While not being nearly as fluid and well written as last week, Haunted was another great Arrow episode full of surprises and more great character drama. The past two weeks have got me thinking, is Arrow back? I don't think it will ever top season 2, but I think the show has found it's footing again, something it really struggled with last year.
Haunted focused heavily on Sara's restoration of her soul. While I have been critical of Arrow and Flash setting up Legends of Tomorrow with both their seasons, the focus on Sara was definitely necessary. One of the most relieving aspects was the fact that it seems like all the secrets are out. Everyone knows about Thea and Sara's trips to the pit and it seems like Diggle is in the clear with his brother. With all of this out in the open I hope we can start focusing on Darhk and his ultimate goal.
We got the highly anticipated appearance of Matt Ryan's Constantine as he showed up in both the flashbacks and the present day. It was another character who conveniently showed up in the flashbacks and the present day at the same time in the same episode, but I don't think Constantine will be a regular this season like some characters in past seasons. I'm not even sure he will be back at all this season, although his connection to Darhk seems like an interesting story dynamic. I'm not going to pretend I know what the hell he found underneath the island or the reason behind him giving that tattoo to Oliver which can give him some sort of power, but at least we now have an explanation for that particular tattoo.
The villain of the week was our very own Sara Lance as she roamed the city in hopes of killing Thea. I have to say, even though this entire premise made the show feel so different than it's ever been (and more like a Walking Dead episode), I found it to be a lot better than when Oliver was a brief 'villain' last year. But I just don't think the whole lazarus outbreaks translate as well to the screen as I thought they would. I was also a little taken back by the calmness of the entire crew with Sara coming back. I know they were surprised, but I just felt the story called for a little more drama, especially considering how devastating season 3's second episode was when it focused on Sara's death. But maybe that's just me.
But at the crux of this episode was the relationship between Oliver and Laurel. I haven't been a fan of the Laurel character for pretty much the entire run of the show, but I really liked watching her and Ollie go at it on screen. I think we were due for an episode centered on their relationship, and it's only fitting Oliver's campaign strategist told him to stay away from her. Katie Cassidy particularly shined here because the dialogue they gave her actually made sense this time. Yes, both her and Oliver have contradicted themselves and lied throughout this show, but this scene told me that that's all over, and I'm really glad.
A few more things worth noting, I liked seeing Diggle and Lance go out in the field together. Ramsey and Blackthorne are two of the best actors on the show, so it's always nice when we get to see those two thespians go at it. Blake Neely's score was also noticeably great here. I love that each character has their own theme and he even gave Constantine one as well. So overall, another very good entry for Arrow. We are definitely heading in the right direction.
+Constantine
+Sara is officially back
+Oliver & Laurel scenes
+Diggle & Lance get rare scenes together
+Score
-Expected a little bit more drama with Sara's return
9.0/10
Haunted focused heavily on Sara's restoration of her soul. While I have been critical of Arrow and Flash setting up Legends of Tomorrow with both their seasons, the focus on Sara was definitely necessary. One of the most relieving aspects was the fact that it seems like all the secrets are out. Everyone knows about Thea and Sara's trips to the pit and it seems like Diggle is in the clear with his brother. With all of this out in the open I hope we can start focusing on Darhk and his ultimate goal.
We got the highly anticipated appearance of Matt Ryan's Constantine as he showed up in both the flashbacks and the present day. It was another character who conveniently showed up in the flashbacks and the present day at the same time in the same episode, but I don't think Constantine will be a regular this season like some characters in past seasons. I'm not even sure he will be back at all this season, although his connection to Darhk seems like an interesting story dynamic. I'm not going to pretend I know what the hell he found underneath the island or the reason behind him giving that tattoo to Oliver which can give him some sort of power, but at least we now have an explanation for that particular tattoo.
The villain of the week was our very own Sara Lance as she roamed the city in hopes of killing Thea. I have to say, even though this entire premise made the show feel so different than it's ever been (and more like a Walking Dead episode), I found it to be a lot better than when Oliver was a brief 'villain' last year. But I just don't think the whole lazarus outbreaks translate as well to the screen as I thought they would. I was also a little taken back by the calmness of the entire crew with Sara coming back. I know they were surprised, but I just felt the story called for a little more drama, especially considering how devastating season 3's second episode was when it focused on Sara's death. But maybe that's just me.
But at the crux of this episode was the relationship between Oliver and Laurel. I haven't been a fan of the Laurel character for pretty much the entire run of the show, but I really liked watching her and Ollie go at it on screen. I think we were due for an episode centered on their relationship, and it's only fitting Oliver's campaign strategist told him to stay away from her. Katie Cassidy particularly shined here because the dialogue they gave her actually made sense this time. Yes, both her and Oliver have contradicted themselves and lied throughout this show, but this scene told me that that's all over, and I'm really glad.
A few more things worth noting, I liked seeing Diggle and Lance go out in the field together. Ramsey and Blackthorne are two of the best actors on the show, so it's always nice when we get to see those two thespians go at it. Blake Neely's score was also noticeably great here. I love that each character has their own theme and he even gave Constantine one as well. So overall, another very good entry for Arrow. We are definitely heading in the right direction.
+Constantine
+Sara is officially back
+Oliver & Laurel scenes
+Diggle & Lance get rare scenes together
+Score
-Expected a little bit more drama with Sara's return
9.0/10
