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Blood is Risen. Arrow Season 2.5  brings revelations and mysteries in its two chapters: 'Acolyte' sees a member of the Church of Blood make a demonstration of his devotion to the new Brother Blood, whilst 'Ascension' explains just how Clinton Hogue became the new Brother Blood, answering a few lingering questions from season 2. In 'Acolyte', Oliver learns that the Church of Blood is back and led by another Brother Blood, who is revealed to be Sebastian Blood's old bodyguard Clinton Hogue! I'm glad the comic writers chose a character that was in the show, as it felt more dramatic revealing him to have been an ally of Blood's prior to his death. Additionally, we get to see where Team Arrow get all of their awesome gear - some shady nut job with a scarred face and a weird pair of goggles. Diggle gives this guy the plans for Roy's Arsenal costume, which is an awesome link back to the TV show! Following this, 'Ascension' explains that Ho...

Not Done Fighting. The SCPD teamed up with the Arrow this week as Starling City descended into chaos and ARGUS prepared for war. The action and spectacle were ramped up in the penultimate episode of season 2 of Arrow  this week, as Slade's goons tore apart Starling City. It was great to watch the level of destruction and it shows just how far this series has come in terms of scope and CGI. I particularly loved seeing the ragtag group of SCPD officers making their war plans in a destroyed police station. Quentin taking the lead was bad-ass, particularly the way he convinced Pike to side with the Arrow in order to save the city. The ARGUS inclusion was also appreciated, as it makes sense that a secret organisation with influence as widespread as theirs would be taking interest in the events unfolding in Starling. The plot device of the missiles which would blow up the city may feel to some like one too many things happening in the finale, but it further increased the pace of the...

The Essence of Heroism. Slade's army is finally unleashed in a dramatic and emotional episode, in which Oliver is forced to pick himself up after the death of his mother and Brother Blood's identity is revealed to Team Arrow. This episode came off the back of the dramatic ending of 'Seeing Red', when Slade executed Moira. The episode begins with a smart and powerful sequence in which Moira's funeral is juxtaposed with Blood's inauguration as Starling City mayor, with a sombre track playing behind both events. It's a strong start and one which does justice to Moira's legacy in the show. It was great seeing how this event had impacted the Queen family as well, with both Willa Holland and Stephen Amell putting in excellent performances as the emotionally exhausted and broken children. We saw in particular how hard it hit Ollie, with him retreating to his secondary facility (very cool concept) to mourn in peace. We get to see our hero at his very lowest...

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 ...

Not One To Hold A Grudge. Slade finally starts putting his plans into action in a standout episode of Arrow . As the pieces of the puzzle come together before Oliver's eyes, Deathstroke brings his world crashing down around him in a powerful display of strength. The main plot this week follows Slade attacking every aspect of Ollie's life and relationships, particularly with Thea and Laurel. Having kidnapped Thea at the end of the last episode, Slade wastes no time releasing a hostage video to send Oliver into a frenzy. Meanwhile Roy leaves Starling after turning on Oliver, Isabel Rochev reveals herself to be working with Slade and steals Queen Consolidated from Ollie and Slade drops in on Laurel to tell her the truth about her ex-boyfriend - that he is secretly the Arrow. All of this chaos unfolds over the 40 minute run-time in spectacular fashion, and it is genuinely harrowing watching our hero be broken down meticulously by his arch nemesis.  The final nail in the coffi...

The Saint of Starling City. Laurel's investigation into Sebastian Blood comes to a head as she and the Arrow track down the Man in the Skull Mask, whilst Roy tests out his newfound powers with disastrous consequences. The main plot this week followed Laurel as she enlists the vigilante's help to investigate Blood, who murders his mother in the mental hospital right at the start of the episode. Being one step ahead, Blood makes Officer Daily wear the mask and take on the Arrow, so that once he is unmasked the heat will be off the Alderman's back. A smart move ultimately, but frustrating knowing that this move sets back the progress made on discovering Sebastian's true identity. The other big moment this week came when Laurel's drug habits were revealed and her life came tumbling down. As I've mentioned previously, I don't always enjoy Katie Cassidy's performances, however it is great to see her take on all of this emotional turmoil in Laurel's li...

Get Up and Fight Back. Arrow 's series 2 mid-season finale packed one hell of a punch. With insane revelations, emotional encounters and shocking twists in both the past and present, 'Three Ghosts' really delivers as Arrow  heads off on its Christmas break. Following his injury sustained last week, the show-runners chose to use Barry to help Oliver get back up on his feet as fast as he went down. Unfortunately, our hero begins to suffer from side effects as he sees hallucinations from his past including Shado, Slade and Tommy. Shado represented Oliver's past fear and how easily he would give up; Slade represented his current fears that he is not a hero and isn't good enough; whilst Tommy confirmed what we as a viewer know about his future - he will become a hero and do good, as that is who he is. It's an interesting spin on a Christmas Carol which works well in the context and provides some surprisingly emotional moments, particularly with Tommy. With the ...

Blood Provides Power. The penultimate episode before the mid-season finale sees Barry Allen enter the Arrowverse as he teams up with the Arrow to take down The Acolyte and put a stop to the Church of Blood. I love that they chose to turn this into a two-parter, as it allows for a more fleshed out story and a stronger mid-season finale. The big lure in this episode is the introduction of Barry Allen, who will go on to become the Flash. Here however, he is just a geeky CSI forensic scientist who flirts with Felicity and strives to locate the vigilante. We learn about his past, his mother's murder and his father's incarceration, which are all nice set-ups for The Flash  TV show which follows this season of Arrow . His debut is slightly underwhelming as he doesn't contribute too much to the overall story apart from picking up clues, but the final shot of him being taken to the Arrowcave is cool and I'm glad they aren't hiding the secret from him for too long. The ...

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 gir...

Living is Not For The Weak. After a short break from the TV show to review the Arrow  tie-in comic series, we are back with 'Crucible' - an solid episode with thrills, spills and some big reveals which only seem to pose more questions. The villain this week is the so-called 'Mayor', also known as Xavier Reed. He is an egotistical sadist who revels in the power he has acquired in the aftermath of the Undertaking. The character is slightly too over-acted, verging on the ridiculous, but actor Cle Bennett just about steers the Mayor the right side of crazy. His dialogue is fairly awful, but I liked the fact that he was a grounded villain - an opportunist who took advantage of the chaos to drive up gun violence. Ultimately, I was disappointed the show-runners killed him off, although it made for an impactful ending (more on that later!). One of the big reveals this week was that the Canary was in fact Sara Lance - once thought dead sister of Laurel and daughter of Quent...