If you read my Arrow reviews throughout season one, you would know that I have been anxiously awaiting for Laurel Lance to become Black Canary. There were just so many little nods to the character throughout the entire season that it seemed inevitable.
Well, apparently not.
Filming of the second season of Arrow just started. Like yesterday. And already there is big news when it comes to casting and her name is Summer Glau. That’s right, the geek princess herself is coming to Starling City. With a show that has been drawing heavily from pretty much every other nerdy show out there – Battlestar Galatica, Doctor Who, more that I can’t remember right now – it feels like it was only a matter of time. Not only that but it appears as if I already believed that the character Glau is slated to play would someday appear on the show.
As you can clearly see, the name Isabel Rochev appears there below David Drayson. Waaaaaayyyy back towards the beginning of the season. I made note of this page when talking in this post about the upcoming episode with the Royal Flush Gang.
That’s right, Summer Glau has signed on in a “major role” in season two as Isabel Rochev, the Serbian businesswoman who is a bit off her rocker.
A fairly new character in the DC Universe, Isabel Rochev is a woman who once met Robert Queen, is starstruck by him and sets out to make her own life better using him as an example. Long story short (not too long it’s been less than five years), she sort of goes off the deep end. As she gets older she gathers up small companies and is able to in the long run own a controlling share of Queen Industries. Somehow in between the time of being a Serbian slave girl to actually taking over Queen Industries, she gets it in her head that she is actually the rightful heir to QI and that Robert Queen truly loves her.
Oh and most importantly? She wants Oliver out of the picture. For good.
Of course that’s the Isabel Rochev of the Star City. Isabel Rochev of Starling City, played by Glau, is the head of Stellmore International which is in the hunt to take over Queen Consolidated. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down. Moira is off to jail, Oliver is likely going to start the season off brooding over Tommy, and Thea? Who the hell knows what Thea will be doing. Seems about the right time for a ruthless business woman to step in and right the floundering ship.
As a matter of fact, Summer Glau will first appear as Isabel Rochev in the season two premiere of Arrow in October.
Executive producer Marc Guggenheim sat down with ComicBookResources to talk about Arrow season two. It’s a very interesting interview in terms of what they envision as the “trajectory” of Oliver, plus hints about who we might see from the DC universe in this upcoming season.
Continue reading Arrow: Season 2 – Marc Guggenheim Talks Possible Villains
So last week we left off with Oliver getting his ass handed to him by Malcolm Merlyn. ‘Sacrifice’ picks up shortly thereafter with Oliver semi-hanging from the rafters as Malcolm circles him in a threatening manner.
Ooooh, look at Oliver getting all bad ass, threatening Merlyn and all that. Of course, as Merlyn pointed out – he may be younger, and he may be stronger, but twice now Oliver has gotten his ass kicked by a man old enough to be his father. Hmmm, that doesn’t not bode well for your superhero career. Amazingly, he has better luck against a man who is surrounded by an army and surface to air missiles! Granted on the island he has both Shado (who, unsurprisingly, can reprogram the aforementioned surface to air missiles) and Slade Wilson, but still he took out Fyers’ entire army! Okay, okay, he used a missile but still! I feel like I’m trying to give Oliver a lot of credit here and perhaps I’m trying a bit too hard so let’s move on to the real story of this finale.
As we found out in past episodes, Malcolm plans on taking out the Glades with a “seismic event”. Of course no one but the people involved in the undertaking and the Arrow Crew know about it. Obviously, much like Oliver being the vigilante, this is a secret that just can’t stay secret.
Before Oliver and Laurel had a tender moment perfectly squared by the incoming sunlight, I couldn’t help but notice that Moira was packing up Walter’s things. NOOOOO!!!!! Say it isn’t so! I thought they’d work it out in the end but maybe next season? Please make this happen writers, even if she’s in jail. Oooh, Walter could come visit Moira and they could have heartfelt discussions through the glass. That’d be nice.
Oh, before we move on to the whole blowing up part of the city and the aftermath therein, let’s revel in this moment.
Not only has your ex-best friend lied to you about being a vigilante in a hood, stole your girlfriend, and just told you that your father is going to blow up part of your city, then he goes and makes you look like a fool by effortlessly dodging your punch.
That’s gotta hurt. Of course it doesn’t help that Tommy then heads off to talk to his dad, refer to Oliver’s ridiculous jihadist accusations only to then get his ass kicked by his dad who seems really unhinged this episode. Of course if I were planning on causing an earthquake to take down an entire part of a major city, I’d probably be a bit on edge as well.
Oh Malcolm, you troubled soul you. You need some psychological intervention. I’m not a professional but I’d have to imagine that constantly reliving your wife’s death by listening to her die over and over probably isn’t very healthy. Granted this makes for great television viewing but still, yikes.
So Malcolm is devolving and Moira is finally sprouting some cajones and speaking out about Malcolm’s plan. She couldn’t have done that before the timer was set to go off I suppose. Safety of her family and all that. But now she’s ready to take the risk and what better way to assure not only will the police, but the man hell-bent on killing anyone in his way will hear what you have to say? A press conference in your living room of course.
Again Thea and her ridiculousness never fail, because hearing her mother admit to being part of this plan and the reason her father died, the first thing she thinks of? Her felon boyfriend. Girls. Am I right? [Ed. – The fact that Thea assumes Roy is too dumb to leave the Glades along with EVERYONE else is telling. Stupid Thea.]
Dear residents of the Glades – I have a bone to pick with you. I’m not totally sure of the timeline here as it was a little vague, but at most there’s a couple of hours in between the announcement that your neighborhood is going to disappear into the ground and it actually happening. Call me crazy, but my first thought would not have been to bust out the posterboard and sharpies and make signs about the end of the world. Unless you just have these hanging around for a everyday use, this seems like a horrible waste of time. Perhaps if you managed your time more wisely you wouldn’t have to be running around in the streets like a chicken with your heads cut off. Just a thought.
The rest of the episode was cutbacks between the panicked people of the Glades, a pretty kick ass fight scene between Oliver and Malcolm, and Felicity talking Detective Lance through disarming the device. I actually loved Detective Lance in this part because you could tell he was panicked, you could tell he was nervous, but at the same time he was so giddy and pleased with himself when he shut it down. Paul Blackthorne really has done a great job as the crotchety detective trying to piece his life back together after his daughter died and wife left. He’s been a pleasure to watch which is why I got really nervous that he was going to go down with the ship.
I don’t know if the people at Arrow kept it under wraps or if I just missed the news, but I was totally taken by surprise by Tommy dying. When Oliver moved the chunk of concrete I gasped when I saw the rebar through his chest. Kudos to Stephen Amell and Colin Donnell because that last scene was very emotional and very well done.
Overall, this was a fantastic finale. I might go out on a limb and say it was one of the best season finales I’ve seen in quite some time. The cliffhangers were organic, the story line didn’t seem forced which happens a lot with big dramatic scenes. For a network that is often seen as “not as good”, Arrow and The CW knocked it out of the park. I’m going to have to go even further out on the limb and give it a five out of five.
A fantastic season finale to wrap up a great first season of Arrow! It’s been a great ride and I look forward to seeing what season two has in store.
Hold on to your hats friends because the Dark Archer is back and ready to blow up whatever he has to! Oh and killing whoever he has to as well.
That includes Brion Markov, aka Geo-Force in the comics. It seems in the Arrow universe his superpower is being a decent enough seismologist to get a job at Unidac Industries, but being unable to talk his way out of an arrow in his chest. You win some and you lose some I guess.
After last week’s discovery that Walter is actually alive (yay!!!), he’s returned home in ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ and oh boy you can cut the tension with a knife. For all of you relationship-challenged out there – if you go in for a kiss and it’s diverted to the last moment to the cheek… all is not well.
Damn them! I was really hoping they’d be able to sort it all out but of course once divorce papers enter the equation, things get a little dodgy. Before we go down that road though, let’s discuss the heartbreak that was the island this week.
So two weeks ago there was the whole “Yao Fei once again leads Fyers to Oliver and Co.” in which my love affair was declared as officially over. Well now we finally get to find out what Fyers’ plan is and oh boy is it a doozie. We already knew that Yao Fei was going to be the scapegoat for whatever Fyers had planned but I myself had no idea has to how in-depth his evil scheme would be. Destabilizing the Chinese economy by taking out a commercial airliner (note: I do believe the “I really need your help” guy was saying Ferris Air which would be a shoutout to the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern universe) with SAMs? Having a member of the Chinese military claim responsibility for it due to being sent to an island as punishment? It’s sort of genius.
Then this happened. WHY?!?!?! I know Yao Fei and I have had our differences but was it necessary to shoot him in the head? As much as I’d like to believe he’ll bounce back from this, Deadshot did survive an arrow to the eye, a bullet to the brain is a bit of a different story. Let’s all pause in a moment of silence for the man who saved Oliver’s life, a couple of times.
Okay back to the main story. If Oliver and Laurel getting together means that this whole love triangle thing is over, then I’m all for it. However, I imagine it’s just going to lead to more “Sad Tommy” moments and blah that’s getting old.
Much like the lesson up above about the denied kiss, this seems like common sense but seriously, I know it’s easy to get caught up in the moment but perhaps it’s best to make sure the curtains are shut before you get freaky with your ex while your other ex is standing outside. Or, you know, strangers walking down the street. Anyone really. Again, I would have thought this was everyday knowledge but it appears as if I’m wrong.
At the very least maybe now they can move the story along past this “she loves you, no she loves you, but you love her, you love her more, I can’t love her…” crap. Fingers crossed!
Even though Thea annoys the ever-loving crap out of me, I can’t help but root for her and Roy’s Nancy Drew routine. Although I do have to laugh at the stalking of a crime scene in a stolen car, with a stolen camera. Oh that Roy Harper, what a smart boy he is! Now that Oliver has laid down the law about them looking for the vigilante, it’s only a matter of time before they do… perhaps the cliffhanger? Next week we’ll find out!
Of course the best parts of the episode had all to do with “The Undertaking”.
Let’s give Moira some credit here – how on earth she’s still somewhat sane is beyond me. One husband is dead, another husband is kidnapped only to return and ask for a divorce, she’s been “approached” by the vigilante now twice, the second time involving a tranq dart, her family has been under constant threat for years and she’s had to keep a rather large and awful secret for years. If that were me? I’d be seeking out a room with padded walls post-haste. Rather she just keeps on keeping on and that’s impressive.
Also impressive? The Arrow Crew’s plan for breaking into Merlyn Global. Although I do have to wonder, what kind of fast food place delivers? Granted I live a bit in the sticks but I’ve never heard of McDonald’s delivery. However, Big Belly Burger does deliver and thank the gods for that otherwise how on earth would they have delivered the drugged hamburger?
Of course the Olicity shippers might have died a slow death at the Oliver and Laurel make out session, but you know they all have this image seared into their brains. Give it up guys, it’s not going to happen!! Oh well, at least it led to this which was pretty kick ass.
That looks like so much fun! Of course I would have pissed myself but still, fun. Thankfully this was followed by a scene full of brooding whiny Tommy and then nosy Thea so my heart rate was able to slow down before the awesome fight scene between John Barrowman and Stephen Amell. I will say this – the quality of the fight scenes seem to have gotten better as the season has progressed which is a major plus.
So now there are two people in the show (the other being Huntress) who can catch arrows? This does not bode well for Oliver, at all. Plus the fact he got his ass kicked (again) by a man old enough to be his father. Oliver, you need to go ahead and start doing more shirtless hand to hand combat with Diggle to work on this. Let’s make that a priority next season okay?
Of course we don’t know what next season will hold as far as actual combat between these two because…
Now Malcolm knows it’s Oliver!!!!! OMG what does this mean?!?!?! Where do we go from here????? More punctuation needed!!!!
Seriously, loved this episode. Even though Yao Fei is dead (sob), so much action and so much story progression. Although if it had been me, this would have been the season finale and I’m having a hard time seeing what kind of cliffhanger they are going to leave next week. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Going to have to go with 4.5 out of 5 because it was that good.
Season finale next week -see you then Arrow fans!
WALTER!!!!!!
Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system… what an episode. No island,but we did get a pretty good look at life before the island and finally get to hear what “the undertaking” is.
So Malcolm wants to level the Glades. In a very Outbreak move, he’s planning on doing so with everyone still there. I think we can all agree, great plan! Who on earth wouldn’t go along with this genius? Enter the wet towel aka, Robert Queen. come on Robert. You don’t want to obliterate an entire neighborhood and it’s inhabitants? Well, spoiler alert… perhaps you shouldn’t take the Queen’s Gambit to China. Just a thought. It is nice to finally have a reason behind the list. First it was penance for Robert’s killing of the briber, now it’s vengeance for Robert’s death. Seems rather poetic.
Speaking of Queen’s Gambit- oh boy Oliver was even more of a sleazebag than previously thought. It’s one thing to sneak off with your girlfriend’s sister but to do so right after agreeing to move in with the girlfriend? Oh and to put a cherry on that douchebag sundae, yes please call the sister and tell her to take a lap while you say goodbye to your girlfriend.
Last week, Diggle finally got (rightfully so, in my humble opinion) tired of Oliver’s crap and left and now this week poor Felicity is the child of divorce trying to get her parents to get back together. Poor Felicity, stuck in the middle. If she ends up going to summer camp and finding her long lost twin, I might have to call bullshit on this whole story line but for now, it’s still good.
Of course being the somewhat meddlesome chick that she is (women in general seem to have this problem of not letting things go), she heads on over to Diggle’s house. How on Earth she doesn’t just smack him and tell him to go work it out with his boyfriend, I do not know. She is a stronger woman than I because that’s pretty much what I was screaming at the TV.
You have to feel for Felicity though – here she is, used to just being behind the computer outside of the one time she ended up with a bomb around her neck and now she ends up at the casino and of course her cover is blown. Perhaps it’s time that Oliver realize that Felicity is not the best in the field. Call me crazy, just a thought. Although had she not gone into the casino, we would have missed out on the most awkward exchange ever. I love those moments where you say something, realize it sounds pervy, try to fix it, make it worse and then just give up. Of course she did have a modicum of success in the casino but it did lead to me thinking Walter was dead which is just awful. How could they do that to him? Malcolm promised Moira he’d be okay! WHY?!?!
But wait! He might be in Bludhaven (!!!!) so let’s go check it out Oliver!
Of course Oliver knows how to parachute out of an airplane onto a small roof. To suggest otherwise is just ridiculous. Of course his incredible aerial prowess led to perhaps my favorite moment of this week. Walter returns!!!
After so long of them not even mentioning it, I was pretty certain that we were never going to see Walter again. Very “out of sight, out of mind” but Walter has been on my mind since he took that syringe to the neck. But alas, he has returned and all is right with the world again. Yay Walter!
Moira and Walter have been reunited so it seems like a good time for Laurel and Tommy (who is apparently feeling right at home at his father’s company) to hit the skids for real. I didn’t really think Tommy would say anything about Oliver to Laurel but then again I didn’t think he’d go off crying little a whiny baby after finding out Oliver’s secret either so apparently I’m clueless when it comes to Tommy. I also never thought I’d feel badly for Laurel, because she’s annoying, but she’s having a rough first season. Dead cheating boyfriend comes back to life, assaulted a couple of times in her own home, Mom gets hopes up about alive sister, hopes dashed, promising new relationship, broken up with, non-dead cheating boyfriend tells her he loves her… that’s a lot to process in 21 episodes. Perhaps she should just put on some fishnets and hit the town.
Of course the most important relationship in the show has been righted – that’s right, Oliver and Diggle have buried the hatchet and just in time because this box is on its way to Starling City and nothing good can come of it.
Overall, a great episode. I loved finally hearing what the undertaking actually is, appreciated them further explaining the list, and really like that Walter is back. I’m very much looking forward to the new few episodes and seeing how they wrap up this first season. For ‘The Undertaking’ , I’m going to have to go with a four out of five.
Had a certain Ted Kord actually been a part of this episode as opposed to just mentioned in passing, this would have easily been the best episode of the season because let’s face it, Blue Bettle joining Arrow would be pretty kick ass.
Until next time Arrow fans!
Grizzly Bomb 