Arrow: ‘Left Behind’ Review

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Published on Wednesday, January 21 2015 22:47

Written by Chubtoad

No matter how hard it is for them to accept, Ollie seems lost and the gang has been left behind to continue protecting the city the Arrow swore to defend.

Here is my review:

We left off at the fall finale with Oliver defeated by Ra’s al Ghul and fallen into a ravine left for dead.  We now return to the second half of the season with ‘Left Behind’.  We immediately get into action with a butt kicking, badass stunt driving sequence!  This is Arrow at its best!  We get outgunned cops chasing after a panel van with bullets flying.  Roy rips one guy out the back of the van as Diggle plays bow and arrow like my nephew with his plastic toy set from Walmart. 

The fact that Starling City’s vigilante has been gone for only three days and the cops are already outmatched and their legal system remains a joke is sad.  What did this city do before the Arrow?  We do not get much of Ollie in present day except for his body being taken by his old friend in an attempt to save him.  This is not a bad thing.  This allowed the writers to showcase other characters and push them forward.  This is especially the case with Felicity.

Felicity and Merlyn are the two supporting characters that are most at the forefront this episode.  Felicity is pretty much running the show.  For Felicity to literally go head to head in a verbal sparring match with Malcolm Merlyn makes her look badass and quite a bit sexier than usual.

Now facing the real possibility that Oliver is dead, Felicity goes into a depressed mourning state.  She has a hard time concentrating and when Ray Palmer insists he is going forward with his armored vigilante idea Felicity loses it on him.  I am really beginning to like the chemistry between these two.  They have a good friendship and they have no problem drawing and sticking to boundaries.

This episode is balanced well between the drama and action.  Brick seems like a cliché villain, but delivers none the less.  In the comics he has impenetrable skin.  They don’t mention that in the episode, but I wonder if that is reason behind his deal with the gun and his unarmed trick to his fights?  And now Laurel is the Black Canary.  I am torn between rolling my eyes at this and my eyes popping out of my face at her in those leather pants.  But I digress…  We get a more or less blasé scene between Roy and Thea followed by her asking Roy to consult the Arrow on what might have happened to her brother.

Flashbacks to the Island were easily dismissible at first, but the fact that it shows Maseo alive and sets up why he saves Oliver makes it worth it.  So Ollie has returned and Maseo pays his life debt.  I really hoped for a Lazarus pit, but this will do just the same.

All in all, this was a solid return to the back half of the season.  The action was great and intense.  I really enjoyed this episode.  I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.