The CW has been known to give us at least 2-3 filler episodes per season with each show they do, but tonight's Arrow episode was an example of exactly the opposite. There was so much material that perhaps it was almost too much for its own good. I don't think its the best episode of the season, but I would find it hard to believe if viewers didn't have a ton of fun watching it. I'm not entirely sure why the writers felt the need to included all of it in one episode. So many characters returned and so much to talk about.
We began the episode in Nanda Parbat with Nyssa breaking free from the cell she was being kept in by Malcom. I guess she had a few allies left after all. Escaping and attempting to steal some sort of cure for Thea, only to find none other than Tatsu AKA Katana guarding it. This was one of the many returns we got tonight. Albeit extremely brief, it's always nice to see her on the show as she was one of the only highlights to the flashbacks last season.
Speaking of flashbacks, after Oliver was constantly tortured, he hallucinated Shado, who in turn gave him the best advice he's gotten all year, to tell Taiana the truth about her brother. Long overdue but I guess it makes sense the advice came from Shado, considering the length at which Oliver hid the truth about her death from Slade.
Another return came from the presence of Roy Harper. We've known about Colton Haynes coming back for awhile now but the result definitely didn't disappoint. As much as I used to despise his character back in season 2, I grew to like him a lot more last season. I was relieved that the mind control thing didn't last long considering I think we were all tired of the 'Tremors' Roy Harper. It was pretty cool to see him suited up and down in the new foundry just like good old times. I'm also glad that Roy got some good screen time with Thea as well.
The villain this week was the Calculator AKA Felicity's father, also been long rumored. I have to say that much of his material felt overshadowed by all the returns, Malcom, and the potential meeting with Damien Darhk, but I think we will get a better look at him in the coming episodes. The next episode is titled Sins of the Father, so I'm pretty sure he'll be back.
A couple small things worth noting were Curtis using those T-Sphere things which is clearly foreshadowing his potential arc as Mr. Terrific, and Felicity using the term Batarang rams? I don't know if I heard that correctly, but it caught my attention. Finally, I think what we will all be talking about is the state Thea is in right now. They are obviously trying to make us think she will be the one in the grave considering she's in a coma right now, but I'm still not so sure. The idea of having to kill Malcom in return for Nyssa's cure is a great twist although that makes me wonder where Damien Darhk fits into all of this? Could it be that Oliver is actually talking about Malcom when he says "I'm gonna kill him" like I predicted way back in episode 1? I don't know. I'm sure everything will be more clear in the coming weeks.
+Roy
+Nyssa stepping up
+Nice seeing Shado and Tatsu briefly
+Roy and Thea moments were surprisingly effective
+Raises plenty of questions for the rest of the season
+A lot of awesome material
-Perhaps almost too much for its own good
-Felicity's dad was sidelined a bit
9.3/10
Who's in the grave?
Quentin 36% chance
Thea 34& chance
Diggle 20% chance
Donna Smoak 10% chance