Arrow: Muse of Fire

I don't have much to say about this episode. It wasn't my favorite, and I'm not liking the series as much as I did when it first started. Mid-season slump, I guess. I hope it gets better.

We learned a few new things in this episode. First, we learned that Oliver has moved on from Laurel pretty quickly. And, we learned who the well-dressed man is. His last name just happens to be Merlyn. No, he isn’t a wizard. He’s Tommy’s father! Now, that was unexpected.

Observations:

I was a bit annoyed by how quickly Oliver fell for this fellow-vigilante. He goes with her to dinner once, he fights her once, he talks to her at her fiancé’s grave, and suddenly they’re kissing? This is the woman who almost shot his mother! And he knows it! Whaaat? Maybe Oliver was just frustrated with the mixed signals Laurel kept giving him (I like you, I hate you, I missed you, you’re a spoiled brat). I may be annoyed also because I really didn’t like the actress playing Helena. Maybe she’ll grow on me in future episodes, but as of right now, I’m not too fond of her. And also, I wanted Oliver and Felicity to get together. I like her.

Stephen Amell’s acting is starting to really bug me. He’s just so stiff. I don’t know if it’s because he’s trying to distinguish his Oliver Queen persona from his Arrow persona, but I wish his acting wasn’t so stilted. As I said before, I think his acting is better in the flashbacks on the island. I’m also impressed how he actually looks younger in the flashbacks. I’d like to see Oliver have a scene when he just looks relaxed and not so uptight.

I didn’t understand why Oliver felt it wasn’t okay for Helena to kill someone, when he’s killed people. Bit of a double standard there. Oliver just thinks he has better reasons when he does it. 

Quotes:

Diggle: Oliver, you're supposed to be going undercover -- not speed-dating.