Arrow Season 5, Ep. 2 Recap

Flash might be faltering but Arrow reminds us why it's the vanguard of DC television....
Arrow -- "Schism" -- Image AR423b_0243b2.jpg -- Pictured: Stephen Amell as Green Arrow -- Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW -- © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Where Flash might be faltering, the forerunner of DC’s TV Universe, Arrow, is staying strong and refuses to slow down. This week’s episode could be called Exhibit A.

Titled “Recruits,” Oliver endeavors to break in the new talent but can’t build trust with them — deigning to train them only as Green Arrow. Unable to stay on the same page with everybody makes it harder to track down the elusive Ragman, who is also after associates of Tobias Church.

Not to be outdone, Diggle is off on his own adventure with some mercenaries after an item connected to events from last season. And he doesn’t have Ollie to back him up.

A look at Season 5's big bad, Prometheus. Photo/DC Database

A look at Season 5’s big bad, Prometheus. Photo/DC Database

The show still uses a flashback structure and has a string of subplots going to keep things interesting. It might be overloading the plate more than a little — you can only keep up with Officer Lance (Paul Blackthorne) falling off the wagon, Thea’s (Willa Holland) pouty pep talks and Felicity’s revolving door of a love life for so long.

But suspense and intrigue never waver, neither does producers’ ability to dig deep from the source material to adapt interesting characters. This is the first time Ragman has been used in any capacity outside a comic or video game, and with a name like his you would think his involvement in anything would be characteristically kitschy and not offer much pathos. Yet writer-producer Greg Berlanti and his compatriots prove us wrong.

Berlanti is always trying to raise the stakes and give Green Arrow a formidable villain to take on — whether it be Ras Al-Ghul, Damien Dahrk, or Deathstroke. We were already introduced to Tobias Church (who might be a run-of-the-mill mobster with big ambitions but seemed poised to steal the show) but lurking in the shadows is masked archer Prometheus (another name diehard fans will recognize).

They have big plans and make it easy to be eager for what happens next.

 

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Eric is a columnist and the resident film critic for The Pit. He also acts and is a multitalented filmmaker.
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