Arrow S2E7 “State vs. Queen” recap by CynicNerd

MAJOR SPOILAGE LIES AHEAD! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW

Listen I am not a big fan of the whole Moira Queen trial story line, actually I am not a big fan of any element of the show that does not concentrate on Oliver’s mission to save the city. But there are some great twists from the result of Moira’s trial that are major game changers for the show. To make the explanation short, Moira is acquitted by some miracle of all charges to her involvement with Malcom Merlyn and his attack on the Glades. It was almost certain that Moira would be found guilty and when the results came back from the jury you automatically thought to yourself who is responsible for this, who could have had the influence to change the inevitable! At first I thought maybe since Laurel had taken over on the case, due to Count Vertigo kidnapping the D.A. which we will get to in a bit, but man was I wrong. When Moira departed the jail and was on her way home to freedom the driver took her on a detour. Moira gets out of the car and to her surprise Malcolm Merlyn is there, back from the dead! I love John Barrowman and I am so happy that he is back! Things are about to get interesting. Merlyn also makes reference, “there are places in this world where death is an illusion. I’ve been to one.”, which I am pretty sure he is talking about Nanda Parbat. So what will come of all this? What will the role of the League of Assassins in the upcoming second half of the season? We will soon find out, but let’s get back to this week.

I loved the opening of the show this week, as we get a flashback to right before the disaster in Glades, and the guards at Iron Heights are abandoning the prisoners. When the quake hits Count Vertigo’s cell is damaged and he is able to escape, I love Seth Gabel’s (Fringe) portrayal of the Count as he plays it over the top and the writers have finally given him the Count title as well. Flash to the present the Count has conspired with a doctor who has infected flu shots with Vertigo and people all over the city are becoming infected, one of the first to be Diggle. So when Oliver and Felicity realize that Diggle has Vertigo in his system the hunt is on. The next to be infected is the D.A. on Moira’s case, causing him to collapse in the court room and when he is loaded into the ambulance we see that the Count is driving. The Count puts a viral video on all over the airways and of course through this Felicity is able to track down his location. When Arrow shows up they have a showdown and the Count has a funny line about Arrow developing an allergy to killing, and he’s right well of course that’s until later. Arrow saves the D.A. at the expense of no lives lost and he destroys the Count’s manufacturing center. Ollie returns to the court and Felicity is still trying to figure out the Count’s game, she finds a lead and decides to go after herself, stupid. She gets captured and the Count figures out that Oliver is Arrow, and as Thea and Oliver are waiting on the verdict for Moira’s case, Oliver must get to Queen Consolidated to save Felicity. During the showdown Oliver has to put three arrows into the Count and sends him out the window to his death, something that I am disappointed with because I really like the character but of course necessary and totally badass. Oliver has his regrets of course but the truth is he had to save his friend and had no other choice. We do find out that someone was financing the Count’s infection campaign and it ends up being Brother Blood and in one of the last scenes of the show we see that his “Miraclo” experiments has worked. Word is that this character who is refered to as Cyrus by Blood is actually Cyrus Gold better known to the comic world as Solomon Grundy! I hope so, I really want to see how the writers interpret this character. Another interesting DC Comics fact, Miraclo is also what gives Hourman his powers, another show that is rumored to be in development.

On the Island this week, Ivo and crew have taken Oliver to the main land to hunt down his friends. Ivo is after an arrowhead called the Hosen, which has coordinates to the submarine he has been hunting for. Shado and Slade, who is rough shape still, save Oliver and Sara and they decide to go after the sub, which I’m pretty sure has Miraclo on it and that Slade will be the first to be injected with it most likely causing him to become the villain that we all know and love. His look this week is very reminiscent to his Deathstroke mask, perhaps a little foreshadowing happening here?? I really like that these two storylines are getting closer and closer and that probably by the second half of the season we will see some major developments. Next episode?? Barry Allen comes to Starling City!
Arrow S2E8 “The Scientist“