Not Enough: Arrow 6x05 Review (Deathstroke Returns)
I am going to be honest. I have a lot of Slade Wilson issues. So, I wasn't particularly jazzed for "Deathstroke Returns." Some of my issues are addressed, but most are not. Oliver’s reaction to Slade in particular made this a difficult episode for me to enjoy. Also, most of the twists weren’t very twisty. We could see them coming.
Let's dig in...
Oliver & Slade (and Olicity)
Slade Wilson is one of the best Arrow villains. It's just fact. I appreciate Arrow is striving to differentiate Slade from Adrian Chase by blaming 95% of his S2 actions on the mirakuru. Slade was crazy because of the drugs. Chase was crazy because he was the epitome of all evil.
Even though I'm not entirely comfortable with the "blame it on the drugs" explanation, I was willing to roll with it. And then... 5x23 happened. It's obvious Arrow is embarking on some kind of redemption like arc with Slade Wilson. That's all fine well and good. It's probably where the character needs to go, especially if the drugs are out of his system.
The bargain Oliver and Slade made in 5x23 was information about Joe in exchange for Slade helping save William. Here's my hang up - I don't think Slade held up his end of the bargain. What did he actually do that saved Oliver's son? He pretended to be evil to trick Boomerang, Talia and Evelyn so Oliver could flip Evelyn like a rag doll.
Not a horribly impressive move considering she weighs about 90 pounds soaking wet.
But sure, he helped free Oliver's friends. Plus 20 points.
Then Slade pretended to be evil to trick Black Siren, so she'd take Oliver to the hostages and he could slip Dinah that collar thingy that freed them. Again, I haven't been blown away with BS evil mastermind skills, but sure.
He helped free Oliver's friends. Plus 20 points.
Slade kicked some ass (along with every other team member). Plus 10 points. He also gave some incredibly sage advice five years in the making. Plus 50 points.
However, when push came to shove and Oliver really NEEDED Slade to help - he abandoned them all to die. WTF? Minus 500 points.
By the way that includes WILLIAM. Nobody knew William was with Oliver. It's why Samantha went running into the woods in the first place - to look for her son. Oliver was busy facing off with Chase. For all Slade knew, William was in those woods just like Samantha (and the rest of the team) believed. Instead of staying and trying to help save Oliver's son (and every single person he cares about in the world) LIKE HE PROMISED, Slade chose to save his own skin. It was Oliver who found William. It was Oliver who saved William. The dude is dressed head to toe in KEVLAR and instead three unarmed women, without any protective gear, ran towards 250 bombs to look for a little boy.
Slade wasn't under the effects of the mirakuru. He was just selfish. He was a coward.
This is the kick start to his redemption arc? Am I being too hard on Slade? No. I'm not.
Slade put a sword through Moira's frigging heart y'all. Her murder scene is the most disturbing death on Arrow.
Slade Wilson has a lot of work to do before he EARNS (yes earns) Oliver's help. He didn't even come close on Lian Yu.
And you know what? That's not the Slade Wilson I remember from Season 1 and Season 2. The Slade Wilson who was Oliver's friend would have stayed to help. So what is Arrow trying to say? The mirakuru left Slade permanently dark and twisty? He is a monster only when he chooses not be? WHAT?
There's playing with the grey zone and then there's just sloppy. Slade abandoning the team was unnecessary particularly if Oliver wasn't going to address it in any real way.
Which is exactly what happened tonight. Slade's son Joe works for Australian Intelligence. Long story short, Joe was at the wrong place and the wrong time and is now serving a life sentence in Kasnia. Slade doesn't need the Green Arrow. He needs Oliver Queen. He wants Oliver to wear a suit, play diplomat and hand over a suitcase of cash to buy his son out of prison.
Oliver primarily hems and haws over helping Slade because of the promise he made to William. I mean, yeah that, but also HE LEFT YOUR FRIENDS TO DIE!!!! ONE OF THEM DID DIE!!! ONE OF THEM IS IN A COMA OLIVER!!!! ALSO SLADE KILLED YOUR MOTHER. YOU COULD SET THE BAR A LITTLE HIGHER HERE FELLA!!!!!
It's actually Felicity who convinces Oliver to go.
Yup, you read that right.
Source: oliverxfelicity
Oliver is so me in this conversation.
I get that Felicity is looking beyond Slade to Joe. From her perspective, Oliver is helping an innocent man. It's not about Slade Wilson. It's not fair to punish the son for the father's sins. Pretty much the theme of the show. I'm with Felicity on her thinking here and God bless this human personification of rainbows for taking the higher road.
It's just.... SLADE HELD A SWORD TO HER THROAT. HE LEFT FELICITY FOR DEAD.
I know Arrow relies heavily on Felicity to sell storylines, but this particular conversation felt like a stretch. Yes, even though it's Felicity. Perhaps it's my own Slade anger transference and I'll own that.
I would have been perfectly okay with Felicity saying, "Tell Slade to go screw himself. Let's pack for Aruba baby."
Source:westallenolicitygifs
This is why I am not a hero. I am really okay with that though.
That's also not the character and I understand that. The advice probably carries more weight with Oliver (and is the very definition of selfless) because it does come from Felicity. If there's anyone who Oliver needs the okay from to go - it's her. He also needs the okay from Thea, but she's in a friggin coma. Thanks for nothing Slade.
Thus, Oliver boards the plane with Slade and hijinks ensue. I'm just gonna give you the run down because the level of predictability in "Deathstroke Returns" is incredibly high.
When Oliver arrives at the prison he's told Joe is dead. Joe is not dead.
Slade's "friend" Nylander is not his friend. He works from The Jackals - group that "kidnaps" Joe from the prison.
Joe was not kidnapped from prison. He is the leader of The Jackals.
DUN DUNN DUNN!!!! This revelations were shocking to absolutely no one.
Slade does keep to one of the bargains he made with Oliver. He refuses to let Oliver "suit up" in any way. When Oliver insists on helping rescue Joe from the Jackals, Slade drugs him. HA! Classic. I’m slightly less crabby with you Wilson, but only slightly.
He even leaves Oliver a little glass of water for when he wakes up. See? Slade is good! REDEMPTION ARC COMPLETE.
That's not to say Slade doesn't exhibit some guilt - just not over abandoning everyone on Lian Yu. Initially, Slade has no intention of seeing Joe once he's freed from prison. Slade doesn't believe he has a right to.
"I gave up my right to be his father when I stepped out of the light into the shadows and became this monster."
Oliver argues Slade isn't Deathstroke anymore. He thinks Slade is the man he was before. And THIS is where I have the problem.
This is Oliver blatantly ignoring what Slade did on Lian Yu. I honestly cannot fathom why. This is one of the most frustrating things about Arrow. They often ignore their own canon for the sake of driving the plot forward. It creates massive plot holes and makes the behavior of your lead character inexplicable.
Except, these issues are totally unavoidable. If the goal is to redeem Slade Wilson THEN REDEEM HIM. Use 5x23 to really kick off the arc that will complete in 6x05 and 6x06. Abandoning everyone on the island was completely unnecessary. Particularly if it wasn't going to hold any real consequences for Slade and Oliver's relationship.
Oliver not even broaching the subject with Slade is infuriating. What's more it makes Oliver's attitude towards him, and blind trust, completely baffling. Oliver is all in on "it was the drugs" to explain away Slade's behavior, but that doesn't apply to what happened on Lian Yu. Yet, Oliver is standing here arguing Slade is a changed man.
Source: felicitysmoakgifs
Me neither Felicity. There's a difference between being honorable and being a pansy. Oliver, you are being the latter.
Arrow has a habit of telling rather than showing. If you are going to write a redemption arc we need to see the change. Not be told there is change. The man Arrow is telling us Slade is isn't jiving with the Slade Wilson we see. You can play with the grey areas of the character without making him a despicable person. I'm not really interested in Slade's redemption after the events of Lian Yu, because I no longer buy that it's the mirakuru that makes Slade act like a monster. I think he just chooses to be one whenever it suits him. He chooses to be a nice guy when it suits him. These are not markers of redemption. These are markers of a manipulative and selfish human being.
At least Diggle and Felicity take a moment to remark on how uncomfortable it makes them that Oliver is helping Slade.
DIGGLE!!!! MY MAN!!!
Of course, Felicity's agreement here makes her early conversation with Oliver even more confusing.
Source: felicitysmoakgifs
Would it have killed the writers to include some of Felicity's reservations in her discussion with Oliver? It would have been nice to hear Oliver's perspective on what Slade did on the island. Instead, we get Diggle and Felicity saying, "Yup. He left us for dead. Oliver is helping him. That sucks." And... that's it. That's not addressing the issue in any real way.
The flashbacks with Slade and his son are interesting, but in an incredibly sad way.
Source: twitter.com
Slade lies to Joe about what he really does for living. He tells his son that he works for an airline and that’s why he has to go away all the time. Joe knows Slade is lying because kids know when they are being lied to. It created a distance between father and son long before Deathstroke came into the picture.
It's so much worse than lying though. The camping trip isn't just a way for Slade to spend time with Joe. He's on a mission tracking the man who took Yao Fei to Lian Yu. There's living a dual life and then there's Slade Wilson.
Perhaps Slade isn't the person you should be listening to when it comes to fatherhood and dual lives Oliver.
Slade kills the man after he tells him where Yao Fei was taken. There's a rustling in the bushes and I promise you Joe Wilson watched his father kill somone. Trust me. I have a unique skill for figuring out the obvious plot developments everyone else has already figured out. STICK WITH ME KIDS!
The point is to create a contrast between William/Oliver and Slade/Joe. Oliver worries he'll have to break his promise to William (risk his life and be out in the field) to help Slade. It's nice Oliver can see the obvious plot developments coming too.
Source: oliverxfelicity
Felicity, in her never ending wisdom, tells Oliver to be honest with William. Maybe not tell him the full story, we are trying to decrease William’s nightmares and therapy bills, but enough of the story so he can understand.
This is a key piece to parenting. You don't need to lie to your kids. You also don't need to tell them the truth about absolutely everything - particularly when they are too young to hear it. However, there is a middle ground. Your responsibility as a parent is to find it. You need to tell your child the truth in a way they will understand it and is age appropriate. Oliver doesn't need to go all or nothing here. He simply needs to offer William the truth he will understand - and has a right to know.
This is how Oliver includes William in his dual life without separating him from it with lies. Oliver is keeping William safe, but he's also not closing his son off to who his father truly is. This is the mistake Slade made with Joe.
Source: oliverxfelicity
Look at his face. Smoaked again. Oliver, your ability to successfully parent William depends greatly on Felicity’s co parenting. Marry this woman immediately you love sick puppy.
Is Slade Wilson redeemable? I don't know. The events on Lian Yu bother me as much as Moira's death. At least Slade acknowledges what he did to Moira, but I feel like that sets a very low redemption bar for one Arrow’s greatest villains.
Hopefully, next week is the stronger of this two part episode. Joe takes Slade and Oliver hostage at the end of “Deathstroke Returns.” We're supposed to worry Slade will turn on Oliver next week with that unbelievably heavy handed promo. He won't. We know he won't. However, I don't know if that's enough for me. I need more Slade Wilson. A lot more.
Dinah and Vigilante
The identity of Vigilante is... Vince. Dinah's old partner and boyfriend. You know, the one she thought was dead and became a vigilante to avenge? Again, a plot development most people saw coming.
It's a bummer because I was really looking forward to a shocking reveal. Dead lovers not being dead is the least shocking thing about Arrow.
Vince was changed by the dark matter like Dinah was. He's able to heal, which he shows by taking a bullet in the head and being absolutely fine. Makes me wonder why he needs all the Kevlar, secret identity notwithstanding.
Dinah spends most of the episode really ticked off.
Source: twitter.com
Hell yeah girl.
The man she loved let her believe he was dead for the last four years. #TeamDinah. If that wasn’t bad enough, Dinah became someone she didn’t recognize after Vince died. She did a lot things she regrets. Team Arrow, and Oliver, gave Dinah a purposeful and focused way to channel her grief and anger. However, she carries guilt for the choices she made before Team Arrow.
Dinah's justification for those choices, maybe the one thing that helped her live with it, was Vince's death. Now Dinah feels even worse about the decisions she made because Vince is alive.
He is alive though. A fact Diggle points out. Yes, he's not dealing with a full deck, but John does push Dinah to recognize the miracle in Vince's reappearance. Dinah still loves Vince no matter how angry she is at him.
This hits Diggle squarely in the Andy zone.
He reacted to Andy's arrival the same way Dinah is reacting to Vince. That anger led Diggle down a very dark path,
so he really is the best person to try to help Dinah see beyond her anger. She does eventually open up to Diggle and tells him about the little paper roses Vince use to make for her. However, Dinah doesn't seen anything left of the man she used to love.
Vince's explanation for staying away from Dinah was that he couldn't be distracted from the mission. They didn't accomplish anything as cops and being a vigilante, this kind of vigilante, is the only way to make a difference.
Dinah lets Vince go and obviously John was right. She does still love him. Vince leaves Dinah a little paper rose later on as a signal to her, and to us, that he's not just a monster. The man she loved is still in there somewhere.
Did this episode get me invested in Dinah and Vince? Eh. No.
There wasn’t enough there, not yet, but I'm willing to let this play out and see where goes.
Adrian Chase's twin would have been awesome though. I miss Josh Segarra.
Stray Thoughts
Dinah changes into BC to face off with Vince while the FBI and SCPD crawling everywhere. I still don't know how she did it. Is there a phone booth nearby?
Because of her wardrobe change, Agent Watson quickly deduces Dinah went missing when BC showed up. This woman uses a lot of logic. She can stay.
Source: felicitysmoakgifs
Felicity is ready to lie under oath to be Oliver's alibi for all the nights he was Green Arrow-ing. RIDE OR DIE! THAT’S MY SHIP!
But also we need to get some spousal privilege rolling.
"I was subpoenaed. I gotta go right?" LOL! Rene you precious child.
Alright, I admit I didn't realize it was Vince at first because I didn't recognize the actor. I really needed the flashback.
Felicity used her key. I AM EMOTIONAL. Source: felicitysmoakgifs
“I ask myself that every day." Oliver has this husband thing down. Just keep doing this and you'll make 50 years no problem, kiddo. Source: westallenolicitygifs
William calling dad to check in was the cutest. I'm a total sucker for all this father son bonding
Delicity is friendship goals. Source: westallenolicitygifs
Vince looks a little like Alaric from The Vampire Diaries. I keep doing double takes.
Slade using the sword to kill all those guys gave me Moira death scene flashbacks. It was unnerving.
Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 6x05 episode gifs credited.
Arrow 6x05 "Deathstroke Returns" Sneak Peek #2 - Joe is taken hostage by mercenaries and the mission to rescue him gets complicated by a terrible revelation that could shatter Slade's hopes of reunion forever. Meanwhile, Vigilante reappears in Star City.
