Arrow Review: Kapiushon (Season 5 Episode 17)

Sometimes, to build a hero, to create a symbol, to really and truly make someone worthy of the role of savior, you have to break down everything they are. You have to leave them so raw that even the wind burns.

Sometimes, you have to see a character fall into the pits of despair to truly appreciate when they get up.

Arrow Season 5 Episode 17 “Kapiushon” takes Oliver down to the basics of who he is – or more importantly, who he believes he is, confronts him with his past and essentially, reboots the Green Arrow once again, and it does so in such an effective manner that I might almost be willing to believe they meant to do this the whole time.

Except, no one – not even a show notorious for slow starts, throws away sixteen episodes in a season just to set up the last quarter of it.

So no, I’m not buying that this was the plan all along, Arrow. Nice try, though. I’m sure you fooled some people.

I am, however, willing to give credit where credit is due – this is a good episode. It could have been a great one with a little less flashbacks and some more Prometheus, who has suddenly turned out to be the best thing in a lackluster season.

The bad guy. That’s my highlight of the year. Can you see the problem with this?

Maybe not.

The reason I like Prommy (see, nicknames, a sure sign of love) is not that he’s a creepy dude or even that Josh Segarra’s portrayal brings a gravitas to the show that was sorely missing, no. I like him because he’s got Oliver Queen completely figured out.

Is he right about Oliver? Is he a monster? That’s not even the issue here. The issue is that Prommy has convinced Oliver that he knows more about Oliver than he himself does. And that means he’s already won.

But – and for all that Prommy is ten steps ahead of Oliver, there’s one thing he’s severely underestimated, a thing that I sense, will come up big in the next few episodes, as we gear up for the season finale.

Oliver’s friends.

They are his strength, he said, but after Prommy broke him, even Oliver lost sight of that. He lost sight of everything but the “truth” Prommy got out of him.

And, most importantly, so has Prommy. He’s so focused on Oliver that he’s probably never considered that Oliver’s team – and John Diggle and Felicity Smoak, in particular, are just as capable of taking him down, albeit with different methods.

The Green Arrow never was, could never be, a story about just Oliver Queen. It was always about the people who made him human, the people whose lives he touched for the better, and even if he’s lost sight of that now, those people are still there, ready to fight for him.

But, one big caveat, Arrow. This doesn’t mean we can just forgive and forget. This doesn’t erase the lingering sense of disappointment.

One good episode doesn’t cure all wounds. One good episode is a Band-Aid. If you want us to trust your good intentions, you have to give us more than that.

There is literally no more time to waste. Now is the time to deliver.

Other things to note:

• So, if Prommy can call Oliver out for playing judge, jury and executioner, that means the writers get the point, right?
• And that makes the gun-control episode what, exactly? Other than, you know, an exercise in futility.
• The flashbacks haven’t been relevant since Season 2. In this episode, at least they related to what was going on, but they were still too long and too filled with that God-awful wig.
• Oliver remembers Taiana! He’s a better man than us.
• As happy as I am to see John Barrowman, he’s not singing, so I’m not interested.
• I need to learn this impossible technique to skin something in less than 5 minutes. I don’t know what I’ll use it for, but I NEED to learn it.
• Oliver was all like – I’m okay, I can do this forever, torture is cool. That is, until Prommy brought out Felicity’s glasses. Then things got real – FAST.
• When the Pakhan of the bratva tells you that you’re going too far, you’re probably going too far, okay?
• Practicing to become something else? REALLY?
• I would like to say I was surprised by the Evelyn thing, but it’s not like Arrow knows or cares about writing good, nuanced female characters so no, not surprised at all.
• I thought we’d already established that torture doesn’t really bring out truths.
• Are we sure the same people who gave us this episode gave us the previous 16?

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.

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