My hat is off to the other IMDb reviewer for taking the time to mention the cameo of Harley, cleverly tied into the "underground squad" that literally seemed to hijack this episode. Harley remains my favorite DC character, and even one line of dialogue was appreciated, perhaps all the more memorable because it (literally) came out of nowhere.
I do however have mixed thoughts about the episode. The show is rapidly becoming both a paradox and an avatar.
A paradox because, while it remains possibly the best-ever exponent of what bringing a comic strip to episodic TV SHOULD BE, at the very same time the plot arcs are getting so complicated that even someone raised in the right-brained, acoustic, simultaneous, multi-tasking world of the 21st century would have trouble keeping track of them all. Seriously. The themes in a typical Arrow episode are now so complex they could become an entire category on Jeopardy, and that's not necessarily a compliment. To that end, this specific episode is the most extreme example in the series (so far) of cascading and imploding plot arcs banging into each other. That tendency, along with the insane "penchant" the writers have for using flashbacks to constantly fill in backstory may, I fear, ultimately force viewers to make a choice. Be entertained, or follow the story -- but you can't do both at once without your brain exploding, just like what happened to one of the characters in this episode...
... and (P.S.) the show is becoming an "avatar" in that it represents in real time the ongoing battle between DC and Marvel as each sallys forth in an all-out race to see who can monetize all the characters in their archives the fastest.
I do however have mixed thoughts about the episode. The show is rapidly becoming both a paradox and an avatar.
A paradox because, while it remains possibly the best-ever exponent of what bringing a comic strip to episodic TV SHOULD BE, at the very same time the plot arcs are getting so complicated that even someone raised in the right-brained, acoustic, simultaneous, multi-tasking world of the 21st century would have trouble keeping track of them all. Seriously. The themes in a typical Arrow episode are now so complex they could become an entire category on Jeopardy, and that's not necessarily a compliment. To that end, this specific episode is the most extreme example in the series (so far) of cascading and imploding plot arcs banging into each other. That tendency, along with the insane "penchant" the writers have for using flashbacks to constantly fill in backstory may, I fear, ultimately force viewers to make a choice. Be entertained, or follow the story -- but you can't do both at once without your brain exploding, just like what happened to one of the characters in this episode...
... and (P.S.) the show is becoming an "avatar" in that it represents in real time the ongoing battle between DC and Marvel as each sallys forth in an all-out race to see who can monetize all the characters in their archives the fastest.
