Episode Title: “The Promise”
Writers: Jake Coburn & Ben Sokolowski
Director: Glen Winter
Previously on “Arrow”:
One of the very first shots of the pilot episode of “Arrow” featured Deathstroke’s mask with an arrow through its right eye. The show hasn’t quite caught up to that moment yet, but it’s fast approaching.
As soon as Manu Bennett signed on as a series regular for “Arrow” Season 2, it seemed obvious that Deathstroke (aka Slade Wilson) would be this year’s big bad. The connection between Slade and Oliver (Stephen Amell) is just too compelling to pass up. While I still feel that Slade’s intense feelings for Shado came on way too late to be believable, there’s an amazing tension between Oliver and Slade when he discovers his one-eyed former friend in his home with Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) and later, Thea (Willa Holland).
The bulk of “The Promise” took place during an extended flashback to the island; which chronicled the end of Oliver and Slade’s friendship against the backdrop of their assault on the Amazo. “The Promise” had so many big moments that I’m surprised that some of them weren’t saved for the season finale. But now Slade is set as the villain in both the past and the present.
There are full spoilers ahead for “The Promise,” so if you missed last night’s episode of “Arrow” then you should probably skip this review or else Slade will keep his eye on you.
Besides Slade’s turn, “The Promise” was significant for featuring Oliver’s first time in the proto-Arrow costume worn by Shado (Celina Jade) and her father, Yao Fei. Oliver has had three mentors on the island. Two of them are dead and the third wants him to suffer in the present. But Oliver owes Slade, Shado and Yao Fei a large debt for the man that he’s become. Even in the island flashbacks, Oliver is now a formidable warrior.
It was cool to see Jade briefly reprise her role as Shado, but Oliver’s nightmare was a little cliched. The entire angle of keeping the truth about Shado’s death was also hamfisted and overplayed. It pretty much happened exactly as everyone predicted. Professor Ivo (Dylan Neal) told Slade that Oliver let Shado die by choosing to protect Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) and Slade reacted with murderous intent.
But the scene still carried a sting thanks to the strong chemistry between Amell and Bennett. When Slade declares that Oliver is now like a brother to him, there was an emotional resonance to that moment. Once the truth was out, their bond was shattered.
As much as “The Promise” was Oliver’s debut as the Arrow, it was also the birth of Slade as Deathstroke The Terminator. It was undeniably fun to see Slade cut loose in costume. Likewise, his first face-off with Oliver was one of the most exciting sequences of the season. The action in this episode was really well done.
Back in the present, Oliver alerted Team Arrow to Slade’s presence, sending Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Sara racing to the Queen mansion to protect Oliver and his family. You can tell that Roy’s a member of the team now because he wasn’t wearing a shirt while working out. That’s the rite of passage on this show.
I have to point out a really weak moment when Team Arrow was heading to save the day. Felicity squeaked out ‘please save Oliver!” in a very grating way. If only something could save us from the inevitable “Olicity” pairing.
While Sara made it off the Amazo with a few escaped prisoners, Oliver wasn’t as lucky. Slade easily beat Oliver down and declared himself the new captain of the Amazo while also dealing with Ivo. In one of the weaker turns of the episode, the writers attempted to humanize Ivo by giving him a sick wife to care about. But it became unintentionally funny when Ivo got his wife on the phone and she spoke in a robotic and childlike tone.
The key here is that both Oliver and Slade betrayed each other. Oliver hid the truth about Shado’s death and Slade only pretended to destroy the Mirakuru. When the Mirakuru reappeared in the present, it seemed likely that Slade had held on to it. But now we know that their partnership would probably have been shattered even if Oliver had told Slade how Shado really died while he was still in relatively stable frame of mind.
In the present, Team Arrow confronts Slade… but he’s only truly surprised to Sara with Oliver. And as long as Lotz is only a guest star on this series, Sara will probably be Slade’s primary target to make Oliver suffer as he suffered. There’s also an interesting dynamic (as pointed out by Slade) between Team Arrow and Team Deathstroke. Both Oliver and Slade have assembled like minded people around each other, but we may not be fully aware of who Slade is holding in reserve. I’m curious as to who took out Diggle outside of the Queen mansion. Perhaps it’s someone significant.
“The Promise” lived up to its name by bringing the flashback storyline to a major turning point. The stage has been set for the final act of “Arrow” Season 2 and the show seems poised for an epic showdown between Oliver and Slade.
