'Arrow' Review: "Fallout"

Ross Fodera ’20 / Entertainment Monthly Staff Writer
After one of the best seasons the show has offered in recent years, Arrow comes running out of the gate with an amazing episode. It opens with a jump to 5 months after the end of last season and the team is stopping Alex Faust (Dominic Bogart) from firing a missile at Star City. After he is arrested, Black Siren (Katie Cassidy) breaks him out killing much of the SPD and Team Arrow can’t help but stay one step behind her for most of the episode. At the same time Oliver is dealing with taking on his role as a father to William (Jack Moore), who is suffering from nightmares about the “bad man.”
The choice to make Oliver a father has been hinted at since season 2 when Oliver’s mother paid a girl Oliver had gotten pregnant to move away and never talk to him again. I am excited to see the direction they take William and Oliver’s relationship, since it offers a brand new dynamic for the season that the show has never tackled before.
As the episode goes on, you slowly find out what happened to each character on the island after Prometheus (Josh Segarra) blew it up. While most of Team Arrow survives, they don’t get away without scars. Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) and Diggle (David Ramsey) are both dealing with the aftermath and they aren’t in a good place, but they’re keeping it from the rest of the team. Meanwhile, Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez) has a brand new suit and weapon that isn’t like anything we have seen before. From the first fight scene, you can see the upgrades in production that have been added. This keeps the show feeling fresh, but still delivers the classic action the show is known for.
Overall, this episode lives up to the cliffhanger ending. Most of the cast does an amazing job delivering performances, specifically Quentin, who’s dealing with the alternate version of his dead daughter trying to kill him. The episode isn’t perfect, though: some actors’ deliveries are a bit exaggerated, some characters keep secrets for seemingly no good reason and the villain’s performance isn’t anything special after last season. However, the confirmation that the season 2 villain Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) is free from prison and out there for future episodes is lackluster. The end drops a bombshell of a plot twist that sets up a refreshing season and gets back to the show’s roots while bringing new things to the table.
Episode Grade: B+