'Arrow' Recap: Another One Unbites the Dust
Warning: This recap for the “Brotherhood” episode of Arrow contains spoilers.
Diggle’s brother is back from the dead — and just in time for Thanksgiving! Unfortunately, he appears to be an unrepentant H.I.V.E. flunky, so the holiday dinner will probably just as awkward as yours. Thea ups the awkwardness by inviting her father (and head of the League of Assassins) Malcolm Merlyn. The sword fight over who gets to carve the turkey will be legendary.
The Plot
Diggle brings in everybody on his discovery that Andy is alive and working for H.I.V.E. when he and Andy come face to face during a mission. John wants to wash his hands of his brother, but Oliver thinks Andy can be saved, so Team Arrow invades an abandoned psychiatric center and rescue him.
Thea enlists her father’s help to find out why fighting Damien Darhk sates her bloodlust. And on Lian Yu, Conklin’s plan to frame Oliver backfires.
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Andy’s Back
John’s fondest wish has been granted. Of course, as we’ve learned all season on Arrow, be careful what you wish for. What came back from the bowels of H.I.V.E.? It looks like Andy Diggle, but he’s no longer the family man he once was. Was it drugs, brainwashing, mystical mind control, or is Andy just a garden-variety criminal?
It’d sure be nice to think that Laurel could offer some good advice, but she bungled the situation with her sister so badly, you’d get better help dealing with siblings from Cain and Abel.
Thea’s Bloodlust
Damien Darhk’s Mortal Kombat finishing move is to suck the life out of someone, but for some reason, it doesn’t work on Thea. That’s not strange; it’s probably a result of her exposure to the Lazarus Pit. What is strange is that Darhk’s power actually helps quell her need to take lives. We know that he’s in deep with black magic and has probably sacrificed a lot to master it. The question will probably end up being: How much is Malcolm willing to sacrifice for his daughter?
Thea’s Bloodlust, Part 2: The Doofus Boyfriend
Alex’s response to Thea beating the bejeezus out of the creep at the bar suggests that the course of their relationship won’t repeat last season’s DJ/assassin pattern. Instead, it look like Thea will have to find a way to hide her feral side from her perfectly ordinary, perfectly adorable, perfectly dull boyfriend. Which is worse: dating a guy whose job is murder, or a guy who might possibly murder you with boredom?
The A.T.O.M. Takes a Holiday
Like Sara Lance before him, Ray Palmer decides that returning to his former life just doesn’t hold much appeal. “I gotta do something different,” he tells Team Arrow. “Gonna take some time and figure out what that is.”
What do you want to bet the time he takes will be two weeks, and what he figures out is he wants to galavant through time with the guy from Doctor Who, the dad from Alias, and two of the guys from Prison Break? He does put in a great appearance in the episode’s big psych ward fight scene, though. Hopefully, he leaves behind a few toys for Diggle and the team to play with.
Inside Comics Moment
Wolfman Biologics is probably a nod to legendary writer and editor Marv Wolfman. Though he never wrote Green Arrow, he did create Deathstroke — along with most of the Teen Titans (as well as Blade, Bullseye, and Black Cat for Marvel).
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Quiverful of Thoughts
* Is anyone who’s seen 12 Years a Slave — or is old enough to remember Roots — bothered by the scene where Oliver is whipping Conklin while surrounded by slave overseers? Is Baron Reiter being black supposed to make it less uncomfortable?
* What if Oliver actually does beat Darhk in the light of day? It would be interesting to see if he has what it takes to beat a big bad with his brains instead of his fists.
* No Arrow or The Flash next week. The next episode is the big two-episode crossover, “Legends of Yesterday” and “Legends of Today” (December 1 and 2), which lead into the new midseason spinoff DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
