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Arrow - Sara - Review

22 Oct 2014

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Arrow, “Sara,” was written by the team of Jake Coburn and Keto Shimizu and directed by Wendey Stanzler. This was an intense episode, with the team dealing with the aftermath of Sara’s (Caity Lotz) death. Stephen Amell (Oliver), Katie Cassidy (Laurel), and Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity) turn in particularly good performances as their characters are most dramatically affected by Sara’s death. Oliver and Sara shared a close bond because of what they went through together, their relationship, and their shared life paths. Laurel has truly lost her sister, and Felicity has lost a friend and role model.

The flashbacks bring back a favorite character whom we lost in season one – Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). Of course, this wasn’t really the Tommy we’d come to know and love – the one who’d given up being a spoiled playboy – this is the spoiled playboy Tommy. Even so, we see that he’s goneagainst his father’s wishes to travel half way around the world to try to find his missing and presumed dead best friend. I was actually really disappointed at how little we got of Donnell in the episode as I’d really grown to love his character in the first season. Of course, it has to work with the continuity of the first season, and Tommy never indicates that he saw Oliver during the five years he was missing.

We see the beginnings of what Oliver was up to in Hong Kong. We also see that Amanda Waller is ruthless – and pretty unscrupulous. She wants Tommy dead to hide any trace that Oliver might be alive. Maseo (Karl Yune) is sent as Oliver’s handler to make sure he takes care of the target. When Oliver refuses, Maseo is in a very difficult position – either Tommy dies or Maseo’s family is hurt. Maseo is clearly not a bad guy and he’s willing to entertain alternatives to killing Tommy. I loved when Oliver suggested they raid the morgue for a Tommy lookalike, and Maseo is incredulous – “In a Hong Kong morgue!”

         They cleverly work together, however, to kidnap Tommy with Oliver remaining disguised as the bad guy and Maseo acting like the good cop who rescues Tommy and sends him scurrying home. Oliver’s flashback lesson is that he has to be alone in order to keep those close to him safe. Given Oliver’s declaration to Felicity in the last episode about learning to never trust anyone, I have to wonder how Maseo is going to let him down – will he tell Waller?

The entire team is affected by Sara’s death, and Diggle (David Ramsey) vows to take a bigger role with the team to help catch Sara’s murderer. In a very sweet gesture, John and Lyla name the baby Sara. Roy (Colton Haynes) is finally moved to reveal the letter that Thea (Willa Holland) left him because Oliver is so desperate to see his own sister after seeing Laurel lose hers. It was interesting that Roy told Felicity first, and it was Roy who comforted Felicity when they first see Sara’s body and at the grave side. The relationship between Oliver and Felicity felt odd in this episode. Clearly, after Felicity walked away from Oliver in the last episode, they’d taken a step back, but was no more than half a day before discovering Sara’s body. It seems unrealistic that they’d be able to turn their feelings off so quickly.

One of the most powerful scenes in the episode is when Felicity actually confronts Oliver about his feelings. She tells him she doesn’t have her A-game for him – “I’m sorry if I have feelings, but if you did…” and then she immediately apologizes for being mean. Oliver tells her that he doesn’t have the luxury of having feelings because everyone is looking to him to lead, to be strong. Felicity replies, “You’re still a human being. You’re allowed to have feelings. I know sometimes it’s easier to live under that hood.” But of course, it’s not easier to live under that hood, and Oliver confesses his greatest fear to Felicity – that “This life that I’ve chosen. It only ends one way.”

Sara’s death pushes Felicity to reassess what she’s doing. She tells Oliver that she isn’t going to simply wait down in the lair for him to die: “If there’s one thing that today’s taught me, it’s that life is precious, and I want so much more than this in mine.” Earlier in the episode she’s stormed off to tell Ray (Brandon Routh) to stop stalking her. He’s so determined to have her work for him that he spent over a billion dollars to buy the Tech Village franchise she’s working for. I liked Routh a lot more in this episode as we see him gain a little more depth. He tells her that he knows she’s not angry at him. He doesn’t pry to find out what’s wrong but just offers quiet support. Felicity tells him that money can’t solve her problem, and he wisely responds that “money can’t solve most problems.” Good answer, Ray, good answer. Now we know he’s not all about the money. By the end of the episode, Felicity accepts his job offer at Queen Consolidated. I have to wonder how that’s going to affect her availability for the team. Clearly, they are building towards more than a working relationship here as well…

I really liked Laurel’s response to her sister’s death. She vows to be a big part of bringing the killer to justice. Cassidy is much better at playing fierce in my opinion. I’m so glad that it’s clear from the outset that we aren’t going to have a repeat of last season. She quickly removes herself from Verdant – telling Oliver that a bar is the last place she should be. She’s not sacrificing her sobriety. She’s also being strong for others in the way Oliver is. She refuses to tell Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) about Sara’s death because of his precarious health, leaving her to grieve alone. Quentin tells her he forgives her and always will because he’s her father. But will he be able to forgive her for not telling him about Sara’s death? I loved the scene in the hospital room after she lies her way in and starts torturing Kelso (Patrick Gilmore) to get answers.

Of course, we couldn’t have the murder be solved in one episode – that would have made Lotz’s departure less meaningful, and we need time for Laurel to take up the mantel of Black Canary – certainly her holding her sister’s stuffed shark and staring at her leather jacket indicate that the seed has been planted. Komodo – Simon Lacroix (Matt Ward) turns out to be a rather disappointing villain. I did love that Felicity traced his burner phone because Lecroix calls his mother in Quebec! However, I was disappointed by the motorcycle duel. I was impressed by the stunt work, don’t get me wrong, but the scene itself is quite pointless. Why run at each other like that on your motorcycles? Other than it looks cool? I mean, standing still while the other guy races at you, just makes sense – stand still and aim. Furthermore, Oliver makes several passes without doing anything except race by Lacroix. Why not at least try to punch him? Knock him off his bike?

The fight scene during Ray’s fundraiser is a great one. I love Roy and Oliver fighting together now. There’s a great move when “Arrow” jumps out the window and twists around to shoot an arrow to swing off of – it’s just such a great moment of complete commitment on his part. Naturally, Laurel shows up once Komodo is captured. She tries to shoot him, even though Oliver tells her that revenge won’t make it better. Luckily for Laurel, he’s taken out the bullets. Lacroix, of course, has an air tight alibi.

Both Diggle and Felicity refer to Sara as family in the episode. As so often in Arrow, it comes back to family. Diggle also tells Oliver that he’s like family to him as well. Oliver confesses to Diggle that he doesn’t want to “die down here” and Diggle tells him simply, “Then don’t.” Amell’s performance is powerful and restrained. In several scenes, he clearly has tears in his eyes, yet he never lets them fall. But by the end of the episode, he is ready to get his sister back. For me, this begs the question of if you can have family in that way, why not a relationship? The episode ends with Malcolm (John Barrowman) watching Thea train, and she calls him “Dad.” Is it too late for Oliver? Has Thea found a new family?

What did you think of the episode? Are you concerned about the changing dynamics of the team? Do you like this new angry Laurel? Was this a fitting enough send off for Sara? Should someone tell Quentin? Was it just too soon for Oliver and Felicity? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!  

About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.

9 comments:

  1. I was very 'meh' about this episode. Here are my 2 cents.


    I thought overall it was a very disjointed episode and felt as though there were a lot of missing scenes like one with Oliver/Felicity and one with Laurel being more emotional. I was actually surprised that most of the emotional aspects of the episode was given to Felicity whilst Laurel's arc was more plot driven when she went blind with rage and revenge. I was sort of wishing for the writers to flesh out her character more in this episode because I honestly don't know who Laurel is other than the future BC and current Lawyer who just lost her sister. I guess this is why I'm still not on board with Laurel as a character. Her arc may be interesting but her character isn't (at least to me).


    I remember the EPs saying that this was a love letter to Sara. I don't think it was. It was really more about Felicity, Oliver, and Laurel more than it was about Sara. This was also disappointing :/


    My main gripe with this season is that they're burning through so much character development so quickly that it's almost unbelievable. I hope they slow down.


    Regardless, most of the actors hit it out of the park and that's all I can ask for, I suppose.

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  2. Loved the episode. It all worked for me. I'm really looking forward to this weeks and Laurel's story now.

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  3. I liked the episode. I am still miffed about Sara's death but this was a fitting mourning episode for Sara imo. Lately I have a complaint about Arrow. We are not able to determine the timeline of this show. In episode 1 the date gets blown up, Oliver goes to confront Vertigo comes back to the lair and Felicity is in a new dress all bright and shiny. So does that mean Oliver went to vertigo the previous night and the foundry scene was next morning? Same with this episode.


    I thought Sara helping to take down count, the hospital scene and Sara meeting Laurel was the same night. But this episode opened with Oliver and Felicity in new dress and looked like at least a day has passed after the hospital scene. It looked like at least three days passed in this episode altogether from the moment the walked into the lair to Diggle walking out of the lair. It's all a bit confusing. So many costume changes.


    Loved Amell's line at the end about not wanting to die down here made the show for me. Oliver saying something like this is a huge step for him. I am itching to see Thea next episode.

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  4. Thanks - and a most excellent comment. I think you hit a lot of things right on the head. I definitely agree that they really haven't handled Laurel well at all. I can understand them possibly changing their minds about how she became BC and wanting it to be a longer story, but they've not done a good job of that imho. I liked Laurel season 1 and season 2 Laurel really came out of left field for me. This Laurel seems a lot more like S1 which is at least a step in the right direction.


    I definitely agree about the disjointedness and that it did not seem at all like this was a love letter to Sara. And I also agree. A quick pace and lots of action are great, but if I have one complaint about this show - and I've said it since S1, is that they often squander their guest stars because they are in for 1 episode and gone and there are always other elements to the story too.


    I'm glad you discovered us too! I'll be looking forward to more comments!

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  5. I think you are right about the timeline. My understanding was that they found Laurel and Sara in the lair the morning after the hospital/Sara's death.
    That last scene was excellent. And I can't wait to see Thea too!

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  6. I always used to say at the end of the show I want Oliver to die while saving Starling City and then his son Connor to take up the GA mantle. But after hearing Oliver say "I don't want to die down here" I just want him to do missions, retire and then live a long life. Poor Oliver.

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  7. Good review. The motorcycle "joust" bugged me, too. I was also a bit skeptical of the coincidence of Sara getting murdered by one archer at the very time ANOTHER archer happens to be killing folk, for different and apparently unconnected reasons. Just how many archers running aorund at any one time is plausible, really?
    And I know it's a comic book show, but the melodrama sometimes is more intrusive than it is at other times, and this was one of those sometimes. We have Oliver forced to choose between killing his best friend or having his mentor's family hurt. Laurel goes to full-bore handgun revenge. Neither of these struck me as particularly plausible scenarios.

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  8. I think asking Oliver to kill Tommy would have been better if we had some kind of indication about why Waller is so hot to have him as an agent. He learned some skills on the Island, but is he really ready to be a killing machine or worth the time and effort to make him one?
    I have to say that I'm digging mad-revenge-Laurel - so much better than mopey-depressed-woe-is-me-drunk-Laurel....

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  9. lol! Fair enough re: Laurel; last season's Laurel in a bottle was hard to take. I guess the thing for me is that he show opts too frequently (IMO, needless to say) for the most extreme--or at least for a fairly extreme--response, rather than for a more balanced one. You CAN have drama without every situation being as extreme as possible. Arguably, you will have better drama that way, as the emotional intensity will stand out more if it's not seeping through every scene. Sheesh, what a terrible mixed metaphor.

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