Arrow: "Time of Death" Review

It was a sad few weeks without Arrow on television and sadly as it came back it didn't do much to advance the overarching storyline but it did a great job in dealing with drama with in the Queen and Lance families. Laurel has been largely an enigma this season, she'd have a few moments where she actually endears herself to the audience only to quickly take that away by being a mean drunk or just a bitter woman. Granted, Laurel's anger towards Sara is justified but when her go to trait in this season has been anger, it does not do a good job of making her a likable character. It was nice to see her bury the hatchet with Sara, but I would not be surprised to see Laurel pick up said hatchet and use it against her sister once again. As for the drama within the Queen estate, Oliver still is furious with Moira, and justifiably so and Thea is picking up on it. I expect this thread to be expanded on next week as the Queen's had a very unexpected guest at the end of the episode.

This episode also did a good job of introducing a new villain into the show that has already a long list of villains. The Clock King however proved to be more of a nemesis to Felicity then that of Oliver as despite his genius, in a fight he wouldn't stand a chance at all against Oliver. It was a bit terrifying to see him in a battle of wits against Felicity, and even more so because we have never seen her challenged. She has always been safe tucked away in the "Arrow Cave" and it was nice that the Clock King reminded her that although she is underground where there are no windows for the people outside cannot see her, it does not mean she cannot be harmed. All of this connected really well with the fact that Felicity no longer was feeling like a part of the group. The feeling of isolation on her part was inevitable with Sara's inclusion into the group as well as her relationship with Oliver. The show may not make Oliver and Felicity get together but the two do have a very close friendship and it is understandable for her to feel left out, especially when they can go out and play superhero together.

Another aspect that worked really well in this episode was that of the scene at the Lance's where they all had dinner. Of course, in natural jealous and bitter Laurel fashion she blew up but Quentin had enough of it. Laurel turned the tables on him comparing him to Oliver for how quickly he had taken back Dinah. Dinah had left Quentin, but once she magically resurface (in a very odd and random way might I add), then the two were thick as thieves. Again, Laurel's frustrations are understandable but in the way that she attacks people and is constantly complaining, it does not endear the audience to her. However, after she left the dinner table and Oliver followed her is when the scene really picked up. Oliver has been very quiet up until this point and it was nice to see him finally talk to her about how she was acting. Stephen Amell has really done a terrific job as the stoic hero but it was in this scene as he hinted at the internal anguish he had been going through that was really impressive.

Oliver's talk with Laurel apparently hit home with her, thankfully, as she quickly looked to apologize to her sister. Now, I just hope this sticks and Laurel does not go off the wagon again as she truly has been the most annoying part of this season. Frequently her scenes have the tendency to bog down the momentum of an episode. Aside from that, this was another good episode in a season that has really progressed nicely. It was also nice to see another good villain of the week, which is usually another weakness of the show. The villain of the week formula is usually portrayed very poorly and is essentially a thrown away character, yet Robert Knepper portrayed the Clock King perfectly. He carried all the right personality traits to demonstrate his genius but also his psychosis. He showed enough craziness while not being campy like The Vertigo was. I would not be surprised if he makes a return at some point just to raise a little hell for "Team Arrow". The big reveal of the episode was in the final moments as Oliver returned home, thanks to some tricky text messaging by Thea to get Oliver and Moira talking again, but to Oliver's shock Slade Wilson was sitting on his couch. This is a moment that fans had been looking forward to and I am sure that it will be the driving force of next week's episode.