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You can’t win ’em all, right?
So let’s get to what really worked this episode first. And the good about “Beyond Redemption” was really good. It begs the question: can the small moments of great redeem an otherwise lacklustre episode?
Lance and Oliver Face Off
The relationship between Oliver and Quentin Lance has always been tempestuous at best. Quentin didn’t like Oliver messing with his daughters (and rightly so). Later on, Quentin and Oliver were at odds over their different roles in protecting the city. But it was clear after episode 4×02 that Quentin’s opinion of him and his advice about standing for the city in the light of day meant something to Oliver. It’s what compelled him to run for mayor.
But this episode, Oliver discovered that Quentin has been working with Damien Darhk. And it broke his little quasi-father/son heart.
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But let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment: it was nice to see Oliver finally get to call out Quentin on something. For so long, the older man has been moral compass and has blasted Oliver for his failings and last night we got to watch the tables turn. It was pretty spectacular.
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It was also pretty heartbreaking. Oliver has lost his parents. The parent figures in his life are few and far between and Quentin was one for him. Lucky for us, we saw them mending the broken fence and we saw Oliver forgiving Quentin for his failing. What’s more, he’s asked Quentin to continue meeting with Darhk, to be a double agent of sorts.
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Yes, it doesn’t look good for Quentin Lance in the Death Poll after last night’s episode. He’s working with/against the Big Bad, he’s on a redemption arc, he’s over 45… all these things spell doom for characters on this show.
Oliver Queen for Mayor
We got a great glimpse at Oliver Queen running for office during “Beyond Redemption” and it was equal parts inspiring and adorable. First, we had Oliver announcing his intentions to the team, to a less than stellar response.
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The knowledge of Quentin’s betrayal throws Oliver for a brief loop, making him wonder if the city can be saved at all. But Quentin’s stirring speech to Oliver later on matched with Thea’s encouragement (and the hiring of an office full of interns ready to throw themselves at potential voters) puts the life back in his campaign and the episode closed out on a stirring press conference encouraging unity.
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Felicity, bless her heart, stood by his side and offered him her full support. She smiled encouragingly during his press conference, looking very much like the future First Lady of Star City.
Welcome to the Arrow Lair 3.0!
Our intrepid team got a new base of operations this episode. It’s located underneath Oliver’s campaign office (and apparently used to belong to Sebastian Blood during season 2, but don’t worry, Felicity used incense). And it. is. awesome.
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For one thing, it’s enormous. The center is filled with the tech center, where Felicity reigns supreme, but there are “stations” all throughout the cavernous bunker, filled with cases for their costumes, an armory, a med bay, a workout station… which leads us to…
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Felicity’s reaction to the return of the salmon ladder is the same as the rest of ours. It’s been far too long since we’ve been able to enjoy this view (no salmon ladder at all during season 3!). And with a body like Oliver’s, we should be enjoying this often.
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Honorable Mention: Felicity’s scenes with Curtis at Palmer Tech. We got a great look at the dynamics of their relationship and fell more in love with Curtis at the same time. While I’m a little hesitant about the arc that will be bringing back Ray Palmer (seriously, can Legends of Tomorrow just premiere already so we can get our show back?), everything was played perfectly so that my annoyance was tempered with a healthy dose of “okay, this makes a lot of sense emotionally”.
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And now that we’ve done service to the good, let’s get to the bad. Keep that image of the salmon ladder in your mind.
I keep my sister chained in the basement
I have no idea what the writers are trying to do with Laurel Lance this year. While I’ve been questioning her desire to resurrect Sara the last several weeks, several other reviewers have been a bit more indulgent. Laurel’s actions, while questionable, were certainly coming from a place of good (if selfish) intentions. But after this week, many people are done giving Laurel a break. Plainly put, the girl has clearly lost her mind.
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Laurel brought Feral!Sara back with her from Nanda Parbat and is keeping her chained up in the basement of her apartment building (has anyone called the super about this?). Save for Thea, she’s told no one else on the team. As much as I wish this were an exaggeration or a dream sequence, no, it’s actually what happened.
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I get that we needed to bring Sara back so she can off to the new Legends of Tomorrow spin-off. But did Laurel’s character have to be so thoroughly sacrificed in order to accomplish it?
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She brings Quentin down because she no longer wants to keep secrets from him (I feel like I should be grateful for this enormous leap her character has made, but the rest is so awful I can’t do much more than just cringe). His reaction is what you would expect. Horror. Disbelief. There’s a brief moment where he hopes but then Sara tries to choke Laurel and that hope is utterly dashed. He looks into his daughter’s eyes and sees… nothing. How heartbreaking for him! This prompts him to meet with Darhk to ask for some help, since he knows Darhk has knowledge of the League of Assassins (and presumably the Lazarus Pit) and Darhk urges him to “put her down”.
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Lance is ultimately unable to shoot Sara, but his heartbreak is palpable. Laurel doesn’t seem to understand her father’s reaction. She believes that given time, Sara will “snap out of it” and be her old self again. I’m not even sure where she got the idea that was possible. Predictably, the episode ended with Laurel discovering Sara had broken her chains and escaped. So now she’s prowling Star City. She might even be looking for the one responsible for her death in order to quench her blood lust. Run, Thea, run!
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Flashback, what?
I just… don’t even know. This week saw Oliver stashing As-Yet-Unamed Flashback Lady in a cave and then telling his buddies back at Drug Camp that he killed her. He proves it by showing his skeptical buddy her “body” but it turns out he used that same trick he used (and learned from Yao Fei) in season 1 where he makes someone look dead but can revive them with a simple touch. Skeptical Buddy is appeased for the moment but then he finds Oliver’s ARGUS gear so suspicion is very much back on.
The bottom line? I don’t care. These flashbacks are so boring.
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So I guess the good outweighs the bad, at least on paper. But in the watching of the show, it felt like having to sit through a lot of boring/annoying bits to get to the good. That’s not how I like my television, on the whole. So I hope that we’ll be back to another great episode next week (with the appearance of Constantine!), but since the arc that infuriates me will be the focus, I have my doubts.
