Arrow S2 E7 - 'State v. Queen' Review


I Approve Of This High.
Count Vertigo returns in the seventh episode on Arrow season 2 to terrorise the city whilst Moira's future is decided. A fun episode, 'State v. Queen' expands upon the current Brother Blood story whilst also bringing back a great villain from series one and ramping up the drama in the flashbacks.
This episode was full of big reveals, the first of which being that the Count (now renamed "Count Vertigo", thus fully embracing his comics identity) escaped from Iron Heights during the Undertaking and has now used fake vaccinations to hook Starling City on Vertigo. A nice twist of a Vertigo story, I liked how Adam and Dig both suffered at the Count's hands, making his threat seem more real. Count Vertigo himself was over-the-top and ridiculous as always, but for some reason I really do enjoy watching him bounce across the screen like a Joker wannabe. Whilst his kidnapping of Felicity was predictable and dull (come on, when will this girl NOT get kidnapped?!), it forced the Arrow to kill for the first time since he vowed not to, which lent extra emotional weight to an already moving episode. Plus, it was just straight up bad-ass seeing Oliver plant three arrows in a guy's chest again (remind me why he can't kill again?). My only gripe with Count Vertigo is that it was never fully explained how he went from the vegetable we saw at the end of last season to the criminal mastermind at work once again.
The other plot-line sharing the spotlight was the trial of Moira Queen, which went predictably tits-up before the jury made their surprising decision to acquit Moira of all charges. This seemed a little too convenient, so I'm glad it was revealed that the jury had actually been coerced by none other than... Malcolm Merlyn!! The Dark Archer is back from the grave and in a shocking twist, it turns out that after an affair with Moira, the latter had produced Thea - Merlyn's daughter! In an episode rife with revelations, this one hit particularly hard. How will Thea take the news when she undoubtedly finds out? What does this mean for Malcolm going forward? I'm just glad that we finally have some answers, as Moira's tight-lipped secrecy was growing tiresome to say the least.
Elsewhere, we learn that Shado and Slade (the later dying from his wounds) saved Ollie and Sara from Ivo on the island, although little else takes place this week in the flashbacks. The other big reveal is that Brother Blood was funding Count Vertigo and his nefarious schemes, which have resulted in a final successful test subject in the form of Cyrus Gold (otherwise known as Solomon Grundy in the comics!!).
Overall, 'State v. Queen' delivered in terms of powerful emotions and shocking revelations. The stakes continue to rise as this series progresses, reminding me of why it is definitely my favourite season of Arrow 1-5.

 STARRING: Count Vertigo, Brother Blood

 AWESOME MOMENTS:

  • That Dollmaker cameo at the beginning was awesome and continued this shared-world theme that the second season of Arrow is working hard to emphasise
  • Court room style drama this week was also a nice change of pace
  • Star Labs reaches fever pitch!! - Allen imminent
  • Cool scene between Roy and Thea where she boxes to let out her frustration and anger - foreshadowing her becoming Speedy
  • Loved how the mud on Slade's face reflected Deathstroke's mask!! He's coming baby!
  • Markovia was name dropped also in this episode, another nice DC nod
EASTER EGGS:
- The Count used a S.T.A.R Labs satellite to broadcast
- When Malcolm Merlyn says "Death is an illusion in some places of the world" he might have been referring to the Lazarus Pit, which can bring a person back from the dead, or heal wounds
- Viewers finally learn for the first time what Donner found on Moira Queen: Thea is Malcolm Merlyn's biological daughter (and then also, Tommy's younger half-sister)
- This episode marks the name change for Cecil Adams from "The Count" to "Count Vertigo"
- This is also the first time that someone has figured out Oliver Queen is The Arrow with pure deduction and Oliver not being involved in any way
- Felicity Smoak, speaking of The Count's possible location, says "He could be also in Markovia". In the comics, Markovia is Brion Markov's kingdom, to which Count Vertigo seeks to stake a claim

RATING: 8.2/10

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