After the tragic death of one of Arrow’s most beloved character, Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson), Oliver’s world was shaken up and we see a hero trying to pick himself up again, this week.
“City of Blood” had a lot of strong performances out of the whole cast which isn’t a surprise because this is one of the best group of actors on TV. However, there were a few performances that stood out more than usual and one of them was Katie Cassidy. It’s has been a very tough season for Laurel and while there have been a number of things that has bothered me in the writing for her arc, I still had hope that she would end up in a better place. For every episode that she has been in for the past few weeks, she has been knocking it out of the park, but in this episode, she got up to a whole new level.
It was a big surprise to see that she decided to reveal to Oliver that she knew who he really was and the way that she handled it, was flawless. I really like how the writers pulled it off by having Laurel, instead of being upset that Oliver didn’t tell her, support and encourage him to not give up. Looking at the way she was to Oliver in the episode, she felt a lot like the Laurel from the comics, the woman that would bang some sense into his head whenever he was down on himself.
Another good scene for Laurel was when she was trying to convince Daddy Lance to look into Sebastian again, especially because she admitted once again that she was a drunk-mess when she tried to expose, last time. I like whenever characters admit multiple times that they have made mistakes, it make feel them more human because it’s a self-realization that none of us are perfect.
I have said since the start of the season that one of the greatest additions of Arrow’s second year has been Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood aka Brother Blood. Even though we know that he is a villain, he has so much charisma that you can’t help but love him. It’s so hard to dislike him because even though he works for Slade, I feel somewhat sorry for him, despite the fact that his intentions for Starling City aren’t the best ones. This episode however was Alejandro’s best episode of the season so far and for some odd reason, the Brother Blood mask looked creepier than usual, but that may just be me.
A few weeks ago, when it was revealed that Isabel was in fact working with Slade Wilson, I had the speculation that Isabel was in fact Slade’s daughter, Rose Wilson aka Ravager. That review came out hours before a few set photos came out showing Summer Glau in the Ravager costume and while she wasn’t Rose, she was in fact a variation of Ravager.
Not to say “called it”, but it’s a bit spooky that my speculation got (sort of) confirmed hours after the review came out! Glau definitely looks good in that outfit and it will be great to see her kick some butt again in that suit, even if it’s against one of our heroes. Seeing Glau being full on evil has made the character a lot more entertaining to follow.
It’s always a pleasure whenever Colin Salmon is back as Walter Steele and it’s a shame that he can’t be on Arrow more frequently. Ideally for season 3, they should try and work him in as a recurring cast member because even though Oliver and Thea are young adults, they still need a parent figure in some capacity. His scenes with Thea were warm to watch and it showed us once again what a great character Walter is.
Overall, “City of Blood” was a great follow-up from “Seeing Red” and with these last two episodes taking place during one and the same night, it’s going to be two very intense Wednesday nights. After having seen the trailer for the last episode before the season finale, if you are a true fan of Arrow, you don’t want to miss it because things are about to go down.
Arrow airs on Wednesday nights, 8/7c on The CW.
[Photo: Alan Zenuk/The CW — © 2014 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.]
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