20 | March | 2015 | Sourcerer

Terrible time to post, I know. But I need to get this out, and there’s not much prime posting space on this blog right now. I mentioned the other day that our A to Z theme reveal goes on Sunday. That’s so people on the other side of the world can find it when they visit the linkup on Monday morning, and so I can toss it into #SundayBlogShare.

A few updates and notes about our posting schedule, etc.

Here’s a list of regular features that will continue during April.

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Hold onto your seats everybody, because it was an action packed show this week. The scenes between Ra’s and Ollie were electric, and well worth the wait. I was both impressed by Ollie’s audacity, and terrified he would get run through with a sword again. One thing became clear – Ra’s has spies everywhere. He really wasn’t bragging about the scope of his resources. How else could he be so in touch with Ollie’s life (besides the fact his daughter is in enemy camp)?

There was the strategically placed DJ (what was his name again?), and Maseo popping up everywhere, but something tells me Ra’s has eyes all over the city. Anyway, after lots of pontificating, Ra’s cut to the chase. He basically told Ollie he can control the League in any way he sees fit, if he accepts the position. I think we all scoffed at that one.

The best part was undoubtedly the number of references to the Lazarus Pit. I was practically salivating! Finally, they stopped beating about the bush. I did a double take when Ra’s released Ollie and the prisoners as a gesture of good faith. Outwardly my reaction was a tame ‘uh, oh’ but inside I was screaming ‘batten down the hatches because the shit is going to hit the fan.’

But that’s enough of that. Other great things happened in the show. The flashbacks, for the most part, were entertaining. Though they told us little apart from the fact Ollie and Akio are still together. I loved how Stephen Amell portrayed the younger Ollie, completely out of his depth and trying to humour the boy. He even had an optimistic bounce in his step, which was pretty amusing. The final scene was the real hook – the appearance of Shado. What? Exactly!

As I said, lots happened this week, so I decided to do the sensible thing – provide a summary based on each character.

Nyssa

I enjoyed watching Nyssa this week. She was mesmerising at the police precinct, though it took me by surprise when she appeared to save Laurel (just in the nick of time too). I wondered at her timing, until she stepped out of the shadows a little later and her purpose became clear. To say she’s having issues with her father is an understatement, but then, he is the Demon Head. It made sense that she would choose Laurel to share her troubles with, given the connection to Sara, and it appears the unlikely friends will be spending a bit more time together.

The scene with Ra’s gets a mention because she dared to strike against him in anger. Of course he caught the knife aimed at his throat without flinching. You can imagine my excitement when he demonstrated the healing properties of the Lazarus Pit.

Thea/Roy

First let’s start with Roy, who is really picking up his game of late. He held his own against Nyssa in a fight, though granted he did knock her out with a dart. It’s great to see his continued development, especially as Arsenal. I’m not quite sure where his relationship with Thea is going, because she’s clearly using him as an emotional crutch. I guess he can take care of himself.

Thea irritated me this week, and I’m not entirely sure why. Her reactions were all believable. She’s in a vulnerable place right now and rightly so. She just found out she was used as a puppet by her own father. A man she wants dead – that’s got to be all kinds of confusing! Offering herself up on a plate to Nyssa wasn’t the best idea, but I can understand why she did it. Her scene with Malcolm was oddly compelling (how does Barrowman always manage to seem so smug?).

Felicity

Her scene with Ray, which was his only scene (and where the hell is the suit?), seemed a little forced. It was clearly set up so Ollie could stumble upon the intimate moment, and it took some of the fun out of it. Still, they were both terribly awkward, which added a layer of tension.

Later, she seemed to be the only one to get through to Ollie (more on that in a minute), by forcing him to reflect on his purpose. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters, because we haven’t seen it for a while.

Diggle

I felt I should at least mention him, though he didn’t have a great deal to do this week. He was Ollie’s sounding board, of course, but their discussion never really went anywhere – aside from showing us Ollie’s conflict. Something which has been burning for several weeks.

Laurel/Captain Lance

I’m dealing with these two together, because their shared scenes always deliver. Lance gave a heart-wrenching speech about his struggle with forgiveness, which showed us just how much he’s hurting right now. Laurel has a lot of making up to do, and I’m not sure their relationship will be healed any time soon.

Laurel is still finding her feet as Canary, and spent most of the show getting beat up – if you include Lance’s speech. Still, I like where her character is going, and I have high hopes for her future, especially if Nyssa really does decide to train her.

Ollie

So far, I’ve totally bought into Ollie’s internal struggle. His identity crisis, if you will. He’s been through a lot, a point which was drilled home several times during the show. So when he immediately found his centre after one fight (which involved several casualties), I found it hard to swallow. It was anticlimactic, and more than a little rushed.

The Fight Scenes

The fight scenes deserve a quick mention, if only for the awesomeness in the police precinct. We got to see Arrow, Arsenal, Canary, and Nyssa all kicking some major butt and cleaning house. It would have been nice to see Diggle, but you can’t have everything.

An earlier scene showed Team Arrow trying to intercept a robbery, which was memorable mainly because Ollie got to show off his skills. Dropping down to save Canary from the path of a moving vehicle was pretty cool.

Conclusion

That just leaves the closing scene from the show, in which Ra’s al Ghul become an Arrow impersonator. It was obvious from the beginning Ollie didn’t have much choice in terms of the offer, which kind of negates the whole thing. Still, I didn’t expect Ra’s to deal with the problem directly. His intent is clear, he wants to sully Arrow’s reputation and turn the city against him.

It should make for an interesting few weeks! How about you? Did you enjoy The Offer? Was it worth the wait? Let me know your thoughts.