So was “The Promise” all that it promised to be? YES. From beginning to end this week’s episode of Arrow was a tense, action packed hour of television. We knew at some point we would find out what turned the tables on the relationship between Oliver and Slade, and this week things reached a boiling point.
Finally this week, most of the action took place on the Island, something that I have been personally missing. The Promise picks right up after last week’s episode with Slade Wilson meeting with Moira about funding her campaign. We all know there are other reasons for him being there, but to her he seems like a great guy. So when Oliver starts to act very “odd” and rude around her guest, this causes even more tension between mother and son.
On the Island it is time to assault Ivo’s ship, the Amazo, and the team has a great plan. Oliver is going to get himself captured and brought back to the ship while Sarah and Slade parachute onto the freighter. Since Sarah is very familiar with Ivo’s tactics with prisoners she knows that once Oliver is captured, Ivo will use a truth serum to find out their plan, but Sarah creates a concoction that will offset the effects. One of my favorite scenes of this episode and maybe overall for the show is when Oliver and Slade are suiting up. Oliver puts on his hood for the first time, donning Yao Fei’s old outfit. While Slade puts on the Deathstroke mask which seems to truly mark his fall to the darkside that is about to take place. Once captured, Oliver knowingly gives Ivo the false location of where his friends are going to board the boat, and everyone heads down to the engine room while Slade and Sarah arrive via air onto the boat. The assault begins. We are introduced to a new character who may play a larger part to come on the show, Rev. Thomas Flynn, we also see our favorite Russian mafioso, Anatoli Knyazev.
Slade of course is on a hunt for Ivo, but Sarah knows that if he gets to Ivo, Ivo will turn the tables on the team due to Slade’s Mirakuru condition, so she tell Oliver that he has to kill Ivo first. But of course when he has the chance, Oliver hesitates and Slade hears everything, and now knows about the guilt that Oliver holds regarding Shado’s death. Sarah in the meantime is freeing all the prisoners and trying meet up with her friends to escape. Slade assualts Oliver and in doing so allows Ivo to escape, but not before he can send the ship on a course of destruction. Slade and Oliver battle it out, but as the ship starts to lose control, Slade is luckily knocked over and Oliver escapes. Just when you think all is well and everyone is jumping overboard to swim to shore, Slade catches up to Oliver and amazingly catches him by the leg as he is jumping over the ship and throws him back onto the Amazo! Slade then locks Oliver back into the cells and swiftly takes control of the ship by assassinating Ivo’s lead man who thinks he’s in charge. After crushing the man’s skull with his bare hands, Slade tells the rest of the mercs that this is his ship and he is the captain. He then brings in Ivo and takes Oliver out of his cell. Slade tells Ivo that he does blame him for the murder of Shado, but gives Ivo a gun and tells him to point it at Oliver and show him the way that he shot Shado. Ivo hesitates and loses his hand over, Slade has him taken away. Oliver tries to plead his case with his old friend but it does no good. The Mirakuru has taken complete control of his emotions and rationality.
In the present time, Slade is treated to a tour of the Queen mansion. Oliver secretly dials Felicity’s cell phone, and the team answers thinking that Oliver dialed by accident, so they listen. When Sarah hears Slade’s voice she freaks out and gets the team together to take him out. Roy and Sarah are going into the mansion, while Diggle sits outside waiting to take Slade out with a sniper rifle. The whole episode is so tense and you don’t know if Slade is going to go ballistic and kill Oliver and his family or if he’s just playing games with them. The arrival of Sarah and Roy causes some unease for Slade so the tour is over, Oliver offers to walk him out. Diggle is just about to take the shot when he is hit from behind and taken. We find out that Slade knew the whole time what was going on and had someone take Diggle out! We also find out that during his tour, Slade has bugged the whole house with cameras, what a crazy guy! But as he is leaving, Oliver asks what he wants, to which Slade replies that five years ago he made him a promise, one that he is going to keep. In one last flashback we find out that Slade’s intentions for Oliver are to cause as much pain and suffering as possible, for what has been done to him because of Shado’s death.
This week was insane, and I am so ready for next week as the hunt for Deathstroke begins and the first appearance of The Suicide Squad!
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8pmEST on The CW!
~CynicNerd
