Haunted

While not being nearly as fluid and well written as last week, Haunted was another great Arrow episode full of surprises and more great character drama. The past two weeks have got me thinking, is Arrow back? I don't think it will ever top season 2, but I think the show has found it's footing again, something it really struggled with last year.

Haunted focused heavily on Sara's restoration of her soul. While I have been critical of Arrow and Flash setting up Legends of Tomorrow with both their seasons, the focus on Sara was definitely necessary. One of the most relieving aspects was the fact that it seems like all the secrets are out. Everyone knows about Thea and Sara's trips to the pit and it seems like Diggle is in the clear with his brother. With all of this out in the open I hope we can start focusing on Darhk and his ultimate goal.

We got the highly anticipated appearance of Matt Ryan's Constantine as he showed up in both the flashbacks and the present day. It was another character who conveniently showed up in the flashbacks and the present day at the same time in the same episode, but I don't think Constantine will be a regular this season like some characters in past seasons. I'm not even sure he will be back at all this season, although his connection to Darhk seems like an interesting story dynamic. I'm not going to pretend I know what the hell he found underneath the island or the reason behind him giving that tattoo to Oliver which can give him some sort of power, but at least we now have an explanation for that particular tattoo.

The villain of the week was our very own Sara Lance as she roamed the city in hopes of killing Thea. I have to say, even though this entire premise made the show feel so different than it's ever been (and more like a Walking Dead episode), I found it to be a lot better than when Oliver was a brief 'villain' last year. But I just don't think the whole lazarus outbreaks translate as well to the screen as I thought they would. I was also a little taken back by the calmness of the entire crew with Sara coming back. I know they were surprised, but I just felt the story called for a little more drama, especially considering how devastating season 3's second episode was when it focused on Sara's death. But maybe that's just me.

But at the crux of this episode was the relationship between Oliver and Laurel. I haven't been a fan of the Laurel character for pretty much the entire run of the show, but I really liked watching her and Ollie go at it on screen. I think we were due for an episode centered on their relationship, and it's only fitting Oliver's campaign strategist told him to stay away from her. Katie Cassidy particularly shined here because the dialogue they gave her actually made sense this time. Yes, both her and Oliver have contradicted themselves and lied throughout this show, but this scene told me that that's all over, and I'm really glad.

A few more things worth noting, I liked seeing Diggle and Lance go out in the field together. Ramsey and Blackthorne are two of the best actors on the show, so it's always nice when we get to see those two thespians go at it. Blake Neely's score was also noticeably great here. I love that each character has their own theme and he even gave Constantine one as well. So overall, another very good entry for Arrow. We are definitely heading in the right direction.

+Constantine

+Sara is officially back

+Oliver & Laurel scenes

+Diggle & Lance get rare scenes together

+Score

-Expected a little bit more drama with Sara's return

9.0/10

The show itself has terrible production values, horrible acting, and incredibly bad writing. This episode is the worst of all of them put together. The pre-opening sequence scene was the worst stunt acting of any non-B movie I have ever witnessed. The writing and dialogue for this ep was worse than normal. The only redeeming quality of this episode was the return of John Constantine.

I watched the first season and gave up in the middle of season two. I started watching again this season because The Flash is pretty good and I thought maybe this would have improved. It hasn't. At least I don't have to see Ollie's fake wigs in the flashback scenes anymore.

I have never wrote a review on any of the shows though, but i've been closely following most of your reviews on Arrow.

As i have seen the show is getting more and more exiting as it progresses through the season, not yet half way but it feels like were already aproaching the finale. The excitement is building. Can't wait for the the second half of the show to see what we have in store after winter break.

Speaking of "Haunted" the episode has been quite better like expected, following the hint of Constantine appearance, both in flashback and in current time as I had guessed. I haven't watched Constantine but his cameo on this episode just spiced up everything as his performance was great especially his dialogue.

Once again we see the Darhk-Lance un-easy alliance and how is going to benefit the team arrow. But as some light shed on the death of Diggle's brother, i do or don't think that Diggle will be much driven to get some payback as he has always been.

The White Canary being officially brought back was the peak of the episode, though i thought that it was too soon and the monster from the pit was too brief too.

Arrow season 4 episode 5 shifts focus to Sara's unstable rampage through Star City as she targets Thea driven by the bloodlust from her resurrection. Oliver works alongside John Constantine who makes a memorable appearance bringing mystical expertise to help restore Sara's soul and stabilize her condition. This crossover of magic and superhero action adds a new layer to the show's universe while also offering Oliver and the team a rare moment of hope. At the same time Laurel struggles with the guilt of her choices and Thea begins to accept her own inner battles. The blend of supernatural elements heartfelt character moments and intense fight sequences makes this episode stand out as both unique and pivotal.

My husband and I both watch this series as well as the Flash and both are well done. I liked this episode because I enjoyed that they made Constantine come back, even for one episode.Constantine was a good show and was glad they fit him into the Arrow. With Damien Darhk and black magic use, maybe they should have Constantine come back more often. Maybe they are trying to see if Constantine series can be resurrected by incorporating it into another show. What way to fight magic than with magic? Constantine told Oliver to pack his bags and run, but what if he gave Oliver some magical help? A trinket or spell to protect? I always wondered about the tattoo on the right side of Oliver's stomach. Now we know it was from Constantine. His way of a thank you to Oliver.