‘Arrow’ episode 12 review: Can we have more Seth Gabel … now?

We’ve heard about Wednesday night’s “Arrow” for months, and there is no doubt when it comes to compelling villains that it was the best thing we have seen on the show thus far. The Count was an intriguing villain in that he was not somebody who is the typical run-of-the-mill bad guy for the show. He did not really seem to be so interested in money or being on the front cover of magazines; instead, he just wanted to see all of Starling City run amok.

We suppose there is probably going to be some discussion out there about whether or not the character was too similar to the Joker, and we would argue back that what made the Count different was that he had a specific endgame in the distribution of his product; and while the Joker was in some ways obsessed with Batman, he really cared less about the Hood until he came at his doorstep. Seth Gabel did a great job in giving as much dimension to this character that he could in a small amount of time, though to be fair this was really a role that needed to be around for much longer than just one week. (There is an option for him to return at some point.)

So why is the Vertigo story over for now? Oliver was a man possessed trying to take him down, feeling in many ways like someone had to pay after he watched his sister Thea unfortunately fall victim to the drug and was arrested last week. He not only succeeded in giving the Count a taste of his own medicine, but also got Thea off with just probation and community service working with Arrow. (Lucky.)

In the middle of seeing this story, the major shocker of the night was almost lost in the shuffle: there is another person out there with a list, and this complicates just what these names, told to Oliver by his father, really mean. This was a great way to end an entertaining hour of TV, and now we have to hope that there will be more strong villains moving forward through the rest of the season.

What did you think about this episode? Be sure to share some more of your thoughts below, and head over here if you want to watch a video featuring more of Gabel’s character.

Photo: The CW