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"I'M NOT ONE TO HOLD A GRUDGE."
Right about now, Oliver Queen is probably wishing he never made it off the island. This week saw Slade Wilson step out of the shadows and begin the next phase of his plan to destroy Ollie mentally and psychologically. Presumably, the physical breaking is coming later. Slade was very much Bane to Ollie's Batman in this episode, bombarding him with threats from all angles and allowing Ollie to do the lion's share of the work for him. So the only question worth asking at the end of "Deathstroke" was "Have Ollie and friends reached their darkest point, or is it going to keep getting worse?" Somehow, I doubt the suffering is over yet.
Needless to say, it was a banner week for Manu Bennett as Slade. We got to enjoy him as the suave, well-dressed mastermind as he tormented Ollie and Thea while also playing at being the innocent, well-meaning firend to the Queen family. We saw far more of Slade in his Deathstroke costume than ever before. Deathstroke is far and away the best the show has managed in terms of translating a comic book character to live-action. Just watching him stand in front of the Iron Heights bus and silently summon the prisoners before him was enough to give me chills. And finally, we saw more of Slade at his most crazed and unhinged in the flashbacks. I liked the brief appearances by Shado as a means of showing Slade's fragile mental state while also reminding us what has and still is driving him throughout this vengeful crusade. The fact that Shado appeared in the present as Slade conferred with Sebastian Blood and Isabel suggests that he may not have everything as together and tidy as he'd like everyone to believe.
But as much as this was Bennett's week to shine, it was also a crucial week for Stephen Amell. Amell did a great job of conveying Ollie's desperation and helplessness, painting him as a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown at times. In particular, this episode really hinged on three Ollie-centric scenes. The first was his "interrogation" of Slade in the S.C.P.D. precinct. It was fascinating to see the two men have their first real, honest face-to-face since their relationship broke down on the island. Speaking of which, their conversation further foreshadowed the final showdown in the flashbacks. With showdowns fast approaching in both the past and present, it should be interesting to see how these battles parallel each other.
How could anyone suspect this guy of villainy?
The second pivotal scene came when Ollie and Moira finally opened up to one another. Both Amell and Susanna Thompson delivered strong performances here. Moira finally abandoned all pretense of being a well-meaning mother trying to protect her family, while Ollie fought his desire to comfort his mother and finally gave in. In a week full of one dark development after another for Ollie, it was nice to see some ray of light creep back into his life. Though it seems he's merely traded one broken relationship for another, now that Thea knows the identity of her real father.
And finally, there was the big confrontation between Ollie and Isabel Rochev. Isabel has been one of those weird Season 2 characters with a tendency to vanish for long stretches of time and suddenly appear again when the plot demands it. Well, the plot demanded it this week. We finally learned what the deal is with Isabel and how she fits into the larger gameplan for Season 2. I can't say I was surprised to see her betray Ollie so dramatically, knowing how the character was handled in the comics. And it was pretty obvious once Ollie scribbled his note and ceded his CEO position that he was going to regret it. But I was never sure if the writers would elect to make Isabel a subordinate to someone like Slade or Ra's al Ghul or allow her to be her own villain. Frankly, I might have preferred the latter option, with Isabel being the major baddie of Season 3 or something. Regardless, it was really great to see Summer Glau step out of her shell and shift from Vulcan mode to someone with dark, seething emotion driving her. And the best part is, we still have much to learn about her exact relationship with Robert Queen.
Dammit, Ollie...
It may hurt to see our hero put through the wringer like this, but I was very satisfied with the struggles Ollie went through and the realizations he made by the end. He really has been his own worst enemy lately, charging blindly forward and never stopping to think that Slade may have planned for his every possible move already. Roy's anger at Team Arrow's fearless leader was more than justified. It was sad to see their relationship break apart and Roy leave the city. Hopefully he'll be back before the season is over. Even though we saw that Slade is capable of shrugging off one of Roy's Mirakuru-enhanced punches, Ollie is going to need at least one ally with super-strength to help finish the fight.
It was also interesting to see the Lance family suffer as much as they did this week. I mentioned in last week's review that I was surprised Quentin didn't face any professional consequences for aiding the Arrow and Black Canary in their fight against Huntress. I guess he got away scot-free there, but his ongoing relationship with the Arrow still became his undoing this week. And no matter how the war against Slade shakes out, this could be something that haunts Quentin for a long time to come. And then there's Laurel, who finally learned the truth about Ollie in the final scene. That will be interesting to follow up on, and it's that twist more than any other that makes the show's one-week hiatus already seem interminable.
One final point worth mentioning - now that Isabel finally came back into the fold in a big way, will we see Malcolm Merlyn show up again? It always seemed strange to cram that particular subplot into an already packed season and leave it dangling for months. But I wonder if Merlyn might emerge in these final weeks as an ally to Ollie. Thea is his daughter, after all, and she was just threatened by a crazy, one-eyed assassin. I've always assumed that, with all of Slade's methodical planning, it was going to be an X-factor like Roy that upset the balance and offered the key to victory. But maybe Malcolm will serve that function instead. I could think of far worse ways to cap off Season 2 than a team-up between archers against a mutual foe.
THE VERDICT
Some of the best superhero stories have come as heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil are put through a literal and metaphorical gauntlet by one of their greatest foes. "Deathstroke" was very much in the tradition of comics like Kraven's Last Hunt and Born Again. Ollie's prolonged suffering and Slade's vengeful crusade made for an hour of thrilling television and another high point for Season 2. We're close to the end now, and the show has the potential to get even better in these final weeks.
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