‘Arrow’ season 5, episode 8 review: Was the 100th episode, and Katie Cassidy’s return, worthwhile?
Tonight, “Arrow” finally brought its 100th episode to the screen, and we are very pleased to say that in the end, it may have matched just about every expectation that we had going in. While it wasn’t perfect, we would never say that “Arrow” was a perfect show. There were parts of it that were very predictable, such as Thea flip-flopping on whether or not she wanted to stay in the sream world and Rene getting his butt whooped before Supergirl and The Flash came in to help him.
Still, as a whole this was a remarkably emotional look back at the show’s legacy, and some of the people who were apart of Oliver Queen’s epic journey to date.
The premise – In order to peer into their subconscious and execute the next phase of their mission, the Dominators took hostage five important characters to the “Arrow” universe: Oliver, John Diggle, Thea Queen, Sara Lance, and Ray Palmer. One of the reasons we loved it being these five is because their characters all originated on that show, and we liked getting some reminders as to who Sara and Ray were at one point in the series. They all were put into a world where Oliver wasn’t the Green Arrow, and it was a study into how this Oliver could have everything and nothing at the same time. He was engaged to Laurel Lance, he still had his parents around, and even Tommy Merlyn was still out there alive — albeit as a doctor in Chicago. (The “Chicago Med” reference in here was all sorts of delightful.)
However, over time these characters realized that nothing was quite as it seemed, given that Green Arrow Diggle, Ray (who was engaged to Felicity), and others were starting to look at what their lives actually were versus what the Dominators wanted them to see in this world. Eventually, they started to come to grips with it, but at the same time also realized that in doing so, they would have to leave what was an idyllic world for some of them behind. This was tough to do, especially for Thea. She’d lost so much, and that’s why she was hesitant to have to say goodbye to her parents and loved ones again.
It was lovely that the show managed to get back Katie Cassidy, given the significance of Laurel as one of the key players within this universe. The same goes for Sussana Thompson, who was a wonderful contributor to the show and someone who grounded Oliver in a way no one else did. That’s why it was necessary for Slade to kill her. We did get to see Deathstroke in an epic battle with versions of these villains as our heroes managed to make their way out of the dreamworld, which was certainly rather cool and a nice chance to see people like John Barrowman and Neal McDonough back around. For those wondering, it wasn’t Manu Bennett in the Deathstroke costume, and Matt Nable didn’t end up turning up as Ra’s al Ghul. (You can read more on some of the absences from tonight over here.)
The rescue plan – Back in Star City, Cisco joined Felicity and several of the recruits (Artemis was MIA, and so was talk of her being a traitor) in an effort to figure out where Team Arrow was and if there was a proper way to help them. There was, and it meant taking an object from some person who’s used it randomly to power up. This whole battle just felt like an excuse to put Rene in a scene with Supergirl and The Flash, but we’ll take it. Rene’s initial reaction to seeing Supergirl was genuinely funny, even if it was predictable, and the character may start growing on us more if we don’t continually see him get beaten down time and time again.
Eventually, Felicity and company were able to figure out the location of the team, and just as Oliver and company (to reference said movie with Billy Joel singing, as the show did) were starting to escape the Dominator ship, the Waverider came and lent a helping hand. Seeing Thea’s reaction to that? Also very entertaining. It’s easy to forget sometimes that some of these supporting characters don’t get a chance to experience all of this sometimes.
Here’s the problem: Now, the Dominator mothership is heading towards earth, and there’s still no clear way as to how to stop them from just coming in and destroying everyone.
We’re not going to say that the Dominator / Team Felicity stuff was tacked-on tonight because it was enjoyable, but the 100th episode of “Arrow” shined for the most part through getting to see more of Oliver’s past return in some form, and for him to get that opportunity for closure that he never did back when he lost people like his parents. The holograms were a great final way to say goodbye to old friends, and we’re excited now to see what the next 100 episodes of the show bring. Grade: A-.
You can now preview the winter finale for the show, if you are so inclined, but clicking below.