Arrow, “Uprising,” was written by the team of Beth Schwartz and Brian Ford Sullivan and was directed by Jesse Warn. The episode features the return of the Arrow (Stephen Amell) to Starling City, but much has changed in his absence. This was an action-packed episode with a full out rumble at the end which did the stunt team proud.
The episode gives us some insight into Malcolm (John Barrowman), and we see in flashbacks how he came to be a member of the League of Assassins. The present storyline parallels that in really interesting ways and kudos to the writers for this finely crafted storyline. The flashbacks begin by showing us the loving young father of Tommy (Arien Boey) who goes to his son when he’s having a nightmare to soothe him and distract him with a coin trick. He’s interrupted by the news of his wife’s murder which sends him down a path to avenger her. When that murder does nothing to assuage his anger, Malcolm sets off on his path to “be forged into something else” – just as Oliver has become something else. In Oliver’s case he’s gone from killer to savior. In the flashback, Malcolm also tells his friend (Michael Cram) that “I’m going somewhere where I can learnt how to make sure no one will ever hurt us again.” And of course this is the promise that he’s now made Thea (Willa Holland). We see the trick with the coin again when Malcolm meets young Nyssa (Taylor Dianne Robinson), and she gives him the name The Magician.
Malcolm is a little unmasked to us as are some of the other characters to each other. It’s rather hilarious – for a few reasons when Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) tells Roy (Colton Haynes) that he knows who he is – he’s seen him in red and shooting arrows before – “You think I don’t recognize you with a little extra leather and lace?” So Quentin, why don’t you recognize Oliver by the same logic? But then, it also takes Sin (Bex Taylor-Klaus) to point out to him that the blond in black leather isn’t Sara…
Malcolm also reveals himself a little more to Thea. I love the training sequences between these two! Holland, Barrowman, and the stunt team always do a terrific job. When she hesitates in training – or at least doesn’t kill Malcolm – she tells him she’s not a killer. He tries to impress upon her that the League of Assassins got its name because they are and they show no mercy. He tells her he wasn’t always a killer, that the first time he was scared and filled with remorse. And then he explains that his first kill was the man who murdered his wife. But of course, he learns that Brick (Vinnie Jones) really killed his wife. In essence then, this marks a new beginning for Malcolm as he revisits his first kill.
Thea urges Malcolm to go to the police or Laurel (Katie Cassidy) for justice, but Malcolm is still determined to avenge Rebecca. The team, spearheaded by Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), votes not to let Malcolm team up with them. However, Roy becomes a surprise voice for Malcolm after talking with Thea.
This was another terrific scene between Holland and Haynes. Thea tells Roy that Malcolm isn’t just a killer, “he also saves people. During the siege, he’s the only one who made me a top priority. He saved me. It means something that he was there when I needed him most. Even his most terrible things he thought he was helping the Glades.” Roy’s own story relates to going about doing the right thing in the wrong way.
Oliver stops Malcolm from killing Brick. He tells him it won’t balance the scales. Malcolm expresses real regret for everything that’s happened. Barrowman and Amell are excellent in this scene. Malcolm wants desperately to go back, to wipe the slate clean: “If I had taken care of him back then, it could all be different. Every choice I have made since my wife died.” Of course, the likelihood is that he still would have had that anger inside that drove him to seek out Ra’s Al Ghul (Matt Nable) anyway.
Oliver tells him, “Then you make a different choice now. For Thea.” Malcolm doesn’t believe that Thea will ever forgive him, but Oliver argues, “start giving her reasons to.” Malcolm doesn’t kill Brick, which does signify a new beginning for him, but Thea isn’t the only one that he’ll have to win over to his side.
I also loved the scene in Thea’s apartment. Thea asks Malcolm if he spared Brick for her, and Malcolm tells her, “For me. But because of you.” It’s an interesting conversation, demonstrating a bit of self-absorption on both their parts, but like an addict, the cure has to be for the addict, not for someone else. I loved the exchange between Oliver and Malcolm too. Malcolm tells Oliver two things that Oliver clearly already knows. Malcolm tells Oliver that he wasn’t always like he is now, he was a good father. As Tommy’s best friend, Oliver remembers what Malcolm was like before – it’s a perspective that not many others have. Even Laurel would not have known the Merlyns back then.
Malcolm also tells Oliver, “Killing changes you. It takes away a piece of your soul and you can never get it back again.” Oliver knows this lesson very well, and he knows all about atonement too. It’s also why he’s so mad at Malcolm for turning Thea into a killer. Of course, did Malcolm? After all, she has no memory of the murder – much like a rape victim on a date-rape drug. Her body was used against her will. Her hesitation while sparring proves that she is not a killer in her heart – or her soul.
One of the themes we touch on several times in the episode is the relationship of student and master. In the first scene with Arsenal and Canary, she saves him by punching out the thug holding a gun to Arsenal’s head. He compliments her, saying, “Grant (JR Ramirez – also Wildcat) must be a good teacher.” The entire episode really focuses on Team Arrow having to step up and take what Oliver taught them to save the city.
Oliver knows he will have to face Ra’s again, and he asks Tatsu (Rila Fukushima) to help him. Ra’s fights with a sword and is really good, so he needs a teacher who is really good. Tatsu tells him that technique alone won’t help him: “to defeat him, you must think like him, be like him. You must fight in the ways he does. Your only hope is that your teacher is Maseo. Only the student has hope of defeating the master.” With Maseo sworn to Ra’s, Oliver turns to another Ra’s student: Malcolm.
The rumble at the end is wonderful as I’ve already said – too many amazing stunts to even count! It’s truly impressive that a television show can produce and action sequence like that in a weekly show, especially one that goes the distance with a full season order. I loved them gearing up in the van before going out and Roy telling Laurel it’s ok to be scared and her admitting that she is, showing that she trusts the team. It was perfect for Arsenal and Canary to share Oliver’s signature line: Canary: “Daniel Brickwell.” Arsenal: “You have failed this city.” I also loved both their faces when they see they green arrow and know Oliver is back.
It’s fitting for the Arrow to have the last word. This too felt like a beginning of sorts, and nicely structures not only the episode but the season: “I’ve been gone, and I’m sorry for what the city has had to endure in my absence. But you did endure it, and the evidence of that struggle is lying at my feet. You did not fail this city. And I promise I will not fail you by leaving it again.” The next confrontation with Ra’s will have to take place in Starling!
I loved the reunion with Team Arrow. Felicity running into Oliver's arms and his quiet, proud handshakes with Diggle and Roy. Oliver’s greatest challenge upon his return is Felicity. I think I may have heard a collective gasp from the Olicity fans at the end of the episode. Felicity is angry at Oliver, but for once, I think she is very much in the wrong.
She berates him for not telling them he was alive. We know what it cost him to come back when he did. After everything Oliver’s been through, you would think that she might understand that sometimes you really are out of cell range! I did love the way the scene in the alley was shot. She backs away from him when he would close the gap between them.
She also unjustly accuses him of “abandoning every principle you claim to have by getting into bed with Malcolm Merlyn.” Surely even Malcolm deserves the opportunity to redeem himself? Doesn’t he deserve any credit for not killing Brick when he had him dead to rights? Isn’t the fact that they no longer kill people but turn them over to the police proof that what they really believe in is the right to redemption?
Felicity tells Oliver: “The last thing you said to me was that you loved me. Now you’re back and the first thing you tell me is that you’re working with the man who turned your sister, a woman you’re supposed to love, into a killer, who killed a woman you used to love. I don’t want to be a woman that you love.” See my above comments on why Thea isn’t a killer. Consider also how grateful Thea is to Oliver for giving Malcolm a second chance. Don’t get me wrong. Thea is going to go nuclear at both of them when she finds out, but if Malcolm has managed to atone at least somewhat for what he’s done, it’s very likely that Thea will forgive her father. I have a strong suspicion that Felicity is going to re-think her comments.
Lots of high emotion in this episode. As I said I really loved seeing Team Arrow step up. I loved the scene in which Malcolm comes to them, and they are lined up physically, facing him. I also liked that they weren't entirely sure how to proceed... It had to be Diggle (David Ramsey) to bring Malcolm Team Arrow’s decision. This was another great scene. Diggle always is their moral high ground. It was interesting that Laurel and Diggle also considered using Malcolm as their “loaded gun” but they all ultimately cast that decision aside as Diggle says, “once we let the ends justify the means, that’s just the first step.” And later he tells the team, “I don’t know if we made the right choice but we did the right thing.” So, has Oliver let the ends justify the means?
The episode also has some funny moments which were great. I loved when Arsenal shows up in the bar and the thug asks him if he’s the Red Streak and Arsenal tells him wrong city. I also loved in the lair when Laurel says, “That’s a bit dark” about using Malcolm for their “Brick problem” and Diggle says, “Laurel, if you don’t think things are dark, you haven’t been paying attention.” When they find out Brick is using the police precinct, Roy comments, “It’s not like the police are using it,” and Felicity quips, “Great. We can add irony to the list of charges against Brick.” And finally, Laurel asks “Are we crazy?” And Roy responds, “I’ve learned it’s better to ask that when I’m not wearing a mask.” Thank you clever writers!
Now, there were a few things that did bother me with this episode. I’ve already mentioned Quentin’s lack of facial recognition. Why did Brick’s gun show up in only two shootings if he’s made every one of his kills with that gun? Laurel not letting Roy stitch her up is just stupid. It’s not “tough” to let yourself get scars. Leaving it open like that will take it longer to heal, make it prone to opening up again, and make it prone to infection! Was anyone else distracted by what they did to poor John Barrowman’s hair in the flashbacks?
I’m not exactly sure where Tatsu’s speech to Oliver really fits in. She tells him she won’t go back with him to watch him die and that there are many ways to die. Given that Maseo has given himself over to Ra’s and she’s removed herself from the living, she certainly has some experience with that. She then tells him that in order to win, he must be willing to die and to sacrifice whatever is most precious to him. Is that Felicity? Perhaps, it makes sense if we interpret it that way. In order to win, he has to be willing to work with Malcolm and that means losing Felicity. But does it also mean losing a part of his soul by becoming a killer again? Regardless, for me, while it sounds good, it was a little too cryptic.
I am really glad that Oliver and Team Arrow avoid killing the criminals because it means there is hope we will see the very much larger than life Vinnie Jones back as Brick. Did everyone else really enjoy his gun twirling as much as I did? What did you think of the episode? Was Felicity right to be that angry with Oliver? Did Team Arrow make the right decision in turning down Malcolm? Does Malcolm deserve a second chance? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
