Arrow "Beacon of Hope" (REVIEW)
written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)
In what has to be one of the most entertaining episodes of Arrow in recent weeks, a villain from The Flash makes her way to Star City when the Bug Eyed Bandit sets her mecha-bees on Team Arrow. Brie Larvan lays seige on Palmer Tech and with Felicity inside Team Arrow has to act quick.
Curtis Holt plays the MVP this episode, despite being bedridden with a flu of some sort, he rushes to the scene and haphazardly stumbles upon the Arrow Cave/Lair/Quiver. With Team Arrow down a Felicity, Curtis Holt stands in as the techie… hacking Larvan’s bees while supporting Team Arrow as like a more hyperactive Felicity… as if that was possible.
Seeing Emily Kinney on TV is always a delight, as a fan of The Walking Dead it still stings thinking about Beth’s untimely demise.
As far as an episode goes, this was uncharacteristically funny for Arrow. During a training session when the episode opens, Oliver mentions that Felicity isn’t “Voldemort” when Laurel tries to dodge saying her name. The exchange leads to Diggle mentioning the movies with Oliver replying “there were movies?”
As far as episodes go, this was a more low key episode despite the Brie Larvan bits. Damien Darhk is behind bars and Malcolm Merlyn seems to either be helping Darhk or attempting to take over his spot as the head of H.I.V.E. While attempting to save Felicity, Oliver still has to tackle the continued heartache from his relationship with Felicity falling apart.
Back in Iron Heights, Darhk faces the usual trials and tribulations that come with being the new fish in a pond full of bigger, badder fish. Another call back from an earlier episode has Murmur coming back as the biggest fish in Iron Heights. This of course turns to Darhk’s benefit when Murmur sides with Darhk.
On the flashback episodes, Baron Reiter faces off against Ollie and Taiana for the idol that gives him his power… the same idol mind you that gave Damian Darhk his power. As it has been all season, the flashback episodes have paled in comparison to the time when Ollie, Slade, and Shado had to face off against Ivo.
The episode had it’s highs and arguably its lows, while far from solid it did manage to keep the narrative going. To next week… and judging by the way this episode ended, it’ll be quite the ride.
