“Lian Yu” (May 24)

Arrow tackles a lot in this episode. In many ways, the episode almost feels like a SERIES finale. Minus the major cliffhanger, of course. Having the giant forces of good and evil fight on Lian Yu was compelling. Not all of it was exciting, and some of it felt rather predictable. But the episode had a lot going on. The fact it pulled off so much properly is commendable.

At first, taking so many sidekicks out of commission seemed like a strange choice. However, it allowed for Oliver Queen to take full focus. Oliver not only lead the charge against Prometheus, he took out an island run by Dolph Lundgren in the flashbacks. By giving Arrow more guest stars than regular teammates, he was center focus. It’s a nice change to see Arrow not be about every Team Arrow member.

Bringing back Deathstroke was kinda cool, but his role is odd. Lest we forget, Deathstroke was Prometheus before Chase bought throwing stars. But now that Oliver’s broken him out, he’s offering advice? Teaching him how to get over his father’s death? It would’ve been more compelling to see Deathstroke take Boomerang’s place. Perhaps it was the more heroic role Deathstroke played that got Manu Bennett back.

Prometheus started as a great villain, but quickly became annoying. Arrow gave him every deus ex machina available. It was interesting to see Oliver “beat” him… but he didn’t, really. He definitely avoided killing Chase, which is what Chase wanted. But Chase’s plans still worked, to a certain extent. Even in death, Prometheus was overpowered. Having a not-too-happy ending isn’t bad, but Chase is never truly beatable, which makes Oliver’s victory feel unearned.

Now of course, there’s no way everyone on Lian Yu died. Certainly, someone died. John Barrowman, aka Malcolm, seems to be a likely contender. It’s also possible at least one of the new sidekicks (Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, or Black Canary) died. Maybe even Thea Queen, who’s barely been in this season. It will be interesting to see just how many members died or survived. But that cliffhanger is far less foreboding that The Walking Dead’s death teaser.

Arrow came back strong this season, despite having a more bloated cast. At every turn, the show proved it had a good handle on what worked. It’ll be exciting to see how the show brings the show back from such an explosive finale.

SCORE: 7.5/10 Land Mines

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 7.19

BEST EPISODE THIS SEASON: “What We Leave Behind” (Ep. 9)

WEEKLY WIN TALLY:

WINNER! Supergirl: 8.5 Weeks

Arrow: 7.5 Weeks

The Flash: 6 Week