Arrow Review: The Candidate (Season 4 Episode 2)

After a stellar opening episode, Arrow returned a little flat in “The Candidate.”

The sudden appearance of Moira’s old friend, Jessica Danforth, who we’ve never seen or heard of before, is coupled with the announcement of her candidacy for mayor. Naturally, this announcement prompts an assasination attempt because running for mayor in Star City is like volunteering for a deadly game of whack-a-mole.

So glad Oliver is headed for that track now…

Oliver: Lance and Jessica Danforth said something to me about this city needing something that the Green Arrow can’t offer… hope. Inspiration. Someone who can do things in the light, who isn’t afraid. Someone who can protect himself. Felicity, I’m gonna run for Mayor.

Unfortunately, a pretty thinly plotted protection mission follows for our heroes, which spends more time focusing on Thea’s Lazarus Pit side-effects than anything else.

As far as Thea-centric plots go, this one is turning out to be pretty great.

Struggling with her inner demons and unstable aggression has turned Thea into a timebomb that’s just waiting to go off. She refuses to acknowledge the problem when Oliver brings it up — which leads to a pretty badass sibling sparring match — but I’ve got a feeling she’s more aware of the side effects than she lets on. Esepcially after she nearly burns Anarky to death during one of her fits.

Elsewhere, Laurel has wheels spinning in her head now that she knows the Lazarus Pit already brought one sister back to life.

Sara Lance’s return to the land of the living is rumored to coincide with the arrival of Constantine’s crossover in episode 5. That leaves plenty of time for this plan to go horribly wrong! Now that Laurel and Thea are headed to Nanda Parbat, let’s just hope that Daddy Merlyn, a.k.a the new Ra’s Al Ghul, is in a giving mood.

Meanwhile, Oliver has taken the title of “Best Boyfriend Ever” while Felicity takes on her new job as CEO of Palmer Tech. It’s definitely refreshing to see a couple just existing on TV without crazy obstacles tripping up their romance at every turn. It obviously can’t last, but we can enjoy it while it does!

Felicity: I get to be bossy today because I am the boss of a multi-billion dollar coporation!

Mr. Terrific also makes his debut in the typical adorable-nerd-turned-superhero fashion (light on the super-hero for now). He’s obviously snagged the audience’s interest with his winning personality, we’ll just have to wait and see if he wins us all over in the plot department too.

It’s still too early to tell if I’m going to enjoy the flashback portion of the season this year.

On the one hand, Oliver returning under the guise of a shipwrecked party boy (when in doubt, use your own personal tragedy as a cover) is interesting, especially given that even he doesn’t know what his mission is yet. On the other hand, we’re back on that damn island again.

Other Thoughts:

• Love fern alert! Oliver is adorable.
• The Lazarus Pit hot tub jokes will never get old.
• Sara, girl, you look awful. Eat a snickers!
• The flashback wig is GONE! Party at my place, we will do tequila shots in honor of this momentus occasion!
• Felicity really does need a code name. Suggestions?
• Still no clues on who is in that grave 6 months from now!

Lindsay MacDonald

Lindsay is an associate editor for Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer, viewer, and internet addict. Her obsession with TV started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has been going strong ever since; current favorites include Scandal, The 100, The Walking Dead, and Arrow. She considers a perfect Friday night to be a joint-cuddle-session between an adorable puppy dog and her Netflix queue. Follow @lindsayjoane