on Dr. Ivo. I wonder how that will turn out? You know, since Ollie and Slade are such good buddies now. Can't say I blame Slade, the loss of a loved-one is hard to forget. As is an arrow to the eye.
Arrow returns with Episode 15, "The Promise," next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Created by Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti, the DC Comics inspired series stars Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Willa Holland, Colton Haynes, Manu Bennett, Paul Blackthorne and Susanna Thompson.
