Arrow S2 E19 - 'The Man Under The Hood' Review


What This City Needs Him To Be.
Arrow builds on the momentum of 'Deathstroke' as Slade continues to move forward with his plans. This episode also focuses on Laurel's newly obtained knowledge of the vigilante's identity and how she chooses to deal with it, largely succeeding to push the character through another small arc.
The major plot-line here is Team Arrow's attempts to derail Slade's mission. The heist to blow up the QC property at the start of the episode set the tone for an eventful 40 mins, the highlight of which could well have been the epic surprise showdown with Deathstroke in the Arrowcave! I loved this shock twist and particularly how the merc dismantled the team like they were amateurs. By doing this, Slade made a place as secure as the Arrowcave appear unsafe, which again emphasises the threat he poses to both Oliver and Starling City.
The other big showdown in this episode involved Isabel Rochev and Slade taking on Dig and the Arrow after Oliver discovers that Roy is being used to create Deathstroke's army. It's a creepy setup and I liked the revelation that it was Roy not Slade being drained of Mirakuru. Dig killing Rochev seemed a bit underwhelming, however it paid off with that closing reveal that the sinister businesswoman has been brought back to life by the Japanese serum! It looks like we could get a full debut of her comic book counterpart Ravager very soon...
Once again, Quentin shone in this outing. His speech to Laurel, whilst sounding very similar to Commissioner Gordon's closing speech in The Dark Knight, was eloquent and not cheesy - I feel like only Quentin could pull it off effectively. Thank god he is being reinstated from next week too, couldn't have our homeboy Larry being sidelined for any longer!
We also are treated to debuts this week from future The Flash regulars Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow, although their introduction felt clunky and forced. It felt like we should've already met these characters judging from the way they were presented in this episode, which may have been due to other deleted scenes from episodes which were meant to act as backdoor pilots for The Flash. Still, it was nice seeing this iconic duo pop up for the first time in the Arrowverse and Cisco was on top form as per usual.
The final point to address is the flashbacks, in which we saw the demise of Anthony Ivo. A solid villain, Ivo suffered from a lack of depth to his character, but he served his purpose as an antagonist to both unite and then divide the trinity of Slade/Oliver/Sara. I loved how brutally Oliver executed him mid-speech too, as it added a layer of shame to his final moments.
Overall, this episode was another great addition to season two and continues to build momentum as we enter the final four episodes. Deathstroke's army has finally come together, Ivo is given a fitting end for his cruel persona and Laurel decides not to reveal to Oliver that she knows he is the Arrow. 

 STARRING: Deathstroke, Brother Blood, Ravager, Anthony Ivo

 AWESOME MOMENTS:

  • The whole Arrowcave battle with Slade, especially when he and Oliver faced off using poles/swords
  • Deathstroke stalking Cisco and Caitlin was actually pretty tense
  • Diggle ruthlessly putting down Rochev reminded us that he was a trained killer long before meeting Oliver Queen
  • Isabel IS ALIIIIIIVE Frankenstein style!
EASTER EGGS:
- When Cisco Ramon said to Caitlin Snow, "Are you getting a "bad vibe" off this guy" it is an indirect reference to Cisco Ramon's DC character "Vibe"
- Cisco mentioned Dr. Arthur Light and called him a "psycho". Arthur Light in the DC comics is known as the villain Doctor Light
- "Schastlivchik" translates, roughly, as "lucky beggar" or "lucky devil."
- William Tockman's skeleton key device comes back into play this episode.  Tockman and the key were both introduced in "Time of Death".
- Laurel's board of newspaper clippings contains several references to past episodes, including a shootout at the docks (presumably referencing the events of "Honor Thy Father") and the Hood rescuing Thea Queen (presumably referencing "City of Heroes").  Mike Grell's police sketch of the Hood is also shown on the board
- Michael Daingerfield reprises his role as Ned Foster in this episode.  Foster first appeared in season one as the COO of Queen Industries, who pressures Moira into becoming CEO after Walter's absence
- Richard Keats makes his fifth appearance as Doctor Lockhart, the only doctor in Starling City seemingly willing to treat the cast's various injuries
- Caitlin Snow references her comic book counterpart (Killer Frost) when she tells Ramon that she has her own definition of cool
- Isabel mentions that she and Slade found Roy in a shelter in Bludhaven

RATING: 8.6/10

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