Arrow S2 E12 - 'Tremors' Review


Some People Are Just Broken.
Bronze Tiger returns in one of the more mediocre episodes of this season, serving more as a plot device to force the Arrow to reveal his true identity to Roy. Elsewhere, Laurel continues to spiral and Moira decides to run for mayor.
The aforementioned villain of the week Bronze Tiger is given his second outing as he is contracted to steal a prototype earthquake device from Malcolm Merlyn's old house. I liked this nod to the first series, however it felt a bit cheap for there to suddenly be a whole other earthquake device that hadn't been found for months. Bronze Tiger is given more lines than in his previous appearance, but continues to disappoint and over-act in a way which feels false. Nevertheless, it was fun seeing a recurring villain and the teaser for the Suicide Squad was a nice addition.
The main conflict this week came in the form of Oliver teaching Roy to control his anger, using similar techniques that Shado used on him back on the island. Roy's rage is palpable in every scene and it was great seeing Ollie's determination not to let him spiral out of control like Slade did. I also thought the final confrontation with the earthquake device was a good way of forcing the Arrow to reveal his identity to Roy and his response was equally fun to watch.
In the flashbacks, Slade continues to lose his mind as the mirakuru takes over. Putting a gun to his friend's head showed just how much impact the serum has on its user and foreshadows his eventual hatred of Oliver.
Overall, 'Tremors' is alright and certainly has its moments, but it feels thin and empty in terms of the series as a whole and thus underwhelms.

 STARRING: Bronze Tiger

 AWESOME MOMENTS:

  • Bronze Tiger's escape was gruesome and innovative! That poor man...
  • Roy and Arrow teaming up was a nice moment and builds more excitement for their eventual superheroic pairing!
  • I liked Slade's re purposing of Fyers equipment - a nice slice of continuity
    • Also the announcement that the group are going to take the freighter adds some needed energy to the flashbacks
  • Loved the Suicide Squad reference!! Hype continues to build!
EASTER EGGS:
- Another week, another escapee from Iron Heights Prison.  Both the Dollmaker and Count Vertigo previously escaped from the prison in past episodes this season
- The arms dealer who broke Bronze Tiger out of prison is named Milo Armitage.  In the comics, Armitage is the arms dealer husband of Sandra "Moonday" Hawke, the mother of Oliver's son Connor.  After Oliver was killed in a plane explosion, Connor became the second Green Arrow and frequently foiled Armitage's plans
-  Francis works for Kardak Holdings.  Kardak is a very obscure Golden Aged superhero along the lines of Zatara or Mandrake
- Joanna, played by Annie Ilonzeh, makes her first appearance this season.  Joanna previously appeared in seven episodes last season as one of Laurel's co-workers at CNRI
- The law firm Wethersby and Stone, which Joanna de la Vega now works for, is named after characters from Marc Guggenheim and Greg Berlanti's 2008 ABC series Eli Stone.  The title character was a lawyer, as was his ex-fiancee, whose last name was Wethersby
- Armitage mentions that the earthquake device's buyer plans to use it in Markovia.  Markovia, a country in the DC universe, was first mentioned in "State Vs Queen".  You'll also recall that the earthquake device's maker was named Brion Markov who, in the comics, was the ruler of Markovia
-  Diggle calls "Team Arrow" a "Secret Society".  The Secret Society of Super-Villains is a recurring group of foes made up of supervillains in the DC Universe, and often calls itself the Secret Society.  Recently, the Secret Society of Super-Villains aided the Crime Syndicate of Amerika in a hostile takeover of the world after the disappearance of the Justice League.  The story, which is still ongoing, takes place in the Forever Evil comic miniseries

RATING: 7.5/10

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