Title: Arrow: “Confessions” Review
Release Date: April 29th, 2019
Network: The CW
Genre: Superhero, Drama, Action
25 minutes in, I was convinced that “Confessions” was going to be my first 1 out of 5 Arrow review for season 7. At most, I thought it would barely reach a 2 out of 5. It was slow and a chore to get through due to Dinah’s attitude. Those last 30 minutes completely changed my mind. By no means was this the best episode of Arrow season 7. But, it certainly set up a few awesome moments and storylines.
I had this whole rant ready in my head bashing Dinah for her absolute stupidity this episode. For the better part of “Confessions”, she sounded like a traitor who had no trust in her friends. The past few weeks, in particular, have not been Dinah’s best. She’s been very unlikable at nearly every turn here lately. Watching her grill Team Arrow about the murders was just annoying. At least there were a few hilarious one-liners thrown at her courtesy of Rene, Oliver, and Felicity.
The format of this week’s episode was pretty fun though. We got to see every character’s side of the story via flashbacks and eventually got to see the whole picture. At first, I hated the interrogation scenes but the big twist at the end brought it all together in a satisfying way.
Colton Haynes made his first appearance in the present-day storyline as Roy Harper this week. Roy was back to lend Team Arrow a hand and help stop the Ninth Circle for good. Obviously, we have 2 episodes left so that wasn’t going to happen but Roy definitely has a very intriguing storyline now.
During season 6, Roy, Thea, and Nyssa set off to go find the last remaining Lazarus Pits and destroy them. “Confessions” cleverly reminded us of this early on and also provided a reason why Thea didn’t return with Roy. So, it turns out that Roy had actually died while hunting down these Lazarus Pits and was brought back by being put into one. I really liked everything about this revelation from the hints of it throughout the season to the way Oliver just knew what was wrong with Roy. Roy Harper is a fan favorite character who honestly left the series too soon in season 3. Colton Haynes had some personal issues that led to this departure but it is awesome to see that the character’s popularity hasn’t died down over the years.
With Haynes coming back as a series regular this season, I wanted the character to have something new to deal with. Something to do that didn’t involve just being Oliver’s former sidekick or barely interacting with anyone in the flashforwards. I’m pumped to see that the writers have an arc planned for him. I’m just hoping it won’t be a shot-for-shot retelling of Thea’s bloodlust arc from season 4.
The ramifications for Roy’s uncontrollable bloodlust is immediately the most interesting story right now. Not only did Roy’s bloodlust lead to the murder of two innocent guards but it could have been the catalyst for all of the wrong that happens to Star City in the future. Vigilantes supposedly ruined Star City, according to the flashforwards. It seems that the truth is already about to come out and things aren’t looking too great for Team Arrow’s standing with the public or the SCPD going forward.
Which leads me to how this affects Team Arrow in general. Sure, Oliver and OG Team Arrow were quick to defend Roy but what they did was seriously messed up. Yeah, it kept everyone out of prison so they can still take down Emiko but as far as I’m concerned, nobody on Team Arrow should ever complain about Oliver killing people or keeping secrets anymore.
Emiko’s speech to Oliver at the end was the most intimidating she’s been since her debut episode. The whole scene really gave me a Prometheus-like vibe. She outsmarted Team Arrow, just like Chase did for the entirety of season 5, and her goal has been pretty similar. Destroy Oliver Queen and everything the Queen name stands for. This and the Roy storyline should be the two only major plot points (for the present-day) heading into these final 2 episodes.
We’ve been getting a few episodes here lately that have put the focus on our side characters. The Canaries got an episode a few weeks ago and Diggle had one last episode. I’m shocked that we haven’t seen much screentime from Rene dealing with his conflicted relationship with Emiko. Instead, it seems that we get about 5 minutes of him telling Emiko that she doesn’t have to go down this path before she betrays him or blames all of her crimes on the Queens. It’s not like this is a bad arc either. Now that I think about it, it’s a lot more exciting than some of the storylines we’ve gotten this season.
Oliver’s arc this season has also been a little underrated too. Despite being betrayed time and time again by Emiko, he still is trying to right his father’s wrongs and find some sort of redemption for her. The visual of seeing Oliver with his hood down fighting in the open against a bunch of cloaked people who operate in the shadows is a nice touch as well. This started all the way back in “Unmasked” but I think it just goes to show how much Oliver has changed over the seasons. I never thought an unmasked Green Arrow would work for this series but I was wrong.
The fight choreography this week was great, as usual. You know a show is doing great action-wise when you find it hard to really talk about it because it’s just the norm. Roy did a lot of cool flippy stuff and Oliver is still a badass. Do I need to say any more?
Verdict: “Confessions” had me in the first half, I’m not going to lie. But a shocking revelation has set up Arrow with a chance to end season 7 on a fantastic note. The return of Roy in our present-day storyline was awesome and his arc should be one of the most intriguing aspects of Arrow heading into not just these last 2 episodes but the final season as well.
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