Arrow: Canary Cry Review

By: Ashley Binion (@ashleybinion)

After the death of a Team Arrow member in “Eleven-Fifty-Nine,” the series returned from its hiatus with an emotional farewell.

Wow. Those Arrow actors can really bring the dramatic performances. Everyone was fantastic, especially Paul Blackthorne. Poor Lance has buried three daughters and let’s keep in mind he only had two. Even though we have seen him grieve many times on this show, Blackthorne continues to impress.

And the way he processed Laurel’s death was very in character. It’s not impossible to think that he could somehow bring Laurel back. He lost Sarah twice and she came back, twice. Of course he wouldn’t believe that his daughter was actually gone. The moment where he bent over and broke down in front of Oliver was heartbreaking. Through all the tragedies the Lance family has gone through, Laurel was his “person.” She was the one who would always be around; she was the one who would pick him up in times of trouble. With Laurel gone, who will that person be?

The faux Black Canary was a tad awkward. “Canary Cry” could have focused more on the grief of the team. Instead, a major storyline in the episode was about a fake Black Canary running around. Really, it only served the purpose of revealing to the world that Laurel was the Black Canary. There was a lot of talk about her legacy as the hero. However, with the large shift of Laurel to a supporting character, we rarely saw that come to fruition. Especially this season, where she was underutilized.

I wish the faux superhero storyline would’ve come in a couple episodes down the road, but since the season is reaching its narrative climax, it’s unlikely they could have fit in this plot device anywhere else. Now until the end of the season, I’m sure the plot will be all Darhk all the time.

The flashbacks. The flashbacks! So, apparently Arrow can still do quality flashbacks. Shocking, I know. For two seasons, the flashbacks have been a waste of time. The writers continue to try and make them relevant, but it’s just not working. Even at the end of “Canary Cry,” Oliver told Felicity he encountered magic before on the island. If that’s their only justification for the flashbacks, I’m not going to be happy.

If I could bring back one character that Arrow has killed over the years, it would be Tommy. That death still stings a little, so I loved that the flashbacks were immediately after Tommy’s death. Because of the time jump in between seasons, this was the perfect opportunity to flashback to his funeral and the days after. Sadly, this reminded me of how much of a jerk Oliver was in season one and two. He was the guy who slept with his best friend’s girlfriend. This flashback had them kiss while reminiscing about Tommy a week or two after his death. It felt wrong. This also reminded me of how clueless Laurel was. Sure, it wasn’t her fault she didn’t know Oliver’s secret at that point. But, still. That’s not a Laurel I ever enjoyed.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

admin
via The Nerd Machine

http://www.thenerdmachine.com/arrow-canary-cry-review/