Arrow - Recap: Let's Play The Blame Game
As if monster-making serums and corrupt political super-villains weren’t enough, Arrow introduced us to Shrapnel tonight in an episode where lots of things went BOOM.
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To kick off the recap for Episode 10, it’s important to note that several weeks had gone by since Oliver’s introduction to the man in the skull mask the night that Roy was injected with the Mirakuru serum. In the days following this run-in, The Arrow did his best to hunt down any answers or information regarding the criminal’s identity but inevitably came up short. Funny enough, Oliver’s budding friendship with Sebastian Blood aka Brother Blood continued to grow stronger this week, as Thea’s Verdant nightclub set the perfect stage for yet another political event. Thea Queen doesn’t do politics, but she certainly does parties.
Meanwhile, Roy Harper isn’t at all thrilled with his newfound super strength. In fact, he spent most of Episode 10 oscillating between some heavy moping and some heavier panic. Thea, strangely more in the dark than anyone in Starling City regarding anything semi-relating to the vigilante, continuously blamed herself for her boyfriend’s odd behavior. While Roy stacked boxes to blow off steam, he and Thea eventually attempted to get a little hot and heavy following several weeks of emotional distance. Eventually, their fully clothed bumping and grinding sent a crate of glasses straight for Harper’s head, landing a nasty shard deep in his arm. Of course, Roy now has healing abilities. While Thea stressed over whether or not he’d need stitches for what was essentially a stab wound, Roy seemed more concerned with keeping his light little scratch hidden.
There’s not really much to say about this Shrapnel character. He’s another super-villain swiped from the pages of DC Comics, yet his story on Arrow seemed fairly simple. He loathes the government, so he blows things up. He also seems to hate anyone who’s willing to live under any government, so he blows them up, too. BOOM! Easy. This was a pretty straightforward terrorist situation where the psycho at hand clearly had some training when it came to setting and detonating explosives. Then again, doesn’t it seem like we always deal with these kinds of situations on this show? When does an episode go by where there isn’t some sort of a bomb going off?
I actually think Shrapnel’s reign of terror over Starling City during Episode 10 was more so to continue the peculiar tension that’s been brewing between Ollie and Felicity. With Felicity spending much of her time at Barry’s side in Central City following the explosion of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator, Ollie and Diggle (David Ramsey) were on there own and significantly less helpful to the public. Once Felicity returned to work following news of the first explosion, the team truly got down to business. After gathering evidence from Officer Lance (Paul Blackthorne) during a rendezvous at their rooftop meeting place, The Arrow managed to acquire evidence from one of the explosions that could be analyzed in order to narrow down the field of candidates. When another bombing happened as the two were saying their goodbyes, the chase was on. With help from Felicity and her uncanny ability to trace any and all signals, Oliver sped after Shrapnel for a while but eventually lost track of his van amidst a barrage of booming explosives. Back at the lair, there seemed to be no doubt in Oliver’s mind that Felicity was to blame for their failed effort. She’d managed to lose the signal, though Oliver clearly botched the chase. In truth, there were a ton of underlying emotions at play here. Oliver had various shades of jealousy shining through as he reprimanded Felicity for daring to visit her friend in the hospital. More on this later.
It’s also important to note that Officer Lance’s meeting with his buddy, the vigilante, on the rooftop that evening was mutually beneficial. He knows that someone from the inside must have tipped off Solomon Grundy to the looming police raid during the midseason finale. With some help from Felicity, Lance began sifting through countless police department phone records during Episode 10 in order to pinpoint the traitor.
Much of the action this week focused on Sebastian Blood’s decision to hold a Unity Rally in order to gather support against the terrorist threatening Starling City. Of course, a Unity Rally might as well be labeled as an official group suicide spot when the lunatic at hand is looking to make statements that destroy the morale of the government and its people. A personal visit from The Arrow did little to squash the alderman’s plans to stand tall, even it meant putting innocent civilian lives in danger. What’s interesting is that we didn’t really know just how much Sebastian cared for the people of Starling City at this point. We knew that he was corrupt because he’s been working alongside Slade (Manu Bennet) as Brother Blood, but he always seemed to have twisted revenge in the name of Starling City’s poor in mind. By Arrow’s close this week, though, things changed. Stay tuned!
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Two scenes stuck out in my mind for the cool factor they brought to the episode. First, Felicity managed to use the evidence handed over to Oliver to trace the explosives of choice back to an anti-militia group called The Movement. In addition, she quite easily located the profile of Shrapnel among the group’s forum. Well, that was easy, right? Don’t put anything on the Internet, kids. Also, don’t play with explosives. More importantly, what kind of anti-government/ probably-terrorist organization has public fan forums? Felicity made this guy seem like some nerdy gamer who’s a terrorist in his free time. Anyway, I digress. When Oliver arrived at this Shrapnel’s place of employment, a hobby shop, an explosive-rigged laser security system activated that essentially locked him in position. If he moved a single muscle, the place would blow. In a nice scene of redemption following their prior moment of uncomfortable aggression, Felicity researched the building’s history from afar and eventually guided Ollie to blowing the fuse box in a flash with an arrow, rendering the laser system deactivated.
While, Oliver and Felicity attempted to handle the Shrapnel situation from the source, Diggle had the honor of attending Sebastian’s Unity Rally in order to begin searching for a ring of explosives. I loved how Oliver made it seem like Diggle had the easy job to begin with. Again, there’s really not much to say about Shrapnel. The kook showed up out of the blue once Diggle and Felicity, who’d run to his aid after helping to rescue Oliver, discovered the location of the trigger through some fairly average routine snooping. In the end, Diggle took a bullet to the shoulder in order to protect the people rallying below. With the boom of a gunshot, however, all hell broke lose, more explosive devices were thrown, and before we knew it a massive lighting fixture came crashing down towards Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson). Moira had been dragged to the event against her will by Thea and Roy, and I’d imagine that would have been her final depressing thought had Roy not stepped in to catch the impossibly heavy beam on his back. “I should have gone to jaaaaaiiiil…”
This got my award for second favorite moment of the week, mostly because Roy later credited his incredible strength to “mom power” aka what happens when a mother needs to lift a car off of her pinned child, fight a grizzly bear in the wild, etc. Also, hiding the fact that his awful stab wound had completely healed proved to be undoable. Thea knows something is totally up, everybody, though I’m not really sure why Roy hasn’t just told her the truth. He was attacked. It’s not like he shot up and realized he has some residual effects here.
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What’s probably most interesting to consider when studying Roy Harper as we move forward is that we also get to bear witness to the transformation of Slade back on the island via flashback sequences. Basically, normal badass Slade is now a bit off his rocker. Any sort of disagreements or argumentative comments seemed to send him off the deep end, even at one point driving him to nearly strangle Ollie to death in his blind rage. As Sara (Caity Lotz) put it in a private moment alone with Oliver, the men who died taking the Mirakuru were the lucky ones. Those who lived became hideous monsters, either physically or mentally. Unfortunately for Oliver and Sara, Slade made off with the rest of the Mirakuru just as Ivo radioed his intention to scientifically experiment on the trio should he not get what he wants. Thus, if they don’t find Slade, they’re done for. Also, Ollie admitted to Sara this week that he did, indeed, choose to save her over Shado, which I didn’t really understand. Shado was an actual lover, and Sara was that fling on the boat. I’m guessing he made this choice out of sheer guilt for getting her into this situation to begin with?
Oh, so Shrapnel was easy to take down. Ollie managed to cut the wire of his detonator with a single Arrow, and the Officer Lance's police force arrested him.
Back at the lair, Felicity finally got the apology she’d had coming to her for a few episodes now. Oliver knows that he’s not on a mission as one man anymore. He has true partners in Diggle and Felicity, and he relies on them to get the job done just as much as he relies on his own abilities. Plus, I love that he ended his pep talk about how Barry is most likely dreaming of Felicity deep within his coma by placing a hand on her shoulder. Maybe it was simply a moment of moral support from a friend, but I read that as just another little bit of romantic toying and teasing.
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To close the recap, the most important and interesting arc during Episode 10 actually surrounded Laurel Lance. I truly never thought I’d say that. First, I love that they still have Laurel popping pills. I think it gives her an edge as a character. Her quest for answers and justice had her refusing to believe that Sebastian is simply a good man, even if Blood had her father’s approval. I was sure she’d crack once Sebastian confided in her that he watched his drunken and abusive father break his mother’s arm before she shot him to death in an act of panicked self-defense, but Laurel kept on digging! The “son of the city,” the orphan boy turned politician with a heart of gold… bad vibes are bad vibes, guys! Laurel’s search eventually led her to an insane asylum. We’re talking, the kind of mental institution you don’t ever get out of. This was the kind of hospital that looked like a dream sequence from A Nightmare on Elm Street (remake starring Katie Cassidy). Inside, Laurel was introduced to Sebastian’s “craAazy” aunt, though the woman actually didn’t seem insane at all once she stopped the characteristic “creepy lullaby singing” these shows love to have characters lacking in sanity perform for us. This was in actuality not Sebastian’s aunt, but his own mother. Sebastian is The Devil, apparently. Hmm… Well, that was pretty straightforward. The Devil is the worst, I think. Correct? In fact, his mother had watched Sebastian kill his own father before he had her locked away forever by painting her as insande. Tough luck, lady. In other news, congratulations, Laurel! You’ve truly pulled something off here! Then again, Oliver ended his arc this week with one last meeting with Sebastian at his office. Will Oliver as The Arrow team up with Sebastian Blood to keep making waves in the city?
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What did you think of Arrow Season 2 Episode 10, “Blast Radius”? Did you enjoy Shrapnel? Will Oliver buy into Laurel’s discovery? What’s going on with Ollicity? Is Roy heading for the same fate as Slade?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Arrow Season 2 Episode 10, “Blast Radius”!