Jim’s Thoughts

This week’s episode of Arrow finally did what I’ve been calling for these last few weeks. It got back to Prometheus, and though I can’t say the results were particularly overwhelming, I have to at least give them credit for finding a shred of focus.

Since there’s no way to really talk about this episode without giving things away, consider this your SPOILER WARNING. The big reveal that Chase is Prometheus felt cheap. He was always the obvious answer, and if anything, you might have dismissed him because he was so obvious. I’d say I’m disappointed, but you had to know it would be a character currently involved in the show, and the list of candidates was slim. Now that it’s over, and he’s revealed (to the audience, at least), there is potential for the show to gain a little steam.

The impeachment story didn’t do a lot for me. It was intriguing enough, but the show made a colossal leap in broken logic assuming Oliver “throwing the Green Arrow under the bus” would achieve anything. Oliver said it would be a fix, and it turned out that way, but I can’t be alone in wondering where the reasoning is. Why would that have been more effective than going to the press conference and telling the truth? It’s okay for the mayor to lie to hide the fact that Green Arrow has “gone rogue,” but the public wouldn’t accept he lied because Green Arrow was duped into killing the officer?

It was nice seeing Curtis be competent this week, and double points for the T-Spheres making an appearance. This is going back to the comics, and that’s when Arrow is best.

Felicity’s backstory is boring me because I’ve completely turned on the character. Personally, I’d like to see her fall in with Helix and either leave the main cast of the show, or become a villain, but I doubt either will be allowed to happen.

“Fighting Fire with Fire” was probably one of the more watchable episodes of Arrow this season, but that’s not saying as much I would have hoped.

Kyle’s Take

The world’s worst-kept secret, Chase is Prometheus, was revealed this week. We’ve never accused the CW of having subtlety. The only reason I had any doubt Chase was Prometheus during the first episode was that it was too obvious, but Felton’s character as Alchemy (Flash) was obvious too, and that’s the route the CW took with these shows. Like Jim said, “Fighting Fire with Fire” focused the story, but the CW should listen to The Pointer Sisters’ “Slow Hand.” Find that easy touch.

Do we know who Vigilante was? Does it matter? Did Arrow show us he was still alive and kicking before this episode? Vigilante almost played out like a reverse Solovar drop on Flash this week. These shows are blending together and they’ve cross-pollinated so many plot devices and loopholes, I’ve lost track.

The impeachment story didn’t do much for me either but I wasn’t invested in Oliver as mayor. The show forgot he was mayor. Arrow also forgot that Ollie’s a staunch liberal in the comics. He’s the most politically charged character in the DCU and none of that comes through in the show because Arrow’s gutless. Even during the PSA about gun control, Ollie stayed Switzerland. That’s outrageous. That’s why I don’t care he’s the mayor. The CW has done nothing with Ollie as mayor; it’s nothing more than a plot device.

Could Mr. Terrific be at least mediocre? I’ve dinged Arrow for making its token gay character/Olympic athlete an incompetent and poor athlete, but Arrow at least showed Curtis using his T-Spheres. It’s something straight from the comics, so Curtis might be getting a little fan service. Of course, Arrow made plenty of ball jokes at the expense of Curtis’s spheres.

I’m with Jim in terms of Felicity. I had hoped she’d use her magic flash drive for evil, because there was no way Arrow would kill her. I don’t know if I’ve ever gone from enjoying a character to loathing them in such a small timespan. And it wasn’t a heel turn. Go WWE with it, Arrow. I wouldn’t mind seeing Felicity pick up a folding chair and lay the smack down. Oh, yeah!

You tell ‘em, Macho Man Randy Savage.

I enjoyed “Fighting Fire with Fire” more than most other episodes of Arrow this season. But it’s not enough to get me excited for the finale. My eyes would be glued if Felicity went full Undertaker.

Thanks for reading.