Arrow S2 E10 - 'Blast Radius' Review

Freedom. Liberty. Justice.
Arrow returns from its mid-season break with a bang - literally - as the vigilante takes on a serial bomber called Shrapnel during a pause in his hunt for Brother Blood.
The aforementioned villain Shrapnel, a.k.a. Mark Scheffer, is underwhelming and underdeveloped, serving as a distraction from Oliver's crusade. His motives aren't made clear other than vague 'anti-government' comments here and there. No, the focus in this episode revolved around Laurel's investigation into Blood's past, Roy discovering his newfound power and Oliver's past catching up to him.
Our hero finds himself spooked following the discovery that Mirakuru is back, after his last scarring experience with the serum on the island (which we are beginning to learn more about). As a result, he is pushed to the edge of his tether and takes it out on Felicity in a spate of jealousy and rage, which seems to have been motivated by his jealousy over Barry having stolen Felicity's affections. The hacker is revealed to have spent a lot of time in Central City visiting Allen, who is in a coma following the accident (setting up The Flash). The pair make amends at the end as Oliver apologises for his actions and again we see glimmers of the romance that is beginning to blossom between the two members of Team Arrow.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Roy and Thea is being strained by his building rage as the Mirakuru takes over his body. We learn of his strength this week as he saves Moira from a falling pole (which I have to be honest didn't look particularly heavy) which is exciting, but he chooses to keep these powers a secret from Thea for some strange reason. I find this so frustrating, as the secrecy for secrecy's sake theme has been played over one too many times already in the history of this show.
Elsewhere, Laurel becomes the first one to suspect the charming Sebastian Blood of being more sinister than he appears. At last, we have an interesting story-line to follow involving Laurel, who up until this point has just been plain irritating. Her investigation leads to the discovery that Blood actually killed his own father and convinced society that his mother was crazy in order to get her incarcerated. With his evil deeds revealed, we will have to wait until the next episode to see how Laurel chooses to proceed.
In the flashbacks, Oliver, Slade and Sara bury Shado in a very moving scene, which feels rewarding considering all of the time we have spent with the character. We also see the beginnings of Slade's descent into madness, as he angrily attacks Oliver and flees to pursue Ivo.
Overall, 'Blast Radius' is a decent instalment in the second season of Arrow, however with a disappointing villain and lack of central plot movement, it fails to reach the heights of the mid-season finale. The scene is now set for the second half of the series as Slade continues to pull the strings behind the scenes.

STARRING: Shrapnel (Mark Scheffer)

AWESOME MOMENTS:

• "You're the one she cared for"
• Slade gives Oliver his iconic hood - which once belonged to Shado
• Loved how offended Ollie was by the comment that Verdant was just his "hobby"!
• Also the gag of Diggle trying to use Felicity's computer was amusing
• Love Quentin and the Arrow's rooftop meetings, it feels very Commissioner Gordon/Batman like
• Especially love how this one was interrupted by an explosion in the background
• Great chase scene involving the Arrow and Shrapnel, although how the hell he escaped in a van that size just by using a smoke grenade we will never know
• The laser stand-off in Scheffer's store was also a nice variant from the situations our hero usually lands himself in

EASTER EGGS:

- Within the first flashback to The Island, Slade, Oliver and Sara are seen burying Shado. Hers is one of three graves with headstones made of wood. The others are marked for Robert Queen and another with Chinese calligraphy carved into it, most likely, Yao Fe's grave

- Officer Lance mentions St. Walker's Hospital, referencing Saint Walker, a member of the Blue Lantern Corps

- The words Maya's singing in Spanish when Laurel visits her in the hospital translates to "A good boy . . . a good boy . . . A clever boy, a beautiful boy" in English

- After the second bombing, when Officer Quentin Lance radios in, he gives his call-sign as "DC52"—an apparent reference to DC Comics' New 52 comics universe

- This is the first time Adam Donner, who was last seen in "State v. Queen" and seems to have fully recovered from his Vertigo overdose, has appeared

- This episode revealed that Sebastian and Cyrus Gold had known each other years before the events of "State v. Queen"

- Quentin Lance says that his arm injury still hurts when it's cold. This line was originally uttered by Oliver Queen in The Dark Knight Returns

- In the comics, Shrapnel is a supervillain whose body is made up of thousands of pieces of scrap metal.  Scheffer is able to control each piece of metal, giving him the ability to shoot them at opponents at will

- Roy's right arm gets a nasty cut this episode.  In the comics, Roy loses that arm during an attack on the Justice League by Prometheus

- Blood reassures Laurel that he doesn't bite when she questions his past.  In the comics, the ninth Brother Blood often bit his opponents to consume their blood, which gave him super strength

- Laurel discovers that Sebastian Blood is paying for Maya Resik's stay at Saint Walker's Hospital.  In the comics, Anna Resik is Brother Blood's mother, and went by the name Mother Mayhem as a member of the Cult of Blood.  When Resik learned that Blood's father (whom you'll recall was also named Brother Blood) planned to kill her, she and her son fled to Qurac, a fictional Middle Eastern nation.  Blood still managed to have her killed, which led to the younger Blood killing him in revenge

- Ollie catches up to Shrapnel at Pemberton Street.  In the comics, Slyvester Pemberton was the superhero known as the Star-Spangled Kid, and later Skyman

- Felicity is able to track down Scheffer's identity by monitoring his activity on an anti-government site called The Movement.  The Movement is a current comic published by DC which features a group of superpowered team activists fighting against corruption in Coral City

- Sebastian's mother reveals that he killed his father as a child.  As we've mentioned before, the title of Brother Blood is earned by an act of patricide.  Every Brother Blood has killed their father to take the title from them

RATING: 7.7/10