Arrow – Corto Maltese

• Title: Arrow – Corto Maltese
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In an episode used to continue to develop Arrow‘s supporting characters and move them a bit further on their journey to likely one-day becoming full members of Team Arrow, Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Roy (Colton Haynes) head down to Corto Maltese to convince Thea (Willa Holland) to return with them to Starling City unaware that she’s been living and training with her not-so-dead father Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) for the past several months. Doing a favor for Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson), Diggle (David Ramsey) accompanies the group to find a member of A.R.G.U.S. that turns out to be more complicated than he was led to believe and plants a seed of doubt about A.R.G.U.S. which may come to bloom later this season (especially if he learns of Ollie’s own experiences with the group).

Rather than focusing on Ollie’s time on the island or in Hong Kong, this week’s flashbacks offer a glimpse of the early days of training with Malcolm and Thea. Although Ollie doesn’t discover that Malcolm is still alive, or what Thea has been up to, the return of Katrina Law as Nyssa al Ghul suggests those secrets won’t stay buried much longer. How long it takes Thea to eventually pick up a bow as Speedy (or perhaps Artemis?) is yet to be determined, but her divided loyalties between Malcolm and Ollie/Roy may lead to a bumpy ride in her foreseeable future.

Back in Starling City, Sara‘s death continues to haunt Laurel (Katie Cassidy) who takes her first step in becoming Black Canary with a failed vigilante moment and the show’s introduction of J.R. Ramirez as Ted “Wildcat” Grant (who, in some versions of the character’s comic history, was responsible for training Ms. Lance). While giving Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) a cushy new promotion the episode also murkies the motives of Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) a bit this week in his sudden interest in Queen Consolidated’s weapons programs. What, exactly, what is Palmer truly after in Starling City?