1.9 Year’s End There aren’t as many revelations in this episode as I predicted, however, so it looks as if the show is holding onto its cards for a few more months. A mysterious dark archer is running riot in Starling City under Oliver’s confused nose, tracking down and killing those on his list that The Hood had already dealt with. We know he’s a skilled archer, and he gives Oliver a good kicking near the end of the episode, but I wasn’t expecting the final reveal of his identity. It’s intriguing, sure, but I thought I had sussed him out as someone from the island. Speaking of which, we do get some flashbacks this week, though they don’t cover much ground. I said in my earlier reviews that I didn’t know how long they could stretch five years out into interesting flashback sequences, but the show has been clever in picking and choosing which episodes to include them in. I wasn’t sure the scenes were needed here, but we do find out some interesting information about the island itself. Apparently it used to be a Chinese prison built for the most dangerous of criminals, and the guys who had tortured Oliver were actually sent there to clean up the mess. Moira gets a lot more to do here, though, as we learn a tiny bit more about her involvement with Merlyn Sr. and the ‘organisation’. She’s not happy about or proud of her involvement, for one, and sees her relationship with Walter as her “salvation” from the horrible things she may or may not have done. She only organised Oliver’s capture in episode one to prove to her fellow baddies that he didn’t know anything, and pressure is mounting on her as more and more people learn of the list. It’s now obvious that Oliver’s father didn’t compile the names himself, so whose orders is he following? Barrowman was under the black hood, and he’s more than a match for Oliver by the looks of things. Putting him in the hospital isn’t something just anyone could do, and I’m sure it won’t be long before they face off again. He’s obviously being set up as the main villain of the season (if not the series) and, if rumours are correct, his son might join him on the dark side at some point. This means the increasingly dull love triangle might get a little more exciting, but right now I’m happy for Laurel to be with Tommy. His gesture to her and her father was sweet, and Ollie has bigger things on his mind that romance. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Vendetta, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
