Before I begin my
review, I want to say how happy I am that Arrow
has already been renewed for season two! Tonight’s episode of Arrow took a different trajectory than
we’ve become used to. “The Odyssey” was about Oliver’s journey on the Island
rather than a new villain in Starling City. The episode was written by Greg
Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg based on a teleplay by Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim.
As this episode was so much about what happened to Oliver (Stephen Amell) on
the Island and Oliver’s journey to become the Green Arrow, I wasn’t surprised
to see the creative force behind the show front and center for this episode.
John Behring directed the episode, his second this season. He also directed “Legacies”
which also featured Diggle, Smoak, and Oliver’s time on the Island.
The episode begins where last week’s
cliffhanger left off, with the Hood pointing an arrow at Moira (Susanna
Thompson). Moira does an excellent job pleading for her life by telling her
assailant that she has two children and she needs to live for them. Anyone who
has watched any crime shows knows that the first thing you do when faced with
someone trying to kill you is put a name on your loved ones, especially
children, to appeal to their sense of humanity. It’s not that I didn’t find
Moira’s pleas sincere, but I did find it curious that she didn’t offer up any
information on the ‘undertaking’ to try to save herself. I also found the way
she held the picture in front of herself like a shield very curious as well. It
was almost like she was using her children to protect herself rather than
saving them. In the end, of course, she shoots Oliver as soon as he lets his
guard down.
I loved the scene in Smoak’s (Emily
Bett Rickards) car, between Smoak and Oliver. I’ve made no secret about how
much I love the character of Smoak, so it will surprise no one that I’m super
excited that Rickards has been promoted to series regular for season two. Amell
and Rickards have terrific chemistry together, and while I don’t see the show
ever putting them together as a couple, they make a great team.
Smoak really gets a chance to shine
in this episode. She is calm under pressure, helping Diggle (David Ramsey) to
save Oliver’s life by helping to remove the bullet and then fixing the
defibrillation machine when his heart stops. She also hacks the crime lab’s
database and has Oliver’s blood sample destroyed, and she completely updates
Oliver’s computer system. She proves that she is a shrewd judge of character by
seeing that Diggle is a good man. She’s obviously a bit puzzled by Oliver who
she is drawn to but is disturbed that he’s killed people. She also reveals that
she had pretty much figured out that Oliver was the hood. Not surprising,
considering how clever she is and how many clues she had. However, when Oliver
asks if she’s ready to come on board to help their crusade, she declines. She’ll
help them find Walter because he was kind to her but that’s all. Smoak’s
character is a wonderful mixture of innocence, loyalty, and brilliance. It will
be interesting going forward to see if she will lose her innocence completely
once she sees what Oliver and Starling City are up against and if that is what
it will take for her to fully join the team.
This episode also provides some
character insight to Diggle. Diggle explains to Smoak how his experiences in
Afghanistan left him feeling like he wasn’t a good person, but that the work he
does with Oliver make him feel worthy again. Even Diggle is struggling a bit as
he looks for redemption. As is often the case, it’s Diggle’s words of wisdom that
often highlight the themes that run throughout an episode. He tells Smoak that “there
are always casualties when you’re fighting a war.” He also tells Smoak that “Even
Oliver needs help sometimes.”
On the Island, we see that Oliver
got help in becoming the Hood, from Yao Fei (Byron Mann) and from Slade Wilson (Manu
Bennett). Both Mann and Bennett turn in fantastic performances in addition to demonstrating mad fighting skills each week. Wilson tells Oliver that everyone’s in this life for themselves after
he tells Oliver about how Bill Wintergreen, the man who tortured Oliver,
betrayed Wilson. The episode looks at the question of what makes a killer. Are
we really alone? Do we owe a duty to others? The characters are on a journey to
discover the answer to these questions, and the title of the episode, “The Odyssey”
couldn’t be more appropriate. Diggle is on a quest for redemption through
saving others. He describes killing a teenager in Afghanistan as we see Oliver
try to learn to kill on the Island.
Oliver’s journey is really just
beginning. I was happy to see that he didn’t magically become the fluid grace
he is now in the little time that Wilson had to work with him, but he does
improve enough to show some mad skills in disarming the gunman by the end of
the episode. Oliver’s first real contribution is remembering the passage from The Odyssey to respond correctly to the
coded phrase from the plane. It was a nice touch that there is an edition of The Odyssey sitting on Fyers’ (Sebastian
Dunn) desk. Oliver is also looking for
redemption by trying to rescue Yao Fei and he’s rewarded by Wilson saving him
in return. Oliver gains enough self-confidence by the end that he even starts
joking that it figures he would get stranded on an island with only one friend,
Wilson. Referencing Tom Hanks’ basketball, Wilson, from Castaway. He also points out that Wilson is his friend...
The episode also introduces some new
questions. Who is Fyers working for? The voice sounded oddly familiar to me,
but I couldn’t place it. It didn’t sound like Merlyn (John Barrowman). We also
learn how Fyers got Yao Fei to work for him: Fyers is holding Yao Fei’s
daughter. I’m not sure that I trust her, however. As the camera panned over Yao
Fei holding her, there was a look that passed over her face that was neither
relief nor fear, and it made me wonder if she was also playing some kind of
role. The camera also lingers over what appears to be a red dragon tattoo. At
the end of the episode, we see that Oliver has the same tattoo. Interestingly,
the camera focuses on it after a scene in which Oliver tells Diggle that Moira
will remain off limits to their investigations. I wonder if there is link
between the two centering on the betrayal of children and parents.
While there were fewer fight scenes than we are used to in tonight’s episode, I especially liked Oliver getting taught how
to spar with bamboo and getting beaten
the way Oliver beats Diggle. I also like that it feels like we as viewers are also on a journey to find out what happened on the Island and what will happen going forward in Starling City's present.
What did you think about tonight’s episode?
Are you excited to see Smoak play a bigger role? Who do you think Fyers is
working for? Let me know in the comments below.
