Arrow Review: The Recruits (Season 5 Episode 2)
Well, okay. I actually enjoyed “The Recruits,” Arrow. Color me surprised.
It’s not that I was opposed to a new team. It’s not even that I didn’t think it wasn’t going to work. It’s that last episode these characters gave me so little of the things that made them …well, them, that I had adjusted my expectations.
Aka, I was ready for this to be bad. Really bad.
Confession: It wasn’t.
Will it get better? Obviously. A new team takes time.
Especially when that team is made up of brats.
The term abusive is lobbied at Oliver more than once in this episode. Felicity says it, Curtis says it, and the others imply it.
And yet, they are all wrong. Because the vigilante thing is not a joke. Being unprepared can and will kill you.
But, since this world is more shades of grey than black or white, they are also, in a way, right.
The Green Arrow can’t bring people together. The Green Arrow can’t recruit a team. Oliver Queen needed to be the one to do it.
He did. He might have required a few pep-talks from Felicity, but there’s a new Team Arrow.
One that looks very, very different to the last one.
Can we care about these people? Will we invest in not just their vigilante personas, but their private lives?
That’s a question for another day. For now, there’s a new team in town. And oh, yes, part of the old one might be in trouble.
John Diggle could really use someone on his side right now. He could use his family. And I don’t just mean Lyla and *gasp* Connor, but Oliver and Felicity.
They didn’t come out and say it in this episode, but the thing that made the old team work wasn’t just that they trusted each other. It was that they grew into a family.
Maybe the new kids can get there. But, as I said before, it’s going to take some time. And, in the meantime, this team needs to take care of the family that’s still in place.
In other words, next episode needs to be about bringing Diggle home. Because you can get a new family without abandoning the old one. You can adapt.
(That is, of course, unless Barry Allen decides to mess with time and erases your daughter. But that’s a story for The Flash review)
Arrow isn’t just about the action – though that’s been great in the first two episode of season 5. It’s not just about the superheroes. It’s about the people behind the masks.
It’s about Oliver Queen and his family. Whether that expands or contracts remains to be seen. But family?
That’s forever.
Other things to note:
- DCTV shows in general are failing their female characters left and right, but erasing Sara Diggle from existence? That’s low. That’s low.
- I’m confused – Oliver’s words about Laurel are supposed to be praise or is he referencing how bad she was at fighting when she started?
- Is crime-fighting Felicity’s full-time job? What happened to Palmer Tech or whatever it’s called these days? Shouldn’t we care about that?
- I’ve missed the Queen siblings banter.
- “They’re too green.”/“I could say the same about you.”/*pause* “I’ve been waiting 5 years to make that joke.”
- Felicity pulling a S1 Oliver was hilarious. She’s as bad a liar as he is.
- “You never talk about your time in Russia” – obvs. It wasn’t convenient to talk about it till now.
- Are these new versions of Oliver and Felicity the result of Flashpoint? Say yes, Arrow writers. Say yes. Because, at least then, it would make sense. Their banter is great, the chemistry is still on point, but they don’t come off as two people who were engaged a few months ago and who had a very bad breakup. They’re just …friends. And that’s fine, that’s great. Or it WOULD BE, for two people without their history.
- Going back to how the show was in Season 1 doesn’t mean erase everything that happened the last two seasons.
- No one can possibly change as quickly as Oliver did during the clinic. Just not possible. I understand this show expects us to suspend disbelief, but there are limits. THERE ARE LIMITS.
- The importance of Quentin Lance’s story cannot be overstated. Addiction is not a straight line, and I’m glad Arrow is handling it like the complex issue it is.
What did you think of this episode of Arrow? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat