Arrow, “Beyond Redemption,” was written by the team of Beth Schwartz and Ben Sokolowski and was directed by Lexi Alexander. The title refers to several elements of the story. Is Star City beyond redemption? Sara (Caity Lotz)? Lance (Paul Blackthorne)? Oliver (Stephen Amell)? The episode marks the beginning of Oliver’s campaign for Mayor and introduces the brand new Lair – which is spectacular and gorgeous. And hello, return of the salmon ladder! The highlight of this episode, however, for me, was Paul Blackthorne’s magnificent performance. In scene after scene, he just knocks this one out of the park.
In an ironic twist, the bad guys at the center of this episode are actually members of Lance’s elite anti-vigilante squad lead by Liza Warner, played by the ever wonderful Rutina Wesley (
True Blood,
Hannibal). I was sorry not to get more of Wesley, but that’s always the problem with the villain of the week on this show. Turns out the elite team members have given up hope for the city and are simply trying to line their own pockets so that they can live after the police department closes. Honestly, I did think their motivations were a bit muzzy…
We learn right away that Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Thea (Willa Holland) are keeping Sara a secret from the others – until she’s ‘back to normal.’ It was nice continuity for them to return to the Sebastian Blood campaign office – and nice recycling by the Oliver to re-purpose Blood’s lair! I loved that Cisco and Star Labs – so also indirectly Barry – helped to build it. As I said, this is a gorgeous new lair – and I love how the lairs have become more team-friendly and welcoming as Oliver himself has grown. They are really a nice reflection of the character.
Oliver calls the team to Blood’s old office to tell them that he’s going to run for Mayor. I almost didn’t catch it at the beginning of the scene, but Thea wants to know “Why aren’t you wearing…” Clearly, she was expecting Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) to be wearing Moira’s engagement ring. Did Oliver back out of proposing again?
The team is less than enthusiastic when he tells them. Diggle (David Ramsey) points out that he’s not a politician. Felicity is supplying campaign funding through Palmer. Laurel tells him not to expect Lance’s support – or to ask for it. Lance isn’t supportive and is actively hostile. However, he does give Oliver evidence from the case to analyze because of the budget cuts to the Police Department.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the episode is when Oliver actually brings Lance right into the Lair. I don’t think there could be a bigger indication that even though Lance has gotten himself in trouble by association with Dahrk (Neal McDonough), he is – or is going to be – a part of Team Arrow! Yeah! And he does give them unrestricted access to the police database. Though did anyone believe that Felicity didn’t already have that? I loved Lance wanting a code name too!
I did like that Laurel does tell Lance about Sara and brings him to her. Even he sees immediately that “Sara” is gone. Even after Sara tries to strangle her, Laurel insists she just needs more time. Lance goes to Dahrk to ask for help with Laurel. We learn that Dahrk knows about the Lazarus Pit because he was a member of the League of Assassins. I wonder what – if any – connection he has with Malcolm (John Barrowman)? Unsurprisingly, he callously tells Lance that he’s put her down if she were his daughter. He tells Lance that she no longer has a soul – which Lance knew right away. Lance does go back to kill Sara but can’t do it. This is yet another terrific scene between Cassidy and Blackthorne.
Blackthorne’s best scenes are arguably the two he has with Amell. After Oliver sees Lance with Dahrk on the surveillance video, he waits in Lance’s apartment. Actually, it was a little hilarious to see Lance jump when finding Oliver sitting there in the dark. Oliver asks Lance if he can see the utter contempt and disdain on his face – the same that Lance so often has for Oliver. Lance tried to tell him it’s complicated and that it started out innocently. Dahrk was just a guy offering help – and then became the guy threatening Laurel. Oliver calls him out on it, telling him to stop hiding behind his daughter.
Oliver goes on to tell Lance that a part of him has always wanted Lance to see the man he was. He even tells him that Lance is the reason he wanted to be Mayor. Oliver’s faith in Lance and his words make him doubt whether the city is even worth saving, and he tells Thea as much.
Liza gets hold of Lance by waiting for him outside Laurel’s apartment. Felicity is able to locate Lance, and Oliver is able to free Lance. However, Liza gets the drop on Oliver and stabs him in the back. Lance tells her that we’ve all done desperate things, but we can be redeemed and this city can be saved. We same our city by saving ourselves first. Lance says to Liza, “Ask yourself Warner. Do you still believe in justice?” Admittedly, for someone being incapacitated by a knife in his back, Oliver recovers miraculously quickly…
Once again, Oliver waits for Lance in his apartment. I loved Lance pointing out that he has a heart condition. Oliver asks if he meant what he told Liza. Lance tells him yes, especially the part about facing justice. Lance says he’s going to turn himself in, but Oliver tells him not to. He tells him to redeem himself by staying close to Dahrk, so they can get Dahrk. Anybody else worrying that this is sealing Lance’s fate to end up in that grave? As I said before, Blackthorne has to move through a number of emotions in this episode, and each scene is terrific.
In the flashbacks this week, it’s not entirely obvious how the story ties into the present. Oliver fakes the woman’s (Elysia Rotaru) death. Conklin (Ryan Robbins) insists on seeing the body. The body satisfies him, but he ends up finding Oliver’s satellite phone. Conklin is a very good judge of character and more shrewd than one might think at first glance. He surmises that Oliver never killed at boarding school or while “alone” on the Island. He tells Oliver, You’re a stone cold killer. You are one dark bastard and there’s something cold in you that you’re terrified of. When Oliver asks Conklin if he shouldn’t be afraid then, Conklin replies, “No. I’m the exact same way.” I’m really enjoying Ryan Robbins in this. He’s created a good old boy personal to hide the shark underneath.
Meanwhile, at Palmer Technologies, Felicity confronts Holt (Echo Kellum) – she thinks he’s pranking her by messing with her phone. Holt insists he isn’t and recognizes the code on her phone as a prototype that Ray devised before he died. I loved Holt trying to guess who the Green Arrow was. He guesses Neal Adams – and this is a fantastic easter egg as Neal Adams was the artist on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic. Does anybody not think that all the “glitches” in the new lair isn’t Ray desperately trying to contact Felicity?
Holt needs a password to access Ray’s final log entry. Felicity doesn’t want to have to tell Holt about her real relationship with Ray, but Holt doesn’t understand why she doesn’t want to hear Ray’s final words. We learn that Holt’s brother died six years ago of pancreatic cancer. Rickards is wonderful in these scenes and especially in the final scene in which she does listen to Ray’s final words. As always, she is equally good at the emotional heart of the show or as the lighter comic relief.
In the end, we also see that Oliver with a very healthy push from Thea – his new campaign manager – does in fact, throw his hat in the ring to run for Mayor. The campaign office is full of people. He tells Star City that he will save the city and that they’ll do it united. In the last minutes of the episode, Dahrk receives a mysterious box and Laurel discovers that Sara has escaped.
What did you think of the episode? Were you happy to see Lance join Team Arrow? Do you think it can be long before Holt is also an official member? What was your favorite scene? Favorite line? Favorite fight scene? It almost seems redundant to comment on the terrific fight scenes every week! I did love that they fixed the issue with the Canary cry by changing its frequency – I wonder if she can do that at will now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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| I loved this classic hero shot from the episode! |
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, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. 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.
