Kyle’s Review

Arrow has been one step ahead of The Flash so far this season and it remains one step ahead this week. Similar to The Flash’s “Family of Rogues,” Arrow’s “Restoration” lays the groundwork for the CW’s upcoming series Legends of Tomorrow. But while “Family of Rogues” had The Flash take a backseat, “Restoration” gave equal time and effort on Ollie.

Sure, Sara Lance coming back from the dead was front and center—heck, her story arc gave the episode its name—but I liked the strides Arrow took with Ollie and Diggle’s strained relationship. Sometimes you need a little less romance and little more bromance, and we haven’t seen a good bromance between these two in a while. Curtis and Felicity are getting a lot closer, too. I’m not a big fan of Felicity revealing her involvement with the Green Arrow, and Curtis is quick to accept her as part of Team Arrow, but this isn’t the first time a member of Ollie’s team had an impromptu play date with someone who wasn’t a part of the team, so I guess I can let that slide. But Thea’s story made up for that small shortcoming. Thea’s arc didn’t get tied into a nice bow and it grants Arrow the ability to have repeated visits with the League, Malcolm Merlyn, and Nyssa. That’s fantastic.

I also liked how Arrow wrapped up the Lazarus Pit, for now. I always thought that introducing an element to DC’s TV universe that was as powerful as the Lazarus Pit would make death meaningless. If DC’s TV universe follows DC’s comic universe lead, there should be more than one pit, so may not be the last we’ve heard of a Lazarus Pit. Still I like not having the threat of characters dying and then immediately coming back to life.

If you’re wondering why it’s taken me this long to get to the villain of the week, it’s because there isn’t much to talk about. Double Down was introduced, dispatched, and we won’t see him again. He only served to clean up a few things with H.I.V.E. and gave Damien Darhk a chance to show us his stuff. And I don’t know about you, but I think Neal McDonough’s doing a good job with Damien Darhk. He wouldn’t have been my first choice because I think of McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan (the bowler wearing member of Captain America: The First Avenger’s Howling Commandos) but he’s slipped in as Darhk so well that it took me a while to notice who was playing the character. Great job.

Arrow’s looking good after a few episodes and I’m looking forward to next week. If you want to know more about Arrow, here’s a link to our Arrow secrets page. Thanks for reading.