Arrow S6 Ep. 5 Thoughts & Easter Eggs

"Deathstroke Returns"

This week's episode of Arrow was the shining example of just how much of an impact the return of a fan favorite character can have. As the title of the episode boldly lays out, we finally get the long awaited comeback of arguably the greatest season villain of the entire series, Slade Wilson. After Season 5 gave us a nice little sample size of Deathstroke partnering up with Oliver on his path of redemption, fans (including myself) lost their minds at the notion that Slade would somehow play a pivotal role in the future of the series. With Slade embarking on a mission to find his son with the aid of Oliver alongside the return of Vigilante wrecking havoc in the city, we have ourselves a highly entertaining episode worthy of diving into.

A Tale of Two Fathers

As I was watching this episode, I started to realize just how far we've come with both Oliver and Slade. The fact that these two once had a mentor-student relationship fighting for survival on an island, fast forward to being in conflict with each other as a vigilante fighting a mentally unstable and super powered mastermind, and now we have two fathers attempting to make things right with their sons. Seriously, talk about a character journey. While watching these two interact with each other (by far the best scenes of the episode), you can strongly feel a sense of history between them through every piece of dialogue and body language given.

Despite their long and twisted background, the fact that Oliver is now discovering what it means to be a father, he sympathizes with Slade's mission to find his son. This particular story could have easily felt forced in for the sake of shoehorning a frequently fan request character. Fortunately, and quite brilliantly, everything feels organic to the theme of the season surrounding the power of "family". Is it great to simply just have Deathstroke return after 2-3 seasons of begging the writers? Sure, but what should be celebrated more here is the fact that they took the time to give Slade a worthy enough reason to return. This is a relieving indication that the writers of Arrow aren't just tossing in fan service to keep the ratings as steady as they can, but ensuring that the quality of storytelling isn't sacrificed in the process.

Alright, we obviously have to talk about the reason why anyone who is a hardcore fan of the series is probably geeking out right about now. Not only is it awesome seeing Slade make his grand return to the show, but more importantly, we get to enjoy the forever welcoming presence of Manu Bennett. Manu delivers an absolutely fantastic performance as usual, only now, we get to witness a whole new layer unravel for the character with the full introduction of his son. We've known Wilson in the past to be a straight up psychopath considering his actions. However, it's intriguing to now experience what is a powerful dramatic story about a father driven by regret and redemption searching for his child. Through Manu's scene stealing performance, you can feel every bit of this concept shine through.

"When the Jackals took my son, they didn't count on who his father was." - Slade

Who would have thought that this would be a future story arc after seeing the ruthless eye patch wearing mercenary murder Oliver's mother alongside a questionably long list of victims? Again, this is a noteworthy sign that the powers at be behind the superhero TV series are attempting to keep things fresh with its cast of characters after 5 seasons. Strangely enough, as incredible as it was to have the terminator as our season villain at one point in time, I'm starting to think that the adventures of Oliver and Father Slade (as I like to call him) might just be the greatest thing to ever happen on the show. It's also interesting to see Oliver take sort of a backseat to Deathstroke making the episode primarily about his relationship with Joe. You know what that means? Yep, that's right, Deathstroke flashbacks!

The flashback story-lines have always been an essential ingredient in the Arrow formula which is why Season 5 left us in a curious position considering that it wrapped up Oliver's 5 year story. I can confidently consider this by far the best use of this storytelling device as Slade's backstory with Joe perfectly synced up with his present day conflict and mission. Watching Slade doing something as mundane as camping with his son was visually striking to say the least, but again, it added a whole new dynamic to the character that we've never seen previously. This being Slade of course, camping with your kid isn't as simple as it appears as we find out that the mercenary is also on a mission to track down Yao Fei. Ah yes, and here I thought Season 5 would be the peak of nostalgia surrounding Arrow's early beginnings.

It was fun getting to see the pre-Deathstroke outfit from Season 1 in action briefly, but what caught my attention the most was Slade's relationship with Joe. The idea of him having to juggle between being a father and a ASIS agent was a nice parallel to Oliver's current situation. This is why this story in particular works perfectly here as it brings everything full circle giving credence to having this dynamic duo revived. Both characters now respectfully see each other in a new light as father figures with a dangerous amount of baggage that can and has affected their child. This is why, aside from a pretty solid action scene showing Deathstroke in full terminator mode, it's their discussion scenes as parents that truly made this episode stand out.

Speaking of which, yes, we do get to see Deathstroke in action, and it's pretty glorious. Leading up to the reveal that Nylander (Slade's contact) betrayed him, we're given one satisfyingly long scene of Slade slicing, dicing, and shooting his way through waves of henchmen. From the moment he donned the suit, it was only a matter of time until you'd see this longtime fan grinning from ear to ear. Is the action choreography as near perfect in comparison to Season 1 and 2's outstanding sequences? Well, let's just say that there were a couple of nitpicky "Wait a sec., did that sword just stab through his chest or between his arm?" type of moments. However, this is the one rare exception where I let it slide due to...well...it's freaking Deathstroke with a sword and a gun mowing down everyone. I'll take what I get.

Now, the reveal of Nylander betraying Slade wasn't necessarily a jaw dropping cliffhanger nor was his son's present day position. This is mainly due to DC's Legends of Tomorrow already giving us a little taste of what an evil Deathstroke descendent looks like. However, alternate future timelines aside, I did love the notion that Slade, a man attempting to create some sense of a clean slate for him and his son, is now confronting his worst nightmare. It's the equivalent of Oliver randomly coming home to find William dressing up in Arsenal's outfit telling him that he must avenge his mother's death. There's just that moment where you sit back and think "Damn, how the hell do you solve that dilemma?". That my friends is the sign of a great twist whether or not you might've seen it coming from a mile away.

Vigilante Revealed

Since the Season 5 finale left us with an island blown to shreds, a suicidal maniac, and a child who'd probably need years of therapy all things considered, there was one question frequently popping up. Who the heck is Vigilante? Well, I'm happy to say that we can finally put all theories to rest surrounding Roy, Tommy (a name that will forever pop up whenever a new masked character shows up), and Adrian Chase's possible twin brother. So, who is it you asked? Well, it's Dinah's boyfriend, Vincent of course. The guy who got shot right in front of her during the particle accelerator explosion eventually giving him powers. Yep, that guy. Actually, if anyone saw that coming then hats off to you. This reveal definitely caught me off guard completely...and I liked it.

Sure, it would have been interesting to have Roy return as some masked vigilante on his own solo mission, but honestly, would this really benefit the Roy character after where we left things off with him? What I love about this reveal is that, just like Slade's story surrounding his son, we get to see Dinah given her own story arc to explore. What the writers are doing brilliantly here is making the Arrow title mean more than just Oliver Queen's story about saving his city. We're now fully seeing the after effects of his actions and crusade as a costumed unlawful hero giving birth to personas like Vigilante and Black Canary.

Going back to Dinah, one of my favorite episodes of Season 5 was the full introduction of her character and story. I found it fascinating that a member of Team Arrow was actually a metahuman, and one with a dramatically dark tale of revenge. What I wasn't expecting was for us to revisit said story with the now inclusion of Vigilante who was previously just a recurring obstacle for the team. I was happy to see that the show found some compelling and organic way to make Dinah's nemesis transcend Katie Cassidy tailored in all black with someone significant from her past. This gave the unmasking of Vigilante, although not as impactful at first considering Vincent's previous screen time, a strong sense of weight.

His motivations may seem simple as just another armored up guy with a twisted sense of justice, but his destructive actions are what will make for some captivating scenarios. Considering their questionable relationship, this is why I feel Vigilante will make a great villain for the new season. That matchbox flower in the end followed by the smile by Dinah is definitely foreshadowing some inner conflicts between her and the team with what they now deem as a major threat. It's an interesting dilemma to see get worked out by everyone especially Diggle taking into account his close mentor/friend dynamic with her. There are lots of interesting things slowly brewing within the Arrow cave this season. Almost makes me forget that we still haven't seen a legitimate (or at least worthy) season villain tease.

Finding The Right Flow

Although the primary focus of this episode was about Slade, I absolutely loved the tonal shift between a story about a father searching for his son and a straight forward thriller surrounding the identity of a dangerous killer. There's a constantly flowing pace giving the impression that everyone is pressed for time while still allowing moments for characters to breathe. Whether it's a conversation between two parents with a sinful past or a vigilante vet (Diggle) attempting to stop his partner from making a life changing mistake, nearly every moment felt like it played a major role in the grand scheme of things. 

Overall Thoughts

This season of Arrow admittedly didn't start off as strongly as I would've liked (give or take a Bruce Wayne namedrop and a visually amazing island set piece). What made this episode particularly succeed was having a fan favorite character return and a highly anticipated identity reveal both have major impacts on the story. Vigilante was a character that I honestly never really found that interesting, but with him being outed now, I'm very curious to see where his character goes. With Slade, aside from the obvious "Keep him for as long as possible" mentality, I simply cannot wait to see where this father-son story leads to. There are quite a few ways that this twist can play out which is why I'm seething with anticipation for next week's episode. Yep, it's good to have Arrow back alright.

Bonus Thoughts

Easter Eggs

1. Flash Crossover Acknowledgement

When Felicity is speaking to Oliver about his trip with Slade, she references metahumans attacking bachelorette parties which is exactly what took place during this week's episode of The Flash. It's a nice wink to the fans, but it's also great to see the Arrowverse showing more connectivity and acknowledgement between character cameos and crossovers.  Now, if only Mr. Terrific would acknowledge his recent involvement with the Legends.

2. Vigilante's Metahuman Powers

Vigilante is revealed to be metahuman like Dinah due to the particle accelerator explosion. So far, his power mostly revolves around accelerated healing. This is proven from him being able to withstand a direct shattering attack by Dinah's canary cry and possibly surviving a fall off of a high building from Prometheus.

3. Deathstroke: The Terminator

During his conversation with Nylander, Slade is briefly called "the Terminator" (a name which comic book fans will recognize as Deathstroke's iconic title) to which he says that he hasn't heard that name in a long time. There's also a reference to Mirakuru which was the super soldier serum that turned Slade into a mentally unstable and powerful psychopath.

5. Old and New Mask Transition

Much like the flashback sequences, the scene transitions are one of the biggest components to the show's formula. It's something that I normally don't pin a spotlight on, but the new to old mask transition with Deathstroke was by far my favorite. Not only is it visually cool to see the difference in design alongside their nostalgic background, but it also plays a key part in the past-present day story.

6. The Jackals..or Jackal

There is indeed a character in the comics that goes by the name of "The Jackal" (although he later became "Ravager" which was the name associated with Slade's right hand woman during Season 2). In the comics, Slade served in the U.S. Army with a soldier by the name of William Walsh. "The Jackal" was the alias that Bill went by after leaving the army and later becoming a terrorist.

Favorite Shots 

Episode Rating: 9/10