Review: Arrow "Muse of Fire"

This show has moved at a remarkable pace and considering some of the reveals that we have had only in a handful of episodes says a lot about where this season can go. We have already seen some major DC comic villains on the show such as Deathstroke, China White and Deadshot. Now on the seventh episode, the Huntress has been added to the list of rogues for Oliver Queen to deal with. His city is getting crowded, but by no means does that mean I am complaining. It is incredibly impressive how the show is treating all of these characters, minus China White' ridiculous wig, aside from that minor gripe all of these characters seem reasonable and fit within this world that they have created. Not only was the Huntress introduced in this episode, but a revelation came up on Merlyn. It is a surprising one at that, but more on that later.

The episode starts of simply and almost in a heartwarming kind of moment where we see Oliver picking up his mom from a business meeting. A motorcyclist turns a gun on the man that Moira had met with and shoots him dead. Moira isn't hurt which forces Oliver to set his sights on the shooter.His hunt leads him to the Bertinelli family which have ties to the mob, and inevitably the Triad. Oliver takes it upon himself to have a face to face with the head of the Bertinelli family, Frank. Oliver pretends to be interested in extending an olive branch to the Bertinelli family business which in turn would open up their nefarious schemes to Oliver allowing him to find out who exactly the shooter was. Frank is left to deal with another business meeting and in the process he leaves Helena, his daughter, to cozy up to Oliver and take him out for dinner. Neither Helena or Oliver are thrilled about the idea, but over time during their dinner the two begin to open up to one another and see a surprising side. Helena presses the issue of how Oliver felt on the island, if he ever felt free and misses it. When Oliver admits to it, the two seem to grow an attraction to one another. Of course, love doesn't come without a price however for our hero.

I've been critical in the past of Tommy Merlyn's character but after this episode, he has much more potential then I ever even imagined. I thought his character was unnecessary. It is very clear that he will someday become Merlyn the Magician, one of the biggest rivals to Green Arrow in the comics, but now with his father being revealed as the Well Dressed Man (John Barrowman) it is obvious they are going in a different direction. Mr. Merlyn has been running a lot in the background and seems to have had his part in sabotaging the Queen's yacht. Thus, it makes me believe the Merlyn family will be similar to the Osborn family from the Spiderman storyline. Mr. Merlyn will serve as a major villain for the time being while trying to bring his son to his side of thinking, but Tommy still has good things in his life (Laurel and his friendship to Ollie) but a death to his father here and maybe a death to Thea there then we could be faced with a brotherly type of rivalry between Ollie and Tommy.

Oliver and Helena quickly find out what each do with their spare time when Oliver goes to take out one of Frank's hit men, but is surprised when the motorcyclist comes in with the same agenda. The motorcyclist and Oliver get into a hand to hand fight, with Oliver getting the helmet off of the motorcyclist to see that it is Helena. She runs off, leaving Oliver befuddled. She quickly pieces together that he is the vigilante scouring the city as a modern aged Robin Hood and the two begin to work together despite their differences in opinion. Helena kills for revenge, Oliver kills when it is necessary. However, the two cannot dispute the attraction they have for one another. Oliver will take it upon himself to attempt to bring her to his side of thinking, as he sees something with her that he desperately wants. He wants to be able to share his mission with someone, he wants to be able to open up to someone more then he can to Diggle. However, I'd say us as viewers are not that naive to believe it will work out for him.

It was a strong episode and the Mr. Merlyn reveal was a terrific one. Although, Tommy's loss of trust funds was a bit overplayed it served a purpose of grounded him allowing Laurel to get closer to him. As for Helena, Jessica De Gouw did an okay job in the role. It doesn't help one bit that her chemistry with Stephen Amell fell short, especially in the final scene when the two kissed. She did however, fair well in the dinner scene with him. As I said in the previous review, Thea has impressed me. At first she seemed to be a bit of a brat, but now she has shown a softer side mixed with an intelligence beyond her years serving as Oliver's moral compass in a way much like Diggle is as well.