Arrow - "Broken Dolls" - Review

Intro

As you could probably tell, this didn't make it out before tonight's episode of Arrow. However, as this review was written before I saw the episode, you don't have to worry about spoilers from tonight's episode.

SPOILER WARNING

The following review is for Arrow, Season 2, Episode 3: "Broken Dolls." If you have not seen it, I recommend you do that before reading this review. There are spoilers for the episode.

Arrow - "Broken Dolls" - Review

Characters:

• Oliver Queen - Played by Stephen Amell. Main character. Also known as "The Hood" or "The Vigilante" or "The Arrow."
• John Diggle - Played by David Ramsey. Oliver's bodyguard/driver.
• Felicity Smoak - Played by Emily Bett Rickards. IT specialist at Queen Consolidated. Oliver's techie behind the scenes.
• Thea Queen - Played by Willa Holland. Oliver's younger sister. Roy's girlfriend. Runs Verdant.
• Roy Harper - Played by Colton Haynes. Thea's boyfriend. Works at Verdant. "The Hood"'s eyes and ears in the Glades.
• Dinah "Laurel" Lance - Played by Katie Cassidy. Oliver's ex-girlfriend. Works for the DA.
• Slade Wilson - Played by Manu Bennett. Oliver's mentor on The Island.
• Shado - Played by Celina Jade. Oliver's Island girlfriend.
• Moira Queen - Played by Susanna Thompson. Olly and Thea's mother.
• Black Canary - Played by Caity Lotz. Another vigilante.
• Sin - Played by Bex Taylor-Klaus. Black Canary's friend.
• Officer Quentin Lance - Played by Paul Blackthorne. Laurel's father.
• Adam Donner - Played by Dylan Bruce. The District Attorney. Laurel's boss.
• Tony Daniel - Played by Andy Thompson. Mathis' Attorney.
• Jean Loring - Played by Teryl Rothery. Moira's Attorney and friend.
• Barton Mathis - Played by Michael Eklund. "The Dollmaker."
• Detective Lucas Hilton - Played by Roger R. Cross. In case you were wondering who arrested Lance.

Review:

After watching two episodes of The Originals, this episode of Arrow was a breath of fresh air. I really enjoyed it, even if bits were kind of predictable.

The Barton Mathis story line was wonderfully creepy. It vaguely reminded me of an episode of Dollhouse and one of Criminal Minds. I'm with Felicity with the porcelain dolls sentiment. People who turn other people into dolls creep me out... and so do actual dolls. I found Mathis' weird mix of creepy and grand-stand-ish-ness nice, for a villain. It was also nice to find out what Lance was doing after Sara died. I found Laurel's revelation/epiphany/break down at the end of the episode somewhat dramatic and somewhat annoying. I mean, it's nice to know why she was being all "grr" toward  "The Arrow" all of a sudden, like beyond the Tommy thing. Hopefully she'll stop with that now.

Originally, I could not have cared less about Mrs. Queen's case. I think I kind of forgot about it, to be honest. However, I'm with pretty much everyone in thinking that the death penalty is ridiculous. Hopefully that won't come to pass. I'd hate to see what it would do to Olly and Thea.

So, uhm, The Island flashbacks... I found it really convenient that Shado was pre-med. I found Slade to still be annoying with the "don't get attached" schtick. I'm more interested in why there's a well-armed prison ship off the coast. Also, does Slade start wearing the mask now his face is burnt? Or did he die?

And finally we come to the Black Canary. She was cool, but got much more interesting at the end of the episode. I found it really strange that she's connected to Ra's al Guhl, though that does explain the IMDB spoiler I mentioned in my last Arrow review. Seriously, cast lists on IMDB can be evil.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Starling City has a Bisque Museum?
• Love Lance being around for the quips and what not. He's funny when he's not being a giant jerk.
• Felicity steps up again with the undercover-ness.
• A clock tower? How very Oracle.

Housekeeping

So, that's three more reviews in the bag. Now I just need to catch up on three more episodes and five more reviews... just so you know where I'm at and are interested.

There may or may not be reviews tomorrow. It depends on how my early babysitting and then work evening go. If I don't get to blog tomorrow: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Love ya, Jessie