Anniversaries and milestones are tricky things in long running franchises and can lead to a number of narrative traps. How much of a big deal do creators make of a show having reached such a stage? Do you throw the equivalent of a party, inviting back old faces? Do you try to get to the essence of what the show is? Do you try to do something new and bold? Often an anniversary can be more of a burden than an opportunity - who could forget the overstuffed mess that was 40th anniversary Bond flick Die Another Day that tried to shoehorn in references to all 20 previous films and plots? It stank. What about those Doctor Who celebrations, with past Doctors looking ancient trying to recapture their glory years? This year's Star Trek Beyond went for the essence model, not bringing back past elements but harkening back to a style that was very much Star Trek 101. The problem with Arrow's 100th episode is that it falls right in the middle of the Heroes vs. Aliens crossover and the producers desire to celebrate that event - the start of their four show empire - ends up hamstringing the Dominators plot completely. In a nutshell, after the non-meta heroes are kidnapped by the aliens they are stuck in a collective dream while the aliens probe their subconscious. Oliver, Diggle, Sara and Thea find themselves back in their old lives, the boat disaster that started Ollie's journey as the Arrow never happening. This fulfilled the faces from the past brief as a dreamscape meant dead characters such as Oliver's parents and Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) could appear. However, this led to several problems, not least that it took most of the episode for our heroes to work out what was happening and to escape, meaning a proposed three part crossover became in effect a two part one. Worse, this type of alternate life plot is the bane of genre shows, appearing in all of them, even the more imaginative Whedon efforts. Supergirl did literally the same plot last year while it happened in Smallville about once a year at least. Falling Skies did it every other week. Yes, it was lovely to see Laurel again but she wasn't real, just a memory. It also reminded us of who didn't come back, Tommy Merlin represented by a photoshop moment at the end.
The episode wasn't a total loss and had some nice moments. Diggle, finding himself the Arrow here, was wonderfully grumpy and intense while Thea's desire to stay in the dreamscape even though she knows it is false was played well. "It's real enough," she protests. "Laurel is alive, my parents are alive." Ollie argued that it wasn't real. "What is waiting for us out there?" she demands. "Nothing! Pain and suffering. We finally have a chance to be happy." Ollie himself is torn, knowing that Laurel was the love of his life but that this second chance was a con. As Sara said when she hugged the avatar of her sister goodbye, Laurel beautiful in her wedding dress (it was their wedding day): "some things you just can't fix." The trap tried to stop them by calling up a rogue's gallery including Malcolm Merlyn (Barrowman!!), Damien Darhk and some nobody in Deathstroke's armour. How dare they have Slade without the epic legend that is Manu Bennett with his manly roar and hirsute visage? It's like being promised Marks and Spencers ice-cream and getting a Lidl choc ice. Back in the real world, the meta heroes had to run about and get some McGuffin so they could locate where the others were. This required a lame villain called Cyber-Woman who fizzled a little and got hit a lot. Wild Dog huffed and puffed saying how much he disliked metas (Wild Dog prejudiced? Well I never!) until Kara saved him and job done, the metas worked out Ollie and co were on a mothership in space! Cue the easiest escape in history as Team Arrow simply shot a couple of aliens and nicked a spaceship. This was not so much Independence Day as a dull Bank Holiday Monday. For a moment it looked as if we'd get a space battle on Arrow's budget which would have been a delight but the Waverider popped up to save them and zap away. Meanwhile the Dominators continue towards Earth keen to give the planet a kicking. This was an odd beast, an episode that tried to look back at five years of the show while in the middle of the least Arrow like plot ever. This resulted in a totally schizophrenic forty minutes though at least we were spared those awful Bratva flashbacks. Still, while not a total success, congratulations to Arrow reaching the big 100. It's a daft, wannabe gritty show that never is yet manages to keep going despite not being very good. I rather admire the continued attempt.
70s Rating: ***
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