Arrow "The Magician" Review: Vows of Vengeance

Arrow S03E04: "The Magician"

Arrow typically moves at a very rapid pace, but Season 3 has been happy to slow things down a bit, at least so far, and "The Magician" in particular felt deliberate. The show is giving its characters a chance to talk at and to one another, to stop and think before acting. I mean, just two episodes ago, we had motorcycle archery jousting, but this episode only featured one brief action scene before the big showdown between Nyssa, Oliver, and Malcolm. I long ago came to terms with the notion that the action on Arrow is among the show's least important (and really, least interesting) elements, so its overall easing off of the gas is a welcome development for me.

It helps that the story engines for the A-plots this season are ones that can't all be solved by punching and shooting arrows at people. Oliver and the team have to investigate, gather evidence, and consider options as they hunt for Sara's killer. And when they're not hunting for Sara's killer? The A-plot last week, stripped down, was talking to Thea; that A.R.G.U.S. nonsense was just a flimsy pretext for some good stunt work. Sara's death, albeit sad from a character loss perspective, has done some wonders for Arrow over the past three episodes.

Nyssa's arrival in Starling City almost completes the "People need to grieve about Sara's death by chasing after a suspect" tour—only Quentin's left; poor Quentin—and that suspect this time was Malcolm Merlyn. Certainly Nyssa has cause to think so: Sara was in Starling to follow up on leads regarding Malcolm's whereabouts—the League of Assassins still wants Malcolm's head on a pike so Ra's can look up at the lifeless eyes and wave—and her cause of death of arrows to the torso would point a pretty big arrow in Malcolm's direction.

It may actually helpful to think of "The Magician" as "Sara" Part 2 as both episodes were remarkably similar. Someone wants to kill a suspect without having a lot of evidence and/or listening to the suspect's potential alibis or reasons as to why they would not want to kill Sara. Komodo was busy getting drunk the night Sara was killed, but Laurel was mostly just interested in putting a few rounds into the mercenary archer. Laurel and Nyssa's insistence that it be Malcolm, and that Oliver shoot an arrow or two into the man despite the fact that Malcolm has a pretty damn good reason for not going out of his way to kill Sara: it would only invite more attention for the League of Assassins in general, and Nyssa in particular. Which, as reasons not to commit a murder go, is actually a pretty good one. Malcolm may be a world-class liar, but even if it is a lie, it's a damn believable one.

In truth, "The Magician" may've been too similar to "Sara" for comfort. Laurel, despite realizing that killing people without, you know, evidence, isn't something she's keen on, was still very much on Team "Let's go kill another archer, only this time, let's let Oliver do it!", and she never really saw that mentality reflected back in Nyssa's like-minded single-mindedness. It would've been a good opportunity to reinforce the idea that Laurel is trying to channel her grief into something slightly less irrationally vengeful and more focused, but that didn't really come through here. And while every suspect is going to be someone armed with arrows, that Malcolm and Komodo have very similar tastes in clothes made the repetition of the hunt for Komodo stand out a bit more.

Even if Malcolm didn't kill Sara, the thinking went, then at least kill him for the 503 people he killed in Season 1, including Tommy. Given all the pressure Oliver's been facing since around the time of Sara's death, coupled with the actual threat Malcolm poses, the impulse to kill again actually felt legitimate in a way that it never really did in Season 2. Oliver killing the first Count Vertigo never seemed to really matter, and the mirakuru cure gave Oliver a way out of actually killing Slade as opposed to having to make a legitimately tough decision. Instead, that decision actually came into play here, and served to finally demonstrate just how serious Oliver takes his no killing vow. It's a nice testament to the character development they gave Oliver last season that he's the calm, generally rational one on the show now, with every other person he meets wanting him kill (something the flashbacks actually nicely reinforced), at least just this one, to being something he swore to stop being

Despite the somewhat repetitive plot beats, "The Magician" still had little bits of business to enjoy in the A-plot. John Barrowman is at his best when he's chewing the scenery, and so Malcolm's meeting with Oliver in that plaza was just a delight. I especially got a laugh at how hard Barrowman drove home the "It's illogical!" line after explaining why he wouldn't be stupid enough to kill Sara. He's also doing a fine job making the two different versions of Malcolm—city-destroy villain and caring father—feel distinct but still part of the same man. Barrowman's whole vibe while he's talking to Oliver, and then later to Oliver and Nyssa, is very much in that cocky mastermind tone—pointing the finger at Ra's for Sara's murder was particularly clever of him—while managing make sure his dad tone with Thea is a little calmer, more supportive.

And speaking of Thea, I'm not sure I can name a better moment from this episode than Thea hanging upside down, spouting threats at Nyssa. I said it last week, but it bears repeating: Thea's evolved into a good character. Willa Holland seems pleased to finally be in on the action, and she really sank her teeth into that whole upside-down bit and into keeping secrets from Oliver. Like Barrowman, she's doing a nice job of making the various sides of Thea feel distinct, and with a level of confidence that even Season 2 Thea didn't have. She really is different, and it's great to see. Along those lines, Holland's performance and the show's careful writing of Thea so far makes the eventual reveal of Oliver being the Arrow and Thea training with Malcolm something that I am so eagerly anticipating.

"The Magician" also served to reinforce the fact that Arrow's structure steadily improved as more of its characters were let in on various secrets, from Oliver's identity all the way down to some peripheral connection to the big seasonal plot. Thea and Laurel were both pretty aimless in Season 1, they both enjoyed their own arcs or soft reboots in Season 2, and now the show is reaping the benefits of its core cast members all having solid connections to its overarching narratives. As a result, Arrow has more weight and momentum, and fewer "Ugh, not another scene with this dumb plot!" moments. It can only be a good thing.

FROM THE QUIVER

– Having a year to deal with my "Ugh, Arrow doesn't need to do Ra's" feelings means I've at least come around on the idea, especially given the circumstances that are drawing him and the League into a more prominent light. We'll see how it goes!

– Hong Kong flashbacks revealed that the missile-launcher Lian Yu stuff in Season 1 was about killing China White, and on Waller's orders. Now it turns out that China White's in Hong Kong, and that means we may see more of Kelly Hu!

– The coffee place that Oliver and Thea met in looked an awful lot like the coffee place that often appears on The Flash, but with different signage.

– More confirmation that Oliver's broke!

– Look, Roy, I know you're probably feeling a bit marginalized despite your new outfit, but was the parkour flip over the hood of that SUV really necessary? Pretty sure you could've just stepped in front of Thea instead.

– "My father may be the Demon, but yours is the devil."

What did you think of "The Magician"?