Arrow
Season 4 Episode 4: “Beyond Redemption”
Directed by Lexi Alexander
Written by Beth Schwartz, Ben Sokolowski
Created by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg
Starring Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Emily Bett Rickards, John Barrowman, Paul Blackthorne
The CW
Air Date: Wednesday, October 28th, 2015, 8:00pm

Last week on Arrow, Thea and Laurel (Willa Holland and Katie Cassidy) go to Nanda Parbat to get Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), the new Ra’s al Ghul, to restore Sara (Caity Lotz) via the Lazarus Pit. Thea also wants to cure the beast inside her. At first Merlyn says no to the pit, and lies to Thea about helping her. Once he tricks her into killing to slake the bloodlust, she is so furious, he agrees to resurrect Sara. Because of all this, Nyssa (Katrina Law) destroys The Lazarus Pit. That was wise. Sara comes out of the Pit, a wild animal, bent on destroying Thea (her killer). That’s a tidy reason why she will need to leave to join Legends of Tomorrow. Diggle and Oliver (David Ramsey and Stephen Amell) squash their issues, Diggle finally admitting his secret 2-year investigation. Felicity was so pro team, I thought surely someone was going to be in critical condition by the end of the episode. Thank goodness, no one was. A killer-by-playing-card meta ran around town, and was the means by which newcomer Holt (Echo Kellum) finds out about her other job (but not about Oliver’s identity… yet).

Spoilers below.

Arrow 4.4 “Beyond Redemption” review: Laurel goes right to her dad to show him Sara. Smart girl. She almost lost him over a Sara lie. He is understandably agonizing over this, so much so that he goes to Damian Darhk (Neal McDonough) for advice. Darhk tells him to “put her down.” And he almost does. Darhk seems almost good. I love when a bad guy does redemption well, as McDonough does. Oliver spies this budding bromance.

Blackthorne throws his all in the scenes with Lotz and Cassidy (okay, all his scenes). This is a shining episode for his talents. He made me feels his desperation, in what he feels he has to do to his little girl.

Oliver announces his intention to run for mayor, using Sebastian Blood’s old place. Hey… it comes complete with secret lair, upgraded by Palmer Tech. His superhero team is less than enthused, but come around right after the point he decides not to run. The coolest aspect of this is his speech. It sounds pretty familiar – “Five years ago…”

I was not too happy with the corrupt cops story. I felt like the glance between Lance and Rutina Westley‘s cop in the first shoot-out was telling. However, all will be forgiven if Westley becomes a regular.

“You’re a corrupt cop stealing drugs?”
“Yes, You’re a corrupt cop working with vigilantes?”

There are still flashbacks, but I’m still confused about the endgame at Lian Yu. Stay tuned.

Felicity is frustrating me with her intentional not realizing Ray (Brandon Routh) is communicating with her. Props to Holt for properly voicing how people feel when their loved one dies. You really do see any new pic, video, or audio of that person as a gift, almost as if you get to spend a little time with them once more. I know it is still painful, especially that kind of moment, but it is still a gift.

I’m liking the fast pace of Arrow. No long secrets, no long drawn out almost discoveries.

Next week, John Constantine! Can Matt Ryan be a series regular, please?

Arrow airs Wednesday nights at 8pm ET on The CW.

The CW’s synopsis:

Arrow
Beyond Redemption (Ep# 405)
LAUREL DEALS WITH THE AFTERMATH OF NANDA PARBAT — Laurel (Katie Cassidy) must deal with the repercussions of taking Sara (guest star Caity Lotz) to Nanda Parbat. Meanwhile, Oliver (Stephen Amell) asks Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne) for a favor and while he’s not surprised at the response, he is surprised at what he finds out next. Lexi Alexander directed the episode written by Beth Schwartz & Ben Sokolowski (#405). Original airdate 10/28/2015.

Video

Arrow | Inside: Beyond Redemption | The CW

It will take more than the Lazarus Pit to save Sara on tonight’s new Arrow at 8/7c!