TV Show Review

TV Review: ARROW: Season 2, Episode 12: Tremors [The CW]

Stephen Amell Colton Haynes Arrow Tremors

The CW’s Arrow Tremors TV Show Review. Arrow: Season 2, Episode 12: ‘Tremors’ opened with a jail-break for Ben Turner (Michael Jai White), aka Bronze Tiger. Maybe it’s just because I’m overly conscious of ongoing similarities, but the scene reminded me of Joker’s incarceration ruse, from The Dark Knight. In any case, Tiger was sprung in order to secure the retrieval of a prototype to Merlyn’s earthquake device. With Oliver (Stephen Amell) losing patience with Roy’s (Colton Haynes) total lack of patience, the break out (again, covered up by the prison. I’m curious about how the dead guards are explained to next of kin) served as a good way to vent Roy’s steam. Bad idea. Even when Roy later redeems himself, Oliver had to resort to exposing his secret, in order to get Roy some balancing perspective. From there, it was off to meet Diggs (David Ramsey) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), for induction into Team Arrow (copyright Felicity Smoak).

I still say bad idea. Certainly, ‘roid Roy will pay off in conflicts to come; but it was all too soon, and done for entirely impulsive reasons. Arsenal, someday; for now, just an arse.

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For the most part, ‘Tremors’ seemed to be an exercise in exploring bad ideas.  Besides Oliver taking Roy into the fold, just to reign him in, there was Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) being talked into a Mayoral run by Walter Steele (Colin Salmon) and newcomer Mark Francis (Nicholas Lea), as a counter to Alderman Blood. Moira was on the fence (for all the right reasons), so Thea (Willa Holland) cast the deciding vote for her running. As good a reason as any, right? There was also Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) trying to trick daughter Laurel (Katie Cassidy) into a support group meeting.

It turned out that Laurel’s drug arrest had left a cloud of disbarment over her prospects; so naturally, she turns to alcohol. Somehow, Quentin missed the cue about coercion leading to acting out, and Laurel takes this latest extension of her personal trust issues to a bender. As that bender happened to be at Thea’s joint, she got another caring send-off from Oliver. Well then, after being pissed off, by her dad, and kissed off, by the ex, what could be more disturbing, to a pass-out drunk Laurel, than the face of her dead sister, coming into focus at her apartment? The face of Tommy Merlyn, perhaps; but that was someone else’s ghost, this time around.

Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), back at the island, continued to manage Oliver’s guilt over Shado pushing Slade (Manu Bennett) over the edge. Too late for that – Slade was determined to kill Ivo, even if that meant destroying their only means off the island. With that in mind, Oliver sidelines the truth, as he saw it, to talk Slade into a more productive act of vengeance. Believe it or not, this was also a bad idea.

The fact that Oliver has demonstrated a history of acting out of guilt, rather than good will – or sense, for that matter – has seemingly facilitated a history of bad ideas.

Add superhuman metabolism to Felicity’s Team Arrow creds; apparently she stress eats. Not an actual nit-pick; I just thought it was the most amusing one, this week.

Roy has smashed walls and shattered a wing chun practice dummy with not much effort; yet he punched people in the face, over and over – and seemingly with no restraint – without causing any real or lasting damage. I winced at the thought of what his first victim would look like, after the pummeling he got, and the prospects of Oliver having a murder mess to deal with. Apparently, I took that detail more seriously than the show did.

I could be wrong, but I do believe this was Oliver’s first reference to his alter ego as “The Arrow.” Frankly, he hasn’t been The Hood – or even The Vigilante – for a while, now; so I’m glad both he and showrunners have been keeping track. On the other hand, Oliver has been sporting the exact same level of face fuzz over the years. Either he has been pathologically diligent, in his half-assed grooming, or he has a genetically modified lawn growing on his face. I still say shave it off for a fake goatee disguise (“shave clean, white man from town, shave clean”).

How much quality time together (or how much time not wrapped up himself) would Roy have needed to see through Oliver’s “disguise” during training, anyway?

‘Tremors’ was a transitional episode; more of a lead-in to upcoming events, than an event onto itself. Add Laurel and Roy at their worst, and this was not a great episode. It  was an important episode, however, as the official jumping off point for Candidate Queen (complete with a glimpse of her darker side), a Lance family reunion, and Roy: Green Arrow sidekick & ward of Oliver Queen. All important developments, but the take away that made the episode, for me, was the apparent fate of Bronze Tiger.

As obviously matched as all the pieces had seemed, the conclusion that Arrow would serve to introduce the Suicide Squad was still speculation. Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) showing up, to offer the re-caged Tiger a spot on a special ‘squad’ being put together, seemed like a promise kept, to me. More wish fulfillment spots like this (and Deathstroke’s appearance, in the previous episode), and Arrow may have found a winning ingredient to make filler episodes more palatable.

“Hey, Mikey, he likes it!”

For more Arrow reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Arrow Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” us on Facebook.

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Sam Joseph

Sam is an Avid consumer/observer of Geek culture, and collector of Fanboy media from earliest memory. Armchair sociologist and futurist. Honest critic with satirical if not absurdist­­ wit with some experience in comics/ animation production.
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