Doppelgänger

It's no secret that I have awaited Roy Harper's return to Arrow for a long time, and while this episode brought Colton Haynes's character back, it was underwhelming and a little downplayed for the most part. It was Willa Holland's Speedy that got the bigger spotlight this time around, which thanks to the actress's unmatched charisma, succeeded in the end. What was a true pleasure to watch, was Kirk Acevedo finally putting his raspy voice and killer fight moves on full display, all while showcasing the true threat he means to Star City. The drama between Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) and Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) was palpable and made complete sense. Canary was made a tad likeable and the Outsiders group was ignored thankfully. Seeing Roy and Thea back together again was also a treat that elevated this episode and the two minor twists at the end of it all where shocking. Couple that with impressive and brutal fight scenes, Arrow seems to be on track for now.

After so many bad episodes of Arrow, 'Doppelganger' felt like a necessary step in the right direction, but that can easily be attributed to the fact that the focus was not on the inter Civil War between Team Arrow, but instead a trip back to how the show used to be structured. No Rene, only one brief scene of Curtis, and Dinah was dialed back a thousand percent to the insanely stupid maniac she's been the past couple weeks. Plus, we have the return of Colton Haynes' Roy Harper and Thea Queen as her vigilante alter ego, Speedy. Really, this episode would have had to try really hard to suck.

Luckily, it wasn't so bad. Haynes' return was so very welcome, especially in this bad season. He didn't get a whole lot to do, other than get punched around and mutter a few lines, but his presence always brings the best out of Willa Holland as Thea Queen. As she said in the episode, it does seem as though after he left the show, Thea took a turn for the worse. And out of anybody on the show, Thea deserves to have some peace in her life. If she does eventually leave Star City and go live with Roy, I won't be devastated. Holland is great and all, but she's clearly not had a ton of quality screen time, and it may be best to remove another unnecessary piece to the Arrow team.

Speaking of unnecessary pieces, the new team Arrow has been laughable this year. But perhaps even more unnecessary is the inclusion of Katie Cassidy's Black Siren this year. How many times are we going to have her betray/double cross characters for people to start noticing. Also, she's not Laurel so why is it even in consideration for the Team to give her a chance, particularly Ollie!?! I will once again contend that this arc is ruining Cassidy's legacy on the show.

A few other tidbits include: Some incredible fight scenes with Thea's return in the field, the sudden re-emergence of the League of Assassins as well as Nyssa for next week, some very convenient and annoying lines about making the case against Oliver go away. So wait, you're meaning to tell me both Flash and Arrow are going to ignore the pivotal parts of both seasons (Flash going to prison and Oliver being outed as the Green Arrow)? So although it felt like this was an episode where they were waiting for Roy's availability to sneak the story into this season's arc, it was a far more entertaining 42 minutes than we have seen from this show in months. Lastly, another 3 week break? Are we serious?

7.0/10

Best episode of Season 6 since the crossover! Exciting, fantastic fight scenes, suspenseful, and fast-paced sequences along with great team interaction. This episode flew by so fast and was so fun to watch. There were some really great moments between OTA with Thea, Quentin, and even Laurel. The limited screen time of Not Team Arrow a.k.a. Original Team Loser was such an added bonus. Since episode #9, every scene that Dinah, Curtis, and Rene have been in have made this fan angry beyond words. -literally hate them all now. Can't wait for them to be killed off. They are traitors and just worthless human beings like Evelyn. This fan actually cheered out loud when Oliver said to Dinah "You don't trust me. I don't trust you. And, I rather be shorthanded in the field." Oliver has remained so quiet throughout this childish behavior of Dinah, Curtis, and Rene. He has never lashed out at their outright stupidity and walks away. He really has taken the higher ground, and even apologized for his part in the beginning of all of it. These idiots (Dinah, Curtis, and Rene) - really are reckless and chaotic vigilantes with no true talents. They should be grateful for their short-lived participation on the true Superhero Team Arrow. It was so fantastic to see Roy back. It would really be neat to see him back in his Arsenal suit beside Oliver, John, and Thea and possibly even Laurel if she can truly turn around and betray Diaz after all. Little worried about Roy though, it almost seemed like Diaz did get to him in the end and he made threats against Thea. He was always so loyal and so selfless. He was a true superhero and sidekick--just hoping that he always remains that way.

9.5 Rating! Would have been a 10, if Dinah and Curtis scenes were deleted.