Episode Title: “Tremors”
Writers: Marc Guggenheim & Drew Z. Greenberg
Director: Guy Bee
Previously on “Arrow”
They aren’t exactly Batman and Robin, but the Green Arrow and Speedy partnership goes back several decades in DC’s comic books. Even though the pilot episode of “Arrow” teased a different spin on the mythos by using “Speedy” as nickname for Thea Queen (Willa Holland), it’s always been heading in this direction for Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes).
“Tremors” finally advanced Oliver’s alliance with Roy to a major turning point, although it felt a little rushed within the episode itself. On one hand, it’s good to finally move past the stage of Arrow barely interacting with Roy and pretending not to know him. However, some of the tension between them in this episode was pretty ineffective and even silly. It was redeemed somewhat by the ending and I’m more interested in seeing Arrow and Roy (Red Arrow?) as a team going forward.
There are full spoilers ahead for “Tremors,” so if you missed last night’s episode of “Arrow” then you should probably skip this review or else you’ll have to avoid Markovia for a few months.
I have to admit that Colton Haynes has been better this season on “Arrow.” He was basically walking cardboard in the first season of “Arrow” and during his time on “Teen Wolf.” Some of that stiffness as a performer came into play in this episode, which made his over-the-top anger with Oliver barely tolerable. It’s hard to buy into Roy as a constantly angry young man when he’s got a rich girlfriend who loves him and a superhero who wants to be his mentor. Remember, Roy had anger issues long before he was dosed with Mirakuro.
Despite my misgivings, I really loved the scene where Oliver finally revealed his identity to Roy and it was Haynes’ reaction to it that really made it work. Roy’s introduction to the rest of Team Arrow seemed to make it official: the Arrow finally has his sidekick, even if he doesn’t have a costume or an alter ego just yet.
Oliver and Roy’s first unofficial team up revolved around them finding Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White) after his escape from prison in the opening scene of the episode. “Tremors” gave Bronze Tiger more of a personality than he had the last time on this show, but Michael Jai White still wasn’t given a lot to do beyond fighting Arrow and Roy.
Bronze Tiger’s mission to retrieve a prototype of Malcolm Merlyn’s Earthquake machine was a pretty big indictment on the Starling City Police. It’s not as if Merlyn’s prototype was in a well hidden room… it was in his freakin’ garage! Maybe if Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) wasn’t on every case for the PD, the cops could actually be effective on this show.
That said, this was actually a good episode for Paul Blackthrone, as he seemed believable while portraying Quentin’s attempts to pull Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) out of her downward spiral. Cassidy wasn’t quite as convincing, but this storyline does pave the way for Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) to return to Starling City in the present. But for all of the buildup to Sara’s final departure which was supposed to be “forever,” it felt weird that Oliver could just call her and tell her to come back to help her sister.
On the homefront, Walter Steele (Colin Salmon) made his return as he invited Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) to dinner… in an attempt to get Moira to run for mayor against Sebastian Blood (Kevin Alejandro).
Only in fiction would someone think that it was a good idea for a person recently on trial for her complicity in the deaths of over 500 people would be the best choice to run against the man called Blood. Because Moria’s last name has a brand? Seriously? Yes, she has a brand and that brand is mass murder. It’s a mind-bogglingly stupid turn of events, made even more so by Moira’s decision to go for it just because Thea forgives her and likes the idea.
If there was any reality to this show, Moira’s mayoral campaign would be a huge flop and Blood would win by a massive landslide. But because Blood is also the supervillain Brother Blood, he probably won’t win or keep the office for long. That means that Oliver’s mommy dearest is likely to be the mayor after all.
I actually don’t hate the idea of Moira as the mayor of the city, but it’s too late. Once the creative team behind “Arrow” made her complicit in the Reckoning, that character trajectory just can’t work anymore. No amount of suspension of disbelief can pull off that twist.
On a more positive front, this episode revealed that the country, Markovia exists in this world; which opens the door to the Outsiders possibly appearing on “Arrow” down the line. Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) also showed up to recruit Bronze Tiger for her task force; which means that the Suicide Squad is definitely coming at some point. The show already has its Deadshot (Michael Rowe), so that’s two members of the Suicide Squad already in play. The late Count Vertigo (Seth Gabel) was also a Suicide Squad member in the comics, but he probably won’t be back.
Overall, “Tremors” was enjoyable despite some weak moments and really questionable creative decisions. But I’m still looking forward to seeing next week’s episode as the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul makes her debut on “Arrow.”
