Arrow: There Will Be More Blood

         The CW has had a lot of good shows, especially lately. Although one of its most popular programs is The Vampire Diaries, the network has added a few new fan favorites to make it one of the most highly viewed among networks. One of them being the super hero arc Arrow.

Oliver sees Shado's Ghost

          Arrow is kind of a replacement for Smallville, a show placed in the TV Hall of Fame and cult classic. I liken Arrow to an edgier yet lighter Batman, another DC super hero. Last night, the show had it's mid season finale and the last scene was perhaps the most shocking!

No scene is complete without Arrow showing some muscle

         Oliver hallucinates ghosts from his past and we see that one of them is actually still alive and bent on revenge. Manu Bennett was signed as a regular on the show (if you have Premium Channels you may remember him as Crixus from Spartacus). We all thought Sebastian Blood, the psycho corrupt now aspiring mayor, was the good guy but then he turned out to be the bad guy but not really he's only a puppet for the real antagonist Slade Wilson, Oliver's old survival buddy. Wow! My neck hurts from that twist!

Arrow meet Flash

          On another note, I suppose comic book geeks appreciated the introduction to the DC hero the Flash. At the end of the episode we got to see how Barry got his super fast powers. I actually was glad Felicity didn't pick Barry though. They were cute as two nerds flirting, but Barry still looks like he's in high school (as Oliver jokes). The growing chemistry between Oliver and Felicity I find intriguing. The million dollar hottie who's also a super hero paired with the geeky yet super smart secretary/ side kick? Sign me up for that! I think Oliver is a little over Laurel as a romantic interest given that she believes it would dishonor Tommy's memory. 

Every hero needs a hot blond side kick.        

Beauty & the Geek

          Speaking of Laurel, she seems to be doing better. At the beginning of season 2, I'll be honest, Laurel was a real bitch. Understandably she was feeling guilty about Tommy's death and survivor's guilt clouded her judgement on the Vigilante being the cause of so many deaths, but she just really irked me. Then she became more sympathetic after her close encounter with death and becoming a life-sized Lawyer Barbie doll. She then started suffering from PTSD, turning to alcohol and drugs for comfort. Then there were those trial episodes where Laurel was prosecuting Oliver's mother. But now I think she's found her footing again. Unfortunately she found her footing with Sebastian Blood who's leading a "Nazi-Crusade" of making the perfect soldier.

Arrow takes on Goliath

          Moira Queen's bomb drop about Thea being Malcolm Merlin's daughter… Oh and Malcolm being alive was perhaps a bomb most didn't see coming! Some sociopaths just won't die, will they? Yet after Moira admitted to having a one night stand with Merlin I kind of expected it to happen. What concerned me the most was that in Season 1, Thea wanted to make out with her other older brother. Ewwww! I didn't expect Moira to tell Thea the whole truth anyway when Merlin came back to take Thea away. Moira's a tough mama given what she's been through. She even did a big name drop to scare Merlin off: Ra's al Ghul who we all remember as being Batman's mentor if you haven't seen the David Nolan film Batman Begins. 

Roy is in a bind.

          Now onto Roy Harper, the Green Arrow's acolyte. Roy is wounded by Green Arrow both literally and figuratively. As Felicity said, "Never meet your heroes." Oliver didn't want Roy to get hurt by digging deeper into the Mirakuru serum, but Roy being a passionate crime fighter, he wasn't about to back down. But curiosity may kill this cat, at least for a few minutes until Oliver comes to save the day. Roy manages to survive the Mirakuru injection but that leaves a question up to speculation on how Roy will handle his new found strength and how it will affect him psychologically. Looks like we may be in for a Roy-d Rage next year.

Arrow breaks more windows than baseballs

A booster shot that will hurt you more than help you.

         Now back to the past on the island. I'm guessing these flashbacks are still taking place within a year of Oliver's arrival on the island. That's where he first came into contact with the Mirakuru serum and the mad scientist Ivo who wants to mass produce it. Oliver and the two ladies he's known romantically (what every guy dreams of is being stranded on an island with two lovely ladies) are trying to save Oliver's brother in arms, Slade Wilson. In season 1, Slade and Oliver were getting along pretty well. They had to rely on each other for survival but a woman comes between them. A woman by the name of Shado who was the daughter of the man who saved Oliver's life and first taught him how to survive. He wears the hood to honor Shado's father. 

Another villain is born.

         It was clear that Slade was in love with Shado but she was in love with Oliver. Even though they had a fight, I believe Shado still didn't see Slade in a romantic light. Oliver does everything he can to save Slade's life, even injecting Slade with the Mirakuru serum. We all thought he died but he wakes up too late to save Shado's life. Ivo made Oliver choose between Sara and Shado. Oliver chose Sara. When Slade finally wakes up to save them, Sara covers for Oliver saying that Ivo shot Shado for no reason. Nice save as Slade is now the negative Captain America who swears vengeance on the person responsible for Shado's death.

Three of Starlings' Darlings

Lance has a gut feeling about this lead.

        We saw that Slade had one eye and Oliver said he killed someone who was injected with the Mirakuru before. So it's safe to say that Oliver shot Slade in the eye. What we didn't expect was that Slade's blood was being used to make the new Mirakuru serum. He wants revenge against Oliver and his monologue at the end gave all of us chills (Emily Thorn from Revenge would be swooning). 

He buys his eye patches the same place as Nick Fury.

        That episode ended with a shocking "to be continued" hanger. Next year promises to get even more bloody.