Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Arrow Season 4 Episode 18 "Eleven Fifty-Nine" Review and SPOILERS


When I See You Again
Director: Rob Hardy
Writers: Marc Guggenheim & Keto Shimizu
Air Date: April 6, 2016


*This review contains spoilers! Score at the bottom!*


Why yes this is late. Sorry, but it’s called college final projects. Moving on. This season really has been a big improvement from last season, with it being darker at times, but not afraid to be a little more comic-book. However despite that promise of the show’s direction of being lighter, there has been one big terrifying thing looming in the background: A grave. Throughout the season, the list of Who is in the grave kept getting shorter, but this episode? We learn who it is! Last time we had the episode end with Malcolm agreeing to get Darhk out of prison and his secret weapon is apparently Andy! What could this mean for our team? Who will die? Why you reading a review for an episode that came out 3 weeks ago?! Let's dive in and see what's happening!




We open with Andy Diggle in a panicked state after Malcolm finding him last episode, who believes he is. Diggle comforts him and tells him that Team Arrow will be ready and willing to help. Andy decides to use Malcolm’s faith in him to try and stop a missile transport. While Oliver and the Diggles go off to stop the transport, Thea and Laurel hang back at the cave… WHEN SUDDENLY ASSASSINS SHOW UP WITH MALCOLM! That’s right, Andy has taken the heaviest hitters from the cave on purpose for this little raid. What? Am I really supposed to be shocked that Andy is still bad? That he wasn’t going to flip back? If he had been around for longer than a quarter of the season, it would have been more of a shock, but what can you do.




So why are Malcolm and his Assassins here? To steal back Damien Dahrk’s Totem. While the ladies try their hardest, they are able to get away with 99.9% of the totem. Why do I say 99.9% of the totem? Enter the magical loophole: The totem MUST be completed for it to actually work. Malcolm swears to get the totem, and while he’s gone, Damien plans for a big breakout with his man on the inside, Murmur(still rockin’ his creepy sewn mouth).

When Oliver and the Super Diggle Brothers arrive back at the hideout to see it in shambles, but before John explains to Andy that they have hidden a piece of the totem, Oliver takes him aside and tries to say “Hey listen this is a very important topic we shouldn’t let out,” John instantly gets defensive for his brother… even though we’ve only seen Andy do one good thing since he flipped sides... Yeah, why is John trusting him? I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t think that John Diggle, who has been lied to in the past is ready to defend a former criminal, even if it is his brother, to the degree he has in this episode. When Oliver comes into Casa De Diggle to question Andy, JOHN PULLS A GUN ON HIM! I know Oliver is a dick, a huge one after the events of season 3, but any logical thinking man can piece Andy’s connection with the heist.


Meanwhile, Reva Adams, Dahrk’s secret wife, has been elected as Star City’s new mayor, while Oliver came in at about 49% through write-ins. Reva’s first act as mayor is offering one of our heroes a job: Laurel for District Attorney(Ironically the second largest job with the most dead right under Mayor). Laurel actually considers it, so she can be a spy on the inside. However, those plans are dashed on two fronts. On one side, we have Oliver, who says that it’s what she has always wanted and she has done her part to protect the city. On the other side, we have Quentin, who says that he could not be any more proud of his daughter becoming Black Canary and she shouldn’t give up who she was meant to be. In the end, Laurel decides to become the district attorney and continue to fight to protect the city without her mask. While she is explaining that, though, a call comes in about a prison riot being lead by Dahrk and Murmur. Laurel picks up her mask and says one last time...and yeah, it’s at this point it’s clear who is in the grave. Not only this time, but throughout the episode it was hinted that this was gonna be Laurel’s last episode, but when you hear her say the words “one last time” she basically signing her death certificate.

The team heads into the prison, ready for a fight but then *Gasp* ANDY BETRAYS THEM AND GIVES DAHRK THE LAST PIECE OF THE TOTEM!



Now Damien has his powers back, and decides what he has to do: Get revenge on Quentin. He takes one of Oliver’s arrows and sends it flying deep into her stomach. Oliver gets her out as Dahrk and the rest of the inmates escape. He gets her to the hospital and the doctors get to work. The rest of the team gather, but it’s Ollie who is there for her final moments. She goes on that she always loved him and she's happy at who he has grown to become since they first dated...it really is the most emotional moment of the season, if not the series and even words on this web page can’t do it justice…. The episode closes out with Laurel succumbing to her injuries, and her father collapsing as he arrives and learns…. And it leaves me in tears…


Bits and Pieces:
I know this review is late, but if you haven’t seen this episode, go watch it. Like right now. Yes, the Diggle stupidity brings it down just a bit, but the emotion between the characters interactions, the action, the drama… It summed up in one of the series best episodes, but also the season’s best… Now if you excuse me, I'm going to pour one out for the homie. Good Work Canary, you did well.


9.5/10

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