‘Arrow’ season 5, episode 6 review: Do we know the true Prometheus?
For those who you who wanted a genuinely cool mystery on “Arrow” this season, it feels pretty darn easy to now say that we’re getting it. “So It Begins” was one of the stronger episodes this season, and it’s one that accomplished a wide array of different things.
The biggest shock reveal of all came in the “identity of Prometheus” department, which is absolutely something we did not see coming until the end of at least the first half of the season. It’s … Quentin Lance? Obviously the show wants you to think that, given that he woke up with the cut on his arm and with one of his signature throwing stars nearby. You can argue that he’s using alcoholism as a cover for what he’s doing, that he was altered through Flashpoint in some way, or that he’s getting so drunk that he’s developed some sort of alternative personality that’s taking to the streets and killing people. (Isn’t that a little too Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde?)
Personally, we think this is all a red herring, albeit a rather wonderful one given that the show to date’s done its part to make Quentin someone who could appear culpable, given that he’s missing work already and he’s gone at odd times.
What complicates the theory that it’s a setup, however, is that Quentin can easy wake up, cover up his injury, and get rid of the evidence. Also, who else is a known entity with access to Star City PD resources, the materials of Oliver’s arrows, and a knowledge of some of his past? We’re going to a separate article on this soon, given that there’s a lot to dive in here … but this is a review and not a speculation piece. Let’s just say that the reveal was very cool regardless of what happens next, though probably not as cool as Oliver shooting an arrow until the barrel of a gun.
The best thing about “So It Begins” is that it focused on Prometheus more than any other episode so far this season, and the villain’s backstory certainly holds its own. What was also somewhat effective was reminding Oliver, and telling the new team for the first time, that this guy is effectively a serial killer. He kept a list of names throughout season 1, and now Prometheus is seemingly finishing what he started in some ways. He’s raining down chaos and waiting for the moment to strike.
The person who took this reveal the hardest was Evelyn Sharp, who in this evolved into a reasonably interesting character after being the non-entity of the new team for most of the season. Her own history made it hard to trust Oliver when it came to hiding his own, but she came further to realize he’d changed when he focused on saving her and the subway operator over trying to go after Prometheus after she confronted the villain for the first time. We got to relish in a couple of fun scenes as a whole with the new team, especially seeing them all “enjoy” some of Rory’s special family drink, which we like to compare to Michael’s Special Stuff from “Space Jam.”
Meanwhile, can we claim that Felicity’s boyfriend Detective Malone is one of the most reasonably guys in the entire city? She dropped on him tonight that she works for the Green Arrow, and he seemed more than cool with it. Heck, he seemed rather in awe! Having him be almost a Green Arrow junkie was particularly funny in that it makes things super-awkward for her now; we also can’t imagine her telling him that the Green Arrow’s Oliver Queen given that there are already some awkward issues there.
For the most part, we enjoyed the present-day story; the one weakness is that while Oliver and Susan Williams casually flirted, we didn’t think it merited the spotlight that it got tonight. It felt a little bit like the writers were trying to force something when they didn’t need to.
Flashbacks – Hey, it’s Konstantin Kovar — and he’s a really bad man! We’re still not going to pretend like these are the strongest part of the story (they’re not), but this is easily the best flashback story since season 3 and maybe season 2. Meeting for the first time Dolph Lundgren was exciting, as was seeing Oliver in true millionaire form again as he went undercover. Sure, we don’t care too much about anything else that’s happening here, but we at least weren’t bored.
Overall – A really solid entry in season 5, one with a number of funny moments, some great action, and a mystery that has us continuing to guess for a little while. Grade: B+.
Next week – We meet Vigilante for the first time! Head over here to check that preview out. (Photo: The CW.)