‘The Return’ is this season’s flashback episode, despite the screentime for both the flashbacks and the events of the present day being much more evenly split than in previous years. However, that doesn’t detract from the quality as both storylines are enjoyable and put this episode amongst the best of the season.
After last week’s cliffhanger that Oliver had returned to Starling City in the flashbacks, we get to see a lot of his activities in his home city. We get the return of characters like Tommy and Detective Hilton, while we also get cameos from some of the characters we frequently see in the present day. It’s interesting to see Oliver, who has been forbidden from revealing himself to anyone in the city, skulk around in a very fun disguise (hint: there is green involved). There are some nice emotional moments for Oliver and the story progresses at a nice rate.
However, it is the present day scenes that are the stronger of the episode as Oliver and Thea battle to survive on Lian Yu. The episode features the return of Slade Wilson, and suffice it to say, he is a danger to the Queen siblings. Oliver is understandably scared of his former friend, particularly with Thea around. The sequence of events are highly captivating, and Willa Holland’s brilliance is a major contributing factor to this.
The pre-released episode content:
Press Release | Promotional Photos | Promo | Sneak Peek
Make sure to tune in and watch ‘The Return’ on Thursday 12th March at 8pm on Sky 1! Then, check back to the site after the episode for our review, podcast and the promo for next week’s episode!