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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 05 Episode 10: Who Are You?

January 26th, 2017 by Todd Black Comments

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Who Are You1

Arrow made a very dangerous move in that Laurel Lance returned at the end of the midseason finale last year. Leaving EVERYONE wondering just what the heck was going on around here! Thankfully, “Who Are You?” not only did let this illusion last long, but tied it into what was going on all around Team Arrow.

The one true downside to the Black Siren reveal was that they intentionally spoiled it in the trailer for the episode…a few weeks back. Thus, there was no real surprise if you watched it, like I did. But oh well. Thankfully, for those of us who did see it, it wasn’t long before the spell was broken, and mayhem ensued.

I truly LOVED how it Prometheus that broke Black Siren out of Star Labs in a further attempt to make Ollie suffer. And while certain aspects of HOW he knew that Black Siren was there, and HOW he knew about Sara and the Legends was a little glossed over, it really did cement one again how Prometheus just hates Oliver, and wants to do everything in his power to make him have a slow and painful death.

And in a way, he hit the rawest nerve of all. Because he will always blame himself for Laurel’s death. As Felicity notes, that’s a part of who he is. So it wasn’t hard for me to believe that he would want to try and “save” Black Siren once he knew who she was. In fact, this was part of his “more optimistic” tone that even Felicity acknowledged was there. Now, the downside of this, was that it was painfully obvious at times that she was playing him, and his feelings for Laurel (plural) did leave him vulnerable to obvious betrayal. But, if you recall Season 01 and 02, he’ll always have a “Blind Spot” for Laurel.

An unexpected twist in all this was that Felicity has turned to a darker path…and it works! She’s positively gone Arrow Season 01 in her tone. Not taking lip, ordering the others behind Olivers back, doing things she’d never even consider before. This is a brand new Felicity, and it’s very awesome. Ever since Season 03, it’s seemed that Felicity was becoming more and more annoying, and not the good kind of annoying. But in the wake of her boyfriends death, she’s not messing around anymore. And I look forward to seeing just how far down this path she goes. She punched out Black Siren, that was a good start!

Black Siren

Speaking of different paths, Curtis had a nice twist in his hero progression, where he finally admitted that he’s not getting better as a fighter. Which is ok! Not everyone is built for that like Renee or Toby. Instead though, he focused on what Mr. Terrific should be like, or at least this version: the tech. Now yes, he could delve a little close into Cisco territory in that, however, his story is what makes him unique, especially since he just lost his husband through being on Team Arrow. Now, if only we can get the T-Spheres….

I was very interested in seeing how the Diggle story was going to advance after he got captured. And I’m happy to report that he’s not only going to fight this this time, but he’s getting help from Adrian Chase, who showed he’s a very worthy addition to this season through his use of the legal system to keep John alive. This is going to be a fun subplot for sure.

Which finally brings us back to the flashbacks. While a little more subdued than the previous episodes. We did get to see some good dialogue from Oliver and the Bratva…until Talia Al Ghul showed up! That’s how you make an entrance!

In the end, “Who Are You?” played with the past, the present, and the future of Arrow is some very fun ways. Yes, Black Siren was a bit much at times, but, her inclusion led to some great characters moments…and apparently…a new characters arrival…

4 out of 5 nerds

4 out of 5 nerds

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!