Huntress’ merciless approach to taking down her father’s empire gives Digg the chance to call Oliver on his questionable methods of dispensing justice. The episode makes a point out of showing Oliver as chomping at the bit to kill the man who gives Moira a nasty concussion after she gets to close to one of Bertinelli’s goons, but when he finds out that he is a she -a particularly attractive she, who seems to understand the fallout from his island experience better than anyone- Oliver suddenly thinks the criminal must have a reason for her killing spree. Like last episode with the Bonnie and Clyde family, “Muse of Fire” sets Oliver out to be reluctant in popping his hood into anything unrelated to the list, but once Digg prods him, he discovers that getting the bad guy isn’t so simple when asked to judge a person’s actions based on something more complex than the scribblings of your dead dad.
There is, of course, the mushy romance stuff that develops between Oliver and Helena, and while their attraction is more believable in their histories than the actual dialogue they share, at least Amell’s got someone more interesting to make eyes at than Laurel. Having each find out the other’s by the end of “Muse of Fire” offers more interesting plot potential than if they were to dance around one another for a few more episodes, and next week’s promos showing Helena in the Arrow-cave certainly recall the promise that came with Diggle being brought into the vigilante fold, before he got relegated to just being Oliver’s conscience that is.
Jessica De Gouw is solid as Helena, though even out of costume, she still comes across like a low-rent version of Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman, but she’ll have better opportunity to channel the character’s familial rage when next week’s episode rolls around, and it looks like a doozy. For largely convenient reasons, Bertinelli thinks it’s the Triads that are shortening his professional Rolodex, and his threats of retaliation look like they’ll be made good on after Oliver and Helena take out his chief lieutenant in self-defense. The scenes involving China White and Bertinelli are purely setup, but do give reason to bring back Quentin Lance, who is recovering from the professional embarrassment Oliver forced upon him by donning the persona of a Raymond Chandler gumshoe. His few scenes were delightfully unhinged, and highlights including the use of a phrase like “mobbed up to the eyeballs”, as well as a dire prophecy that the mafia-Triad conflict would mean World War III for Starling City.
Lance starting to go off the rails is a luxury that, sadly, not every bit player in Arrow can afford. As usual, the events surrounding the rest of the supporting cast were mixed, though it’s becoming clearer who falls into the hit category, and who belongs with the misses. Moira now seems capable of giving Oliver his space, so long as they share a meal every now and then, and it was gratifying to have someone finally admit that, hey, maybe a guy who’s been exiled in the wilderness for five years is going to be messed up for a long time. Thea, on the other hand, is understanding of Oliver, right up until the moment it inconveniences her (read: she has to take care of mom instead of going clubbing), and she gives Oliver the same histrionic dressing down that she does every other week. Thea, Laurel and Tommy are a holy triumvirate of deadweight, so it’s marginally more bearable when they’re being dull on their own time, rather than interfering with the characters who are actually interesting.
Granted, Tommy has been slowly climbing out of his template douchebag caricature lately, and the revelation that his father is The Well-Dressed Man was surprising, if patently obvious in retrospect. Tommy and Oliver were inevitably going to clash over Laurel (remember: CW), and connecting the two via the dissolving relationship between their parents will get Tommy and Oliver from A friendship to B conflict as quickly as possible. That’s the sort of star-crossed lovers overarching plot that will likely come to bare near the end of the season, or perhaps later, as CW has proven it knows how to play out hormonal yearning for years. All the same, the show I want to watch has Arrow and Huntress kicking ass across Starling City, and if nothing else, it looks like next week will deliver on that.
- Stray Thoughts
-This episode is credited to Geoff Johns, who’s been a big wig at DC for a while, and scripted a few key episodes of Smallville. That’s probably why the fan boy stuff feels so on this week, and the dialogue seems so off.
-Laurel’s repeated use of Tommy’s lastname would hint that his eventual rivalry with Oliver will turn him into “Merlyn”, who falls into the comic book villain category of “exactly like the hero, only evil.” What are the odds that Tommy also spent Ollie’s five year absence mastering the bow and arrow?
-“You left mom on the street, alone, and hurt, on the street.” Thea seems less offended about Oliver leaving their injured mother while pursuing a bad guy, than the idea of Moira being seen out on the pavement, like some sort of street urchin!
-I will admit to genuinely laughing at the happenstance of Tommy bringing sushi the same moment that the pizza guy arrives for Laurel. It’s almost like the beautiful and wealthy are real people, you guys!
-No island flashbacks this week. Can’t say I particularly missed them, especially with an episode this busy in setting up a part two.
-Knowing Huntress would be the Daft Punk-looking shooter from the cold open, I couldn’t help but laugh at the number of times the script goes out of its way to imply the biker is male. Helena taking off her helmet dramatically is supposed to be shocking because, *gasp*, a WOMAN is an assassin.
-Walter’s back, hopefully, with a purpose, as his vacation was a smart way of keeping part of an already overloaded cast on the bench for a while.
-Warning to all the plebes of Starling City: do not be caught talking to the Queens or anyone else important. If you’re introduced on camera, it’s only so you can die/get robbed later.
-Perhaps my focus on CW standards this week was triggered by the absurd number of unidentifiable Top 40-wannabe slow jams that show up. Laurel’s apartment must be next door to a studio for bands that only make money off of TV airplay songs.
-Ab-tastic Workout of the Week: Ollie slaps away at a coatrack. All the guys are pretty slap-happy this episode.
