Arrow: "Deathstroke" Review

This is it, man. This is like the episode we've been waiting for from the CW's Arrow. It was expected for Deathstroke-y things to happen and while that was not the case, it certainly was a big day for the man under the pseudo-hockey mask. And all of his allies were in on it this time.

This episode brought together all the loose ends or all the secrets that the show had kept under lock and key. Everything that we figured "was just a matter of time" happened and it happened so fast that I felt like I blinked and the episode was over.

Brother Blood's Mirakuru army was never dissolved. Thea knows Malcolm Merlyn is her father. Oliver re-bonded with his mother. Isabel Rochev finally revealed her backstory with Robert Queen (oh my GOODNESS that took forever!) and that she is working with Slade. And Slade...oh Slade.

But let's get into this episode. It was quick, it was action-packed, and it's probably the one of the best episodes so far (it's really tough to beat "Heir to the Demon," "League of Assassins," and "Three Ghosts") this season, and even the entire show.

So we start off with Thea in the car with Slade, both talking about heartbreak.

Imagine that.

Slade reveals he intends to kidnap Thea and when she tries to get away, Brother Blood snatches her up. Her disappearance is shrugged off because Roy is going through teenage angst and Oliver has to actually do his job. Isabel points out that there are emergency meetings about to take place and that Oliver has to attend, even though he is still trying to find Slade, who has sort of dropped off the grid. He also has to "publicly support" his mother to show that they still interact-ish.

At the debate it is revealed that Thea has been kidnapped by Deathstroke...and it is possible he even took a selfie with her, we don't know for sure yet. Anyway, that gets Oliver rattled.

And he stays like that for the entire episode.

You know how on some occasions we've seen Oliver kinda go crazy and not care that he's not wearing the Arrow suit when faced with a situation? Yeah, there were a lot of those moments. This episode, more so even than in "The Promise" and in "Suicide Squad" demonstrated that Oliver is deathly afraid of this man.

Granted, he has every reason to be. Slade knows where Oliver's family lives. He knows that he is the Arrow. He knows about his allies (I'm talking Dig and Felicity). He and Oliver know that Slade could kill everyone Oliver cares about in a single stroke (get it?) if he wanted, which is why Oliver is so antsy. He's always trying to get a step ahead of Slade when really Slade has been planting landmines for Oliver on the entire path. Oliver once said that on the island nothing good happened. Well, in this episode, nothing good happened. For every moment there was hope, Slade was gone. Even when they got Slade, it all turned out bad for Team Arrow and even Detective Lance.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Felicity, of course, manages to track down Thea and Slade, where Black Canary, Roy Harper, and Arrow all circle him. This wasn't the showdown I was expecting, but, it worked great in the episode. Oliver knocks out Slade with a single shot with a poison to bring him into police custody. There, Slade and Oliver have a moment that sheds some more light on what really happened on the island when they had their showdown, and how Slade got off the island.

Which to me raises the questions about the future of the show. Slade might fade as the villain for this season (will they kill him? We'll see) but, what about the future seasons, like the flashbacks? We know that Amanda Waller knows Oliver kills Slade, but, how? And why does Oliver hate Amanda? I know we're about to hit the home-stretch for this season, but, can all of that be reasonably answered in these episodes? And, furthermore, what the heck happens to Sara that makes Oliver thinks she dies on the island? I have a feeling that question will be answered at season's end, but, I don't think Slade will be going away in the flashbacks. We still have about three years to go, and from what we saw at the pilot: Oliver was all alone with crappier arrows that he has now and with the Wintergreen-Deathstroke symbolizing Slade's demise.

But going back to the present time, Oliver and Slade's conversation is interrupted when Slade is set free because...they don't have enough evidence. I think the eyepatch would be evidence enough. Anyway, Lance is threatened but we don't see resolution with that until the end.

Meanwhile, at the Arrow Cave, Dig and Felicity watch as Roy and Sara get into it. Sara, obviously with more battle-expierence and more experience in the field with Oliver, agrees with what he is doing and thinks it is the right decisions; Roy, on the other hand, is a teenager and does not comprehend what exactly Slade is capable of. Dig tries to get in the way, Roy puts him in an arm-lock, Sara threatens him, and our main Justice League-worthy superhero shows up to set Roy straight. Roy decides to split...again.

So with Team Arrow down to four players, what more can go wrong? Well...

During the search for Thea, Oliver was forced to hand over all authority of Queen Consolidated to Isabel, who was reluctant to assume such power. However, as Felicity discovers, Isabel has used the power of the emergency board meetings to completely rule Queen Consolidated, something she does in the comic out of some twisted spite of Robert Queen. She also slips that she knows about Oliver's vigilantism, to which Oliver deducts she works with Slade.

I was only thinking about this recently, like before the episode, and I came to realize just how quickly Isabel was to latch onto Oliver. She hated him at first but quickly shifted that position once he came to sort of slip out of power. Maybe she didn't fully believe he was the Arrow until that trip to Russia, which was the last time we saw her in a reasonably important role.

Anyway, Slade and Thea have a little chit-chat and following that, Thea is set free. Not for Team Arrow, though, as Slade sends a message to Oliver through Isabel for him to meet Oliver alone. Oliver and Slade share an epic scene together in which Oliver, as the Arrow, is just plowing through guys without them even touching him. Meanwhile, Slade is putting on his Deathstroke gear.

And finally, we get to see the entire suit in its full glory, as well as seeing Slade in his prime, baby. He stops a truck of criminals set for Iron Heights, kills the guards, and tells them all to get out. Meanwhile, Oliver has wound up in the room Thea was supposed to be in, but there is no Thea.

She is found, though, at the police station, where she reveals to know the truth beyond her parenting. Apparently this was "Oliver's secret" which probably fooled everyone seeing as how his main secret is his other identity as the Arrow. So that cat's out of the bag, and now, Thea is angry. Oh, and how great of timing for Roy to split town too. Yeah.

BUT I have a question that could lead to a sick tie-in and a set-up for season 3. We don't know the extent of Roy's knowledge. We do know that he is coming back. What if Roy, who is unaware of Thea's whereabouts upon leaving, goes to find a certain someone? A la...Malcolm Merlyn? If Roy knows that's her father, maybe he's gone out to find Merlyn to convince him to come back, set aside some dispute with Oliver, and take out Slade. He could work great with Sara, since they are both ex-Assassins. And how would that set up season 3? With Oliver working with an Assassin Ra's Al Ghul already has a distaste for, we may see some more prominent members show up to deal with our Emerald Archer. Perhaps, even they may show up to deal with a mercenary known as Deathstroke.

In DC lore, Deathstroke and Ra's don't get along. In Arrow-lore, Deathstroke gets along with nobody. It has been confirmed that in some form or another, Nyssa Al Ghul will return. Might she return to fight alongside Sara once again to take out one of her father's greatest enemies? If Deathstroke lives and joins the Suicide Squad (doubt it, considering how Amanda probably wants to see him dead), might we see the League fight the Suicide Squad, with Sara forced to pick a side and Oliver getting caught in the middle?

I know this is all grand speculation, but, I mean, come on, it's super fun. But, once more, we must get back to the episode!

So while Thea returns not-so-nicely home, we get a good look at our main season 2 villains together in Queen Consolidated, almost like their new castle. Brother Blood is displeased that his campaign is not going so well, which Slade does not take fond to him being a baby, while Isabel tells him that they are ready to reproduce more of the Mirakuru, so that Sebastian may take over Starling City using the army of prisoners Deathstroke has just recruited. Not to mention that a certain Solomon Grundy has yet to be seen again. Back at the police station, Lt. Pike suddenly arrests Det. Lance under obscure charges, which to me screams that Pike is also working for Slade. All season he has been trying to get Lance busted, it seems, and with Lance coming so close to Slade, perhaps Pike jumped the gun and arrested him.

Back at the Arrow Cave, our originally three members of Team Arrow are hanging out, giving Oliver a good ol' pep talk. Dig and Felicity promise to help him fight Slade again and this time take him out, and Oliver is ready to fight back. HECK YEAH.

Oh, and in a season that was both funny and a little shocking, Slade literally shows up at Laurel's house, tells her that Oliver is the Arrow, and just leaves.

Like what?

But that cat is now out of the bag, too, making the title for April 16th's episode "The Man Under the Hood" that much more important. Will Laurel tell Oliver? Will she tell her father? Will Sara come clean?

Honestly, all I can do is guess at this point. That three-minute promo from a few weeks ago only gave us insight from episodes 15-18, so, it's anyone's guess at this point. I'm just curious about that riddle from before the season, the line about Oliver not being the first vigilante. Who was it? Could it be that we might get a Nightwing appearance like we've all been expecting?

Next week we get to see two of the members of the Flash television series on Arrow, so, another superhero drop-in isn't entirely impossible. I don't know man, but, I do know that we are set up for some big shockers coming up. This might get rough.

See you next time!