Arrow Review: “Lost Souls”

Team Arrow invade the sanctuary of the Darhk Lorhd to rescue Ray Palmer, while Felicity Smoak’s mom disrupts the sensibility of a plot that doesn’t require her.

Title: “Lost Souls”

Cast and Crew
Director: Antonio Negret
Writer: Emilio Ortega Aldrich and Beth Schwartz

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
Katie Cassidy as Dinah “Laurel” Lance / Black Canary
Neal McDonough as Damian Darhk
David Ramsay as John “Dig” Diggle / Spartan
Willa Holland as Thea Queen / Speedy / Red Arrow
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / The Canary
Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt / The Future Mr. Terrific
Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer / The Atom
Charlotte Ross as Donna Smoak / The Annoyance
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance
Jimmy Akingbola as Baron Reiter
Ryan Robbins as Conklin
Parker Young as Alex Davis
Elysia Rotaru as Island Woman
Zoran Vukelic as Vlad

Premise

Everyone except for Lance and Donna join forces to save Ray Palmer, who faces a small but serious dilemma.

The island flashbacks remind us that magic exists in the Arrow’s world.

High Points

The story finally merges the Arrow / Darhk plot, the missing Palmer plot, and the Felicity / Curtis plot.

Low Point

Given that the number of storylines the episode blends, increasing the relationship drama and bringing back Felicity’s mother seem major missteps, that clutter the episode. It really isn’t the time for Cordon Bleu.

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6 Sara’s storyline feels too much like Thea and Roy’s, and lacks the necessarily emotional impact. Ray’s latest developments, though rooted in an earlier comic-book history, now feel too reminiscent of Ant-man.

Effects: 5/6

Acting: 4/6

Story: 4/6 We have an uneven story that nicely combines several disparate plot threads while including others at the expense of the potential whole. The fight scenes generally work, though one part of the Team’s plot assumes the group knows in advance what Damien will do if he captures the Arrow. Apparently, it’s standard Darhk Lorhd procedure, when one has captured a superhero, to (1) not just kill them, (2) put their arms (only) in chains, and (3) limit additional security personnel at the holding site because, really, what could possibly go wrong?

Emotional Response: 4/6 The story should make us feel for the return of Sara and Ray, but both appear long enough to wave good-bye, and the response is strangely muted.

Production: 5/6

Overall: 5/6

In total, “Lost Souls” receives 29/42