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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Wednesday, 05 June 2013 08:56 |
By John Keegan
I love it when a season finale seems to be bringing the story arc to the predictable conclusion, and things take a surprising turn. In this case, I was expecting Oliver and Malcolm Merlyn to fight to the death, while Oliver’s allies prevented “The Undertaking”. And for a while, that’s what seemed like would happen. And then I was pleasantly surprised.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 09 May 2013 11:12 |
By John Keegan
Various events and relationships are coming to a head in this episode, and darkness is creeping into each and every character’s life. It’s the preamble to the season finale, and there’s nothing better than seeing how assumptions and arrogance mix to make a touchy situation so much worse. Oliver is about to find out that ending the mission is not nearly as simple as he thinks.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 02 May 2013 11:46 |
By John Keegan
Kicking things up a notch as the season arc rushes towards its conclusion, Arrow delivers resolution for a number of lingering mysteries while eschewing flashbacks to the island for flashbacks to the days leading up to the fateful voyage that led to Robert Queen’s death and Oliver’s experience on Purgatory. It’s effectively the origin of “The Undertaking”, and while there are few surprises regarding those origins, it still manages to whet the appetite for the main event.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 04 April 2013 15:26 |
By John Keegan
The past few episodes have focused on circumstances that will force Oliver to reconsider his tactics, but it’s not going to be a short road from his current vigilante style to something more heroic. While the previous two episodes were all about how easily one can step over the line, this scenario introduced a situation where being merciful can have unexpected consequences.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 28 March 2013 10:27 |
By John Keegan
Rather quickly, the first season of Arrow is drawing towards its conclusion, and that means the pieces of the “undertaking” will be falling into place. Not only that, but a lot of chickens will be coming home to roost. Oliver gets a glimpse of what his example has wrought within The Glades, which leads him to a connection between the list and The Glades that he hadn’t quite put together yet.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 21 March 2013 11:32 |
By John Keegan
The title of the episode doesn’t leave much to the imagination, so it’s on the writers to make sure that events have the necessary impact to overcome assumptions. For the most part, I think the writers did exactly what they needed to do. Helena has fallen into some dark territory, and this latest encounter with Oliver may be the first step in getting a new perspective. The fallout, however, is more substantial than I was expecting, even if it makes sense in the long run.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 14 February 2013 09:47 |
By John Keegan
For the past few episodes, many fans have felt that the strongest elements of the story were related to Oliver’s flashbacks to his time on the island. Perhaps the writers were well aware of how things were progressing, because this episode feels like a culmination of that process. Oliver has been in a less effective mode since his encounter with Merlyn and Vertigo, and there have been some major developments in his worldview. It makes sense, then, that this latest wound would divert his unconscious mind to a pivotal moment on the island.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 13 December 2012 11:05 |
By John Keegan
Ever since the beginning of the season, there has been a sense that John Barrowman’s character was waiting for the right moment to strike. Even as relatively grounded as “Arrow” can be, given the emphasis on human relationships, Barrowman manages to exude the characteristics of a melodramatic villain without going completely over the top. Instead of being silly, it comes across as supreme confidence.
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Television
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Written by John Keegan
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Thursday, 06 December 2012 11:53 |
By John Keegan
After the previous episode, I felt that the writers were setting things up for a relationship between Oliver and Helena that would evolve over a few episodes, until Oliver came to the realization that Helena was too consumed with her hatred to be redeemed. It was a logical way to approach Oliver’s own issues with his mission of vengeance, and the writers have been very smart about the slow but steady evolution of Oliver’s heroism.
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