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Oliver Queen Courts War. The Magician is back in Starling. Malcolm Merlyn returned this episode as we finally got to see Ra's al Ghul and understand why he and Oliver are to be at odds for the next 18 episodes. Yes, as it turns out Malcolm Merlyn is the reason for tensions between Team Arrow and the League of Assassins. Oliver struggles against his inner desires as Malcolm returns to Starling with a vengeful Nyssa in tow. He is forced to choose between saving Thea's father or putting an arrow in his arch-nemesis, a conflict which Amell portrays admirably well and the show addresses maturely. Ultimately, through choosing to protect Merlyn, he has earned the wrath of the League and Ra's himself, a move which quickens the pace of the series as our rolling conflict begins. Elsewhere, Laurel descended into traditionally irritating roles this week, with her anger towards Malcolm translating into fits of rage and stroppy behaviour, which only furthered my distaste for the ch...

First Time For Everything. The Flash  rectifies one of its early flaws by developing the villain of the week to create a more engrossing conflict and tell the origins of one of our hero's most iconic villains - Captain Cold. Played by veteran actor Wentworth Miller, Leonard Snart a.k.a. Captain Cold is certainly the best foe Barry has faced so far in his debut season. Combining a menacing demeanour with a crafty personality to match, Miller really does justice to this classic DC character. I hoped his origin would give more viable explanation as to why he chose the cold gun, but it seems it served as a means to an end more than anything else. The plot itself followed Barry as he attempted to first track down and then lock up Snart and his crew of ne'er-do-wells. It was a relatively straightforward journey, although at least we now have our first villain to escape both death and imprisonment in The Flash , leaving the door open for Captain Cold to return and harrass the Sc...

Trust Him. I've long been excited about watching the Constantine  live action series, which sadly only ran for one season before being cancelled, so here begins my first venture into a new series! John Constantine is played to perfection by Matt Ryan and proves what I heard from many reviews on the series - that the casting was excellent, just the story disappointed. Well I can confirm that after my first 42 minutes with the character, I was left intrigued about the larger rising of demons from hell and also by John's quest to save his soul and that of a young girl named Astra, whom he failed to save. All these facts are revealed gradually across a well-paced first episode, in which we learn that our titular character is a lone-wolf, who deflects emotions using humour and is scarred by his past failings. Ryan puts in a brilliant performance here, carrying the show with his spot-on portrayal of John Constantine and creating a character I genuinely care for after just one ep...

A Good Teacher. Team Arrow took a vacation this week as Oliver, Dig and Roy travelled to Corto Maltese to bring Thea home in an episode which was entertaining, if a bit empty. The core plot was thin, as clearly the main push in this episode was the reintegration of Thea (Willa Holland). To validate a trip to Corto Maltese, the showrunners devised the concept of a rogue A.R.G.U.S. agent attempting to sell agents identities (a plot thoroughly well tread, in films such as Mission: Impossible ), however the whole event feels rushed and unnecessary. The only benefit of this adventure was watching Diggle take centre stage once more, a position he consistently thrives in. No, the most important aspect of this episode was Oliver and Roy reconciling with Thea, who has spent five months on a remote island training with Malcolm Merlyn, who Team Arrow still believe is dead. I liked that for once it was Thea withholding secrets from her brother, rather than the other way around, and the...

No One Can Outrun Pain. As The Flash  entered its third episode, a familiar pattern has fallen upon the show as Barry continues to develop as a hero whilst another villain-of-the-week terrorised Central City. Said villain was dubbed by Cisco as The Mist - Kyle Nimbus was convicted with a death sentence on the day of the particle accelerator explosion. The result is a one-dimensional villain hellbent on 'getting revenge' as it appears all meta-humans apart from Barry are. This path has been tread for the last two episodes and I was really hoping for some kind of mix-up to the formula here, but it seems we will have to wait. Nimbus was creepy enough, but the CGI on his mist affects was poor and his confrontation with the Flash, whilst it did fit in with the idea of being unable to fight some things in life, was a short-lived and dull affair. Elsewhere, Iris and Eddie came out with their relationship to Joe who acted the stereotypical protective father unsurprisingly. Joe di...

More Out Of Life. 'Sara' was always going to struggle to top the series three premier, but episode two provided some powerful emotional arcs along with some major developments in Team Arrow. The overriding plot of this episode centred on the fallout following the death of Sara at the end of 'The Calm'. The episode smartly began with the contrast between the blissfully unaware members of Team Arrow and the broken figure of Laurel quivering next to Sara's corpse, spread out on a table. From here, the episode developed into a cross between murder mystery and the pains of losing a loved one. The combination felt slightly unusual, but came together to create a solid instalment in the Arrowverse, even if the plot led to nothing in the end when it was revealed that Komodo hadn't killed Sara. Speaking of, Simon Lacroix a.k.a. Komodo was criminally underused in his Arrowverse debut (which to this day sadly remains his only appearance in the shared universe). S...

Doubt Is His Real Enemy. The Flash  builds upon its debut episode with another fun adventure featuring a man who can produce clones of himself. Multiplex, as Danton Black became known, was another one-note villain who it seems will never get a chance to build upon his character. The only benefit which came from this villain was some cool sequences involving Barry and his powers being used to fight crime. The best of these was the grand finale, when Barry smashed his way through an army of Black's clones to then spear-tackle Danton himself. It seems a waste to me for Multiplex to be killed off after only one appearance, but it does at least add a darker tone to the show which it was feared to be lacking. The relationships between Barry and those he considers friends and family continued to develop this episode, as we watched Joe finally let go and believe in his surrogate son, whilst we also saw Barry struggle to hold back his emotions as he watched Eddie kiss the woman he lov...

A Man Cannot Live By Two Names. Arrow  returned for season three in a big way with 'The Calm', as relationships changed and new threats and mysteries arose.  Picking up months after the Siege, we see a well-oiled Team Arrow taking out a criminal truck, showcasing Arsenal in his brand new (incredibly bad-ass) costume in the field with Dig and the Arrow. It's an explosive introduction and sets the pace from the start. I enjoyed seeing what the group dynamic would be like during a time of relative peace, although naturally this was disturbed repeatedly throughout the episode. Werner Zytle posed the threat in episode one, as he assumed the mantle of Vertigo and went around taking over Starling's criminal network. Vertigo was an entertaining villain and certainly an upgrade on Seth Gabel's interpretation of the character. I liked how the writers used him as a plot device to highlight Oliver's worst fear - himself. It might have been cliche, but it was a nice id...

Run, Barry, Run. Following his introduction in Arrow season two, Barry Allen a.k.a. the Flash finally gets his proper Arrowverse debut in the first episode of The Flash  season one and it is a solid debut for the Scarlet Speedster. Picking up slightly prior to the fateful lightning strike but just after the events of 'Three Ghosts', the show establishes Barry's position as a CSI along with his relationships to foster father Joe, love interest Iris and idol Harrison Wells within the first few minutes. We then travel through time to the day Barry awakens from his coma (which he spent most of Arrow  season two stuck under) to discover his city racked with changes. I enjoyed this angle on the beginning of the Flash's journey, as it acted as a great entrance for newcomers whilst also respecting those of us who have already seen Barry's transformation in Arrow . From here, events transpire rapidly as Barry discovers his powers and becomes acquainted with what will b...