Arrow, “Brotherhood,” was written by the team of Speed Weed and Keto Shimizu and was directed by James Bamford, the show’s fight coordinator. This is Bamford’s directorial debut, and it’s not surprising that the episode features some interesting stunt sequences. I very much liked the one sequence that felt like it was shot with a body-cam and had you in the middle of the action. I’m not sure it was entirely successful for me, however, as it got you so close to the action that you sometimes lost sight of that action. However, overall, this is a solidly directed episode, and I hope we see Bamford’s work behind the camera again.
The episode opens with a great action sequence as the whole team tries to save a shipment of gold that the Ghosts end up blowing up. The money was from the Federal government to help prop up Star City, so it becomes clearer that their intention is to destroy the city. During the fight, it’s clear that Thea’s (Willa Holland) bloodlust is returning.
Much of the episode – as the title would suggest – centers on brotherhood and what it means to be a sibling – be that by blood or bond. The team is a family in and of itself after all. Diggle (David Ramsey) is still struggling with the revelations about Andy (Eugene Byrd). Ramsey has a number of fantastic scenes in this episode. It’s great to see him getting more to do. Diggle tells Oliver (Stephen Amell) about Andy, and Oliver staunchly defends Andy throughout the episode, urging Diggle to give his brother the benefit of the doubt.
Ray (Brandon Routh) has set up in the loft to offer lab support for the team, and his work sends them to Wolfman Enterprises who hold the patent on scrambling DNA like they found on the Ghost’s tooth. Wolfman…. Tooth? Hilarious, show! Of course, it’s also an easter egg to Marv Wolfman, the DC writer responsible for The New Teen Titans co-written with George Perez, and it was in The New Teen Titans that HIVE was introduced.
The team infiltrates Wolfman Enterprises and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) grabs the serum while Diggle unmasks the Ghost who shot at them only to discover Andy beneath the mask. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) says what we’re all thinking – even death’s not permanent anymore! Oliver is still giving Andy the benefit of the doubt, insisting that Diggle remember he’s his family. Thea urges him to remember he’s his brother, and Felicity points to the Ghost who could have killed Diggle a month ago and didn’t. Hadn’t we all figured out that was Andy already?
Thea has been dodging Malcolm’s (John Barrowman) calls, so he naturally turns up in her apartment. He knows the bloodlust is returning and offers her a pedophile to kill to control it. Thea is appalled and refuses. Later in the episode, she’s on a date with Alex (Parker Young) when a drunk guy (Noah Beggs) hits on her, and she literally hits back, almost killing him, right in front of Alex. At the end of the episode, Thea apologizes to Alex and asks him to be patient with her.
Oliver and the team attend the Patrolman’s Benefit which gives them all a nice excuse to dress up although Oliver realizes that he no longer actually owns a tuxedo! While there, Oliver touches base with Lance (Paul Blackthorne) to get help finding the location of Darhk’s (Neal McDonough) foot soldiers. There’s a terrific scene between McDonough and Blackthorne, which of course, Lance does not tell Oliver about. McDonough continues to be fantastic to watch being evil – he’s always just so borderline delighted and psychotic! He tells Lance his men no longer trust Lance, and when Lance asks if he trusts him, he tells him “Trust is like an orchid. Beautiful but delicate, requiring ideal conditions in order to thrive. Without those conditions, it dies.” Lance is clearly in danger. Lance sees a slip of paper with Slip 52 on it, and gives the information to Oliver. It’s clearly a set up and will expose Lance.
Darhk also approaches Oliver at the event, offering to fund his campaign. Oliver points out that he’s running unopposed. He asks what Darhk wants in exchange for the funds, and Darhk tells him he wants him to reconsider his plans to refurbish the Bay area. A plan that Alex has also opposed. Does Alex have an ulterior motive other than what’s best for Oliver’s campaign? Oliver asks him what happens if he doesn’t, and Darhk tells him that he won’t run unopposed. Clearly, Darhk has an alternative candidate in mind…
There’s also a terrific scene at the event between Diggle and Laurel as she too weighs in about Andy. She tries to get him to at least appreciate the fact that his brother is alive. When he tries to tell her she can’t understand, she reminds him that her sister also came back from the dead as a member of an elite group of assassins. Ramsey is terrific in this scene as he talks about having to tell his nephew that his father was dead. Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) also weighs in to tell him that his sister-in-law deserves to know that Andrew is still alive.
Oliver considers Darhk’s offer as a way of getting information on Andy and insight into Darhk’s operation. Felicity urges him not to lose sight of why he’s running, not even for John. She reminds him that he pledged to fight in the light and to give the city hope that way.
The team heads to Slip 52. Diggle wants to leave out Thea and Laurel, and of course, it ends up being a trap. Andrew calls for them to kill “the Green one!” This is the terrific close up fight that utilizes a lot of cuts and close ups so that you feel you are in the middle of the action. Again, I’ve never been a big fan of the cut as I’d prefer to watch the choreography more clearly.
Oliver ends up injured and Diggle blames himself. Once again, Diggle is ready to write Andy off. Oliver wants to blame it on the pill that Darhk has been making them take. Diggle is particularly angry that Andy has let his wife and son believe he’s dead for eight years. Oliver asks him to hold out hope for Andy because he still needs that hope – that they can come back from darkness. Oliver reiterates that they are going to take down Darhk, and Diggle echoes Felicity in insisting that the take him down in the light of day, not in the shadows.
They discover that the Ghosts are holed up in the Muller Asylum. Oliver says they’re just going after Andy because they don’t have enough manpower to take down Darhk’s whole army. The entire team is ready to go, including Ray, who is having a bit of an identity crisis. Felicity asks him if he’s told anyone else that he’s back, but in catching up on the last 6 months, Ray feels like no one really missed him. I can sympathize! He tells Felicity that if he’s to come back to life, he has to figure out what he’s living for.
There’s another terrific fight scene, this time between Thea and Andy, with wonderfully long takes. Thea drugs Andy and calls for the team to pick him up. Before she can get out, she encounters Darhrk who tries his mumbo magic on her. He recognizes her fighting style as Ra’s and reminds us that he too was his student. When the magic backfires, it actually doesn’t hurt Thea, it just takes away her bloodlust. She tasks Malcolm with finding out why and making it a permanent solution.
Diggle shows up to save Oliver again. Oliver thanks him for showing up – he didn’t want the team to risk themselves to rescue Andy. Diggle tells him simply, “My brother needed me. The Green one.” It’s the moment we’ve all been really waiting for – to see these two completely reconciled. And for once, Oliver tells Diggle he was right and that he’s going to take Diggle’s advice to fight Darhk in the light of day.
Oliver goes ahead with his plans to refurbish the Bay area and holds a giant press conference to announce it. He says that he’s not blind to all of Star City’s problems but the Bay program is in the center of the city. He reiterates that he’s going to fight for Star City and that the fight will be fought in the light of day. Darhk is in the crowd and is clearly not happy.
Diggle confronts Andy who is now residing in the lair cell. Diggle is also not happy with Andy’s admission that everything in his file is true. However, he doesn’t get a chance to explain any of it. I’m still betting that there is more to the story that we don’t know yet.
In the flashbacks on the Island, Oliver accuses Conklin (Ryan Robbins) of setting Vlad on him, and Conklin reveals that Taiana (Elysia Rotaru) was his sister. Reiter (Jimmy Akingbola) uses twigs and some form of magic to determine that Oliver is telling the truth and Conklin is lying. Oliver manages to steal a paper from Reiter’s desk. Reiter makes Oliver whip Conklin, who begs him – somewhat embarrassingly – not to. Oliver does it anyway, which is not going to win Conklin over to say the least!
Oliver tells Taiana that her brother is dead and she wants to kill Conklin. Oliver convinces her that he is just a pawn but the need to find out what Reiter is really up to. He recruits her help to find out what and where Reiter is hiding his secret. I’m betting this secret is going to tie in to the present day storylines and likely through the magic connection.
What did you think of the episode? Is Diggle being too hard on his brother? Should Lance tell Oliver that he’s in danger and seek Oliver’s protection? Will Oliver be able to fight entirely in the light? Can Malcolm be trusted to help Thea? Favorite scene? Fight sequence? 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, 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.
