Unchained

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

A solid enough episode, I guess. While it didn't feel like much "happened" per say, it did feel like pins were being set. I especially enjoyed the set up with Felicity Smoak and The Calculator and the ramifications of that ending. Very excited for the next episode to see where that leads. I always enjoy Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak together, so that had some great moments. It'll be interesting to see how the arrival of the Calculator impacts Oliver/Felicity's relationship, how Donna Smoak reactions, and what issues it brings up for the team the next time they have to tackle the Calculator and whatever attack he has up his sleeve next.

Arrow season 4 episode 12 pushes the story forward by focusing on the strained relationship between Diggle and his brother Andy as Oliver and the team work to stop Shadowspire from executing a dangerous plan inside A. R. G. U. S. Headquarters. The tension rises when Amanda Waller is killed leaving Lyla in charge and forcing the team into a desperate battle to prevent a massive attack. The episode highlights themes of loyalty and redemption as Diggle begins to see signs that Andy may not be entirely lost to HIVE's influence. At the same time Felicity continues to adapt to her new reality while proving her value as Overwatch. The combination of emotional conflict suspenseful action and shocking twists makes the episode an intense and pivotal chapter in the season.

Arrow: Unchained Review

The old school "Team Arrow" is back in business and they certainly haven't lost their touch. Neither has the stunt team apparently! Unchained"deals with the return of a familiar face in the form of Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) while Oliver's campaign runs into some difficulties and a major villain threatens the safety of every Starling City inhabitant.

As a starting opinion I will ask for a round of applause for the men behind those amazingly choreographed fight and chase sequences which truly immerses the viewer in the eye popping action. From the exciting Nanda Parbat Break sequence to those roof and physics defying chases, Arrow still holds the crown in regards to choreographies in TV shows while also showing the film industry how it is done. CGI is used extremely sparingly and that has also helped Arrow differentiate itself in tone and grittiness from other superhero themed shows. Many of the actor's performances in the face of action sequences are also astounding, as many do involve themselves in their own battles.

But with great action comes great responsibility for the characters to be any good. This doesn't seem to be a problem because of the awesome banter and dynamic between our heroes. As a team they all complement each other greatly. That point goes to the current ensemble, but today's episode showed us that the old group can still hold their own when it comes to fist fights and on-screen chemistry.

By "old group" I simply mean switching Thea for Roy, who made a welcomed fan-pleasing appearance with a sort of twist at the beginning. As for his scene with Thea, like with his fighting sequences, it didn't need any introduction because of their memorable rapport.

Aside from the points mentioned above, what impressed me the most from this episode was how it managed to tell separate plots and deal with different conflicts without feeling uneven or cramped. It delved further into Felicity's personal struggles; it posed a new obstacle for Oliver's campaign; it connected Thea to the main villain in an enticing manner and all of that while introducing a new villain who threatened the entire city. It even interconnected Oliver's issue in accepting Thea's decision-making with Roy's need to deliver justice in the face of unpredictable danger. A well- crafted vision in one of the flash-backs was also filled with more heart than expected. These multiple but solid layers of conflict were one of the huge problems with the previous season. Season 3 felt unfinished and very disjointed, as it juggled with plots and villains in a very messy and icky way. An example can be found in the way they totally wasted a possibly incredible gear switch when they almost turned Quentin Lance into a villain for the finale. Season 4, in the other hand, has kept a single main villain as a structural basis, and it has proved to be a very solid decision, as it avoids sudden switches in focus and themes.

There were some flaws with the episode, like Amell's believability while being electrocuted. This stood out just because of Amell's great overall performance as Oliver Queen, especially in this season with many stand-out scenes. A specially funny "whahahat?!" moment was when, after being handed his own ass in the beat down of his life, Curtis appeared snapping nonchalant jokes with Felicity in his next scene. Speaking about jokes, not all of them achieve a good landing, mainly when the team is apart and not involve in their accumulative chemistry.

Arrow, nonetheless, kept us hanging in a major twist ending which revealed the identity of "The Calculator" and wrapped the episode with a warm blanket and a good night kiss. That's right, Unchained was not only a good time (like almost all Arrow episodes) but an experience of quality which gave us solid drama and even better sequences of people hitting each other as hard as they can in the face. I just hope that the newly introduced villain established an awesome subplot without stealing that much focus from Damien Darhk. Arrow: Unchained gets and 8.5 out of 10.

This Episode Brings back a lot of, if not all the reasons of why we love Arrow. It is by far, the best episode of this season, and it will all unravel-hopefully-in the next episode that personally I cannot wait for! Putting aside Damian for a while appealed as is going to be boring, but having this wonderful plot put within one episode shows us again what this show is capable off and why we will always be loyal to Arrow. Seeing felicity fight her way through her injury since the mid-season finale is making me love her character more and more.Plus this episode, if you watch it, it will bring you memories that you thought the show has forgotten and left behind- I promise you that. Excellent Turn of events to say the least! 10/10 for me without any doubt.