Arrow S2 E20 - 'Seeing Red' Review


Anything For Your Children.
Arrow upped the ante once more this week with an emotional episode. What started off as a simple catch-the-out-of-control-Roy story took a turn in the last five minutes as Slade forced Oliver to make a choice.
The Roy focus played out across the first two thirds of the episode, with the main conflict being Sara wanting to kill him, whilst Oliver wanted to save him. The two realise that they are still very different and ultimately Sara decides that Ollie deserves better and leaves. Her dialogue is a bit cliche and over-the-top, but there is still emotional weight to the conversation considering all that the pair have been through together. In terms of Roy, the group face off in a great battle in the clock tower, before the Arrow ultimately takes him down non-lethally.
This relatively straight-forward plot is peppered with flashbacks to Oliver's playboy days, when he accidentally got a girl pregnant. We see Moira's motherly instincts kick in as she endeavours to get rid of the child in order for her son to feel happy and free. It's essentially a microcosm of Moira's persona - her heart is in the right place, but she makes the wrong decisions consistently and lies to cover it up. These flashbacks are complemented by a present-day dilemma, in which Moira is considering to drop out of the race to mend her relationship with Thea. The gesture is sweet, but I'm glad she chose not to as Oliver was right in saying that the best way to make Thea like her is to do good things for the city.
Ultimately, these threads came together at the end for the dramatic finale which lives long in the minds of any Arrow fans - the execution of Moira Queen. An incredibly tense showdown, Slade mimics Ivo's ultimatum on Lian Yu, although this time Moira stands and chooses to sacrifice herself for her kids. It's very powerful stuff and Susanna Thompson delivers in what must be her final performance. That shot of Slade slicing through Moira with a sword is forever embedded in my mind, which goes to show just how well the show-runners did in crafting this ending.
Overall, 'Seeing Red' proved to be a surprisingly eventful episode, despite its premise. As far as dramatic deaths go, Moira was given a heroic ending and one that felt apt and fitting for her character. Now all that's left to see is how Oliver chooses to retaliate after this devastating move against his family.

 STARRING: Deathstroke, The Canary

 AWESOME MOMENTS:

  • Roy brutally snapping the Arrow's leg in the clock-tower was very graphic!
  • I liked the doctor's nod to 'Identity', when the Arrow stopped China White, Bronze Tiger and the Triads from stealing from the hospitals. Continuity, as always, is deeply appreciated
  • Enjoyed the comparisons between Sara and Oliver when he first returned from the island
  • "See an old friend" - who is Sara off to catch up with??
  • Car Crash was so abrupt!! Made me jump that's for sure
  • "You possess true courage. I am truly sorry... you did not pass that on to your son" - great line
  • The final aerial shot of the Queen family all laid out on the dirt was so cool, very comic book like!
EASTER EGGS:
- In the comics, Moira was originally mauled to death by a lion in Africa.  In the New 52 Green Arrow series, Oliver mentions to his still-alive father that she died of cancer after he had returned from the island
-  In the comics, Oliver's child is Connor Hawke, the second character to take up the Green Arrow mantle.  Connor was the child of Oliver and Sandra Hawke.  The two met while in college, and Ollie subsequently knocked her up.  Ollie offered Sandra money to go away, but later relented and met his son shortly after he was born. As he grew older, Connor learned from his mother that his father was Green Arrow, and eventually travelled to a monastery in California to train like his father.  When Oliver travelled to the monastery, he met Connor and the two even had a few adventures, all the while not knowing that Connor was actually his son.  However, when Oliver learned that Connor was his child, Oliver left on bad terms and was killed shortly after. After Oliver died, Connor took up the mantle of Green Arrow and joined the Justice League.  He also had a number of solo adventures with Eddie Fyers, and battled Milo Armitage, his mother's second husband.  When Oliver was brought back to life, the two reconciled and Connor became a frequent companion of Oliver and the rest of "Team Arrow".  A new version of Connor Hawke appeared in the New 52's Earth 2 series.  It's unknown if that Connor (who is nicknamed Red Arrow) has any connection to Oliver.  
- Stephen Amell revealed that this is his favourite episode of the entire series because it was a really beautiful episode and not because of Moira's death

RATING: 8.8/10

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