Arrow (TV Series) Reversal (2017) User Reviews

Arrow - S06E04 Reversal

[j_forbesy · 8/10 · 2 November 2017]

The foundation that Arrow has built this season has been really strong in the first 3 episodes. My hope is that for the next few weeks, the show starts to show a bit more direction of where this season is heading. While I've really enjoyed every episode so far, I need this show to give a bit more of a clear path.

This episode I think they did a great job to adding to that clear path. Last season I really liked the angle they took with the Helix story and Cayden James so I thought it was really good to see it come back. I really like how they have tied him into what seems like will be a form of big bad this season with Black Siren.

Continuing with Helix, I was interested to see where they were going to go with Felicity and Curtis' start up and I'm happy we got some progress and a name for it this episode. I thought the character of Alena was a really strong addition last season because she had good chemistry with Felicity, so I am really looking forward to see how they use her in the future. I can see them giving her a strong relationship with Curtis if Oliver and Felicity continue to advance.

I am really liking the team dynamic they are presenting without Oliver. While he did tie into the back end of the episode, it is nice to see the working like a well oiled machine. We know there will be a reason to bring Oliver back, but even when there is, it is nice to see that the team would have a better understanding of each other after their time without Oliver's leadership.

Looking towards some future points, I'm really excited to get the return of Slade. The more Manu Bennett the show has the better it is in my books. I know next week's episode is going to focus around Oliver helping Slade look for his son so we could be in for a big one next week.

Overall, while I think this may have been the weakest of this season, this was still an extremely strong episode. However I really want them to start showing a bit of direction for this season. Ideally I would really like if they did what Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D did last season in breaking the season having 3 different story arcs.

8/10

Helix is Back!

[lassegalsgaard-45284 · 6/10 · 21 January 2018]

So, one of the things in Season 5 that never really worked for me was the international hacker group known as Helix. They ended up playing a big part in the season and helped the team out on numerous occasions. I was never big on their part because it seemed like one of those things that could quickly be overused and be a way for the writers to get around easily around certain storylines. However, they did not do anything to ruin the greatness that was Season 5, and because of their sudden disappearance during the season, I didn't think we were going to see them return. However, in this episode we see that Cayden James is not the good man that Felicity was led to believe in Season 5 and that he is actually planning on destroying a large population of the world. This is definitely the weakest episode of the season so far, and not because of Helix as a device, but more because the timing of their return felt a little bit off and I don't know where the showrunners are going with this.

With that said, there were definitely a number of things that I liked about this episode. I like that the writers have brought Olicity back and I also like that they are not rushing it. They was a great moment where Felicity said that she wanted to ease into some aspects of the relationship and I think that is the writers listening to the fans. We don't need to see them running away together because they are so desperately in love. We need to see this relationship develop into that, which is something the writers didn't understand back in Season 3. But I think they are finally getting the hang of it.

At first, I didn't know if I was going to get used to the fact that Oliver is no longer part of the team and is trying to live a normal life. But with this episode, I can officially say that I do not miss Oliver as part of the team. I am not going to be disappointed when he returns to the team, but I don't have a problem with him being absent from the battles, because I think it gives the writers room to explore the more political side of his character. And even though we didn't get to see him at the city hall in this episode, we still got to see how his reputation has changed from where he was at the beginning of Season 5, to where he is now, and that progression feels real and earned.

It was also a great surprise to see Laurel-2 back in this episode, because this is the character that I feel like Katie Cassidy has really gotten into. She was the killer that we knew she was from her first appearance on "The Flash," and everything she did in this episode felt true to the character we were introduced to back in 2016. And, I was also very happy to see Michael Emerson finally make his debut as Cayden James, a character that I did not expect him to play. Emerson brings such a charisma to every character he plays, and I just loved the presence he had as this maniacal dude.

But with his appearance also comes a lot of questions that I felt was necessary to answer, that ultimately wasn't answered. I didn't get his motivation for doing what he doing, nor did I fully understand his partnership with Laurel-2. I know that we are going to get that explained later on, but I still think it was necessary to give us some clue into what he can do. We saw Laurel-2 get brought back from the dead, but there was never anyone who said that this hacker was actually some kind of magician. I think they need to explain that and do it in an interesting way.

There is also an entire scene with Alena that was completely necessary. Actually, all of her scenes featured some very forced humor and weak dialogue between her and Felicity. I felt like she had a stronger presence in the few episodes she had in Season 5 and that they have changed the character a little bit this time around, but I can't really put my fingers on what it is exactly. This episode makes it seem like she will have a bigger part in the upcoming episodes, so I hope they strengthen the writing for her, as well as her relationship with Felicity, that felt goofy and conventional in this episode.

An okay episode ruined by a Helix storyline

[hawkins_saints_rock · 7/10 · 4 November 2017]

So it's week 2 of Oliver's hiatus as Green Arrow, and this week missed the mark compared to last week, but that's not necessarily due to Oliver not being GA.

We start off with a Black Siren scene, where she seduces a guy at a bar. Katie Cassidy does a great job as Black Siren and I liked seeing her back, as she was one of the main villains in this episode. She kills off what seems to be three "random" people that the team need to find connections with. Eventually they do and they work out her next target, which results in another great Canary vs. Siren battle. Will never get tired of those.

The subplot is where this episode fails dramatically. The Helix plot line of season 5 was the only negative part of a mostly great season. So I'm really disappointed that they brought the Helix arc back, I know that technically it's not exactly Helix, but it still feels the same boring plot line that looks like its gonna have a main part all season long. Continuing along with this, Michael Emerson finally made his debut, but unfortunately as Helix's Cayden James. I was really looking forward to Emerson's presence on the show, but I'm not interested in Cayden James at all. Disappointing. The only thing that I sort of like from this arc, is that Felicity has to face some form of consequences from joining Helix in season 5. But honestly I'd rather it not be a part of this season.

I enjoyed the fight scenes in this episode. And Slade calling Oliver has me intrigued for next weeks episode. Also, we officially have Olicity back. Not sure how I feel about it, as I actually liked them as a couple in the past. But it's no coincidence that their relationship coincided with the lowest quality time period of the Arrow series.

7.2/10

Best of Season 6 So Far

[slackermama-65601 · 9/10 · 3 November 2017]

Despite a lot of promotion leading me to believe this was going to be a Black Siren focused episode, I was happy to see that wasn't the case at all. Instead, what we got was a focus on Felicity Smoak and her relationship with Oliver. I loved how they essentially switched places, with him in her shoes and vice versa. It really strengthened and solidified their relationship which is so important going forward.

We got to see more of the new Team Arrow dynamic and it felt like Diggle was in better command this week than he was last week. While I miss Oliver in the hood, Dig isn't doing bad but I am concerned for him, personally. Keeping secrets from the team isn't a great plan.

Would have liked to see more of Rene and Dinah this week, but what we got was pretty great so I'm not too upset. The focus wasn't on them this week, so it made sense for them to be more in the background.

Absolutely adored the introduction of Cayden James. I've been anticipating Michael Emerson on the show since he was announced back at SDCC and he did not disappoint in "Reversal". The moment I heard his voice, I had goosebumps. He does quietly menacing so very well and I really can't wait to see what he does with the character. I can see that he has a long game in mind, and I'm really interested to see what it is and what his motivations are.

The humor was great, the drama, the action ... this was a solid episode that I truly enjoyed and I've watched it several more times (on the CW app of course, gotta give them those streaming views!) since, which I can't say for every episode of this show. Season 5 was pretty great, season 6 looks to be topping that. Can't wait to see what happens next. ;)

Terrible

[dimi-02764 · 1/10 · 4 November 2017]

This episode was the worst of all. The tech part was so disappointment and weak. And the crap with taking down the Internet was so funny. As a men working in the IT sphere I feel very offended. Maybe the writers are thinking the audience is so stupid so they don't take attention on this absurd plot? For now I think that the writers are just ran out of ideas. So I don't think that this season will be as good as the 5th.

Why?

[dineshpalety · 1/10 · 3 November 2017]

The conflict of this episode is that some dude is trying to take down the entire internet. Apparently, the internet is located in a vault in some gigantic building somewhere in America. Oh, and you need three fingerprints to access it. Do I really need to say more? Absolute garbage.

Why Go Back to This Story Line?

[ThomasDrufke · 5/10 · 3 November 2017]

There are always going to be episodes of Arrow that are frustrating. I'm sure this will not be the last time, however, I honestly thought we would be done with episodes with contrived hacking plots where there's forced conflicts between characters. After a nice return to the Olicity relationship last week, we got a pointless and repetitive conflict between the two this week as Felicity ended up in the middle of a save-the-world-by-hacking scenario. Sound familiar? Of course it does.

I never cared for Alena and Helix, I'm not sure anybody was. So as soon as Alena appeared on screen I just sighed and began to tune out of any moment in which she participated in. It's not that I'm opposed to a situation where Felicity has something more to do than be Overwatch, but why go back to the same old dumb story line which resulted in the absolute absurd "Team Arrow vs Team Felicity" episode last year. But unfortunately, we saw the return of that Felicity.

This led to a pathetically forced Olicity argument where Ollie was yelled at for saving her in the field. It's these moments which I seriously question why the show goes the Olicity route altogether. Why not stay true to what made those moments special last week, a real relationship that is written with care.

I mean I guess it was neat to see Michael Emerson in a prominent role in the show, since he's a well-respected actor. But even him and Black Siren didn't even seem to have a cool bond. I'm just kind of tired of the whole Black Siren thing to be honest anyway. This also confirms the fact that the person who save Siren from Lian Yu was not Richard Dragon, instead just another global hacker.

In all, this episode was a retread of the really bad season 4/midway through season 5 episodes that we had. Lacking creativity and cohesiveness, "Reversal" is by far the worst episode of season 6.

5.7/10

One Of The Worst

[theactionfigurekid · 5/10 · 3 November 2017]

in the 119 episodes of arrow that have aired,this was one of the worst others being, Burned,5/10, Schism 4/10, Underneath 3.5/10. This was really mediocre. Out of the characters they could focus on like Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific or Dinah they choose Felicity who already has 4 episodes dedicated to her, the plot is laughably bad, Bad guy wants to destroy the net for reasons and felicity the great and mighty, will stop him with her very very cool extreme hacking skills!!!!! The action is actually pretty great, the acting is great e.g Cayden. The cliff hanger was also pretty exciting but the PLOT WAS FIFTY SHADES OF ASS!!!!!! PROS + ACTION

+ Cliffhanger

+ Cayden

CONS

• ANOTHER FELICITY CENTRIC EPISODE

• PLOT

-OLIVER AND FELICITY!@#$%^&*

• NO LANCE/THEA OR ANY THING ABOUT OLIVER'S MAYOR DUTIES

• WHAT BOUT DIGGLE'S DRUG THING????

OVERALL:

5.5/10

Horrible episode

[mihaicosmin2007-358-907075 · 3/10 · 3 November 2017]

This episode is a kind reminder of season 4. It had everything:

No arrows

Horrible directing and fight choreography.

A boring plot.

EBR's wooden face and empty emotions as the main drive.

As I said in the review for the last episode, the writers put the bar way too high, and they missed it completely here. I hope it gets better next episode, which has a lot of potential.

Easily the worst episode of the arrowverse this week.

It gets 2 points for Diggle's remark to Felicity.

Enter: Cayden James

[highmarksreviews · 3/10 · 26 January 2018]

With all the hype surrounding the season big bad, it may be a sad realisation that it ain't going to be Richard Dragon (Kirk Acevedo). While this episode brought more great action and familiar faces back into the fray, it was an overall disappointment. Cayden James, a faceless hacker from Season 5 is Season 6's main villain. And while actor Michael Emerson brings intrigue and a cool attitude to his role, James feels like a generic, pointless hacker. His motives are unexplained and his plan is unclear, traits that no Arrow villain has ever had. The romantic relationship between Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) also felt forced and did not hit the right notes.

I didn't realise this was a comedy

[avnuria · 2/10 · 15 September 2020]

Ha ha ha ha taking down the Internet, how funny 😂