After last weeks episode, and the “proclamation” that Team Arrow was done, you knew that it wouldn’t last, but…that didn’t mean it was going to be a smooth return. And thankfully, “Disbanded” showed just how broken Oliver Queen had gotten, and how long it took for him to come back.
I like how at basically no point in the episode did Oliver Queen yell, or scream, or rage, he was very soft-spoken and monotone the whole episode, and he needed to be. After all, this was a guy who was tortured for days and then forced to face a truth he didn’t want to admit, and it was that truth that forced him to both disband the team, and make a hard decision about killing Chase.
The return of the Bratva was well handled, as it gave a good insight into what Ollie was thinking, as well as what Anatoly was thinking when asking for the down payment. Apparently things aren’t so good in Russia, and he’s had to make hard choices too.
But they weren’t the only one making the hard choices. As Diggle had to not only bring Oliver back from the brink, but keep the team together and stop the Bratva from killing Chase so Oliver wouldn’t “lose his soul”, it was a bit on the nose, but oh well.
There was a ton of humor here despite the very somber tone. From the other Team Arrow members deciding who they were in the new setup, Helix knowing about who Felicity and Curtis was, and more, it was good that there was some fun moments here.
I do like only Ollie in the flashbacks suited up, and not present Oliver. He chose a SWAT mask instead, and that’s important, because if he put that hood on, last episode would have been meaningless.
Arrow — “Disbanded” — Image AR518a_0157b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen and Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance — Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW — é 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The flashbacks didn’t make sense until the end, but though short, they did serve a purpose. Anatoly wanted the Bratva to be heroes of a sort again, and he knew that with Oliver, that might happen, but because of Oliver leaving, he had to go down a darker path. And now with Oliver once again at odds with the Bratva, he didn’t lose an enemy, but gained another.
That being said…the team (with Helix) exposing Chase via camera was very cool, and now all of Star City knows exactly who he is. What’s next for Prometheus? I expect more bloodshed.
“Disbanded” was a good follow-up to last weeks great episode, and though not everything hit, it did the job of selling the impact of what happened.
Todd Black
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!
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